A Beginner’s Guide to TikTok for Your Business

I hoped I warmed you up to using TikTok in my last post, and now you’re ready to actually implement it into your business. It’s one thing to know you need to start doing something for your biz, but it’s another thing to actually know how to implement it. Now that you know TikTok is super helpful for growing your brand, this post is all about how to actually start using it to grow. In other words, it’s a beginner’s guide to TikTok for your business.

Michelle Gifford Podcast · Ep 196 A beginner’s guide to TikTok for your business

Is it just me or have you felt like there are people shouting at you that you need to use TikTok? I know I’m technically one of those people right now, but there is a main difference between what I’ve heard other people say and what I’m saying. I want to make sure that if you are going to use TikTok that you use it as one tool for your overall content strategy. It’s not like you need to go all-in on TikTok, but if you’re intentional with how you use it you can make some real progress!

First thing’s first, you should follow me on TikTok because I share tons of tips on how to grow your business using TikTok. I also share the ins and outs of it altogether so you can become more comfortable with it and use it to grow even faster. And you can actually grow really fast on TikTok right now! (I grew my audience from a couple hundred to over 18k in 3 months!)

7 quick steps to help you get started growing your biz on tiktok. www.iammichellegifford.com

Step #1 to Using TikTok for your Business: Download the app.

Step 1 is pretty obvious, but if you haven’t downloaded the app yet, now is the time! When you first open the app you’re going to set up an account. As you’re setting it up, I would definitely see if you could keep your name as close to your Instagram name or website handle as possible. It’s really good to keep that consistent across all platforms.

Along with your TikTok name, you’ll have a place to write your bio. Your bio should include 3 things: what you do, who you serve, and what you can give your people. Try to make this as clear and concise as possible, so people can know right away how you can help them.

Basic Mechanics of TikTok:

Click the plus sign at the top to search names and find your friends.
You will see the letters “FYP” all over TikTok. They mean “For your page.” This basically means that the videos with FYP on them are the videos TikTok thinks you want to watch.
When you click the search button you will see a list of trending music, videos, creators, etc.
To add one of your own videos, hit the plus sign at the bottom center of your screen. You can choose between 15 seconds, 60 seconds, or 3 minutes for a video.
When adding videos to TikTok, you have video effects to help make them better and the upload button. So, upload the video you want to use and then start editing it on TikTok using the effects.
You have an inbox tab and that’s where you’ll see new followers and messages come in.

Alright, now that we know the basics of how TikTok functions, we can move on to step #2 of using TikTok to grow your brand.

Step #2 to Using TikTok for your Business: Choosing your niche.

To choose your niche, you need to choose one type of person that you’re going to serve. And this person has a problem and you’re going to show up and solve that one problem over and over and over again. So, think of what your niche is going to be. It could be content creation, DIY, etc.

Once you’ve chosen your niche, you’re going to break that niche topic into 3-5 subtopics. These subtopics will be what you talk about in your videos. Check out my blog post here for more direction on how to narrow down your niche and why a narrowed down niche is so important when growing your business.

Pro Tip: Look at trending videos in your same niche to help give you ideas on how to translate that trend into something that makes sense for you and your business.

beginner's guide for tiktok. www.iammichellegifford.com

Step #3 to Using TikTok for your Business: Create a content plan(ish).

It’s a good idea to have some form of a content plan for your TikTok account, but I don’t want you to spend so much time on it that it doesn’t feel easy or natural. To help give you some perspective, I created a quick content plan that I’ll be following for 30 days. I’ll be sharing tutorial videos, tips for going viral, how to incorporate TikTok into your overall strategy, and doing my own take on trending videos/audios.

So, I don’t have a super detailed content plan, but I’ve learned while using TikTok the past few months that you can figure out what does and does not work really quickly. That means it’s easy to shift your plan into something that will be more influential. So, don’t stress too much about what your content plan looks like. Just make sure you have some type of plan to follow, so you know what you’re going to post ahead of time.

Step #4 to Using TikTok for your Business: Adjust your plan for current trends.

This step is probably the biggest reason why you don’t want to have a content plan super set in stone. If you see a certain topic that goes viral, you’re going to want to go after that topic and create your own content on that, even if it was not originally part of your content plan.

When you see trending content (video, audio, etc.) you want to get in on it as soon as possible because trends move really quickly on TikTok. So it’s good to stay agile and on your feet because you want to hop on that trend while you still can. Doing this will be a ripple effect of you getting more views, followers, etc. which leads to your goal of growing your brand fast on TikTok.

The good thing about trending videos is that a lot of the time, it doesn’t take that much time to create. This is especially true for the lip-sinking audio type of videos. So, it’s not a big deal to create a video in the moment or the day before you post it or something like that. Just do what you can and be OK with switching it up in order to stay on-trend. This will bring you the best results!

Step #5 to Using TikTok for your Business: Before you post any content, build up 5 days worth of content ready to post.

You want to have some sort of content bank to start, so you feel ahead. This will help you feel more at ease when starting out on a new platform and adding another thing to your content strategy. Don’t feel like you have to start from scratch either. You could easily use some of your past Instagram reels for your first TikTok videos.

Pro Tip: If you want to use your Instagram reels for your TikTok videos, you’ll want to first remove the watermark. To remove the IG watermark, click on the three dots on your Instagram reel that you want to use and copy the link that pops up. Next, go to snapinsta.app and paste the link there. Then you can download the video from there to your phone without the watermark.

Having these 5 days of content ready to go will help you show up consistently on TikTok too. And this is a really big deal because TikTok will start rewarding you by sending you more and more followers and getting your content seen by more and more people.

the secret to building your brand on tiktok super fast. www.iammichellegifford.com

Step #6 to Using TikTok for your Business: Post at least 2-3 times a day.

I know, posting 2-3 times a day on TikTok seems like a lot. Don’t get stressed out about it. I just want you to trust me on this one to just do it, OK? And use your past reels if you need to. Doing this will just put you on a fast track for growth. You’ll be blown away at how fast you’re growing, I promise!

When you post your TikTok videos, you want to make sure you are using keywords in your captions and headlines. So right under the video, you really only have a small space to write something. So, use that limited space to type some keywords that your video is about. And when I say keywords, I mean the words that someone would search to find the content you’re creating.

Also, make sure to add your hashtags, at least 5-6. I try to mix my hashtags between big ones that have been used a lot and smaller ones that haven’t been used as much. Including hashtags is another way to help get your content in front of your ideal audience.

Step #7 to Using TikTok for your Business: Have fun and adjust as you go.

I don’t want you to feel too serious or nervous about using TikTok. There may be weird or mean things people comment on your videos, but don’t let that scare you away. I have had some people say some weird things to me, but it’s actually been a lot less than I thought it would be for the record! So, just move on and focus on why you are there, which is to serve your people.

I want TikTok to be fun for you. And I think you’re going to like it more and more as you keep using it. Personally, I think this is the most important step because you need to figure out how to use TikTok and make it fun for yourself and your audience. And don’t forget to adjust as you go. So if you see something that’s really working for you, do more of that.

complete beginner's guide to tiktok for biz owners. www.iammichellegifford.com