How to Create A TikTok Marketing Strategy in 9 Ways - With Examples

Want to learn how to market on TikTok effectively? This blog is just for you. We’ll learn what TikTok marketing is, its benefits, how to develop a TikTok strategy and businesses that have found success with TikTok

What is TikTok Marketing?

TikTok marketing involves leveraging the platform's short-form video content to promote your brand, products, or services. Unlike traditional marketing channels, TikTok emphasizes authenticity, creativity and community engagement. Brands that successfully utilize TikTok can increase brand awareness, build engaged communities, and drive sales.

What Are the Benefits of Marketing on TikTok?

TikTok’s massive user base globally is reason enough to use it for marketing purposes. But that’s not all.

• Viral potential: TikTok's algorithm favors content discovery, allowing even new accounts to go viral with the right content.

• Engaged user base: 39% of TikTok users purchase products or services they discovered on TikTok by navigating to separate websites.

• Creative freedom: The platform encourages innovative content, enabling brands to showcase their personality and connect with audiences.

If you’re convinced about the TikTok marketing benefits, let’s see how you can create a business account to get started.

How to Create a TikTok Business Account

Follow these 4 easy steps to create a TikTok Business Account:

1. Install TikTok from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

2. Register using your email, phone number, or an existing TikTok account.

3. Then, you need to switch to a Business Account.

   Navigate to your profile > Tap the three-line icon in the top right corner > Settings and Privacy > Manage Account > Tap Switch to Business Account and follow the prompts to select the category that best fits your business.

4. Upload your brand logo and fill in your bio.

Now that you know how to create an account, it’s time to create an effective strategy.

How to Create an Effective TikTok Marketing Strategy

Creating a successful TikTok marketing strategy involves a mix of research, content creation, community engagement and analytics. To maximize the potential of TikTok for your brand, you need to use a mix of strategies that fit your business best.

1. Identify Your Audience and Competitors

Before creating content, you must understand who your audience is and how they engage with TikTok. Research the age range, interests, and behaviors of your ideal customers. Use TikTok’s analytics and audience insights to determine what type of content they consume the most.

Additionally, analyze your competitors to see what they are doing well and where they are falling short. Look at their most popular videos, the engagement they receive, and how they interact with their audience. This information will help you craft a content strategy that stands out.

2. Use TikTok Ads and Organic Posts

A well-balanced strategy includes both organic content and paid ads. Organic posts allow you to create a natural connection with your audience by sharing behind-the-scenes content, product tutorials, and engaging challenges.

On the other hand, TikTok Ads can help you target an audience that resonates with a particular message. Types of TikTok Ads include In-Feed ads, branded hashtags and TikTok Messaging Ads.

Together, you can continue growing your brand while getting more people interested in your products or services.

3. Schedule Posts for Maximum Views

TikTok’s algorithm rewards consistency. Posting regularly ensures that your content reaches a larger audience over time. However, it’s not just about frequency—it’s also about timing. Analyze your TikTok metrics, such as impressions, likes and comments, to determine when your followers are most active.

A good practice is to start with 3–5 posts per week to determine peak engagement hours. Additionally, repurposing existing high-performing content and experimenting with different formats will help sustain visibility.

4. Collect and Share User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful tools for engagement on TikTok. Encouraging your audience to create content featuring your brand not only increases reach but also builds trust and community.

Feature customer reviews and reactions to create a sense of authenticity and excitement around their products. To leverage UGC for your brand:

• Create challenges or prompts that encourage customers to share their experiences.

• Feature user content on your profile to strengthen brand loyalty.

• Reward active participants with shoutouts or giveaways.

The more people see others enjoying your product, the more likely they are to engage with your brand.

5. Use Influencer Marketing

Influencers play a crucial role in TikTok marketing. Partnering with the right influencers can introduce your brand to a broader audience and amplify your message. Instead of simply sponsoring a post, allow influencers to create authentic content that resonates with their followers.

