15 TikTok Content Ideas to Help You Grow Your Small Business in 2024

Two things you may not know about TikTok:

1. TikTok trends and algorithm shifts move lightning fast.
2. and
3. TikTok expects you to create a LOT of high-quality content (1-4x per day) to reach current followers and new potential leads.

TikTok revolutionized social media’s influence over many industries, giving its content creators the power to lead the latest trends in music, beauty, dance, activism, sales, and more.

So, how can you take advantage of this frenzied super-platform without saying goodbye to all your free time (and sanity)? Read on for 15 TikTok content ideas for business growth to start with right now. Plus, we’ll detail several hacks for finding content ideas on your own.

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How to find great TikTok content ideas for business growth

TikTok evolved past its dance challenge origins into a highly effective edu-tainment platform, where influencers of all industries run thriving businesses and attain major monetary gain.

If you’re on the app, you’ll quickly find that to stay relevant, you need to post high-value content with consistency. Here are some top tips for coming up with TikTok video ideas that will help you reach your target audience.

1. Steal from your competitors

One fortunate thing about being a content creator on TikTok—there’s no shortage of inspiration to draw from within the app. There are already creators on the platform who successfully do what you want to do (or a variation of it).

TikTok’s intuitive algorithm helps you find those creators and study their most successful videos. Search popular topics and keywords in your niche to research TikTok marketing videos with the most engagement. Compare and contrast their most popular content with less popular work on the same subject.

2. Teach the algorithm

Outsmart the algorithm by teaching TikTok about your target audience. TikTok’s algorithm tracks your actions in the app. Once you create an account, the platform begins learning your likes and dislikes based on what you watch, search, and follow.

Help teach the app about your target audience by using these tips:

• Follow creators within your niche
• Search keywords in your niche
• Comment on posts about topics within your industry
• Watch relevant videos all the way through (TikTok rewards content watched all the way through) )
• Heart and Bookmark videos within your niche
• Target keywords by using industry-relevant hashtags (not generic ones like #fyp or #foryoupage)
• For non-industry related topics, hold down on a video and hit the “not interested’ button in the menu that pops up

If you do this with consistency, TikTok’s algorithm will adapt, sending your content out to a more relevant audience.

3. Research outside the app

If you’re unsure how to choose relevant topics for your audience, here are many useful websites to provide some marketing insight on your target followers:

1. Answer the Public - Answer the Public provides data on the questions consumers ask  about different subjects and brands. Free plans include 3 complimentary searches per day before users must upgrade to the paid version.
2. QuestionDB - QuestionDB is a powerful keyword question tool that transforms your  keywords into content ideas in question form. The site offers an unlimited free plan providing 50 results per topic.
3. People Also Ask - Google’s “People Also Ask” section provides free content ideas on every search page. There, you can find the most common questions asked by searchers on the topic, which can better inform your content.
4. Answer Socrates - Answer Socrates offers questions, comparisons, and keywords from every letter of the alphabet on your chosen topic. And best of all–it’s completely free!
5. Pinterest Trends - Stay on top of global trends with Pinterest. Pinterest’s annual Pinterest Predicts section tells you with scary accuracy what trends to watch in the coming year based on the most searched keywords and phrases on their platform.

4. Research inside the app

If you want to find topics people search for in your industry, type your seed keyword(s) into the search bar. TikTok suggests relevant keywords you can use to inspire content ideas and to boost your SEO.

Add the search phrases to your captioning to:

• Teach TikTok what your video is about, so it can target it to the users who are actively engaging with the same kinds of content.
• Increase visibility among users searching for those keywords

5. Focus on building community

Virality doesn’t always translate to business success. Rather than setting your sights on hitting a viral jackpot, focus on consistent, steady growth within your niche and target audience.

Gaining 50,000 TikTok followers overnight won’t benefit you long-term if none of those followers care about your product or services. Plus, making viral success your only goal can leave you frustrated and ready to quit when it doesn’t immediately happen.

Grow your account through consistent, quality content tailored toward your target viewers. This might mean specific questions your clients might have, products you recommend in your niche, or industry-relevant humor that your audience would enjoy.

For example, if your target audience is fitness enthusiasts and coaches, find the pain points of this group and create content for them: facts they may find interesting, videos they may find entertaining. This way, you build an engaged community invested in your brand.

Aim for loyal followers, not fickle passersby.

By building a faithful community, your business has a better chance of withstanding the changes that inevitably come to every social media platform.

15 TikTok Content Ideas for Business to Help You Grow Your Follower Count

As if it wasn’t hard enough being a business owner, now you’re expected to be a full social media marketing team on your own as well. With so much demand for consistent, quality video content, taking on the role of content creator for your business can be pretty overwhelming.

Along with our recommendation to outsource your work using quality online tools, here are 15 ideas to help you create quality short- and long-form video content without losing your sanity.

1. Use the 7-second method

Social media strategist @JacksonsTips coined the 7 Second Method, which helps hack the Average Watch Time of your views by informing TikTok that viewers watch your content to the very end (and longer).

Create a 5 second video and add a test blurb to your screen offering high value advice or educational info. The video length guarantees that users are likely to watch to the end and perhaps several times over (i.e. 7 seconds) to fully read and understand the information. A quick and easy boost for your account because TikTok ranks repeatedly watched videos higher!

2. Start a series

Hook your viewers in with an educational series encouraging them to subscribe and revisit your account in the future. Find a topic in your niche to split into multiple parts.

Bonus points for adding a call-to-action at the end of your video so you can invite people to follow you for more of the series!

