When someone brings up TikTok, you might think about dancing teens or Khaby Lane shrugging. However, the social media platform is much bigger than influencers and their fancy transitions. TikTok has grown to be one of the most used social media marketing platforms for businesses, but some brands are still hesitant to get started. It can be scary entering a new space and not knowing how to get a high return on investment (ROI). If you’re a marketer, it’s essential to understand the value of TikTok for your clients and whether it’s the right platform for them. Let’s get you up to speed on this social media platform to reach audiences you wouldn’t have expected to thrive.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media platform where people create, share, and discover short videos. From teenagers to young adults and brands, this app is used as an outlet to express themselves in 15- or 60-second videos. Since its launch in 2018, TikTok has become the fastest-growing social media app in the world.
As a marketer, that should really make your ears perk up! As of 2025, the social platform had over 1.6 billion annual users, which is only growing.
Why Do Brands Like TikTok?
Great question! Well, for starters, there are a billion people on this social channel every year – that means there are a billion potential customers who might fall in love with your advertising and branding if you do it right. Additionally, TikTok has been installed on devices three billion times worldwide, proving that users of this platform are engaged with the content they consume. This means big things for businesses trying to vie for the Gen Z audience (ages 16 to 25). But Gen Z only makes up a portion of the users on TikTok. This is why it’s essential to understand how to market your brand properly on it.
Not long ago, TikTok opened up the platform so that brands can now purchase ad space. Companies have seen high engagement and impressions from their marketing efforts on TikTok, mainly when they employ the use of influencers who can help video clips go viral. TikTok’s latest “Shop-in Ads” feature has become very popular. This tool allows users to scroll through videos, see an ad for a product (in video form), and easily access a button that leads them to a purchasing page.
Since this platform has garnered so much attention so quickly, brands really can’t afford not to get in on the action.
The following are a few common reasons brands are jumping on the TikTok bandwagon:
- Content Creation. TikTok allows for creating viral campaigns and engaging content, such as challenges, using trending audio, and more.
- Brand Awareness. TikTok helps spread brand awareness, which can lead to generating traffic, leads, and brand loyalty.
- Effectiveness. TikTok only contains video content, which is more effective than a single-image advertisement.
- Lightness. With TikTok, brands can show off a lighter side of their companies through humorous videos, challenges, and strategies that aren’t likely to be seen on other platforms or advertising outlets.
- Demographic. According to ExplodingTopics, as of 2025, 27.2% of TikTok users are ages 18-24, 39.7% are 25-34, 15.9% are 35-44, 8.8% are 45-54, and 8.2% are 55 and over.
- Attention. Overall, the platform is a great attention-grabber.
Top 3 TikTok for Business Tips
1. Just Get Started
Most brands stick with the traditional big four social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn – because they're familiar, safe, and routine. In addition, a common misconception is that TikTok is just a place for dancing teenagers. However, the platform can be used for people of all ages. Because where there are people, there is a place to advertise.
Not sure how to get started? The biggest step is just signing up. At one time, all brands had to begin their social media presence somewhere, most likely as an unfamiliar company competing with big, reputable brands. But TikTok makes it easy in that as soon as you are on the platform, you can begin watching videos and surveying the space. After all, the best way to know what to post is by scoping out the competition. If you’re new on TikTok, create notes of what others in your industry are doing and how you could use it in your social media plan.
Other places to start? There are a variety of ways your business can utilize TikTok. Some brands, such as Good Morning America or TLC, will post clips from their television segments. Environmental companies like 4Ocean will post about the importance of saving the ocean and hop on fun trends along the way. Organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will post educational resources or survivor stories to share blood cancer awareness. In addition, you can utilize TikTok’s donation sticker to raise money for your causes. Spend plenty of time on the app, so you can see all different types of content before you post and decide what works for you.
2. Find Your Niche
There are TikTok communities for everyone: interior design, food, fashion, travel, sports, and everything you can imagine. These are valuable and prime spaces for brands to reach their target audience. It also helps to follow popular content creators in your niche, use topic-related hashtags, and remain consistent with the content you share.
TikTok also has a Discover tab where you can search and explore the variety of content in your community. In this feed, you'll uncover popular hashtags, trending videos, creators, and sponsored content. Then, when you create content, use these hashtags and video styles to fit in with the community.
3. Have Dedicated Content Creators
People want to follow brands that are authentic and personal. That's why it matters who the face of your page is. Plus, to ensure you post consistent content for your niche, you'll need to have a team of dedicated employees starring in your videos. However, if your organization is camera-shy, you can consider finding and paying influencers willing to create your videos for you.
Post real footage of people; this will come off as more authentic. If all you have are motion graphics or stock images, people will think your content is just an ad or boring content. This will affect the growth of your brand and hurt your image.
General Content Creation Guidelines:
- Don’t overspend. You don't need to buy costly equipment to succeed. A cell phone and good lighting will work just fine.
- Be authentic and straightforward. Don't complicate things. Just put stuff out there that others can relate with! Be consistent, and you'll reap great rewards.
- Hop on trends quickly. Get to know what's happening in your niche and post content as soon as possible. As people search for that fresh content, they'll land on your videos.
- Be resilient. Even with TikTok best practices, success isn't automatic. It takes time to implement your strategy. So give yourself time to grow, set realistic goals, and immerse your brand in the app.
- Tell a story. There are many brands in your niche competing for the attention of the same audience. To stand out, tell your story and have fun with it.
- Avoid copyright. Since June 2020, organizations no longer have access to the entire music library because TikTok could not provide licensed music. Instead, brands have access to user-sounds and TikTok's commercial music library, which features over 9,000 royalty-free songs to choose from.
- Balance Entertainment and Promotion. Not every video has to talk about your brand's mission. Have fun with it, like Duolingo.
- Connect Through Call-To-Action Opportunities. Subtly invite users to donate, follow the link in bio, sign up, or whatever your brand is encouraging.
- Variety, Variety, and More Variety. Use many different hashtags types, such as trending, relevant, popular, and branded hashtags. Change up the content and captions for each video, too. You can even tag individuals, too.
Get Your TikTok Up and Running
Start soon and get ahead of the curve. Do thorough research on TikTok to understand how your business will be branded. If you’re not sure that you can keep up with the ever-changing social media space, reach out to Zero Gravity Marketing today and connect with our social media experts.
Daniel Hamilton
