Five Things To Keep In Mind When Using TikTok For Your BusinessHere's how you can use the latest social media platform that's the rage to your advantage.

ByMay Rostom

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2018年,音乐。ly,妙可应用,合并with a similar one-year-old app calledTikTok.Since then, TikTok has reportedly passed 500 million active monthly users making it the most downloaded app for Apple in Q1 2018.

With more than 800 million global downloads, TikTok is now more popular in app stores than Facebook, Instagram, and other leading social media platforms. The platform allows you to film short videos that play on a repetitive loop just like Vine. Add to that AR filters, fun effects, text, and musical overlays to spice things up.

While the creative platform does not generate many leads, brands are using TikTok tocreate brand awareness and customer loyalty.很多品牌喜欢猜,NBA, Chiptole, more are using TikTok to engage younger audiences and show off a lighter side of themselves through funny videos and challenges.

Of course, TikTok isn't the right platform for all types of businesses, and it's generally directed towards Gen Z (30-year-olds or less), but here's how you can use the latest social media platform that's the rage to your advantage.

1. START BY IDENTIFYING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCEThink about your ideal customer. Who would most likely buy your product? Who would you want watching your TikToks? By properly identifying your target audience, it should be easy for you to create suitable content that matches your audiences' tastes.

2. GET TO KNOW THE PLATFORMRushing into getting on to the TikTok hype bus will only harm your brand. Take your time to thoroughly study the platform, watch what your competitors are doing, then start creating your own.

3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THEREBe silly, have fun, and get creative. The whole point of being on TikTok is toshow your customers who you really are as a brand, and what you stand for- without being too sale-sy.

4. BE SOCIALAt the end of the day, remember that itisstill "social media." Sharing user-generated content and reposting content that users have shared with you is a great way to get people to engage and talk more about the brand or its latest releases.

5. ADVERTISE SMARTLYGen Z are a lot smarter than you think. They would spot the most concealed ad, 10 thousand miles away. Advertise your content smartly, collaborate with TikTok influencers, create and boost all the challenges you want, but be clear and transparent about it.

Related:Five Hacks To Make The Most Of Your Social Media Strategy

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May Rostom

Curator, Entrepreneur Café

May Rostom is the curator ofEntrepreneur Café, a new daily digest of stories fromEntrepreneur Middle Eastto fuel your day at work.

May has been in the fashion journalism field for more than five years, with over 500 articles published in online and offline mediums. Working closely with some of the biggest fashion brands in the region, from creating, curating, and developing content to aggregating and pitching for content from several fashion and beauty outlets in the Middle East, Rostom’s experience is multicultural and vast. She was formerly a senior lifestyle editor/writer at MSN Arabia, and she has also worked with TRESemme Egypt as a fashion expert.

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