3. Recycle your best posts from other platforms

Find a post that performed well on another platform and re-use the content idea, or the content itself, in a TikTok video. This may seem like cheating, but carefully recycling posts is a solid strategy because many users won’t see your post the first time around anyway, so it’s likely you’ll reach an entire audience of new eyes with this high-value content. Plus, audiences generally need to see a post more than once for it to sink in, so if your viewers do see it twice, it’s unlikely to feel repetitive to them.If you already have an Instagram account with strong engagement, find the posts that performed well and turn them into videos.

4. Day in the life

People enjoy seeing behind the curtain. From ice cream workers to paint color mixers to famous actors, TikTok users love to see video content showing life from other vantage points.

Take your audience through your day with a long-form video. Showcase your workspace, talk about your to-do list, and if you have any cute pets around, feature them!

5. Hook them in

TikTok Strategist @StylaSocials recommends this great format for creating short-form educational videos:

• Start with a helpful hook that gets your viewer’s attention (like asking the question you’re answering)
• Add 3 main points to educate your audience
• End with your call-to-action—ask for a follow, comments, questions, etc.

This TikTok video format often performs well, as people will watch it more than once to fully understand the information flying by. And if the info given is high-value, they’re likely to bookmark the video.

6. Follow the FYP

TikTok’s trending sounds and music filter in and out every week. You won’t have to spend much time on your FYP (For You Page) before you’re aware of popular weekly sounds.

Using an industry-related TikTok trending sound, you can potentially boost viewership and reach outside audiences targeted by the trending sound.

7. Show the stats

Numbers don’t lie, and they can make for very compelling video marketing. If you have impressive company statistics to share or eye-catching niche data, TikTok’s short-form videos are the perfect format to pull viewers in and leave them wanting more.

8. Video reply

A simple but highly effective TikTok idea: engage with your commenters through video. Encourage your viewers to ask questions in the CTA at the end of another video and then use those questions for additional content.

This provides a two-fold benefit. You get:

1. New content ideas out of it
2. Happier audiences who appreciate your engagement.

9. Reflect

Vulnerability is a key value on TikTok. Users appreciate hearing about the ups and downs of small business ownership. Use this to your benefit by sharing wisdom about your niche: things you might have done differently in your business, mistakes you’ve made, wins you’ve had, etc.

Everyone has knowledge to share. Think about yourself from 6 months ago–what would you from 6 months ago tell the you of today? Teach your audience what you’ve learned along the way.

Whether you’re a business owner or you’re new to the industry, someone is looking to study your niche who will be interested in hearing about your experience.

10. Make a recommendation

Can you think of any books you’ve read that changed your perspective? Maybe you’ve bought a new product that makes your work day easier. Or do you have any holy grail personal care items that just make you feel better?

TikTokers love recommendations. In fact, 40% of Gen Zers (and younger) use TikTok to search for them.

If you’re stumped on business ideas, share the things that make a difference in your workday (or even the things that help you recharge at home). And hey, you might be the one giving another business a boost if your recommendation goes viral!

11. Use the Green Screen

As your self-proclaimed TikTok BFF, user Jera.Bean provides the above tutorial on the best Green Screen filters on TikTok and how to use them. You can showcase your product or add any chosen background using TikTok’s many Green Screen filters.

Using the Green Screen provides a visual cue to your viewer to further engage them with your content. Share a fun fact about your business or provide relevant information on your niche with visual content alongside.

12. Go behind the scenes

If your small business has an office space, you can get mileage from sharing bits of office culture. Audiences enjoy seeing content made in spaces that otherwise appear dry and formal.

However, we don’t really recommend pulling a Duolingo and creating a giant chaotic mascot (it’s already been done repeatedly). Instead, share the unique features of your business and its members, so you can invite your audience to experience your company culture without seeming like a try-hard.

13. Stitch and Duet

Both TikTok’s stitch feature and duet feature allow you to use popular TikTok videos for your own content. Duet the video of another TikTok user to easily reshare relevant, high-value content. And by stitching a popular video prompt with your response, you can reach new audiences you might not have previously accessed.

14. Get keyword rich

TikTok has recently taken strides to become more search-engine focused. Because of this, users can now employ SEO more readily in their video content. Take advantage of TikTok’s focus on searchability to boost brand awareness for your small business in these ways:

• Add specific, searchable keywords in your video (Ex: If you live in X and want to learn more about X, follow us)
• Always add closed captions to your videos for greater accessibility
• Make sure to use keywords and relevant, niche-specific hashtags in the caption underneath your vide

By increasing video searchability in the app, you improve the chances of your target audience finding you by search, even if your video doesn’t hit the For You Page right away.

15. Try Photo Mode

While Instagram pivots its focus to video content, TikTok has recently enabled photo carousels in its app, so users can share a photo story set to music that their audience can flip through in a similar format to the Instagram story.

Incorporate this great storytelling method to create visually appealing content that keeps your followers engaged.

Conclusion

TikTok is constantly shifting. What worked for you six months ago isn’t likely to work as effectively now. Try to avoid getting discouraged when changes happen on the app that affect your viewership.

Although going viral can make a world of difference for a small business, try not to focus on virality alone. Concentrate on creating consistent, high-quality content for your specific audience, and regularly test and experiment with new styles and trends. Most importantly, make sure the content churn doesn’t burn you out. Take breaks when you need to, and invest in the tools that will help you outsource content.

Always remember, you’re in this for the long game. In the meantime, we’ll be here rooting for you!

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