How to Use TikTok for Local Businesses in 4 Easy Steps

TikTok, a short-form video social media platform, rose dramatically in popularity in 2020. In fact, the search interest on Google for “TikTok” grew by more than 300% between March and July of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While lockdown and stay-at-home orders were factors in TikTok’s escalating success, data shows a steady rise in search interest for TikTok as early as 2019. 

TikTok reaches a wide audience but doesn’t always reward the same content that Facebook and Instagram do, so it’s important to understand what type of content could perform best for your business on this platform. In this article, we’ll cover how TikTok works and how to use it to promote a local business using organic (non-paid) content.

How TikTok Works

One of TikTok’s hallmarks is the surprising (and unnerving) precision of its algorithm. In short, TikTok curates videos for users and features them in an endless stream of suggested content called the For You Page (FYP).  

Over time, users’ FYPs adapt to their specific interests, habits, and even location. 

How Local Businesses Can Use TikTok

With more than 1 billion users across the globe, TikTok’s algorithm reaches a lot of eyes. The questions local and small businesses need to ask, then, are how they can reach their customers on the platform—and whether it’s worth the effort. 

Here are a few ways local businesses can venture into the world of TikTok content creation.

1. Showcase products and services. Businesses can create videos featuring their products and services. This is a great way to show potential customers what you have to offer and engage with them.
2. Share your brand. TikTok is an opportunity to tell your brand’s story. You could share videos of behind the scenes footage, customer stories, or activities related to the business that help you stand out from the competition.
3. Connect with local customers. TikTok can be used to connect with potential customers in their geographic area and build relationships. You can post videos related to topics that interest your target market or engage with your community by commenting on other videos related to your audience.
4. Promote events. TikTok can be used to promote events such as special deals, product launches, or limited offers.
5. Run contests and giveaways. The interactive nature of TikTok allows businesses to run contests and giveaways for their followers. This is a great way to increase engagement with an existing audience.

4 Steps to Promote Your Local Business on TikTok

Creating content for TikTok isn’t too difficult; you can film and edit videos directly in the app. Creating content customers actually care about isn’t quite as simple, so it’s important to understand what type of content may be most effective for marketing your local business on TikTok. 

1. Consider Your Location and Audience 

TikTok can be very location specific. For example, you’re more likely to see content from creators in Seattle if you’re in Seattle—even if the content itself isn’t specific to the area. 

In other words, there are probably more potential viewers in large cities or metropolitan areas. This also means more competition for your videos (and your business). 

You’ll want to take your audience into consideration too. TikTok has a young audience (although millennials and Gen-Xers use it too), so businesses with a younger client base may see more success than those without. If your target audience isn’t within a specific age demographic, TikTok could still be an apt method for reaching younger crowds. 

Here are some business types that could benefit from creating organic TikTok videos, given their audiences: 

• Restaurants
• Bars 
• Attractions 
• Salons
• Retail
• Real Estate 
• Home Services 
• Automotive
• Healthcare / Dental
• Lawyers
• Financial 

2. Be Authentic

Humans are psychologically adverse to being sold things. In her article “Is TikTok the New Google?” Lidia Infante notes that this phenomenon is called “persuasive resistance” and describes how online advertising has evolved to negate consumer resistance to ads.

In short, people are reluctant to trust ads and, over time, advertising platforms such as Google have attempted to make ads look less “ad-like.” Consider how ads on Google looked in 2013: 

Compared to how they look now:

Influencers are one result of this progression, too. Instead of clicking on an ad, customers are sold products and services from individuals they follow for their “organic” content (i.e., their non-advertising content). 

So, how does a local business gain the trust of an audience that doesn’t want to be sold anything?

The short answer is authenticity—especially when it comes to creating organic (non-ad) videos. Your potential customers shouldn’t feel like you’re trying to sell them something, but rather that you’re relating to and interacting with them out of genuine interest. The best way to do this? Provide authentic value to your audience. 

3. Educate and Entertain Your Audience

Authenticity means giving your audience something valuable in return for their time. One question to ask is: What can I give people in exchange for the 30 seconds or three minutes of their time they’ve given me to watch my video?” 

Your videos should accomplish one of two things: entertainment or education. Most TikTok videos fall into one of these two categories because that’s what people want from the platform—to feel amused, interested, or informed. 

Take this video from Wundercut, for example. 

The primary goal is to entertain, but the video was created by a local business. It’s not asking customers to purchase anything; rather, it’s simply asking them to give an opinion. It’s also reached over one million people. 

This video from Brilliant Earth, on the other hand, seeks to educate potential customers and is within the same industry. 

Notice how neither video has a heavy sales pitch. They’re just creating content people want without asking for anything directly in return. 

4. Optimize Your Content for the Conversion Funnel

Different industries lend themselves to different types of videos on TikTok. These types can be broken into two main categories: top-of-funnel content and bottom-of-funnel content. 

In this situation, “funnel” refers to the customer journey or conversion funnel. Video topics that target the top of the conversion funnel are for audiences who may not be aware that they need your business’s product or service yet. Topics toward the bottom of the funnel are more directly related to the business’s product or service and address a potential customer’s buying decision. 

In general, some business types lend themselves to topics farther up or down the funnel. 

Top-of-Funnel Industries:

• Home Services 
• Automotive
• Healthcare / Dental
• Lawyers
• Financial 

Bottom-of-Funnel Industries:

• Restaurants
• Bars 
• Attractions 
• Salons
• Retail
• Real Estate 

A plumber, for example, could easily post a top-of-funnel video about how to unclog a dishwasher drain to educate potential customers at the beginning of their customer journey. A retail chain, on the other hand, could make an entertaining bottom-of-funnel video about last-minute Christmas gift ideas featuring products from their store. 

Drawbacks of Using TikTok for Small and Local Businesses 

Sure, TikTok can be a powerful tool for small and local businesses to create organic content and get new customers. However, it isn’t without its drawbacks too. In short, TikTok may not be the right option for every small business, and here’s why: 

→ It takes time. Building an audience on TikTok takes time, not to mention shooting and creating videos people want to watch. Not every local business owner has the time to do this—or a marketing team to support them. 

→ It doesn’t work for every business. Producing organic content on any social media platform doesn’t guarantee engagement or exposure. TikTok is no exception. That doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t worth the effort, but it could result in a low return on your time investment. 

Is TikTok Good for Local Businesses? 

Success on TikTok depends on a few factors including location, audience, and industry. That being said, TikTok can be an effective marketing tool when utilized properly—so for many local businesses, it’s worth a try.  

TikTok isn’t the one basket local businesses should toss all of their eggs in. While it can work to gain visibility, trust, and engagement with customers online, remember that it’s not a replacement for tried-and-true marketing channels like local SEO, optimizing your Google Business Profile, or social media marketing. 

Our advice? Give TikTok a try and see where it gets you. It might not be a game changer for your business, but…you might be surprised by the results. 

Looking for more social media marketing resources? We’ve got you covered. Check out our Guide to Social Media Marketing.