9 Mistakes Small Businesses are Making on TikTok (and How to Avoid Them!)

So you’re finally ready to get your small business established on TikTok but worried about making mistakes along the way? No worries, we’ve rounded up the most common mistakes small businesses are making on TikTok that you should avoid. Keep reading to learn what small businesses should AVOID and our advice on what your small business SHOULD DO instead when joining TikTok.

1. Not Joining TikTok

The most common (and the easiest to fix!) mistake we see small businesses making when it comes to TikTok is simply not joining the platform! It might feel like you’re already on so many social media platforms but we definitely recommend small businesses create an account on TikTok. Not sure which social media platforms your small business should be active on? Check out this blog post about ‘Why Your Small Businesses Should NOT Be on Every Social Media Platform’.

2. Not Watching TikTok Videos

The next most common mistake we see small business owners making on TikTok is creating an account but never logging in and scrolling through all of the great TikTok videos! It’s not only fun to watch TikTok videos on a regular basis BUT there’s a few key benefits to being active on the platform. By watching videos and interacting with the content you like, TikTok learns your preferences and will customize your ‘For You Page’ with TikTok videos they think you’ll love. Also, watching TikTok videos on a regular basis will help you keep up with all of the fun TikTok trends!

3. Not Creating Video Content

Not creating short-form video content isn’t just a mistake we see small business owners making on TikTok! Short-form videos are the future and there are so many reasons your small business should be creating video content to share on every social media platform, not just TikTok. It’s easy to create high-quality marketing videos for social media with Boosted, the video making app with tons of templates, stock video footage and great music!

4. Creating a Business Account

Okay, so not everyone will agree with this mistake but we think it’s a big no-no for small businesses to create a business account on TikTok. Typically we recommend small businesses to create a business account when joining a new social media platform however, we actually would consider this a mistake when it comes to TikTok. When it comes to social media platforms like Facebook & Instagram, creating a business account will allow you to see more insights and have more capabilities so why would this be a mistake when it comes to TikTok? Well, most of the commercial music that is trending on TikTok aren’t copyrighted for business use so if your small business created a business account you won’t be able to use all of the great, trending songs! We’d recommend joining TikTok as an individual and sharing about your small business through your own personal TikTok account. Read Next: “Why Small Businesses Should Be More Authentic on Social Media

5. Not Using Trending Songs

Speaking of trending songs on TikTok… it’s a mistake for small businesses (and everyone else!) to not use trending songs on TikTok. If you aren’t familiar with TikTok yet, you’ll quickly learn that music is key to the TikTok experience. Songs start to trend and using trending songs will help increase the reach of your TikTok videos and boost the odds of your small business getting on the FYP faster. Curious about the FYP and why it matters? Read our blog post ‘How to Get Your Small Business Featured on TikTok’s For You Page’ for our best TikTok tips!

6. Not Content Planning

Another mistake we see a lot of small businesses make on TikTok is forgetting to plan out their video content ideas for TikTok. Not sure where to start when it comes to video content planning? Just start scrolling TikTok! Because of all the trends and challenges on TikTok, it’s actually encouraged to ‘copy’ other people’s video content. Check out a few videos in your FYP and see if there’s any videos with trends, challenges or songs that your small business could participate in. Keep a list of ideas as you’re watching, then plan out your content and recreate those videos with your unique spin on it. Looking for more advice when it comes to content planning? You’ll love this article “How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar: A Guide for Small Business Owners”.

7. Giving up on Video Content

If you’ve been trying to make videos within the TikTok app and you are finding it too difficult to create and edit videos on the app, don’t give up on video content all together! We know it can be hard to learn how to edit videos and it can be hard to figure out how to do the transitions and edits within the TikTok app. Instead of giving up on videos if you’re struggling with TikTok, definitely look into an app that makes the video editing process easy, like Boosted’s video making app that helps you create high-quality marketing videos in just a few minutes! Read Next: “16 Essential Video Marketing Tips for Small Businesses in 2021”

8. Not Posting Frequently Enough

A super common mistake that brands of all sizes are making when it comes to TikTok, is not posting frequently enough. TikTok is a quick moving platform and things can start trending quickly so it’s super important to post often. Posting just once or twice a week is definitely not enough – you never know exactly which videos will ‘go viral’ on TikTok so it’s actually best to post as many videos as possible to increase your chances of your videos being watched. We’d even recommend posting as many as 1-2 videos a DAY on TikTok if you’re able to keep up with the content creation.

9. Forgetting to Cross Promote

Okay, so if your small business is on TikTok and you are avoiding all of the mistakes we’ve mentioned so far, great job! The final mistake you’ll want to avoid is forgetting to promote your TikTok account on your other social media platforms. When you are putting in all the effort to create tons of great short-form video content, it would be a shame to not use them across all of your social media platforms! Select a few of your favorite TikTok videos that have done well within the TikTok app and try re-sharing those on Instagram Reels. You can even share the link to a TikTok video on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to boost the views on your TikTok videos!

Conclusion

TikTok might seem like a difficult social media platform to stay on top of but most of the mistakes your small business will want to avoid are easy ones to fix. We hope this list helps you successfully get started on TikTok and avoid some of the most common mistakes small businesses make with their TikTok accounts. If you’re looking to learn more about TikTok, definitely check out our articles, “The Ultimate TikTok Marketing Guide for Small Businesses in 2021” and “TikTok Analytics: Everything You Need to Know” for more advice.