When selecting influencers, consider their audience demographics and whether they align with your brand, engagement rate and previous brand collaborations.

Most importantly, influencer partnerships should feel natural and not overly promotional. The best collaborations integrate products seamlessly into content that aligns with the influencer’s usual style.

6. Leverage Upcoming Trends

TikTok thrives on trends, whether they are viral sounds, challenges, or themes. To stay relevant, keep an eye on what’s trending and find creative ways to incorporate those trends into your content.

For example, using a trending sound or participating in a viral challenge can give your content a significant boost. However, the key is to ensure that the trend aligns with your brand’s identity. Jumping on trends without relevance can feel forced and may not resonate with your audience.

Keep in mind that businesses have limited access to TikTok’s sound library.

7. Reply to Comments With Another TikTok Video

One of the best ways to foster a community is by replying to comments with video responses. This not only keeps the conversation going but also allows you to create additional content effortlessly.

For instance, if someone asks a question about your product, respond with a short video explaining the answer. If a comment sparks humor or curiosity, leverage it to create more entertaining content. This strategy increases engagement and makes your audience feel heard.

The end result is an audience base that is more likely to buy from you because of high trust and likeability.

8. Monitor and Analyze Key Metrics

To optimize your TikTok strategy, you must track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs). TikTok’s built-in analytics provide insights into:

• Video views and watch time

• Engagement rates (likes, shares, and comments)

• Follower growth and audience demographics

• Conversion rates for paid ads

By reviewing these metrics regularly, you can refine your content strategy, adjust posting times, and improve engagement tactics.

9. Optimize Your Content

Finally, optimize your content. It’s a non-stop process but is necessary as TikTok trends change rapidly. What works today may not work tomorrow. Brands should constantly experiment with new formats, adjust their approach based on analytics, and listen to audience feedback.

Some best practices for content optimization include:

• Testing different video lengths to see what works best for your audience.

• A/B testing different hooks and captions.

• Refining visuals, music choices, and storytelling techniques based on engagement data.

The key to long-term success on TikTok is adaptability. Stay creative, stay data-driven, and continuously refine your approach to ensure maximum impact.

Now that you know the various strategies to market on TikTok, let’s look at the 3 common mistakes businesses make and how to resolve them.

6 Best Practices to Create a Great TikTok Marketing Strategy

To truly make TikTok work effectively with your marketing strategy, you know to avoid common mistakes and follow best practices. Here are six tips to improve your TikTok marketing strategy.

TikTok Isn’t Only for Gen Z

While it’s true that Gen Z is more likely to use TikTok compared to other demographics, you shouldn’t abandon them. Other age groups still make up a large part of TikTok’s user base and represent a huge opportunity to increase sales.

So, if you target Millenials, Gen Z and other age groups, TikTok is another platform for you to market your products and services.

Consider Creating Polished TikToks

TikTok is known for its unpolished videos that seem like they’re unedited or lo-fi. But that isn’t the only style of video that works. There are businesses that use professionally edited footage in their TikTok posts.

That’s not to say you should only post highly edited videos. Ideally, you should have a good mix of edited and unpolished videos.

Connect TikTok Efforts to Business Outcomes

TikTok can be a fun platform to engage with audiences, but it doesn’t have to stop there. TikTok isn’t an isolated platform. It’s another channel to drive marketing campaigns and increase revenue. It’s a great place to turn a highly engaged audience into paying customers.

For example, you can use TikTok Messaging Ads to funnel people from TikTok into instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Messenger. This allows you to engage with customers on one platform rather than spreading agents thin on various platforms.

Utilize TikTok’s Full Range of Features

TikTok offers a variety of interactive features that businesses can leverage to engage their audience and drive conversions. Polls and Q&A sessions allow businesses to interact directly with followers, gather insights, and create a more personalized experience.

