Tiktok Business Account- Weighing the Pros and Cons | Legacy Marketing

Even though the trend surrounding Tiktok seems fairly recent, the app itself has been around since 2016. The Covid- 19 pandemic saw the rise of online workspaces and interactions, as apps like Tiktok gained a massive following. Tiktok is favored by a wide yet young audience, making it the perfect space to market your up-and-coming business.

Operating a business account on Tiktok is very different and often a far cry from traditional social media business profiles. While Facebook or Instagram business accounts are about fancy marketing and shiny graphics, Tiktok accounts are about creating trends. With over 1 Billion active monthly accounts, trends like the “What you know ‘bout love” challenge encourage users to practice and perfect brand-building trends for hours on end.

In a world full of young professionals, entertainers, and an entertainment-hungry crowd with ever-shortening attention spans- Tiktok seems to have cracked the code for fast-paced content. With its rise to the top, Tiktok is obviously the platform to go to for small creators and brands. But is it worth delving into if you have limited resources?

We explore the pros, cons, and opportunities a Tiktok business profile might bring into the picture down below. But first, let us get the basics down.

What is a Tiktok Business Account?

A Tiktok business account is similar to Instagram for business or a Facebook professional page, in the sense that these accounts are designed to have access to each and every marketing suite each app can offer. Using TikTok for business accounts, optimizing content to create an instant splash in the market becomes much easier than with regular creator accounts. With users in over 150 countries, driving brand awareness both internationally and locally becomes super easy with Tiktok for business and its tools. 

What Business Tools Does Tiktok Offer?

These Tiktok business profiles are currently loaded with analytics tools and suites that allow you to track both brand performance and growing trends. To help you optimize what you post, Tiktok for Business provides you with:

• The ability to partner with influencers for a brand or product promotion

• In-depth web analytics about the performance of your content, profile and even live videos!

• The ability to run Tiktok ads to introduce fast-paced attention-grabbing branding. 

• A business creator hub to keep track of all of the latest trends so that your business stays in fashion

• An option to drive traffic to your website via a one-click module. 

• A commercial music library of over 1 million licensed songs or soundtracks. Each brand is also free to create its own sounds.

Does a Business Account Give You More Control Than a Creator Account?

While you could potentially create content within a more user-friendly module with a creator account, creating an instant splash in the market becomes difficult without the analytics. This added data gives you more control over what you post and how you post it. Thus, to maximize your marketing budget, a business account is always a better call than a creator account.

Every new branding outlet has its own pros and cons, and marketers have to shuffle through each to find out if the platform’s business opportunities are worth it. It is evident that the opportunities for growth and brand development with Tiktok business are endless, but is Tiktok for business worth it? We explore the answer below! 

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The Pros of Using Tiktok for Business

A unique business growth module

If you look at Facebook marketing or Instagram ads, they are all about creating unique content to grab the attention of the audience hopefully. While a similar module of content creation exists within Tiktok, an easier way to market your brand is to be a part of something that is trending. This means that even if your content gets relatively lower screen time,  it has the potential to be seen by more people.

In a world continuously more defined by shorter attention spans, Tiktok’s bite-sized trend-based content creation allows branding teams to be more efficient with a smaller budget. And with trends continuously changing on social media, it becomes easier to keep up due to the low-budget nature of Tiktok content. On average, the best performing brands post around 3.52 times per week to keep up with the newest fashions online. 

High follower-to-viewer ratio

On a platform like Instagram, which operates on principles that are somewhat similar to TikTok, the follower-to-like count per post is mostly super low. This is because the Instagram audience is saturated with paid posts that are not even relevant to ongoing trends. This makes each content posted to either Facebook or Instagram feel boring or monotonous.

On the other hand, Tiktok’s business creator hub allows you to keep track of trending content and optimize your content based on it. With the highest average views on gaming, food, and technology videos, it becomes super easy for teams to revise their branding strategy on the go. If you want to talk strictly about numbers, for every percent growth in a Tiktok business profile’s follower count, there is a 0.65% increase in average views per post.

The barrier to entry is relatively low

While it seems like every brand is jumping on the Tiktok bandwagon right now, the barrier for entry to Tiktok for business is still much, much lower than on other social media platforms. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are already supersaturated with adverts from large conglomerates or established brands looking to maintain their brand presence. As such, it has become even more difficult over the years to grow newer products or brands through these platforms organically.

Given that Tiktok marketing is still being researched and the market has not even grown to one-fourth of its forecasted potential, there is very little that smaller brands stand to lose by dipping their toes in. TikTok’s algorithm also currently favors organic content within the platform, meaning it does not consider your account’s follower count. This means accounts with the better content get the upper hand, providing you with the unparalleled privilege of a level playing field, unlike other apps.

Due to how Tiktok’s business algorithm targets your audience, a bit of research into the analytics, the right sound and trending hashtags will no doubt take your content to the top! Think like the audience to find the best breeding ground for your content and you will see success in little to no time!

Better brand awareness

It is a scientific fact that people remember more when they see as compared to either reading or hearing. This means that social media platforms already have a discernible advantage over traditional forms of advertisement like billboards or print media. The main issue that Facebook marketers currently face is that the audience’s patience span is rapidly shortening due to the availability of flashy content.

This is where Tiktok thrives, as it has found a niche between flashy and fast-paced. Tiktok business profiles thus have the upper hand when it comes to brand growth potential. According to studies, brands on the platform see the viewership become more receptive to brand messaging, CTA and ads. 

Since 85% of businesses already use videos as a marketing tool, Tiktok videos are the natural next step.

The Cons of Tiktok for Business

The audience is very young

Over 60 percent of the Tiktok user base lies between the ages of 10 and 29.  This means the demographic you will be marketing your brand too is severely limited. In the short term, this makes Tiktok an unviable platform for products that are targeted to a more senior customer base.   

There is little reason for concern, though, as early research indicates that Tiktok will follow similar audience trends as Facebook. As generations grow older and older generations become more receptive to newer trends, the audience base of the social media giant will become more diversified. However, no one can predict the future, and you should only dive head first into Tiktok for Business if your audience needs to be relatively young.

The analytics and features are limited

Due to the relative infancy of Tiktok business profiles and its relevant features, the platform’s usability falls somewhat behind other social media giants. For example, Tiktok’s analytics only contain data up to 28 days, meaning you will need to create your own Excel systems to track long-term performance. The platform’s advertisement targeting is also relatively broad, marketing to a large audience that won’t immediately convert. 

Final Question- Are Tiktok Business Accounts Worth It?

Like most marketing issues, the answer to this question is not all black and white. For most brands, the answer is an astounding YES!  TikTok’s tools and algorithms are designed to favor organic content and newer brands, making it the perfect marketplace in the long run. However, the conversion rate from Tiktok might not be immediately higher on Tiktok due to the nature of the audience.