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13 Instagram Reels Content Ideas for Small Business Owners

Whether you’re a service-based business owner or a product-based business owner, there are tons of great video content ideas you could be creating for Instagram Reels. In 2020, Instagram announced the release of Instagram Reels. Reels provides Instagram users and businesses with a new way to create fun and engaging short-form videos. Most small business owners already know the power of being on Instagram with over one billion monthly active users on the platform, it’s a smart move for business owners to focus marketing efforts on Instagram. 

If your business is already active on Instagram but hasn’t posted a Reel just yet, now is the time! Don’t let lack of content inspiration hold you back read on for 13 Instagram Reels content ideas you can create for your business, anytime.

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Create Instagram Reels

Instagram recently shared that mobile-shot Stories ads have a 63% chance of outperforming studio-shot ads which means your small business can make a huge impact with videos created on your phone.

And most excitingly, Instagram JUST announced the release of new and improved insights for Instagram Reels to help your small business know exactly how your Reels content is performing. With the new Reels insights, business owners can see important new metrics like Accounts Reached, Plays, Likes, Comments, Saves and Shares. The new Instagram Reels Insights will show users specific metrics like what kinds of accounts they’re reaching with their Reels and which content formats are most engaging with their audience.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

13 Instagram Reels Ideas for Product & Service-Based Small Business Owners

1. Share your favorite tools As a business owner, you’ve likely tried and tested quite a few things to help you be most productive and keep your business operating smoothly. So why not share these learnings with your followers? Sharing some of your favorite tools that you use in your business is a great idea for an Instagram Reel and something you could create every few weeks to share new tools and tips that you’ve recently been using.

2. BTS photoshoot Photoshoots aren’t just for photo content! Whether you’re doing a big shoot with new products or a small DIY photoshoot for Instagram content, this is a great opportunity to create a Reel. Be sure to take a few quick videos during the photo shoot to create an Instagram Reel showing the Behind the Scenes of your business’ shoot.  

3. How to book For service-based businesses, an important Instagram Reel video you should create is telling potential customers how to book your services. Provide a simple step-by-step video explaining exactly where customers can book your services and what to expect after they’ve booked. This might just be the final thing that helps push interested customers to hit ‘buy!’

4. Your story As a business owner, you have a unique and powerful story that deserves to be shared and celebrated. No matter what your story is or how long you’ve been running your business, a great video for Instagram Reels is a short video sharing your story. This will not only will help your customers get to know you better, it can also provide motivation for your followers and fellow business owners.

5. Answer a FAQ Do your customers ask you a lot of questions? If you seem to be responding to a lot of comments or DM’s with similar questions, this is something you have to create an Instagram Reel about! Your customers frequently asked questions provide you with important insights into things they need to know about your business and their interests. Keep track of FAQ’s and create several Instagram Reels to answer all of your followers’ questions.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by NIKKI // FIT & NUTRITION COACH (@nicoleprins)

6. Show off your fave products Do your customers know which of your products are your favorites? Create a fun Instagram Reel video to share some of your favorite products and styling tips with your customers! They will love learning which ones you like best and getting some styling ideas directly from the person behind the brand.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Bodomint | Diaper Bags (@bodomint)

7. Mistakes to avoid Who doesn’t want help avoiding mistakes? Whether you’re a product-based or a service-based business, you can share mistakes you’ve made along your entrepreneurial journey or common mistakes you see customers making. Just be sure to keep your Reel informative and helpful to avoid making anyone feel judged.

8. Share some of your recent work Obviously you should be showing off your recent work all the time as a business owner, but have you created an Instagram Reel yet to share some of your work? We love this content idea because it’s a great way to promote your products or services on a regular basis and is genuinely interesting to your customers. For the most engaging Reel, try picking your very favorites and share why you love them.

9. Perks of being your customer Do you like to surprise and delight your customers and clients? Let potential customers know about a few of the fun and special perks they can enjoy as your client. Not only does this show how much you care about your customers, but it also helps people who are interested in buying from you in the future picture how enjoyable it would be to work with you.

10. Pick a style A great Instagram Reel content idea to show off your products in the most engaging way is to round up several different products and ask your followers to pick their favorite! Instagram users love polls and quizzes and this is a fun way to take the voting element everyone loves and apply it to your Instagram Reels.

11. Share your struggles & successes Everyone knows it’s not easy being a business owner! If you’re looking to create more raw, authentic Instagram content, you could share some of your struggles and successes over the past year on Instagram Reels. Being open with your customers helps them be more empathetic, feel like they know you personally and creates a stronger bond over time. 

12. Your top tips Is there anything you wish you had known earlier in your entrepreneurial journey? These insights and learnings are valuable content to share with your customers. You can create an Instagram Reel video talking to the camera about something you’ve learned or put together a quick roundup sharing your favorite tips you’ve mastered along the way.

