TikTok Paves Way for Small Businesses
by Alyssa R Griffin
When it comes to small businesses, the key to success is proper advertising. Small businesses often struggle with finding the perfect platform to advertise their shops, especially when they’re new. Many companies will make websites and Instagram accounts, but there needs to be some way to introduce these to their targeted audience. As a result, many businesses have switched over to TikTok. TikTok is a video sharing platform that allows its users to see a number of videos, despite following certain accounts or not. TikTok, being a short video platform, allows businesses to make advertising videos for their products that are short enough to catch the viewers eyes before scrolling. Free websites like TikTok allow businesses the perfect advertisement regardless of their customer size and revenue when starting out. TikTok creates a space for small businesses to thrive.
Given the length each video can have, small businesses get the perfect amount of time to show off their products. TikTokscan be as short as a couple of seconds all the way up to three minutes. Some small businesses may choose a shorter video which shows off one product leaving the rest as a mystery to the viewers, which results in them clicking on the page to see more and the shops link in their bio. Because the videos are short, viewers will often view more while browsing their pages before gravitating to their link for a final judgment. Other small businesses might use their time longer by showing how their products are used or even just packaging their orders, which gains excitement in buyers who see their own. Some buyers may even ask to have their packaged in a video, which keeps more customers coming back for more.
Once a viewer clicks on a page or likes a small business’s video it becomes part of their personal algorithm. TikTok takes into account which videos certain viewers may like and will present them with similar ones. For small businesses, it allows more advertising for them without doing much work. If a viewer were to click a video of a certain product, it would benefit the account and they will most likely get more videos from that account on their “For You Page,” or FYP. This also benefits not only the business owners but others as well who may have similar products. A viewer could like a video of a pair of earrings being made and see ten more the next day giving them more options to choose from or more shops to support. These algorithms also allow completely unrelated businesses to pop up as well, just simply if they advertise themselves as a small business by the use of hashtags.
Hashtags give small businesses with a lesser following than others to be connected and show up on followers’ FYP. Similar to videos of the same titles or descriptions, videos with the same hashtags will surface on viewers pages. Hashtags allow the creators to connect their product videos to other businesses and other products just like them. If a person is interested in the product, or something similar, they can click on these hashtags and see all the connected videos linked to it. People can also simply look up hashtags for stuff they’re interested in and see what businesses pop up. Hashtags allow creators to add a customary twist that can gain more views and buyers from their videos.
TikTok also has different sounds that can connect different videos to each other. Some sounds can be funny or entertaining, while some can help support small businesses. Some creators have made sounds or songs connected to small business sales for accounts on TikTok to use to advertise their shops. When viewers hear these songs it makes them remember the products and often search the sounds to find them later on. When a viewer clicks on these sounds, all the small businesses that have used it, regardless of popularity, will surface. Thanks to these songs and sounds available for use, any small business can link themselves to other stores and buyers.
TikTok allows customers to fly into these small business stores online, but they don’t take a percentage of the sales. TikTok allows these small businesses to advertise themselves for free and doesn’t require any sort of percentage or fee from the accounts. Since these businesses only promote through TikTok and leave their shop links in their bios, the business transitions are completely separate from TikTok, leaving creators with full profit from their products. While TikTok takes no money from the seller, there is a possibility for creators to make money from their videos as well. If creators have a certain following they can make money from their Tiktok videos, whether it be product making, packaging, or even just displaying. Creators have a guilt free way to advertise here with some benefits on the side.
Some businesses may prefer to promote their businesses using different sites like Etsy. The difference in these sites is, Etsy, and other websites like it, gain a percentage from the businesses sales. Those platforms are made for small businesses, unlike TikTok. Since TikTok allows a variety of different accounts, they don’t focus on the business making and make most of their money from advertisements, while websites like Etsy and eBay have way less advertisements on their sites. Some creators even advertise their Etsy small businesses on their TikTok for better advertisement. With the freedom from TikTok, unlike other websites, shop owners are able to present their products without stress on their revenue.
Although TikTok may not be every businesses first choice at advertising their shops, it is without a doubt a substantial choice. TikTok may be new, and people may still be getting used to being more than just a dancing app for teenagers, but it is definitely an app that should be looked into regarding advertising one’s business. Seeing how TikTok allows the creative freedom for accounts to thrive and earn money, it allows small businesses to keep the money they earn without giving in to big corporations. It’s never too late for a business to try something new like TikTok.