Live streams provide real-time engagement opportunities where brands can showcase products, answer customer questions instantly, and drive immediate purchases through TikTok Shopping.

Additionally, TikTok’s native e-commerce features, such as product links and in-app checkout, make it easier than ever for businesses to convert viewers into buyers without leaving the platform. By utilizing these features strategically, businesses can build stronger relationships with their audience and maximize their marketing efforts.

Use the Right Tools

In addition to native TikTok’s tools, leveraging third-party tools can improve the execution of your TikTok marketing strategy and drive better results.

For example, if you message customers a lot across various platforms, including TikTok, then you should consider using a customer conversation management platform like respond.io. With respond.io, you can connect various other CRMs and e-commerce platforms like Salesforce, Hubspot, WooCommerce and Shopify.

You can also use the Workflows no-code automation builder to manage high-volume incoming inquiries, automatically qualify leads and assign them to the right agents.

Stay Consistent and Data-driven

Success on TikTok requires consistency in content creation and a data-driven approach to optimization. Use video views, engagement rates and conversion data, to refine your content strategy. TikTok’s analytics dashboard provides valuable insights into audience behavior, allowing businesses to identify what types of content resonate most.

By continuously testing different formats, styles, and posting times, brands can optimize their approach to drive better engagement and conversions. You’ll end up with maximum value out of every dollar put into advertising or the creation of organic content.

Now that you know the best practices of creating and implementing a TikTok marketing strategy, let’s look at the businesses that put that into practice.

3 Examples of Banger TikTok Marketing Strategies

A TikTok marketing strategy shouldn’t just work in theory, but it should work in practice. Here are three companies that have amazing TikTok strategies that boost their sales.

Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl Cookies is America’s fastest-growing dessert chain with over 1,000 stores. They are well known for their presence on TikTok showcasing their weekly flavor releases.

They produce professionally edited TikToks, unlike most content produced on the platform. This helps them stand out amongst the competition. But that’s not all. They use influencer campaigns to boost sales during slow sales periods. To get views from the most number of people, they selected a diversity of creators to reach mass market appeal.

Wisp

Wisp is a women’s wellness telehealth service in America. They used Spark Ads and Display Cards alongside Smart+ Web Campaigns to drive more sales to its site. As a result, Wisp increased its return on advertisement spending by 34%.

AppQuantum

AppQuantum is a global mobile free-to-play game publisher. They used TikTok LiveOps, a program that helps mobile game publishers sustain engagement and retention through customized support for post-launch activities.

They also used TikTok’s advanced measurement capabilities to make real-time adjustments to their campaign. As a result, they saw 3X more installs of their game and increased install rate to 35%

Start Your TikTok Marketing Strategy with Respond.io

Respond.io helps businesses streamline TikTok communication, integrate leads into CRM systems, and automate engagement. Bring leads into TikTok and convert them on respond.io. Start today by signing up for a free respond.io account today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is TikTok influencer marketing worth the investment?

Yes. Tons of companies, including Crumbl Cookies, use influencer marketing to increase the sales of their products, especially during a slow sales period.

How do I integrate TikTok with respond.io?

To integrate TikTok Business Messaging, go to Workspace Settings > Channels > + Add Channel > Select TikTok Business Messaging. From there, follow the instructions to integrate a TikTok channel in respond.io.

To integrate TikTok Messaging Ads, go to Workspace Settings > click Manage under TikTok ads accounts. Then follow the instructions to connect TikTok Messaging Ads to respond.io.

How can I measure the ROI of my TikTok campaigns?

By tracking metrics such as engagement rates, lead generation, and conversion data using tools like respond.io, businesses can determine the effectiveness of their TikTok marketing efforts.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading this blog, here are more articles on TikTok Business Messaging:

• Ultimate Guide to TikTok for Business

• TikTok Integration: A How-to Guide

• Turn Views Into Revenue: How to Use TikTok for Marketing More Effectively