How to Use TikTok for Business and Boost Conversions: 6 Pro Tips

Wondering how to use TikTok for business and get results? With over a billion active users, TikTok has become a powerful platform for businesses looking to reach new audiences, drive engagement, and boost sales.

But as always, using a new channel for business comes with challenges. Creating videos that resonate with TikTok audiences requires adaptation from how you create content for Facebook or Instagram. Engaging leads in conversations on a channel not primarily used for chat, mastering TikTok ads and measuring performance is a learning process.

We’re here to demystify these challenges and demonstrate how to use TikTok for Business solutions successfully in any customer-facing industry. Let’s get started!

Why Use TikTok for Business

Here are some of the reasons why you should use TikTok for business if you’re not already on it.

Increase Brand Awareness

TikTok’s large and engaged user base offers businesses a unique platform to enhance their brand visibility through creative and viral content.

Grow Your Audience Organically

The TikTok algorithm promotes organic growth, allowing brands to reach new audiences without needing a substantial ad budget.

Drive Traffic and Sales

Businesses can utilize TikTok Ads to target specific demographics and drive traffic to their websites, ultimately increasing sales. With a variety of ad formats, you can capture user interest and drive conversions.

Track Ad Performance

TikTok provides comprehensive metrics to help businesses analyze the performance of their ads and optimize their campaigns for better results. Businesses can track impressions, clicks, engagement rates and conversion data to measure the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.

To take full advantage of these benefits, you’ll need to set up your account correctly, optimize for your audience and connect to a conversation management platform.

How to Use TikTok for Business

From setting up your account to defining your goals, these steps will help you build a strong foundation. We’ll also share some common pitfalls to avoid.

Get Your TikTok Account Ready for Business

We’ll give you a brief overview if you haven’t already set up your account. For more detailed steps, check out our ultimate guide to TikTok for business.

Set Up a TikTok Business Account

To get started, switch to a TikTok Business Account by navigating to your profile settings. A Business Account gives you access to TikTok’s analytics, advertising features, and e-commerce integrations.

Get TikTok Verified

Verification builds credibility and boosts visibility as verified accounts are more likely to appear in searches and recommended content. Apply for verification through TikTok’s settings by meeting engagement and authenticity requirements.

(Optional) Connect TikTok to respond.io

TikTok Business Messaging is in Beta and currently unavailable on respond.io for organizations registered in the United States.
Business Accounts in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom cannot use the API to manage or send direct messages.

Connecting TikTok to respond.io streamlines your communications so you can automate replies, receive messages from all channels, and integrate with CRM systems and third-party tools to convert leads faster and keep them engaged.

3 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Using TikTok for Business

When you’re setting up your account, it’s important to be aware of these common mistakes to steer clear of.

Image showing 3 common TikTok Business mistakes: using a personal account, same content on all channels, one-sided communication

Using a Personal (Creator) Account Instead of a Business Account

Some businesses may try sticking with a creator account to take advantage of trending music and sounds and for the possibility of more organic reach. But as a business, you absolutely need the ads and analytics if you plan to sell.

Posting the Same Content on All Channels

Another typical mistake is using TikTok in exactly the same way that you would use social media channels. TikTok is a short form video platform, not a social media platform, and viewers visit TikTok for different purposes than they would for social media.

While some videos that you post on Facebook and Instagram can be repurposed for TikTok, you won’t get the best results if you post the same content on all three channels. Pay attention to TikTok’s style and trends to ensure your content resonates with your audience.

One-Sided Communication

However, the goal shouldn’t be solely to entertain, but to encourage action. While TikTok doesn’t lend itself to conversations as naturally as other channels, it’s crucial to aim for engagement.

Use TikTok Messaging Ads to get viewers to chat with you on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger where they’re accustomed to chatting. Include CTAs to invite viewers to start a chat, visit your website or check out your TikTok Shop if you have one.

Next, we’ll get into the details of the strategies you need get business results on TikTok.

