If you aren’t already using TikTok to enhance your mobile shopping marketing strategies, we just have one question: What are you waiting for? After all, the site has over 1 billion active monthly users who visit this dynamic platform for the challenges, live streams, social interactions, and content. Here is a complete guide to begin using this platform.

Get a TikTok business account.

Your first step in TikTok business adoption, this account gives you information about your video performance and followers as well as access to advertising and auto-messaging tools. If you already have a personal account, signing up just involves switching over. Best of all, it’s free.

Learn about TikTok.

Spend some time watching videos and generally getting the lay of the TikTok universe. Do some research to learn how the platform’s algorithm ranks and distributes videos and gain insights into the languages, influencers, and emojis that TikTokers use so that you don’t look like you are out of touch with your customers.

Identify your audience.

Figure out who you will be speaking to on your TikTok page: existing customers, new prospects, or a combination of both. After you get a good idea of the preferences, demographics, and pain points of your potential visitors, you can create tailor-made content that integrates with your brand and appeals to your buyers.

Scout out your rivals.

TikTok’s global reach means that you literally have a world of customers — and competitors — to consider. Gain some intel about your opponents by spying on their own TikTok pages.

Optimize your profile.

This is your digital storefront and is how users build their impression of your business. Be sure your profile photo looks professional and represents your brand. Your 80-character bio should be concise and integrate with your brand and voice. Choose the best URL to connect users to your ecommerce site, a landing page, or a blog post.

Create excellent content.

Customers are looking for engaging videos that captivate, educate, and inform. Going live is a great way to draw visitors to your business in real time. Combine this with TikTok hashtags that make it easier for the algorithm to categorize your business, and you will find that more new customers discover your store.

Don’t forget about SEO.

Search engine optimization remains a vital part of your business strategy with TikTok. Do your research to identify the keywords customers are using so that you can drive traffic to your For You page.

Use a scheduling tool.

Success is all about timing, including with TikTok. A scheduling tool lets you post content when your audience is most likely to be receptive — even when you don’t have time to put it up manually.

Attract shoppers.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to wooing and keeping customers. If you want to bring them in so that they will eventually make a purchase and payment on your ecommerce gateway, you need to do the work. Create engaging live streams, polls, and contests, comment and like other content, and, perhaps most important, respond to comments and inquiries. This brings your visitors into your brand family and promotes loyalty and long-term retention.

Harness the power of analytics.

After you have been using the platform for a while, TikTok’s analytics tools can help you to assess the effectiveness of your page. Use these to learn whether people are watching your videos and reading your content as well as the extent of your reach and engagement.

TikTok has only existed since 2016, but it has become a social and advertising tour-de-force in just a few short years. These days, you can’t afford to dismiss its potential to raise your business to the next level while you attract a whole new cohort of customers to your products and services.

Contact NAB today and see how easy it is to get the merchant services you deserve.