Could TikTok help transform your small 商売／仕事 - or will you be a slave to the algorithm? We speak to 商売／仕事 owners about how they use it

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When Karim Ullah opened his restaurant in March 2020, he didn’t 推定する／予想する to be 軍隊d to の近くに 11 days later.

Karim Ullah, owner of Brohmon restaurant in Essex, joined TikTok three months ago

During the pandemic, Karim was 押し進めるd to stay open for takeaways to stay afloat, and since then the restaurant has 首尾よく 開始する，打ち上げるd its own （手先の）技術 beer and gin.

Now he’s looking to TikTok to bring his 商売／仕事 to the 集まりs after his daughter 設立する success on the 壇・綱領・公約 with her own musical 投機・賭けるs.

The 現在の 経済的な 気候 is tougher than ever for smaller 商売／仕事s and, like Karim, many 商売／仕事 owners are looking for new channels to 促進する their 製品s on.

Given its 人気 with a younger audience and more and more 商売／仕事s moving to TikTok, could it be the answer for small 商売／仕事s??

Can TikTok help my small 商売／仕事?

壇・綱領・公約s like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter can be a 広大な／多数の／重要な way to reach a larger aud ience and both big and small 商売／仕事s have stood to 利益.

There have been some runaway successes who have used social マスコミ to build their own 商売／仕事.?

Joe Wicks, who 発射 to fame during the pandemic 申し込む／申し出ing PE lessons to the nation, has spun out his own fitness app, while Grace Beverley, another fitness influencer, 開始する，打ち上げるd her own 着せる／賦与するing line and recently 安全な・保証するd 投資.

TikTok is the newest kid on the 封鎖する. It now 誇るs 1billion active 使用者s and 開始する，打ち上げるd in the UK in 2018.

Unlike other social マスコミ apps which prioritise 関係s, TikTok’s ‘For You Page’ 現在のs 使用者s with ビデオs 関係のある to their their 利益／興味s through its unique algorithm.?

It now also has its own shopping feature, where creators and 商売／仕事s can sell their 製品s, from which TikTok takes a small （売買）手数料，委託（する）／委員会／権限.

For many it might not seem the most obvious place to advertise your 商売／仕事, but for many 商売／仕事 owners it has 証明するd to be a 危険 価値（がある） taking.

Candice Mason, 創立者 of Mother Cuppa, 設立する 初期の success on TikTok?

A new Oxford 経済的なs 報告（する）／憶測 設立する that one in five 商売／仕事s 設立するd いっそう少なく than five years ago spend more than half of their social マスコミ 予算s on TikTok.

Candice Mason joined TikTok just six months after 開始する，打ち上げるing her 商売／仕事 Mother Cuppa Tea and 設立する 近づく-instant success.

‘I tried to build a に引き続いて across a variety of 壇・綱領・公約s,' she said. 'I 設立する TikTok to be a really lovely and friendly place. There were ladies of a 類似の age that joined at a 類似の time and we built our own little community over there. Very 早期に on the ビデオs did incredibly 井戸／弁護士席.’

The Oxford 経済的なs 報告（する）／憶測 設立する that 47 per cent of TikTok 使用者s have bought a 製品 or service on the 壇・綱領・公約 and 45 per cent have visited a restaurant or tourist attraction as a result of seeing it on TikTok.

Karim, who runs Brohmon restaurant in Essex, only started 地位，任命するing on TikTok three months ago and has had 限られた／立憲的な success so far, but he remains 確信して it will be an important part of the 商売／仕事.

‘I think we may be a little 早期に on our 旅行,' he said. 'As we go その上の 負かす／撃墜する the road, I 推定する／予想する TikTok to be very successful [for us].

‘TikTok is known as something that young people use to 地位，任命する on but I’m amazed at how many people my age have joined TikTok to see what’s happening. I think every 商売／仕事 should be on TikTok.’

How does TikTok compare to other 壇・綱領・公約s?

One of TikTok’s defining features is its algorithm, which is based on 利益／興味s rather than 信奉者s, so there is no need to 伸び（る） thousands of 信奉者s to 後継する.

使用者s 見解（をとる） content based on the topics they’re 利益／興味d in and other ビデオs they have interacted with, which can make it a 広大な／多数の／重要な way for small 商売／仕事s to reach a new audience.

One of the 利益s is that TikTok prefers 使用者s to upload ビデオs between 15 and 30 seconds, rather than 3+ minutes as on Facebook.

Claire Gleave, 創立者 of maternity brand 誕生の Active said: ‘いつかs I’ve done ビデオs where I’ve been at soft play with my kids running around in the background and I’ve answered a question on ビデオ.’

A ビデオ 壇・綱領・公約 might not best work for the 製品 or service you’re selling, though.

Ben Spray, 創立者 of 数字表示式の marketing 機関 We Are Marketable, said: ‘On Facebook, we find you can do different types of creatives - images, ビデオs, carousel 地位，任命するs, text, so that’s where we find it 勝利，勝つs a lot more.

‘There are other features like instant lead forms where Facebook and Instagram can pull 詳細（に述べる）s from your profile… I 港／避難所’t seen that 利用できる on TikTok.’

Crucially, Spray 設立する that small 商売／仕事s tend to get a higher return on 広告 spend on Facebook compared to TikTok, where prices of 製品s tend to be lower.?

‘You’re making about three to five times 広告 spend on TikTok, 反して on Facebook it’s about £5-10 for every 続けざまに猛撃する spent.’

