Over the past few years, TikTok has quickly become one of the leading marketing platforms for B2C brands. Ever heard of the “TikTok made me buy” trend? Even this alone speaks volumes about the power of TikTok in influencing consumer purchases. But what about B2B brands?
With the right approach, TikTok can also be a valuable marketing platform for B2B companies. In fact, B2B brands like Shopify and Semrush are taking advantage of TikTok to connect with their audience and boost brand awareness. If you’re not sure how this could work, this post gives you an in-depth guide into TikTok for B2B marketing, why it’s effective, and how you can execute it for your own brand.
Ultimate Guide to TikTok for B2B Marketing:
Why Use TikTok for B2B Marketing?
Before we get down to the practical steps, you might be wondering, “Isn’t TikTok just for younger folks and consumer brands?” While this is an easy assumption to make, the TikTok audience isn’t necessarily just young people. Moreover, it can and has helped many B2B companies to establish a strong brand presence on the platform.
More importantly, there are plenty of ways in which the platform can add value to your current B2B marketing efforts. Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits of using TikTok for B2B marketing.
Great for driving brand awareness
TikTok is a place where people copy other users and turn things into a trend. They attempt dance challenges, create videos using viral prompts, and try the “hacks” they see on the platform. Soon, these videos are all over TikTok and everyone knows about them.
As such, it’s the perfect platform for brands that want to drive awareness and reach more people. Whether it’s by creating
or getting influencers to make your product go viral, the platform offers plenty of opportunities to increase brand awareness if you know how to leverage it the right way.
Chance to get creative
TikTok is home to highly creative content that has the potential to go viral, and there’s a new one popping up every day. This provides B2B brands with a steady supply of inspiration for new content. Plus, you can get creative by adding your own twist or a dash of your brand personality to these TikTok video trends.
Helps you connect with your audience
Due to the informal nature of the platform and the use of short-form videos, TikTok make it easier for brands and their audiences to connect. In fact, Sprout Social found that short-form videos are the most engaging types of social content. So, you can leverage the platform to build a strong connection with your audience by engaging them with informative and fun short-form videos.
Source: sproutsocial.com
Tips for Winning at B2B TikTok Marketing
Now that you have a clear idea of how TikTok can benefit your B2B marketing, it’s time to move on to the more practical aspects. Here are some actionable tips to help you win at B2B TikTok marketing.
1. Don’t hesitate to show your fun side
While B2B brands often maintain a formal and professional vibe, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case with TikTok. The platform is, after all, a place for people to have fun and get entertained. In fact, a Semrush study found that happiness was the top emotion evoked by TikTok videos and the most popular videos are related to humor.
Source: semrush.com
So, if you’re looking to connect with your audience on TikTok, don’t hesitate to show off your fun side even if it means slightly adjusting your brand voice. Adjusting your brand voice to match the social platform is often necessary to align with the type of audience on each platform. Otherwise, you risk disengaging your audience as they move on to other content that entertains them more.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change your entire brand identity only to build a TikTok presence. You only need to look at what other B2B companies are doing on Tiktok and what the platform’s audience loves. You can then use this to find a creative way to bring out your brand identity to match what people prefer on the platform.
2. Demonstrate how your product works
As much as people love humor on TikTok, many users also love discovering new things and products on the platform. In fact, TikTok is 1.7x more likely than other platforms to be used as a tool for product discovery. And users on the platform are 1.5x more likely to buy something immediately after discovering it on the platform.
While these numbers may speak for consumers in general, we can’t ignore the fact that B2B buyers are still consumers. So, the same rule applies even in case of B2B marketing on TikTok. To tap into the product discovery aspect of the platform, you can use it to showcase demo videos to help people learn more about your product.
This may involve a quick demo of all the features that your product offers. You could also create dedicated videos on how to perform certain tasks using your product. For example, Microsoft shared the following demo video on how to clean up unread emails on Outlook.
@microsoft the inbox zero life has never been easier. #microsoft #fyp #outlook #wfh #inboxzero #corporate ♬ original sound - Microsoft
3. Share valuable tips and fun facts–TikTok style
TikTok users also love to learn new things. In fact, 84% of users use it as a source to discover or learn something new. This is why you see so many TikTok videos sharing tips, tricks, hacks, fun facts, and advice across a variety of verticals. Similarly, you can use your TikTok to inform and engage your audience with practical tips and fun facts to showcase your expertise and establish authority in your industry.