13. Announce a sale Last but not least, you can announce a sale with Instagram Reels! Customers obviously love sales and we love the idea of sharing the news of an upcoming sale through Instagram Reels to get your customers even more excited. You can share behind-the-scenes of prepping for the sale or details about the sale like how much the discounts are and when the sale ends.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPRUfWYneMa/

There are so many ways for your customers to learn more about you and your business through Instagram Reels.  And we hope you take full advantage! If you’re looking for a tool to create Reels with, check out Boosted the video-marketing app for professional templates with stock photos, fonts, music and more that makes it quick and easy to create quality, on-brand Reels for your brand.


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16 Essential Video Marketing Tips for Small Businesses in 2021

In 2021, video marketing is rapidly becoming the most popular form of content marketing, with most consumers preferring short-form video over any other content type. As video marketing content continues to rise in popularity , there are a few best practices and helpful hints your small business needs to know about. We’ve done the research, gathered the best tips and have broken it all down by platform to help your small business boost sales with video marketing content in 2021. 

All Platforms 

1. Keep your videos short Not only is short-form video content much easier for brands to create, it’s also the type of content that customers love to consume! Did you know that people have an attention span that’s only 8-seconds long? Your audience is much more likely to watch an Instagram Reel than a full-length YouTube video.

2. Grab attention within the first 3 seconds Speaking of short attention spans, it’s important for your marketing videos to capture your audiences’ attention within the first 3 seconds of the video to increase their interest and encourage higher engagement rates on your video content. 

3. Use high contrast text It’s a great tip to add text overlay to your videos, but if you are adding text on top of a video make sure it’s easy to read. A great way to do this is by adding text that’s all caps with colors that contrast well like a dark font over a light background.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO_AEzfBjce/

4. Keep word count low While you are adding text overlay to your small businesses’ marketing videos, be sure to keep your messages short and sweet so that your customers can both watch the video and quickly scan any text as well.

Instagram

5. Create story-sized videos If you aren’t using Instagram Stories for your small business yet, you are definitely missing out! (Learn more about how to successfully use Instagram Stories to boost your small business here.) If you are creating marketing videos, be sure to also make videos in the correct size and formats to be successful on Stories. It’s easy to create properly sized Instagram Story videos with Boosted video templates just be sure to select 9:16 when editing your videos:

6. Create custom Reels cover images Want higher engagement on your Instagram Reel videos? Try creating a custom cover tile image for your Reels. This will make your Instagram Reel videos look more professional, fit your feed and capture your customers attention. Learn how to add a custom thumbnail image to an Instagram Reels video here.

7. Title your Reels Another huge tip to encourage your customers to watch your Instagram Reels is to include a title. This could be a short description of the video content that appears only on the custom cover image, or you can keep the title at the top of the Reel for the first few seconds of the video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPL0MmZnNI9/

Facebook

8. Post videos to Facebook! This one might seem like an obvious tip, but with so many new short-form video options with newer platforms like Instagram and TikTok, small businesses sometimes forget about posting video content to Facebook. But Facebook can be a powerful search engine for your small businesses’ marketing videos did you know videos posted to Facebook reached 8 billion views per day in 2015 alone?

9. Make it interesting without audio Many people watch videos on their phone on silent, whether at home or in public, so you need to make sure your marketing videos are engaging and interesting with or without audio. An easy way to do this is by adding text overlay that can act as subtitles for the video content so your customers know all the info they need, even without the audio on. To add stunning text overlay, music and more, use the Boosted video-making app to create professional marketing videos in just a few minutes.

10. Upload native videos A native video simply means video content that is uploaded directly to a platform. Native videos are extremely important and highly rewarded within Facebook’s algorithm compared to posts that share a link to a video posted elsewhere, such as YouTube.

11. Create detailed titles and descriptions When uploading native videos to Facebook, don’t forget to take a few extra minutes to write a few detailed and descriptive words about your marketing video. Having a clear title and a short description about your video content will quickly let your customers know exactly what the video is about, looks more professional and can provide a small SEO boost. 

LinkedIn

12. Make it mobile friendly It’s a great tip to make all of your marketing video content mobile friendly, but it’s especially important for LinkedIn. Any videos posted to LinkedIn should be close-up content so your customers can easily see your content from a small phone screen.

13. Cross-promote social media platforms Not sure what type of video content to post onto LinkedIn? If you are already creating great video content on TikTok, repost those videos onto your LinkedIn! And the same goes for native videos you’ve posted to Facebook. The best way to receive as much exposure as possible for your brand’s video content is by cross-promoting it on your small businesses’ various social platforms.

TikTok

14. Make it 15 seconds You can create TikTok videos that longer than 15 seconds, but humans have short attention spans and 15 seconds is the ideal length video for TikTok. Many of the trending music and sounds are also 15 seconds, so this will give you even more options as you create TikTok video content for your small business.

@pardonmyfrench.co

what people think I sell Vs what I really sell 🤫 Please don’t take this one down tiktok. #greenscreen #readysetshop #smallbusinesstiktok

♬ original sound – Kaitlyn

15. Try out trending original audio If you’re using TikTok, you already know how important it is to use trending music! But did you know other user’s original audio is also a great option to include in your TikTok videos? There’s tons of great original audio for small business owners within #smallbusinesstiktok.