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6 Pro Tips to Grow Your Business on TikTok

Here are six expert tips that will help you grow your business, enhance engagement, and boost conversions on the platform.

1 | Follow Trends that are Popular Among Your Audience

Understanding TikTok trends that resonate with your audience can significantly enhance your content’s reach. Research the types of accounts your audience follows and see what’s performing well. The TikTok Creative Center makes it easy to do this.

First of all, check out Trends to see popular hashtags, songs and creators, filtering by your industry. This gives a broad view of what viewers want to see.

To see what your competitors are doing and get ideas for ads that sell, go to the Inspiration tab and select Top Ads. Gain inspiration from high-performing ads related to your general topic or search top competitor brands to see all the ads they’re running, if any.

Screenshot showing how to explore top ads and check out your competitors' ads on TikTok for Business

With Top Ads, you can even see general analytics for each TikTok to learn what works and what doesn’t. While experimentation is necessary, having this knowledge before planning content gives your business a head start.

2| Understand TikTok SEO

Optimize your content for TikTok's search algorithm by using relevant keywords in your captions, hashtags, and even within the video’s text. This boosts discoverability and helps attract the right audience.

The Inspiration section of the Creator Center helps with this as well. Simply select Keyword Insights from the menu and search for keywords with high volume. Filter by location, industry, objective, keyword type and time so you can choose those that meet your goals.

Screenshot showing how to get keyword insights in the TikTok Creator Center

Check keywords frequently to keep up with changes as what’s in one week may be out the next. Whether you’re selling fashion, tech gadgets, beauty treatments or tourist packages, audience search interests change rapidly.

3 | Leverage TikTok Ads to Start Conversations

While optimized organic content can drive conversions, ads expand your reach faster and generate leads when you’re getting started on TikTok. For lead generation, you can use lead forms, TikTok Direct Messaging Ads or TikTok Instant Messaging Ads.

We recommend instant messaging ads as they direct viewers to Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, the channels they use most commonly for chat. When you connect TikTok to respond.io, you can qualify leads and respond to them automatically.

4 | Set Up a TikTok Shop

Utilize TikTok’s in-app shopping features to showcase and sell your products directly. A well-curated TikTok Shop can drive impulse purchases and simplify the buying journey for users.

With 56% of US consumers having made a purchase through the app, it’s clear viewers on TikTok are ready to buy. A shop just makes it even easier for them. Learn all about how to set up a TikTok Shop in this article.

5 | Optimize TikToks for Lead Generation

Incorporate clear CTAs, links, and engaging visuals to encourage viewers to take action. Use storytelling techniques to build trust and make your offers compelling. For example, an TikTok creator doing a review video may offer a discount code to those who contact your business.

A TikTok showcasing a new item or service may offer a promotion to anyone who sends you a message first. This helps measure effectiveness because you’ll know whether customers found your business on TikTok even if you have a physical store.

6 | Learn from TikTok Performance Analytics

Regularly review TikTok Analytics and respond.io to monitor the performance of your content. TikTok metrics like views, likes, shares and demographics on organic posts along with ad analytics based on a website pixel will help you understand what works and where to improve.

However, when viewers send you a message, TikTok’s native analytics don’t show which post or ad the message is coming from. That makes it a challenge to measure conversions you get from messaging.

With respond.io, you’ll see which TikTok campaign a message came from as soon as you receive it.

Screenshot showing how to use respond.io to track TikTok Messaging Ads performance

Respond.io’s features also enable you to dig deeper into campaign performance, tracking the customer lifecycle, discovering which ads and posts generated the most conversations and more so you can refine your strategy and optimize future content for better results.

How to Use TikTok for Business: 5 Industry Examples

To give you a clearer picture of TikTok’s potential, here are five real-world examples of how different industries are leveraging the platform to achieve their business goals.

How Education Businesses Use TikTok to Drive Student Signups

Educational institutions and online course providers create bite-sized, informative videos to showcase their offerings. By sharing success stories and quick learning tips, they attract prospective students.