More importantly, make sure you film your advice or fun fact videos to match the style found across TikTok. This may involve speaking directly to the camera, adding text overlay, and possibly even including a voiceover. The Semrush study cited earlier also found that a majority of viral TikTok videos speak directly to the camera.
Source: semrush.com
Leveraging this knowledge, Semrush also uses TikTok to share informative videos where they highlight some of the most interesting internet searches. In each video, someone from the Semrush team adds commentary or tries to answer the question with a dose of humor to keep things lighthearted and engaging.
@.semrush #duet with @semrush ♬ IT MUST BE NICEE - TOONKYY
4. Create videos your audience can relate to
One of the best ways to connect with your audience is by sharing content that they find relatable. And TikTok offers the perfect platform for B2B brands to do that, especially with the popularity of “POV” videos. These videos feature a text overlay describing a relatable situation and a person in the video acting out a hilarious scene to depict the situation.
You can leverage this trend to create highly relatable content in which you showcase situations that your audience commonly experiences. Zendesk does an excellent job of this, sharing a series of videos that depict relatable experiences of customer support teams. For example, the following video shows a POV in which a custome
@zendesk Right before the satisfaction survey too. ? #customerservice #zendesk #callcenter #fyp ♬ original sound - BARBIE ???
These videos don’t necessarily have to sell or promote your products. Instead, they’re meant to help your audience form a bond with your brand. So, avoid forcing your products or solutions into these videos unless they fit naturally into the storyline.
5. Show customers using your products
Since TikTok is meant to be a platform for connecting with your audience, the focus should also be on your audience. So, instead of constantly promoting your product and its features, you need to shift the focus on your customers. That means showcasing your product from the perspective of your customers and showing how it fits into their lives.
You could create short video testimonials with your top customers. You could also show how customers are using your products or how it’s helping them solve a problem. For example, Square shares a series of videos of customers as they perform different activities of running their business. Toward the end of the video, the customer is shown using Square to accept payments from their customers.
These types of customer story videos have a significant impact on influencing purchase decisions. A Wyzowl study even found that testimonial videos help 47% of people to visualize how the product or service works in real life. Additionally, 39% also say that these videos illustrate how the product or service can have an impact on their lives. So, sharing TikTok videos of customers using your products is an excellent way to establish your product’s value.
6. Show what goes on behind the scenes
Another benefit of the informal nature of TikTok videos is the ability to show works in progress or behind-the-scenes glimpses. This is an effective way to make your audience feel like a part of your company. Plus, it shows that you’re serious about transparency and that you want to build an authentic connection with the audience.
You could share videos of where and how your team works, how your products are made, or how you’re preparing for an upcoming event. One creative way to take your audience behind the scenes is by sharing “day in the life of…” videos where one of your team members shows the audience what a typical day looks like for someone in their role.
In the case of ShipBob, the company takes viewers “inside a fulfillment center” to see how things work. This helps them to showcase how efficient their fulfillment operations are, which will enable them to earn the trust of potential customers who have products to ship. To keep up with TikTok’s video styles, they use text overlay and voice overs while explaining their fulfillment processes.
@shipbob.comPart 2 of ?? of inside our fulfillment center♬ LA LA LAND (Part 1) - Official Sound Studio
7. Announce new products/feature updates
The short-form videos on TikTok give you the perfect tool to share exciting news such as new product announcements and feature updates. You could share a quick video of the new product or feature along with some upbeat music to get viewers excited for it.
Since TikTok is more informal, you don’t even have to create a full-fledged promo video just to share on the platform. You can simply put together some video recordings of the tool or feature being used and add some music, voiceovers, and text overlay using the built-in TikTok features.
See the following video in which Linktree shares an update about their new mobile app. They show a brief preview of how the app looks and what users can do with it. They also include a fun caption, which also serves as a call to action to download the app.
@linktr.ee Run, don’t walk to download our new mobile app for iOS and Android!! #Linktree #LinktreeApp #linkinbio #loveisland ♬ Hot New Bombshell - Love Island
8. Get influential creators to spread your message
TikTok has an abundance of business accounts. Not to mention the growing community of small business owners and entrepreneurs who are using the platform to promote their business. In many cases, these business accounts have garnered an impressive following, with some of them even being considered influencers in their respective niches.
Leverage the influence of these accounts to effectively spread awareness about your brand. You could partner with influential business owners or brand accounts for a sponsorship so they can talk about how your product solves their business challenges. You could have these influential creators review your product, share their experience, or even give a short tutorial so their viewers can learn something new.
Better yet, look for influential businesses that are already loyal fans of your products to see if they’d be willing to share their story with their followers. This is likely to boost the authenticity of your message, enabling you to win the trust of potential customers. You could also get them to Stitch or Duet with you or vice versa to engage each other’s audiences.
In some cases, there may even be influential creators who are already talking about your brand. Look for those conversations and see if you can help amplify their message.
For example, Sprout Social has plenty of independent social media managers and agencies who are creating TikTok videos about how much they love the platform’s features. These videos help spread the message about the product and could even encourage more customers to try the platform.
@nobraineragency @Sprout Social and Excel are life savers when it comes to social #socialmediamanagement #socialmedia #agencylife #excel #planner #social #sproutsocial #worklife ♬ original sound - Brad Jax
9. Amplify authentic influencer content with paid ads
You could take your B2B influencer marketing even further by combining it with paid advertising. TikTok’s Spark Ads feature ads that are connected to and served from an organic account. This allows businesses to drive a higher level of engagement and attract higher intent users. B2B brands on TikTok can also take advantage of this feature to amplify the impact of their influencer content.
This would involve having influential accounts share their authentic experience or review of your product. You can then push those TikTok videos using this ad format to reach an even bigger audience. While you can use this format even with branded content, the impact is much greater with creator content, mostly because of its authenticity.
For example, NEXT–an online small business insurance community–experimented with three different ad types. Besides displaying Spark Ads from creator accounts, they also pushed Spark Ads from their business account along with non-Spark ads. For the first ad type, they engaged TikTok creators who were also business owners. These creators shared their main pain points as small business owners and then presented the unique solution from NEXT.
The Spark Ads featuring creators were able to drive 20x more conversions compared to the other ad types tested. Plus, their cost per acquisition was also 95% lower, which speaks volumes about the return and impact of creator-backed advertising.
10. Start a hashtag challenge
TikTok is the home for viral challenges that shake the internet, and many of these challenges have a unique hashtag associated with them. So, to gain more visibility on the platform and reach a bigger audience, you could start your own hashtag challenge.
This could be something as simple as asking people to share their stories following a certain theme. Or it could involve asking them to perform specific tasks based on your prompt. Either way, the challenge should be tied to your brand and your chosen hashtag so that more people can learn about you.
For example, Sage–the business accounting software–encourages their audience to #BoosMTD, following the new MTD tax rules in the U.K. They use the hashtag to share a series of videos from business owners and professionals who are winning at these new rules. So far, the #BossMTD hashtag has garnered 23.6 million views.
@sageuki @itsrowanne bosses the new MTD rules by getting tax right every time for her business using our software. Find out how you can too! #BossMTD ♬ original sound - Sage
Connect with Your B2B Audience on TikTok
With its focus on short-form videos and its unique take on social media, TikTok offers a way for B2B brands to breathe new life into their social media strategy. It serves as the perfect place to engage and connect with your audience with fun, creative, and relatable content. Make the most of the tips we’ve shared above to start marketing your B2B brand on TikTok.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can TikTok be used in B2B marketing?
Yes. TikTok offers a unique way for B2B brands to connect with their audience and market their products.
How can TikTok help your business?
TikTok helps your business to reach new audiences, build authentic connections with customers, and showcase your fun and creative side.
Why should businesses use TikTok?
Businesses should use TikTok because it offers a fun and creative way to engage and connect with their audience.
Is TikTok B2B or B2C?
TikTok is both B2B and B2C and it offers advertising tools for both B2B and B2C businesses.
Is TikTok good for business advertising?
Yes, TikTok ads allow businesses to drive high levels of engagement and increase brand awareness.