16. Use a combo of trending music & original audio Last but not least is one of our favorite secrets for small business owners to increase their chances of landing their TikTok videos on the FYP. If you are creating a TikTok video where you are talking to your customers, you can and should still add trending music! Simply select the trending music to add to your video, turn up your own original audio and turn down the volume on the added music.


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9 Mistakes Small Businesses Are Making on Instagram Stories (And How to Fix Them)

There are so many reasons for small business owners to utilize Instagram Stories. Stories offer a quick, convenient way to share short-form content on-the-go to easily engage with your customers on a daily basis.

But when it comes to Instagram Stories, there are several common mistakes we often see small business owners making. We’ve rounded up the nine most common mistakes small businesses are making with their Instagram Stories, along with tips on how to fix them.

1. Not using Stories at all

One of the biggest mistakes small businesses can make when it comes to Instagram, is not using Instagram Stories at all! There are so many benefits for small businesses when it comes to Instagram Stories Stories are an easy way to engage with your customers daily, drive more traffic to your website and create quality content quickly.

2. Not branding your Stories

Just because Stories don’t have a permanent spot on your feed doesn’t mean that they can’t be customized and beautifully branded! The simplest way to make your Instagram Stories feel on brand is to always use your brand colors. Did you know that you choose any color you want on Instagram Stories? Simply upload an image that has your brand colors to your Instagram Story, then use the drawing tool to tap and hold to select custom colors.

Read Next: ‘5 Ways to Make Your Instagram Stories Stand Out

3. Not using Instagram Shopping

If you are a product-based small business, you should definitely be using the Instagram Shopping feature. This enables you to tag your products in your Instagram Stories to make it super easy for your customers to shop your products  directly through Instagram. In order to use the Instagram Shopping feature to tag your products in posts and Stories, you’ll have to get your Instagram account approved then set up a catalogue of your products through Facebook. Learn how to set up Instagram Shopping here.

 4. Not posting videos

Short-form video content is extremely popular and highly engaging which is why it’s a huge mistake if your small business isn’t sharing videos on your Instagram Stories! Photos might seem like the easiest type of content to create and share but a tool like Boosted makes it simple to create high-quality videos, quickly and easily. Boosted has tons of beautiful templates and stock footage to choose from. And you can easily customize the colors, fonts and logo to create a branded, custom video for Instagram Stories in just a few minutes!

Read Next: ‘7 Creative Ways to Use Video on Social Media’

5. Not including Instagram Stickers When you upload a photo or video to your Instagram Stories, there’s a wide variety of Instagram Stickers you can choose from. Instagram Stickers are easy to include in your Stories and can make your Instagram Stories more engaging for your customers. So, which stickers are the best for your small business to use? Try using the question and quiz stickers to ask your followers a question this is a great way to get feedback directly from your customers!

6. Not using hashtags One mistake small businesses make when it comes to Instagram Stories is thinking that hashtags are just for feed posts. However, using hashtags on your Stories is an important step that many business owners forget! There are two ways to include hashtags in your Instagram Stories and you should be using both.

The first is the Instagram Hashtag Sticker this is a sticker that your followers can click to view more posts under that hashtag. (This will help your Instagram Story reach even more people too!) And the second way is a great Instagram Story hack that every small business owner should know about you can copy and paste a paragraph of related hashtags into the font option and make the font the same color as the background or hidden behind a GIF. These ‘hidden hashtags’ are another way to help boost your Instagram Stories to more potential customers.

Read Next: ‘7 Secrets For Entrepreneurs to Get The Most Out of Instagram Stories

7. Not sharing your feed posts Once you’ve shared a post to your feed, you should be sharing it to your Instagram Stories as well! Many small business owners forget to promote their content and sharing your posts to your Instagram Stories is a free way to help boost both the reach and engagement on all of your Instagram posts. By sharing your post to Instagram Stories, your followers will be more likely to see and engage with your post right after you’ve posted it (which is an important strategy when it comes to the Instagram algorithm!).

8. Not posting daily

As a small business owner, it isn’t realistic for you to post on your Instagram feed every day, but you also don’t want to make the mistake of not posting daily to your Instagram Stories. The beauty of Instagram Stories is how simple it is to create and share content. Some days you might post more often on Instagram Stories than others, but you should make an effort to post something to your Instagram Stories every single day, even if it’s just a quick check in to say hi to your followers, an inspirational quote or even sharing a relevant past Instagram post.

Read Next: ‘How Many Times a Day Should You Post to Instagram Stories?

9. Not saving Stories to Highlights

Last but not least – the final mistake that small business owners are making when it comes to Instagram Stories is forgetting to save their Stories to their Instagram Story Highlights. The Story Highlights feature allows you to organize Stories you’ve previously posted into easy-to-access collections directly under your Instagram bio. When you’ve created great Instagram Stories with helpful info for your customers, it’s a shame to let them disappear forever after 24 hours. Utilizing Instagram Story Highlights helps your customers quickly find the content they are looking for, drive more traffic to your website and provide another way to engage your followers.

Read Next: ‘How to Use Instagram Story Highlights Strategically as a Small Business Owner’


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The Ultimate TikTok Marketing Guide for Small Businesses in 2021

By now it’s almost impossible to have never heard about TikTok the new social media platform that Generation Z is obsessed with. If you’re considering checking out TikTok to help your small business grow, we’ve got you covered! Keep reading for the Ultimate TikTok Guide for Small Businesses in 2021 covering all of the basics, tips for how to succeed on TikTok, video content ideas and more. 

