TikTok for B2B: Why it works, how to succeed, and who uses it best

TikTok is an essential tool for B2B marketing campaign and we’ll tell you why, and how to make your business successful on TikTok.

William Sale
6 MIN|January 13, 2023
TikTok app on a mobile phone, travelling through a journey.

When you think about TikTok, you probably picture a platform for dancing videos or quirky comedy that’s aimed at Gen Z. There’s no way it’s suitable for B2B, right? Well, you’d be wrong to think that. In the US alone, 64% of users are between the ages of 20-49. That’s an age bracket that’s ripe for B2B to engage with.

There’s more to the platform than meets the eye. Its lighter, less serious tone and engaging format alone make it an essential tool in your marketing campaign arsenal. In fact, many B2B organisations are already using it to drive success.

So, here’s a deep dive into the world of TikTok for B2B. Read on to find out who are the successful players, and how you can join them.

Is TikTok good for business?

The simple answer is...yes. TikTok is a marketing tool unlike any other, helping you to build an emotional connection with your audience. Videos are one of the most effective forms of content to generate a response, drive action and to grow your audience. They are easy for a user to engage with, the length is short (length has been extended from 60 seconds to 3 minutes) and enables B2B marketers to unleash their creativity to hold the user’s attention.

Remember, people drive businesses. A marketer, product manager or C-level executive may come across your TikTok channel as they’re scrolling away at home, on the journey to work, on their break, wherever. TikTok presents a new avenue to spread awareness of your services to every kind of decision maker.

But when using TikTok for business, you need to be mindful of how you’re implementing it within your campaign and whether you think it is suitable for your audience. Not every industry within the B2B space will find the opportunities that the platform presents easily. Trial and error may still be the way to forge a path forward here. With over 1 billion active users on the platform, the work you do to reap the rewards is more than worth it.

Hand holding a mobile phone with the TikTok app open.

How to use TikTok for business

Before you start searching “how to go viral on TikTok”, you need to master the baby steps first. Then you can really boost your organisation’s image and drive awareness in a way which you never thought possible.

Here’s just a few ways you can use TikTok:

Show the fun side of B2B

That’s right, B2B isn’t dull after all (not that it ever was). Remember, TikTok is a source of entertainment for many, so tweaking your brand voice to attract the right audience for the platform might be on the table. This doesn’t mean doing crazy stunts or doing anything too off-brand. It’s time to show the emotional and human side of B2B. Never forget that business to business still means “people to people”.

Unveil new products and updates

Launched the latest line of your product? Then it’s time to show it off. You don’t need fireworks (although, why not?). You just need enthusiastic team members that can showcase your products in an engaging and memorable way. No one wants a dull tutorial, so add some spice into the mix to give your product the launch that it deserves. It’s more than worth it – TikTok is 1.7x more likely to be used as a product discovery tool compared to other platforms.

Reveal what happens behind the scenes

Recognising and showcasing your employees gives your audience the opportunity to see the human side of your business, an antidote to the lifeless corporate recruitment video. Show some of the fun activities that bring your teams together: employees bringing their pets to work, company parties, award wins, employee recognition, taking action for charitable causes – the list is endless. If you can film it, you can share it.

Prove the success of your product – in real-time

Not everybody is convinced by the innovative products that are put out there. They need more proof that it generates results. Demonstrating how your product works in real-time can nudge potential customers down the conversion lane. But don’t just do it yourself, get one of your clients involved. User-generated content is a great way to highlight how your product/service has solved pain points. A recent survey even found that 79% of users find this type of content highly impacts their purchasing decisions. Plus, both you and your happy client get some exposure on the platform together.

Share facts and tips

Whenever you have some juicy, fascinating nuggets of info to pass onto your audience, you want to convey it in the best way possible. In fact, many TikTok users interact more with facts and tips videos than anything else (84% of users in fact). So why not jump on the bandwagon? It can be info and tips to do with your product and industry, or you could find a suitable hashtag challenge that will boost awareness.

More TikTok stats that you need to know

  • The first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion downloads
  • The 6th most-used social media app in the world
  • Over 1 billion active users worldwide
  • Worldwide, the user base is 57% female
  • Average user session is 10.85 minutes
  • The highest performing videos are between 21 and 34 seconds long
  • More popular than Instagram among Gen Z users in the US

B2B channels to watch on TikTok

To know how to really make an impact using TikTok for B2B, you need to see how the best of the best have left their mark on the platform. There’s a method to success, and some have cracked the code.

Here’s a few of the top B2B channels to watch on TikTok:

Microsoft

Where better to start than with one of the world’s biggest innovators? First things first, their TikTok channel is very impressive. It’s lively and truly hits all the emotional levels. From nostalgia posts (ever wanted to see Clippy in full costume?) to other snappy videos that drive home the “standard” situations of Microsoft users (no Team pings during the Christmas holidays), their channel really shows how you can be liven up your content without losing the decades-old voice that people know. Proof that you can entertain users and still be a leading innovator.

Microsoft's TikTok Account

Adobe

So how does the brand famous for creating the most famous suite of creative software make a blast on TikTok? Simple. By keeping it on-brand whilst adding a flair of creativity. When they first arrived on the TikTok scene, they had a big success with their “put a finger down if you…” videos. Moving on from that, they have shared product tips as well as shouted out to other creators. They have shown how to create a viable community on the platform, while recognising their consumer base that loves their tools.

Morning Brew

If you’re looking at how to make facts, figures and news for the B2B audience interesting, then look no further. Going beyond their usual business newsletters, podcast, events etc, Morning Brew’s TikTok channel has adapted their content to fit the format perfectly. They urge users to “become smarter in 60 seconds”, with a breakdown of the pressing business news of the day in digestible chunks. A clever and entertaining approach for using TikTok for business audiences.

Morning Brew's TikTok Account with example videos

Square

The digital payments software company has mastered the art of TikTok and built their own community from it. As a supporter of small businesses, they have used the wide reach of TikTok to form a win-win situation for themselves and their clients. By reposting user-generated content, they get their clients’ names out there, whilst also building a loyal and engaged following. Clients that love Square’s software send videos of them using it in the workplace to solve everyday issues. The “Duets” function on TikTok enables them to share the limelight, so both Square and their clients can bask in the exposure together.

Apex Motion Control

Building robots for the food industry, it’s fair to say that Apex knows what its audience wants; food and robots. Be prepared for some hilarious and quite often droolworthy videos of the robots in action, alongside their calorie-pumping counterparts. If Apex can create original content like this for such a niche audience, then you can too. In fact, if you want a lesson in how to go viral on TikTok, then this channel might be one to watch.

Go beyond TikTok for B2B

Leaving your mark takes more than a single TikTok campaign. You need a team of experts behind you that can consistently drive your message through data-driven content and multi-channel campaigns. That’s where we come in. We have the know-how and experience to build awareness and conversion so you can smash your yearly targets.

If you’re looking for a partner to level-up your B2B campaigns, then let’s talk.

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