Grant Cardone: Why TikTok Is the Best Way To Build Your Small Business
With 1.9 million followers, real estate guru Grant Cardone knows a thing or two about building an audience on TikTok. But the celebrity money guru of “10X” fame knows the social platform is much more than a means for online influencers to peddle their personas.
A member of the GOBankingRates 100 Most Influential Money Experts list, Cardone believes TikTok is the best brand-building social media platform for businesses large and small — and he has the facts and figures to back it up.
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Growing Your Business on TikTok: Cardone’s Quotes in Context
In a recent post on his own GCTV.com, Cardone outlined the logic behind his love of TikTok with a series of quotes that share his knowledge on how to get the most out of the platform.
‘In Case You Were Wondering, Two-Thirds of 50 Million People Is Nearly 34 Million’
Cardone points out that TikTok boasts 50 million daily active users who average 1.5 hours on the app per day. Two out of three — 34 million people — say they’re likely to buy products available on the platform. More than nine out of 10 take action like making a purchase or taking a survey after watching a video.
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‘Believe It or Not, a TikTok Business Account Is Not Always the Best Choice — Especially If You Are Small’
Now that you know just how big an audience you stand to gain by building a presence on TikTok, it’s time to decide the best way to approach them.
TikTok offers business accounts explicitly built for marketing and sales. They provide advanced analytics and insights about who you’re reaching and how much they like your content — but Cardone says not to assume business profiles are always best. Most people have personal accounts but don’t realize they can use them to make money.
Tip: Cardone advises sticking with your decision once you make a choice. It’s easy to pivot between business and personal accounts, but you’ll limit your reach if you switch too frequently.
‘You Must Put in the Work To Build a Brand’
Once you choose a profile type, it’s time to build your version of the McDonald’s Golden Arches or the Nike Swoosh — an instantly recognizable identity that represents you, your values and your mission. This is the hard part.
When it comes to brand building, Cardone said, “You will — and should — spend more time on this step than any other promotional activity.”
‘Provide Value and Become an Authority’
Now it’s time to start making videos, which you can’t do until you decide what kind of content you want to create. Cardone offers examples like announcing sales, showcasing your products and giving tours of your facilities.
Tip: Cardone says to focus on providing value and education at first by following what he calls the 95/5 Rule. Informative content will account for 95% of your posts and promotional material will make up the other 5%. “Posting this way establishes your knowledge, and your authority, as well as builds trust,” Cardone wrote. “As a result, your target audience is naturally more likely to buy from you.”
‘Utilize TikTok Trends To Grow Your Small Business’
Cardone says that to succeed, you must monitor the entire platform instead of focusing only on your profile — but that doesn’t mean copying every fad that comes along.
Instead, try to capture a wider audience by:
Monitoring your competitors’ content and ads for inspiration.
Finding your #Tok community by searching tags related to your business.
Using popular songs, celebrity quotes, sound effects and other audio components — but stay current, as trends change often and get stale quickly.
‘Collaborate with Other Businesses and Influencers’
Cardone wants his audience to know they’re not in it alone and are unlikely to succeed if they don’t seize the opportunity to meet with other minds. He uses data to back up his belief in the value of collaboration, stating that ads designed in conjunction with content creators saw a 26% increase in brand favorability.
Tip: Cardone suggests approaching businesses that are adjacent to yours. For example, if you own a neighborhood coffee shop, reach out to a local bakery.
‘Work With the TikTok Algorithm’
TikTok’s programming language suggests content for users to watch based on their behavior and factors like:
Video quality
Video length
Keywords
Hashtags
Text color
Cardone wants his followers to learn as much as possible about how it works, but cautioned, “There is good and bad news about trying to please the algorithm. The bad news is that TikTok is always updating the programming. So tricks that worked yesterday, may not work today… However, the good news is that quality content always wins on this platform. As long as you keep delivering value, you will connect with the right audience. Because of that, you must post — A LOT…”
And that thought leads to the final point.
‘Post 10X More Than the Competition’
Cardone says the key is to post more — much more — than the other businesses in your industry, from the smallest mom-and-pops to the biggest corporations. He insists frequent posts are the key to the kind of brand-building and customer familiarity that generate success on TikTok.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Grant Cardone: Why TikTok Is the Best Way To Build Your Small Business