Ultimate TikTok Guide: What is TikTok?

In the most basic terms, TikTok is a social media app to watch and create short videos. TikTok calls themselves the “destination for short-form mobile videos” and they’ve been gaining popularity extremely quickly. In 2020, TikTok was the most popular app downloaded globally and in 2021, it is now the sixth largest social network.

Short-form video content is king in 2021 and TikTok proves it the ideal video length for the platform is 15 seconds. TikTok users can record a short 15-second video within the app with a maximum length of 60 seconds. Not sure how to create your own videos within the app? Here’s a video tutorial from social media expert Rachel Pedersen that will walk you through the process:

Check out the next section of our Ultimate TikTok Guide for Small Businesses to learn all of the TikTok basics like terminology and features!

The TikTok Basics Small Businesses Need to Know

It wouldn’t be an Ultimate TikTok Guide if we didn’t cover the basics, right? If you’re not familiar with TikTok yet, here are a few basic terms and features you’ll want to know about to help you better navigate the platform.

FYP: FYP is TikTok’s lingo meaning “For You Page.” The FYP is TikTok’s version of a “homefeed” within the platform. As soon as you open TikTok, you will land on your “For You Page” and will be able to immediately begin scrolling and watching videos. What’s unique about the FYP is that you won’t only see videos from TikTok accounts you follow, you will also automatically be shown videos that TikTok thinks you will enjoy. Learn how to get your small business featured on TikTok’s FYP here.

Music: TikTok isn’t the type of app you can enjoy without sound music makes up a huge part of the fun of the video app! TikTok is integrated with Apple Music and they have a massive music library full of all your favorite songs and sounds. Keep an eye out for sounds and music that are trending within TikTok: these are the audio clips that are most popular on the app at the moment and are an important element to growing on the platform.

Filters & Effects: You can do a lot of fun things with your video content within the TikTok app. Within the app, there’s everything from filters, visual effects, transitions, stickers, GIFs, text overlay and more. Play around with some of the effects, but don’t feel pressured to use them in every video you create some of the top trending TikToks don’t use any effects!

Trends & Challenges: Something unique about TikTok’s platform is the way the content shifts based on trends and challenges that are popular at the moment. A TikTok trend could simply be the use of a trending song with your own spin on it. There are also dancing trends, hashtag challenges and more. The thing these all have in common is the way users are encouraged to “copy” a trend by creating a TikTok with their own twist.

Live: Most social networks now have some feature that enables users to ‘go live’ and broadcast in the moment. TikTok’s Live feature is similar to going live on Instagram or Facebook, but for now this feature is only available to accounts that have 1,000 subscribers or more.

Advertising: TikTok also offers a variety of ways for brands to advertise on the social network. There’s everything from in-feed video ads, branded hashtags and challenges with branded pages. TikTok advertising can be pretty pricey, so for now it’s mostly large brands with big marketing budgets that are paying to play on TikTok. Here’s our guide on everything you need to know about advertising on TikTok.

Why Small Businesses Should Care About TikTok

Some brands aren’t taking TikTok seriously yet because it’s an app known for having younger users. The reality is though that TikTok is a powerful platform growing among all demographics. While Gen Z is the largest user demographic on TikTok currently, it’s important to remember that most social media platforms tend to gain popularity among younger users first (just like Facebook and Instagram did!).

Not only is the platform itself growing short-form video content is increasing in popularity across every platform. Customers today love video in fact, the average consumer is now watching 16 hours of video in just one week!

It’s also been reported that 86% of customers would like to see more video content from brands. If you aren’t sure where to start with video content creation for your small business, tools like Boosted can help you create professional videos to grow your brand on TikTok, Instagram and beyond.

Not only is it important for your small business to create more video content, but it’s also important to care about TikTok as a platform whether you are creating videos or consuming them. TikTok sets many trends for the type of video content that consumers enjoy, so even if you prefer to create and edit video content outside of the TikTok app, it’s still important for your business to be aware of what’s happening within the platform itself.

Small Business Guide: How to Get Started on TikTok

If you understand the value of TikTok for small business owners, but aren’t sure where to begin, we’ve got you covered. Here are seven simple steps to help your small business get started on the platform.

1. Create an account: TikTok is an app that you can download from the Google Play or App Store. Simply install the app, select a method to sign up and create an account.

2. Complete your profile: Setting up your TikTok profile is similar to other apps. You’ll want to create a username, add a profile photo and a short bio. Keep in mind that TikTok only allows up to 80 characters for your bio.  

3. Link to other socials: If you’d like to use TikTok to help grow your small business, it’s important to link your other social media accounts that you might be more active on within your TikTok profile. It’s easy to link to your Instagram within the TikTok app. Doing so helps users find another way to easily connect with your brand.  

4. Watch videos on TikTok: There’s a ton of different types of videos on TikTok! One of the most important steps to getting your small business started on TikTok is a fun one simply watch lots of videos! This is the best way to learn how consumers are using and enjoying the app. To find out what type of content other small business owners are creating, check out #smallbusinesscheck, #smallbusinessowner & #smallbusinesstiktok.

