4 Ways to Leverage TikTok for Startup Growth | Entrepreneur

There isn’t a doubt that TikTok has developed past the brand new platform that companies dismissed in early 2020 and even 2021. However what usually stays ignored is its strategic worth for rising startups.

No shock right here — TikTok remains to be comparatively uncrowded. It is rising exponentially. It is house to the biggest asset within the business, creator expertise. What this implies is that TikTok is a strong experimentation channel that may take a startup from product-market fit to scaling quicker than ever.

Listed below are 4 methods TikTok can grow to be a progress driver for startups when the standard progress hacking fashions do not ship.

Associated: TikTok Is the New Normal. 5 Reasons to Add TikTok to Your Content Marketing Strategy

1. TikTok is a speedy product-market match testing channel

There are lots of frameworks for product-market match. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll observe Marc Andreessen’s “The Only Thing That Matters” framework to make a case for TikTok. Product-market match is crucial factor for a startup to perform — and it equals the mix of a superb group, a superb market and an providing with the potential to fulfill the market.

That is the place TikTok is available in: it is the software in a startup’s arsenal to discover the right market and its urgent want.

TikTok is inherently a platform for area of interest communities (or TikTok “sides”) that collect round particular values and wishes. Organically, the platform’s algorithm caters the content material to the fitting communities primarily based on the worth the content material gives. On the paid facet, TikTok permits a spread of concentrating on choices — from demographics to area of interest pursuits, hashtags and creator profiles the popular viewers follows — to place your content material in entrance of your hypothesized “very best” viewers (market).

The artistic medium that reaches the specified viewers — short-form, unpolished video — is pushed by organic storytelling — a extra reliable format to convey the idea of the providing.

Put that each one collectively, and you’ve got an experimentation framework that helps shortly establish if there’s a symbiotic match between the startup’s providing (product) and the consumer want (market). Begin by figuring out:

• The “why”: what market want(s) or alternative space(s) the product can fulfill;
• The “what”: the product and its key advantages that discern it from the competitors;
• The “how”: the precise know-how behind the product that addresses the necessity.

Leveraging the hypotheses round these questions, develop artistic that educates the potential customers on how the product will enhance their lives. Be clear on the problem-solution, the individuality of the product and the tangible outcomes it helps the customers obtain.

When the product-market match is achieved on TikTok, it comes within the type of excessive engagement charges, clearly signifying robust resonance with the market.

Associated: How to Use TikTok to Promote Your Business

2. Leverage TikTok as a top-of-funnel consciousness driver

Constructing authority out there could be difficult for any startup, and TikTok solves this by permitting manufacturers to become easily recognizable and identified for constant worth add.

An unstated rule in startup progress is inspiring shopper belief and buy-in early. Excessive LTV and retention construct on this belief. This belief additionally fuels consumer loyalty and advocacy to gasoline the startup progress loop.

Here’s a non-exhaustive record of techniques to bear in mind when creating content material for TikTok as a startup:

• Tactic: Educate and concentrate on being useful to your finish consumer.
  • Embody how-to’s, demos, explainer movies, and so forth.
• Tactic: Convey your neighborhood alongside your progress journey to get buy-in. Share backstories, the founder’s ardour for the market and the way you intend on rising.
  • Embody founder movies, group members, progress milestones, future launch/new characteristic teases, and so forth.
• Tactic: Lean into the conversations your area of interest is already having to remain related and relatable.
  • Embody trends (music, filters, references to bigger cultural moments and occasions)

And at all times purpose to offer worth first and convert second.

3. Accumulate consumer suggestions on TikTok to tell the expansion roadmap

TikTok is usually a highly effective software to create a feedback loop between the startup and the viewers. The video remark part can home helpful suggestions that can information the group’s selections, from roadmap planning to product messaging. There are some things to look out for when analyzing content material engagement:

• Is there something that the customers are confused about? Is there something that proves to be a roadblock to changing them?
  • Options: enhance consumer expertise, enhance touchdown web page copy, add a characteristic to the product, create extra content material to offer readability, and so forth.
• What notably resonates with the viewers, and is there something particular they’d like to listen to extra about?
  • Options: construct out the consumer expertise, add extra touchdown web page copy, add a characteristic to the product, create extra content material to construct on engagement, and so forth.
• Do their questions make clear a greater variety of functions you would possibly have the ability to resolve?
  • Options: elaborate on the touchdown web page copy, add a brand new characteristic to the product, create extra content material across the urged subjects, and so forth.

Associated: 4 Steps to Grow to 1 Million Followers on TikTok

4. Create a flywheel of content material you may leverage on different channels

The important thing to true startup progress is steady experimentation. It spans a number of platforms to account for a broader vary of audiences — which implies that the learnings and property from any TikTok take a look at needs to be handled as a powerful place to begin on a number of channels.

There are a number of methods to leverage TikTok learnings to develop the scope of experimentation.

• Repurpose property from TikTok organically to Instagram Reels, Fb Reels and YouTube Shorts.
• Reuse profitable property as darkish adverts on TikTok by adjusting the video’s messaging to a given funnel stage (consciousness, consideration, conversion).
• Use the profitable TikTok movies as top-of-funnel paid social adverts throughout extra channels equivalent to Instagram, Fb, YouTube and Pinterest.
• Use messaging that labored on TikTok throughout PPC, paid social, touchdown web page copy, and so forth.

If this explicit suggestions and consumer engagement technique appears useful, TikTok’s suite of promoting instruments can amplify engagement and suggestions loops additional by Engaged Viewers campaigns.