TikTok has taken the marketing world by storm, particularly for B2C brands. However, what about B2B companies? Industry giants like Shopify and Semrush have recognized the platform’s potential and are successfully leveraging TikTok to connect with clients and elevate brand awareness. In this article, we’ll explore how TikTok can be a valuable asset for boosting TikTok B2B sales through in-depth strategies.
Table of Contents
What is TikTok B2B Marketing?
TikTok B2B marketing is when businesses use TikTok to promote their products or services to other businesses, not individual customers. It’s like companies having conversations with each other on TikTok.
During B2B marketing on TikTok, businesses can create videos to showcase what they offer or share their expertise. They can also connect with other businesses interested in their offerings. This way, businesses can leverage TikTok’s popularity to increase their visibility, build new business connections, and reach potential customers.
While TikTok is mostly known for regular people sharing content, it’s also a valuable tool for businesses, known as TikTok B2B marketing. It allows businesses to display their work, provide useful tips, and network with other companies. Although it’s not as common as regular TikTok marketing strategy, it can help businesses expand in the corporate world.
Don’t assume TikTok is only for young people. Many brands and influencers have found success on this platform. Remember, a business is ultimately made up of people, so don’t miss the chance to reach a broader audience. It’s a way to boost awareness and attract new customers.
Why should B2B brands do marketing on TikTok?
There have been a lot of articles about TikTok’s influence on consumer behavior, but the whole picture is much bigger than that. With over a billion monthly active users, everyone comes to TikTok for entertainment, learning, and more. Here are the 3 main reasons why you should do B2B marketing on TikTok:
TikTok is a powerful tool to boost brand awareness
Content creators often strive to produce videos with the best quality and polished visuals. However, a study indicates that, alongside high-quality content, consumers also value a fast and adaptable approach.
A survey conducted among 1,000 American consumers revealed that more than one-third of them prefer to watch authentic videos. Furthermore, consumers find short videos significantly more engaging—over 2.5 times more — than longer ones.
Keeping up with these social media trends isn’t only important for B2C companies. Research from the International Data Corporation reveals that 75% of B2B buyers are influenced by online social media during their buying process.
A TikTok for B2B strategy can help you grasp your customers’ preferences. Also, this approach allows you to maintain connections with potential buyers.
Establishing connections with clients
When you check out TikTok’s #corporate hashtags, you’ll discover a wide range of videos discussing different workplace issues. Whether it’s tips on email manners or funny communication mishaps, TikTok offers a flexible platform to tackle work-related problems with a light touch.
Other business-related hashtags like #9to5, #WorkFromHome, and #WorkLife have collectively amassed over 17.7 billion views. This reveals that audiences are genuinely interested in everyday business issues, offering valuable insights for addressing your business’s challenges.
Exploring innovative opportunities
TikTok is renowned for its creative trends that emerge within days. It serves as an endless source of inspiration to rejuvenate your business’s social media strategy.
Furthermore, TikTok encourages frequent content posting, allowing you to experiment comfortably. Thanks to TikTok’s algorithm and For You Page, no one can dominate your followers with their content. TikTok is poised to deliver substantial results for your social media presence.
Increase revenue, conversion rates and selling options
TikTok lets B2B brands showcase their products and services in cool and creative ways. This helps them make more money because they can reach lots of important people in different industries.
Furthermore, TikTok provides flexibility for B2B companies to share their stories, reveal behind-the-scenes insights, and make captivating videos. This helps in building trust with other businesses. Trust is crucial because businesses that trust each other are more likely to work together and collaborate on transactions.
And the best part is TikTok has a LIVE feature, which means B2B brands can do webinars, show how their products work, and even chat with potential customers in real-time. This helps them connect directly with clients and increases the chances of making sales.
TikTok also has different ad types, like dynamic showcase ads, in-feed ads, TopView, Top Feed,… These ads help B2B brands reach even more people, bring them to their website or shop, and give them more ways to buy stuff.
In a nutshell, TikTok is like a super tool for B2B brands. It helps them make more money, get more buyers, and offer cool ways to sell their products or services. It’s a win-win for businesses using TikTok!
How to do B2B Marketing on TikTok?
Now that you have a clear idea of how TikTok can benefit B2B marketing efforts, let’s explore some useful techniques to succeed in B2B marketing on TikTok.
Build an impression for the brand
TikTok, with its one billion active users worldwide, offers an exceptional platform for elevating brand awareness. It’s accessible in over 150 countries and boasts 210+ million downloads in the US alone. If your focus includes small brands, TikTok is your ideal stage. Here are some tips on how to do B2B marketing on TikTok to build an impression for your brand:
- Create relevant, informative, and engaging videos.
- Use relevant hashtags to reach your target audience.
- Run TikTok ads to boost your reach.
- Engage with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions, and participating in challenges.
- Partner with influencers to reach a new audience.
Reuse and recycle blog content
Educational videos are a hidden treasure for indirectly engaging potential B2B leads. If you’re already creating informative blog content, here’s a golden opportunity to repurpose it on TikTok, offering several advantages.
- Effortless Transition: Your valuable content finds a new home on TikTok with ease.
- Enhanced Leads: It becomes an additional channel for attracting potential leads into your sales funnel.
- Showcase Expertise: Condensing insights into bite-sized tips displays your expertise and subtly promotes your services.
- Drive Traffic: A TikTok video can pique interest and lead viewers to explore the full blog story.
- Mailing List Growth: Encourage viewers to join your mailing list for more valuable resources.
- Benefit Current Clients: Offer educational TikTok content to improve your existing clients’ experience.
This approach not only fuels lead generation but also elevates your value for current clientele. It’s a B2B marketing strategy with double benefits.