5. Follow a few accounts: As you are watching some TikTok videos, you’ll want to start following a few accounts as well. Focus on finding some of your social media connections you’ve built on other platforms and following them on TikTok also. You should also try to follow accounts in your niche. 

6. Engage with videos: Once you’ve started following accounts, it’s important to engage with videos that pop up on your FYP. By liking and commenting on videos, TikTok will begin to learn what type of content you enjoy seeing. Then, the platform will start showing you even more content that you’re interested in, which makes the TikTok experience super personalized to you, unique and more enjoyable!  

7. Make your first TikTok! And finally, after you’ve set up your profile, watched several videos and engaged on TikTok, it’s time to actually make your first TikTok video! Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect. And if you are having trouble figuring out how to record and edit videos within the TikTok app (it can be difficult!) don’t forget you can upload video content created outside of the app. Boosted has tons of video templates to help you create high-quality TikTok video in just a few minutes.

Here’s a great TikTok on the topic from social media strategist @jera.bean:

Tips & Tricks for Small Businesses to Succeed on TikTok

It wouldn’t be the Ultimate TikTok Guide for Small Businesses without sharing all of our favorite tips and tricks for small business to succeed on TikTok! Keep reading to learn a few key strategies to help boost your small business’ presence on TikTok.

Cross Promote Socials: While you can’t usually add your website to your TikTok profile, you can (and should!) cross promote your other social media accounts that do drive traffic to your website. Cross promote your Instagram easily by linking it in your profile or adding your IG handle at the end of your TikTok videos.

Post Often: While some TikTok videos go viral overnight, it can take a lot of work to create a strong presence on TikTok for your small business. It’s important to post on TikTok often to help your small business grow and succeed on the platform.

Find a Niche: Niche content does extremely well on TikTok. As you are watching videos, see what niches other users are focusing on and begin thinking about how you can create content for your own niche.

Get Good Lighting: Videos don’t have to be perfect on TikTok! Users expect and want authentic videos that look like the average person could have created them. That being said, it’s still important to have good lighting and overall good quality for your videos.

Use Trending Sounds:  If your TikTok videos use a trending sound, it will increase the chances of your videos being shown on more people’s FYP. Simply save a song from any video you’re watching to use the sound or you can search trending sounds in TikTok’s playlists when you are looking for a sound to add to your video.

Be Authentic: While consumers might want more video content from brands, they don’t want salesy videos, especially on TikTok! Be sure to create relatable content, be authentic and avoid creating videos that seem like ads.

Engage Frequently: And finally, don’t forget to engage often. TikTok is a social network after all! Engaging with content you like not only helps customize your FYP even more, but it’s a great way to build connections and grow your own following as well. And most importantly, if someone is commenting on your small business’ videos, be sure to like and comment back! 

29 TikTok Video Ideas for Small Businesses

Now that you know the TikTok basics and all of the tips & tricks you’ll need for your small business to succeed on TikTok, it’s time to start creating! As we mentioned before, it’s a great idea for you to find a niche to post about on TikTok. There are tons of small business owners on TikTok and some of their top trending videos are super simple TikToks showing the behind the scenes of running their small business.

We’ve put together a great list of questions or thought starters for you to begin brainstorming a list of video content ideas to create and post on your small business’ TikTok account. For even more TikTok video content ideas, read our “41 TikTok Video Ideas For Small Businesses” blog post next.

Who: 

– Who are you? 

– Who works with you?

– Where do you work? (Show off your workspace!) 

– Why did you launch your small business? 

– Why are you so passionate about what you do? 

What: 

– What is your small business? 

– What are your products/services? 

– What are your most popular products/services?

– What does a day in your life as a business owner look like?

– What does your inventory look like?

– What does it take to run your business? 

– What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way?

– What are tools you use to run your small business?

How:

– How did you start your business? 

– How do you make your products/services?

– How do you package your products/services? 

– How do you manage inventory? 

– How do you market your services? 

– How do you run your small business?

We hope our Ultimate TikTok Guide for Small Businesses has been helpful! It can seem overwhelming to learn the ins and outs of a whole new social media network but once you’ve learned the basics, explored all of the amazing TikTok features and have created several videos to boost your small business, it won’t seem so difficult. If you need help creating video content to post on TikTok (or any social media platform!) be sure to check out Boosted.


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Promote your accounting business with the best Instagram hashtags

If you’ve been practically anywhere on the planet for the last few years, you know that Instagram is a hot market for virtually any industry. Accounting is no exception.

But what does it take to drive conversions on the platform? 

First things first. Before you can convert leads, you have to attract them. In this post, we will walk you through the best way to get noticed and gain followers on Instagram.

How to develop a no-fail accounting hashtag strategy

Thoughtful use of hashtags is the number one way to attract new customers on Instagram. In fact, learning to identify and harness the most powerful hashtags for your small finance business is critical to success on the platform.

And, the best part is that you can use this Instagram hashtag strategy on both still posts and video posts! Not sure how to get started with video posts? Check out our Instagram video ad maker to help promote your business on Instagram.

Now that you know how vital it is to develop a robust Instagram hashtag strategy for your accounting business, it’s time to get started!

Top Instagram accounting hashtags

To get you started, here’s a list of top Instagram accounting hashtags. You don’t want to use them exclusively because they have quite a few posts already, but they’re an excellent jumping-off point.

#accounting
#cpa
#certifiedpersonalaccountant
#taxes
#taxes
#finance
#money
#bookkeeping
#entrepreneur
#business
#smallbusiness

While the most popular accounting hashtag pools might already contain upwards of a million posts, using them can still help drive visitors to your Instagram account, and from there, to your business website.

Of course, you also need to choose some less saturated pools in which your business can stand out. Which brings me to the other benefit of starting out with broad hashtags: You can use them to generate narrower niche hashtags with less competition. This is crucial for small businesses.

Niche down

For example, if you start typing #accounting into the Instagram search bar, you’ll find that it has 1.4 million posts. Instagram will also display related hashtags, like #accountingservices (70,000 posts), #accountingtips (19,000 posts), #accountingandfinance (14,000 posts), and #accountingexpert (3,000 posts). It pays to spend a few minutes scrolling through the options, as you might find a few you hadn’t considered.

Repeat this process with several different terms until you’ve found a solid stable of applicable tags to use.

Next, it’s time to narrow things down even further. One really easy way to do this is simply to add your location. After all, some of the people searching #cpa (700,000 posts) are probably looking for CPAs in their area. So go ahead and include add #houstoncpa (1,400 posts) or #cpahouston (60 posts) (or both!) in your post.

And don’t forget to spell out those acronyms to find even more hashtags. At 12,000 posts, #certifiedpublicaccountant has a fraction of the competition of #cpa.

If you have a specialty, you can use that to find less competitive hashtags as well. For example, #smallbusinesscpa has 500 posts.

Once you have identified the best hashtags for your small finance business, you can use them over and over for your posts, swapping some out for more relevant ones when applicable. This simple exercise pays off by increasing your brand visibility to drive followers, conversions and profits.


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The top Instagram hashtags for your law business

Instagram is the marketing platform you can’t ignore any longer. It’s still a place where people post selfies and photos of the sunset, but it’s much more, too.

In 2019, 37% of American adults were on Instagram

Think about that for a minute. 

More than one in three potential consumers in the United States are concentrated on one social media platform. Most of these users are searching hashtags, or stumbling upon them while browsing posts. And those hashtags can lead them to you.

All you have to do is use the right Instagram hashtag strategy to utilize the best legal and lawyer hashtags for your Instagram law page.

The best legal hashtags

Getting noticed on Instagram isn’t hard, but you do need to have an effective strategy. According to some statistics, more than a billion people use Instagram every month. That’s a lot of users, and a lot of hashtags. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too much effort to find the best law hashtags for your small business. 

And, the best part is that you can use this Instagram hashtag strategy on both still posts and video posts! Not sure how to get started with video posts? Check out our Instagram video ad maker to help promote your business on Instagram.

Popularity

The most popular law hashtags are popular because a lot of people use them—and search them. When you use one of these top hashtags to promote your legal business, you increase the pool of people who may come across your post. But there are a lot of other accounts competing for that attention. So it’s best to use a mix of popular and less competitive hashtags.

But how do you find these tags?

To start, go with the most obvious options. For example: 

#law
#legal
#lawfirm
#lawyer
#attorney
#attorneyatlaw
#lawsuit
#defenseattorney

Instagram isn’t yet a go-to place for legal business marketing, so these tags aren’t as bloated with posts as some others. The good news here is that even the larger pools aren’t overly large by Instagram standards. Even so, you should choose tags with both larger and smaller pools. And a good way to find the smaller tags is to start with the broader ones.

Target your audience by being specific

When you start to type a hashtag into Instagram, the platform will suggest options and display the number of posts associated with each one. For example, when you type #lawyer (3.3 million posts) into the search bar, Instagram will offer #lawyers (990,000 posts), #lawyering (180,000 posts), and #lawyerup (109,000 posts). 

You can repeat the process until you’ve identified a solid number of broader tags. 

Next, narrow your focus to connect with the users you want to serve. The easiest way to do this is by location: #bostonlawyer  has 970 posts and #bostonlawyers has 570.

And if you specialize in a particular sort of law, you can narrow your hashtags further. Try #divorcelawyer (60,000 posts) or #familylawyer (65,000).

Shuffle the legal business hashtags you choose and try them out on different posts. Keep an eye on the engagement you get from each post and tweak as necessary. 

It doesn’t take that much time, but the effort that you put into identifying the best law business hashtags for your Instagram account is worth it. It’s time to put the platform to work for you. 


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Limber up your yoga business with a powerful Instagram hashtag strategy

You’re fierce.

You’ve built your yoga business from nothing. You’ve done the research and you know Instagram is increasingly where consumers are discovering and interacting with new brands. 

You want in, so you’ve created a profile with a gorgeous, evocative aesthetic that will make people want to put down their phones and head off to your wellness retreat. 

But that stunningly curated feed isn’t worth much if no one sees it.

Crafting a cohesive customer experience on your Instagram account is just one part of the process. You also have to attract viewers to your profile. Luckily, developing a powerful Instagram hashtag strategy isn’t rocket science, and we’re here to walk you through it.