For example, Cygnus Education created a TikTok ad campaign for a large university that seamlessly fit in prospective students’ feeds while including a call to action.

With a single campaign, Cygnus enrolled 488 new students by driving prospects to a lead generation form. The ads were relatable, created in collaboration with influencers who knew what would resonate with the audience.

How Travel Agencies Use TikTok to Promote Tourism

Travel agencies leverage TikTok’s visual platform to highlight exotic destinations, travel tips, and customer testimonials. Whether it’s with an authentic influencer review of a luxury hotel or a whirlwind tour of a featured destination, TikTok drives bookings.

Vee Sightseeing offers a range of travel experiences in Spain and showcases them on TikTok with creative content designed mainly in-house. Videos ranging from stunning landscapes to relatable memes have increased conversions at a low cost.

How Health and Beauty Businesses Use TikTok How-Tos For Sales and Retention

As beauty/skincare is one of the most popular TikTok categories, a TikTok presence is a must for businesses in this industry. Health and beauty brands use tutorial videos, product demonstrations, and user-generated content to build trust and encourage repeat purchases.

For example, Dr Clear Aligners uses relatable customer stories, how-tos and before-and-after videos to prompt viewers to make an appointment. A recent TikTok Messaging Ads campaign leading viewers to WhatsApp found that 39% of leads who contacted the business converted.

How Retail Shops Use TikTok to Turn Viewers Into Shoppers

Retailers showcase their products through creative unboxings, new product releases and behind-the-scenes content, turning casual viewers into loyal customers. This works for both online and physical stores.

Agoh, a chain of mobile phone shops in Malaysia, showcases the latest promotions in TikTok Messaging Ads. Viewers click to contact the business with any questions and come into a nearby store once their inquiries are answered.

How Automotive Businesses Attract Young Audiences

Car dealerships and automotive brands use TikTok to feature new models, share maintenance tips, and participate in trends that appeal to younger audiences.

The automotive industry has commonly relied on TV ads, but younger audiences no longer watch television. Hyundai branched out into TikTok and created a TikTok-first campaign along with a TV campaign featuring well-known celebrities. But it didn’t stop with celebrities; it also included TikTok creators for a series of authentic, relatable videos that increased brand awareness by 3.5%.

Respond.io + TikTok for Business: The Formula for TikTok Business Success

Pairing TikTok with respond.io can supercharge your efforts. Here’s how you can seamlessly integrate both platforms to streamline processes and achieve faster results.

Image shoing the benefits of using respond.io with TikTok for Business: omnichannel marketing, automatic lead engagement, integration with CRMs

Incorporate TikTok into Your Overall Marketing Strategy Seamlessly

Integrate TikTok into your broader marketing efforts by enabling customers to contact you on any channel. With respond.io, you can add TikTok Business Messaging as a channel and get messages from TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and more in a single omnichannel inbox.

Run click to chat marketing campaigns on all channels and manage leads from one platform so agents can focus on converting without switching between channels.

Automate Lead Engagement & Get Faster Conversions

Use respond.io to automate customer interactions from TikTok, ensuring prompt responses and higher conversion rates. By connecting respond.io to TikTok Business Messaging, set up Workflows to answer FAQs, qualify leads or route them to an available agent to chat quickly.

Integrate TikTok with CRMs and Other 3rd Party Software

Connect TikTok with your CRM and other tools to streamline lead management, convert leads faster and retain them as customers. We now offer a direct integration with HubSpot available in beta to all customers.

You can also integrate respond.io with Zapier and Make to connect with thousands of other tools to meet your business needs.

Combine the Power of TikTok and Respond.io to Accelerate Business Results

By combining TikTok’s engaging platform with respond.io’s communication and automation capabilities, businesses can create more meaningful interactions, improve lead management, and drive conversions. To see what respond.io can do for your business, sign up for a 7-day free trial or contact us for a personalized consultation today.