Show positivity and enthusiasm
TikTok is all about having a good time. Unlike other platforms where businesses maintain a serious tone, TikTok welcomes a fun and light-hearted approach. Use humor and positivity in your content. Statistics show that humorous videos perform well and can go viral. Don’t be afraid to show your playful side, even if it means adjusting your usual business tone.
Demonstrate product utility to customers
TikTok users love discovering new products. They are more likely to explore and buy products they find interesting on TikTok. This applies to B2B marketing as well. Create videos that review your products, unbox them, or demonstrate how they work. These types of videos are highly effective in capturing the audience’s curiosity.
>>> Read more: Unfold the top 11 TikTok Video Ideas to captivate your audience
Share valuable tips and intriguing facts
TikTok users are curious and love to learn new things. A significant majority of TikTok users use the platform to explore or learn something new. This is why you’ll find many TikTok videos sharing tips, tricks, interesting facts, and advice on various topics. You can do the same by sharing practical tips and intriguing insights related to your industry. This not only showcases your expertise but also builds trust with your audience.
Encourage customers to use your product
Instead of constantly promoting your products, shift the focus to your customers. Show how your products benefit them. Create short video testimonials with your satisfied customers. These customer stories have a powerful influence on potential buyers.
Collaborate with KOL/KOL/Influencers
TikTok has a growing community of small business owners and entrepreneurs who have become influencers on the platform. You can partner with these influential creators to effectively promote your brand. Collaborate on sponsored content, reviews, or quick guides to introduce your products to their followers.
Try to leverage the reach of influential creators by having them share their experiences or reviews of your products. Then, boost these TikTok videos with advertising to reach an even wider audience. While you can advertise on your brand’s channel, the impact is often greater with content from influential creators.
Leverage hashtag challenges
TikTok is famous for viral challenges, often starting with a hashtag (#). Create your own branded hashtag challenges to increase your visibility and engage a broader audience. Challenges can be simple, like asking people to share stories on a specific theme or completing tasks based on your prompts. Ensure the challenges align with your brand and include your unique hashtag for easy discovery.
For example, scan the #corporate hashtag on TikTok, and you’ll stumble upon videos playfully teasing everything from email signatures to virtual meeting mishaps. This witty and breezy approach embodies the emerging TikTok subculture known as “Corporate TikTok.”
Connect with your customer base
TikTok offers a fresh and engaging way to connect with your audience through creative and relatable content. Use these strategies to kickstart your B2B brand marketing on TikTok. Remember, TikTok rewards creativity and engagement, making it an exciting space for B2B businesses to thrive.
Examples of TikTok B2B Success Brands
Canva
Canva is a free online design platform that allows users to create professional-looking graphics, social media posts, presentations, and more. It is easy to use, even for those with no design experience. Canva has over 100 million users worldwide and is one of the most popular design tools available.
Achievements:
- Over 447K followers on TikTok
- Their videos have been liked over 1.6 million times
- Their videos have been viewed over 132.5 million times
- Their hashtag #Canva has been viewed over 3.8 billion times
Best video: Their most popular video is a tutorial on how to create a professional design in minutes. This video has been viewed over 2.4 million times and has over 145 thousand likes.
Shopify
Shopify is a cloud-based, multi-channel commerce platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. They offer users a range of services including website development, payment processing, order management, and shipping.
Saad Khan, the Brand Social Lead at Shopify, recognized the importance of TikTok, regardless of whether a business is B2B or B2C. In the competitive world of social marketing, what truly matters is capturing people’s attention.
Shopify took the plunge into TikTok, experimenting with different video formats. Their dedication paid off, leading to the creation of engaging content themes that strongly connect with their audience.
Now, entrepreneurs and business owners regularly visit their TikTok for valuable insights and reviews. While the content style may vary, the core message consistently resonates with viewers.
Achievements:
- Over 171.9 thousand followers on TikTok
- Their videos have been liked over 1.3 million times
- Their videos have been viewed over 4 billion times
- Their hashtag #Shopify has been viewed over 2.9 billion times
Here’s one of their best videos.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a CRM platform that helps businesses grow their sales, marketing, and customer service. It offers a suite of tools that help businesses attract leads, close deals, and keep customers happy. HubSpot has over 100,000 customers worldwide and is one of the leading CRM platforms available.
Achievements:
- Over 21.4 thousand followers on TikTok
- Their videos have been liked over 154.6 thousand times
- Their hashtag #HubSpot has been viewed over 110,8 million times
Their most popular video is a day in the life of a HubSpot employee. The video is fun and engaging, and it gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work at HubSpot.
LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented social networking service. It is an effective way for professionals to connect, find jobs, and learn new skills. LinkedIn has over 830 million members worldwide.
Achievements:
- Over 2.7 million followers on TikTok
- Their videos have been liked over 60 million times
- Their videos have been viewed over 2 billion times
- Their hashtag #LinkedIn has been viewed over 10 billion times
Best video: Their most popular video is a humorous video about the different types of people you meet on LinkedIn. The video has been viewed over 15 million times and has over 2 million likes.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that helps businesses manage their social media accounts from one central location. They have over 18 million users worldwide.
Achievements:
- Over 57.3 thousand followers on TikTok
- Their videos have been liked over 810 thousand times
- Their hashtag #Hootsuite has been viewed over 1.7 million times
Their most popular video is a tutorial on how to create a social media content calendar. The video is informative and helpful, and it provides viewers with the tools they need to improve their social media marketing.
Final word
TikTok presents an exciting opportunity for B2B marketers. It’s a dynamic space for experimentation and building brand affinity. To dive in and succeed, explore our 13 tips and best practices that have been inspired by established brands for your TikTok marketing campaigns Embrace creativity, connect with your audience, and elevate your TikTok B2B sales strategy. Stay ahead in the evolving digital marketing landscape!