Find the best mix of yoga hashtags

If you want to get noticed on Instagram, you have to choose your hashtags wisely. With more than a billion monthly users on the platform, there’s potential to get noticed—and potential to get lost in the noise. So it is absolutely critical to learn to identify the most effective mix of hashtags for your yoga business.

And, the best part is that you can use this Instagram hashtag strategy on both still posts and video posts! Not sure how to get started with video posts? Check out our Instagram video ad maker to help promote your business on Instagram.

11 Best Instagram yoga hashtags

To start, choose a couple of short, obvious hashtags. Chances are, these pools will already contain quite a lot of posts. Here are some examples of top yoga hashtags: 

#yoga
#yogastudio
#yogainstructor
#yogagear
#yogapants
#yogaclothing
#yogamat
#yogafashion
#yogaretreat
#wellnessretreat
#wellness

The tags are going to be pretty saturated—#yoga has more than 90 million posts. It’s a good idea to go ahead and throw in some of those, after all, you can’t get noticed if you’re not in the pool. But you can’t put all your eggs in the huge-hashtag basket. So set a few aside and target your audience by narrowing down your focus.

Get more yoga-specific

Instagram can help you do this pretty easily by suggesting hashtags when you search. For example, if you start typing #yoga into the search bar, you’ll also find #yogatherapy (750,000 posts), #yogaasana (660,000 posts), and #yogamakesmehappy (317,000 posts). By searching for obvious hashtags, you can stumble upon less competitive ones that are perfect for your small yoga or wellness business.

Spending just a few minutes doing this can generate a dozen or more hashtags that you hadn’t previously thought of.

After you’ve done this, it’s time to narrow things down even further. You do this by identifying the hashtags where you can be a big fish in a small pond. One effortless and effective hack is simply to tack your city name or nickname onto either end of the hashtag. This helps connect you with locals who are searching for your services. So use #vegasyogastudio (200 posts) in addition to #yogastudio (1.3 million posts).   

If your audience is more specific, use it to search for more less competitive hashtags. For instance, #hotyogastudio has 39,000 posts.

Finding the best Instagram hashtags for your small yoga business is a straightforward process, and one that you can tweak over time. Try out a few hashtags, monitor your engagement, and make changes as necessary. Every new post is an opportunity to connect with more people and grow your enterprise.


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Attract followers with the best food business Instagram hashtags

You probably are already aware that Instagram is where it’s at for restaurants and other food businesses. For a while, it seemed like every other post contained a smoothie bowl, a latte or an artfully filtered avocado toast.

You already know this. You’ve created a mouthwatering feed with cohesive images. Visitors to your profile can actually see your branding in your grid. You’re doing everything right, but your food business still isn’t where you want it to be. 

It’s time to look at hashtags. More specifically, you need an Instagram hashtag strategy.

The best restaurant hashtags

Instagram users search for hashtags and browse hashtag pools all the time. They’re finding new businesses to engage with every day. You need to get in on this.

Whether you run a restaurant, a catering business, a bakery or something else entirely, Instagram already has plenty of food-related hashtags for you to choose from. The trick is selecting the right mix to target your customers.

And, the best part is that you can use this Instagram hashtag strategy on both still posts and video posts! Not sure how to get started with video posts? Check out our Instagram video ad maker to help promote your business on Instagram.

So where do you start with your Instagram hashtag strategy? With the most obvious hashtags.

Popular food hashtags

#restaurant
#catering
#slowfood
#bakery
#coffeeshop
#weddingcakes
#foodtruck
#foodtrucksofinstagram
#oliveoil
#curedmeat
#veganfood
#whatveganseat
#vegetariancafe
#sushi
#sushibar

There are a lot of trendy food-related hashtags. All joking aside, #latte already has more than 12 million posts. If you target only very competitive hashtags like this one, your small business will likely get lost in the noise. That’s why it pays to take some time to identify less competitive hashtags. Posting to these pools will help your food business stand out and get noticed.

Narrow your focus

You can use the popular hashtags to find other hashtags. Instagram makes this really easy. 

When you type a hashtag into the Instagram search box, the platform will give you predictive suggestions along with the number of posts that already appear in that pool. So, while #sushi  has a staggering 29 million posts, when you type it in, Instagram will offer #sushimaking (21,000 posts), #sushilounge (21,000 posts), #sushiset (31,000 posts), and #sushishop (99,000 posts).

Using this handy built-in feature is a great way to quickly find hashtags with smaller pools—and ones you hadn’t even thought of.

Find more specific hashtags by drilling down to the categories that set you apart. You can use your location for starters. For example, while #foodtruck has 6 million posts, if you’re in Washington, D.C., you can use #dcfoodtruck, which only has 10,000 posts.

You can also harness your specialty or niche to narrow things down, as with #koreanfoodtruck, at 3,600 posts.

Grow your food business with the best hashtags

Instagram is already huge, and is only getting bigger. With more than one billion monthly users on the platform, you can’t afford not to optimize your Instagram hashtag strategy. 

So use our tips to find the most effective mix of hashtags for your restaurant or small food business. With a little practice and some trial and error, you can steadily draw new views, gain followers, and turn them into customers.


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