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Sunday, August 21, 2022

Newbie TikTok for Business Tips - Check it Out

A Review of Newbie TikTok for Business Tips

In my last post, I talked about how I was just starting out with my plunge into the world of TikTok.

Today's post will expand a bit further on some of the additional things I've learned.

The Previous Post Focused on How You Can Upload Photos to TikTok, Versus Creating Videos

Many who stay away from TikTok for Business do so because they don't want to put themselves on video.

Most of us small businesses can't afford to hire companies to create videos, so we believe TikTok is not a viable business tool.

I was like most everyone: I thought TikTok only worked for video creations. Having said that, uniquely interesting, useful, and even funny video creation is the best way to market for business on TikTok.

However, because I write Riddle Books featuring my own written riddles, I found myself potentially being an exception to that rule.

Using TikTok to feature my riddles is an excellent marketing tool.

I upload my created graphics for each riddle, then enhance their interest with special fun characters and music.

Do you have interesting images you could enhance and promote on TikTok?
You can enhance your photos with:
Text to Speech
Voice Over (if you want to use your voice)
Special Elements (funny icons etc)
Text
Background Music

Did You Know There Are Places Online to Get Royalty Free Video?

I hadn't really thought about it before ... that I could access royalty-free video just like we access royalty-free photos.

The two places I've used so far for photos and videos are Pixabay.com and Pexels.com. Be sure to check the commercial license use for each image and video.

When you select a video for TikTok, use a vertical video.

Newbie Ways to Use TikTok for Your Small Business - Ask Yourself These Questions:

1. Do you have premade, attractive graphics that people would find interesting to look at?

If the answer is yes, consider TikTok. Enhance that photo with special elements and background music.

Here's an example of one of mine on TikTok.

2. Do you have text that you've incorporated on your photo?

If the answer is yes or no, consider TikTok. With TikTok, you can add text to your photos, so there's no need to make photos with text if you prefer not to.

Here's one of my riddles on TikTok with a plain photo background, text entered from TikTok, with text-to-read activated, directly on TikTok:

3. Would adding text to a stock video be appealing for your product or brand?

If the answer is yes, consider TikTok. I'm currently experimenting with this by putting riddle text typed onto the background of stock videos. It's working artistically so far.

Here's an example of one of my riddles on TikTok using a stock video.

4. Are you able to make short videos from your cell phone?

If the answer is yes, consider TikTok.

These videos don't have to be fancy.

Just panning my backyard, I was able to put a short background video together.

I uploaded that short backyard video to TikTok, and commenced the creative journey. You can view that riddle here.

Here's an Example of One of My Riddle Graphics Used on TikTok:

Check out how I enhanced this for TikTok

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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My Plunge Into the TikTok World for Marketing, Business and Fun!

I reluctantly took the plunge into the TikTok marketing world.

Out of pure stubbornness, I vowed to avoid that particular social media platform. However, I had a come-to-reality moment, encouraged by my son, that my riddle business would be served well by that platform.

In quite a short time, my son has nearly 27,000 followers and over 263,000 likes, all with approximately 40 personal video uploads. That's not easy to do and quite impressive!

His TikTok handle is @charles.mackenzie if you want to take a peek. Just an added note, in all fairness to us mere humans, my son has a knack for being in front of the camera. However, as I detail below, you don't have to be on camera to benefit from TikTok.

I'm A Newbie TikTok User for Business - The Basics

Since I'm a newbie, I can't give you any big secret tips, but I can provide those of you with a business, some of the things I've learned so far as it relates to my own riddle business:

Go to the APP Store on your cell phone, and download the Tiktok App
Yes, you can log in to your TikTok account on your laptop; however, I found all the creative features more accessible via my cell phone.
When you download the App, you're on the service, not registered yet to use it. You can scroll through the videos and have fun. Oh yeah, it's a bit addictive.
Create your account to set yourself up to use TikTok for business. I won't go through the steps; simply follow the instructions and prompts.
I converted my account to a Business Account. There's no charge for that. Here are TikTok's instructions on how to do it; it's easy.
In your profile, you tell TikTok your interests so that videos that align with your taste are displayed on the front "For You" page. In my case, I selected media/entertainment, inspirational (or something like that), home decor, and a few other topic areas.

The "For You Page" on TikTok

What I've learned about the "For You Page" is that every user who opens the App is immediately connected to their For You Page to watch and start scrolling videos.

You can like, comment, save, share, or scroll past videos. This differs from other platforms in that you go directly into the content. Content is presented to you; it's not something you choose (except via the interests you indicated in your initial profile sign-up).

I've learned that the "For You" page is a powerful marketing tool. Everyone wants their videos to land on everyone else's "For You" page.

In fact, you'll notice that some people use the hashtag #foryoupage or #fyp to try and encourage the TikTok algorithm to place their video on other people's "For You Pages." I have no idea if that works or not.

I discovered via the Analytics area that many of my own videos were put on other people's "For You Pages" before I started using or even knew about the For You Page hashtags.

The Bottom Bar Appearance When Logged In to TikTok

HOME: (that's where you get to all the fun and sometimes hilarious videos to scroll through -um, be careful, it's so addictive!)
FRIENDS: (that's where you can quickly access the videos of your friends that you've connected with)
+ Plus Sign: (That's your prompt to start the upload process of videos or images - yes, you can upload images)
INBOX: (That's where you get notified that you have responses to your videos or new followers)
PROFILE: (That's your personal profile that features your content, and your logo/image and blurb about you)

I Avoided TikTok Because I Had No Interest Or Desire to Put Myself on Any Videos!

You don't have to put yourself on camera or even make videos.

You can upload a static photo/graphic and enhance that page with fun sticker elements and commercial-free music provided by TikTok.

For my business, static Riddle Graphic photos are perfect for this!

I've already created nearly 1000 photo riddles for my website and books, so uploading them to TikTok with music and some fun sticker elements is a perfect marketing fit.

The TikTok Voice-Over Feature

If you decide to type text on static photos, you can ask the TikTok AI Voice-Over feature to read the text! You don't have to use your own voice! It's easy to use.

How Am I Doing So Far?

I started using TikTok on August 2, 2022, and today, as I'm typing, it is August 6, 2022

In 4 Days: