TikTok has had a large impact on business. We’ve seen how large this impact can be in the B2C sector, but how can B2B tech businesses use TikTok to make an impact? Well, it’s not as different as you may think.
There are several benefits to using TikTok for marketing, including:
Large audience:
Massive global audience, making it a great platform to reach a wide range of potential customers.
Younger audience:
TikTok’s user base is primarily made up of younger users versus other platforms, making it a great platform for reaching and engaging with a younger target audience.
Creativity:
TikTok’s unique features, such as its short-form videos and creative filters, allow for the creation of engaging and interactive content.
Virality:
The algorithm prioritizes videos that are engaging and likely to be shared, increasing the potential for viral reach.
Targeting:
An advertising platform that allows for targeted advertising, which can be used to reach specific demographics and industries.
Cost-effective:
TikTok’s advertising platform is relatively new, so the cost of advertising on the platform is currently lower compared to other social media platforms.
Strong engagement:
An engagement rate that is higher compared to other social media platforms, making it a great way to increase brand awareness and engagement with potential customers.
Repurposing content:
Even though TikTok is short-form vertical content, other social platforms have caught on to this and adopted vertical video. Both Instagram and YouTube have their own versions of short-form video content. When creating a “video-driven” social strategy, you can repurpose these vertical videos across all platforms.
How can B2B Tech companies use TikTok?
B2B tech companies can use TikTok to reach a younger and more diverse audience, establish thought leadership, and create brand awareness. Some of the reasons why B2B tech companies should use TikTok are:
Create brand awareness:
While TikTok may not be the best platform to have an outright sales strategy, it’s important to create content that is engaging and really shows what your business is about. Think about the type of content you enjoy watching and see how you can replicate that for your business.
Showcase company culture and products:
The content companies post can be used to create fun and relatable content that showcases a company’s culture and products in an engaging way.
Establish thought leadership:
The content on TikTok is not only popular dances. Many thought leaders have begun positioning themselves as experts in their industry on TikTok. By creating educational and informative content, B2B companies can establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
Running Ads:
Instead of using a more traditional social ad campaign – like Facebook – B2B companies can run ads using the TikTok Ads Manager. It is currently more cost effective and you can still reach your target audience in a more fun and engaging way.
Here are some great B2B TikTok accounts to check out:
Microsoft:
Microsoft knows how to keep their content both professional and fun, getting the most out of their engagement with users on TikTok.
They are masters at utilising the trends and ‘language’ of TikTok to make sure they reach their target audience.
Their content is exciting and original, allowing users to have an enjoyable experience when interacting with them on this platform
Salesforce:
While the company does not post frequently on their TikTok account, they use trendy “corporate lingo” that their customers would use. Their content is well-produced and professional.
One differentiator of Salesforce is that they show a lot of ‘Behind the Scenes’ shots from their events.
They also incorporate relatable “pain points” that their audience can associate with. For example, “the average business runs on multiple apps.”
Adobe:
Adobe is constantly showcasing the creative ways other businesses can use their products. They also know their audience well enough to create relatable content, while still knowing the trends that are relevant on TikTok.
For example, the term “lucky girl” was trending on TikTok; Adobe incorporated a video called “Lucky Girl Affirmations for creatives”.
They used a TikTok trend, and made it their own while still showcasing their product.
Upwork:
Creates fun and entertaining content. Their tone on TikTok is more self-deprecating and dark humor. One plus from their account is that they had one main content creator that was running their account.
This creator did a great job of finding trending sounds that were funny to their audience. Upwork is a freelancing platform, and most of the work is done remotely, but they posted a video poking fun at the “remote but still going into the office” crowd. Even though this video isn’t directly discussing Upwork or its services, it is humorous and entertaining without taking itself too seriously or being “salesy”. It is also extremely relatable to those who work as freelancers or would want to work as a freelancer.
Thought Leaders in the B2B Space:
Gary Vee:
The king of “Hustle Culture” does an amazing job of posting multiple times a day and repurposing all of his content. To be successful on TikTok, you have to post consistently and frequently to be seen. Gary Vee posts at least 5 times a day, and repurposes a lot of this content onto other platforms, like Instagram and YouTube, and vice versa.
Gary’s content strategy is about quantity over quality.
His advice is also very to the point and can relate to almost any entrepreneur or entrepreneur in training.
Alex Hormozi:
His approach is to create a consistent and clear personal brand and this is reflects in his TikTok content. He usually films his videos in the same location, and is frequently seen wearing a casual outfit and sometimes a nasal airflow strip. Even though this doesn’t seem “professional”, it is what makes him different and memorable. He also posts about 6-8 times a day, and repurposes his content from his YouTube videos. Alex’s captioning style has become the standard for other content creators to adopt.
It’s important to remember that not everyone watches video with audio on, many people will have volume muted or very low. The captions help enjoy the video without audio.
Codie Sanchez:
Her content is niche but her approach is knowledge sharing. She showcases a lot of examples with clients that work with her that helps other people learn about her, her work, and her clients.
Codie does a good job of recapping other founders and CEOs who have been successful and the steps they took to become successful – giving her insights along with it that give extra context and knowledge sharing.
Codie’s content is very well produced, engaging, inspirational, and encouraging to small business owners and entrepreneurs alike.
Giora Morein:
The “Agile Transformation Consultant” shows that even technical software developers have a place on TikTok. His focus is knowledge sharing with developer humor. His profile is to built for business with a clear and easy call to action in his bio for people to learn more about his business and services. Having a CTA is a great way to encourage your audience to click on the link to learn more about what you do or the services you are providing.
Giora posts consistently, and his consistent and casual style with his authentic approach makes him very relatable. On his page, he clearly labels exactly what each video is about so people can scroll and learn more. His content is valuable to those who are new to a Scrum Master role or position.
You may be thinking, those are great examples but is TikTok a viable platform for my B2B tech business? Yes, yes it is a viable platform for any business with the right social strategy aligned with your business goals.
Here are some steps B2B Tech companies can follow to use TikTok for their business:
Define your target audience:
Identify the demographics and interests of your target audience, so you can create content and run ads that are tailored to them.
Develop a content strategy:
Research the type of content that is on TikTok in your industry. It is also important to research current trends across all industries and the issues or topics that you are audience grapple with. Here are some questions to help build content for your B2B target audience:
- How they can do their job better
- Faster
- Easier
- Produce more
Based on this information, create a content calendar and plan out the types of videos you want to post, such as product demos, behind-the-scenes footage, or educational content.
Create engaging content:
Use TikTok’s unique features, such as its short-form videos and creative filters, to create engaging and interactive content that showcases your products or services.
Create a business account:
Sign up for a business account on TikTok, which will give you access to analytics and advertising tools.
Use hashtags and challenges:
Use relevant hashtags and participate in popular challenges to increase the visibility of your content.
Prioritize SEO:
TikTok has prioritized its search engine capabilities. It’s important to align your content so that your audience can search for it.
Run ads:
Use TikTok’s advertising platform to reach a larger audience and drive more traffic to your website.
Engage with your audience:
Respond to comments and messages, and use the analytics provided by TikTok to understand the engagement and reach of your content.
Measure results:
Use TikTok’s analytics tools to track the performance of your content and ads, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Be creative and consistent:
TikTok is a creative platform, keep experimenting with new formats, ideas, and use the platform consistently to grow your following. It’s important to stay consistent and post as frequently as possible to gain traction and success. Don’t be afraid to post multiple times a day, every single day even when your business is closed. It is a formula, and what you put into it is what you get out of it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, TikTok is an important platform for B2B tech companies. We use it here at inspired Marketing for some of our leading innovative technology customers. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help your business take advantage of TikTok, please reach out to our TikTok specialists.