For Candice, who 設立する 初期の success, 投資するing in TikTok did little to help: ‘I spent £350 on marketing and it all it did was get me a few 1000 見解（をとる）s. I didn't get any sales out of it.’

She was 申し込む／申し出d one-to-one coaching to help with marketing but she said it ‘became more about trying to get sales and money going through the 壇・綱領・公約 and it just leaves a bit of a bad taste.

数字表示式の marketer Ben Spray thinks 商売／仕事 owners advertising to a younger audience should join TikTok?

‘I basica lly sit at a very 安定した number of 見解（をとる）s, very, very little interaction, a lot of 成果／努力 for very little 結果.’

Most importantly, how successful TikTok can be for your 商売／仕事 depends on the type of 製品 you’re selling and who you’re trying to sell to.

Spray said: ‘I 本人自身で would recommend [TikTok] for people that are 的ing a younger demographic, because that's the 大多数 of the market on there. And also from the （弁護士の）依頼人s that we've worked with, a service or 製品 that's a lower cost, because seems to 成し遂げる better than higher cost services, on the （弁護士の）依頼人s we’ve 実験（する）d.’

TikTok's shop is flooded with 割引d goods, everything from 着せる／賦与するs to kitchen utensils, and Claire has 設立する it difficult to sell her 製品s as a result.

‘If you’re spending £55 on a pair of maternity leggings, you wouldn’t やむを得ず impulse buy,' she said. 'You’d want to know the brand, read the reviews and learn a bit more about the 製品 before you do it.’

Slave to the algorithm?

TikTok’s algorithm can be very 攻撃する，衝突する and 行方不明になる and, while you might have built up a loyal に引き続いて, 使用者s might not always see your 地位，任命するs, unlike Instagram or Facebook.

Karim is as bemused as other creators: ‘The algorithm is crazy, I know why it’s doing what it’s doing. When my daughter started, she would get 500 people 見解（をとる） her ビデオs. Then as she started putting up more 地位，任命するs, she was getting thousands watching her. She doesn’t know [why] either.

‘I think it’s a 事例／患者 of just 地位，任命するing ビデオs and building your brand and channel. I would love to find a good 推論する／理由 as to why some things work, I think it’s anyone’s guess.’

Claire Gleave, 創立者 of 誕生の Active, has had mixed experiences with TikTok after going viral?

This 欠如（する） of understanding means it can be difficult to keep up 勢い, and some creators have 設立する themselves having to 地位，任命する more and more.

Candice said: ‘As time went on, I was finding I was needing to 地位，任命する more than once a day to get the same traction of 見解（をとる）s and interaction.’

And while the TikTok algorithm might seem to work for its billions of 使用者s who are 現在のd with 関連した content, it can also bring some unwanted attention.

‘I had a few ビデオs that went viral and attracted the wrong 肉親，親類d of people, which is a 完全にする waste of my time,’ said Claire. ‘I’m not 利益／興味d in vanity metrics on TikTok, I want to attract my ideal 顧客. I don’t want a million 信奉者s if they’re all men that are 利益／興味d in breastfeeding.

‘My understanding of the way the algorithm 作品 is, it will throw your ビデオ out to say, 300 無作為の people, and it will see who engages with it. Whoever engages with it, it will show to more of those 肉親，親類d of people. If I get dodgy blokes engaging with a breastfeeding ビデオ, it just shows it to more and more of those people that have those 肉親，親類d of predilections.

‘It’s not showing it to mums that are breastfeeding, which are the people that I want to 的.’

Candice had a 類似の experience: ‘My 製品 is 目的（とする）d at women over 30, it couldn’t be any clearer. When I put my money behind it and looked at the stats, I was getting 14 year old boys. That’s such a waste of my money. It just didn’t make sense.’

Building brand 認識／意識性

What’s （疑いを）晴らす is that TikTok isn’t for every small 商売／仕事. The algorithm can be 混乱させるing and if you’re looking to 直接／まっすぐに communicate with your loyal 信奉者s, it’s probably not the 壇・綱領・公約 for you.

商売／仕事 owners who are not 特に 手がかり（を与える）d up on social マスコミ might struggle with just how 定期的に you need to 地位，任命する on TikTok.

Candice said: ‘You need time to really put your energy into [social マスコミ 壇・綱領・公約s] to get 勢い. I’m still working 十分な-time trying to 開始する，打ち上げる a 商売／仕事 and trying to be on all of these 壇・綱領・公約s. You 結局最後にはーなる feeling like you’re spreading yourself too thin and not 現実に doing a very good 職業 on any of your 壇・綱領・公約s.’

What it might help with is building brand 認識／意識性. Claire 設立する she gets lots of traffic to her website from the 壇・綱領・公約 when she’s 定期的に using it, and 特に when her ビデオs have gone viral.

‘I find it’s very much about brand 認識／意識性,' she said. 'When the wrong people 減少（する） off and the 権利 people filter through, then we remarket through Instagram and Facebook adverts, and the 時折の TikTok advert when I’m running them.’

For Claire, TikTok might not be the runaway success she might have thought it would be, but after a few viral ビデオs she’s willing to try.

Her 最高の，を越す tip for 商売／仕事 owners is: ‘Get your 直面する in 前線 of the camera and try different things. I 堅固に advise going against anything that’s not in your niche, because 信奉者 numbers don’t mean much if they’re the wrong 信奉者s. You want people that are your ideal 顧客s that want to buy your 製品s.’

Candice is not so sure: ‘I don't think it's a 商売／仕事 壇・綱領・公約. I think it's an influencer 壇・綱領・公約, and I think it's a fun 壇・綱領・公約.’