How To Go Live On TikTok & How To Use TikTok for Your Business

10 min read

TikTok has a ton of users, which means that businesses that use the platform have access to a lot of potential customers. A great way to engage with this blossoming online audience is learning how to go live on TikTok (a.k.a. how to live stream video for your followers via the TikTok app).

TikTok’s live stream policy is pretty simple: follow the platform’s community guidelines and have 1,000+ followers.

So yes, you’ll need some followers to go live on TikTok. But don’t worry, gaining followers is easier than you might think — and the payoff for a strong TikTok presence could be huge for your business.

What Types of Businesses Should Use TikTok for Marketing?

Although almost any business will likely find value in using TikTok for marketing, the platform might be especially helpful for companies that focus on a long tail sales strategy.

What is a long tail? Long tail is a business strategy that helps businesses earn significant profits by selling lower volumes of hard-to-find items to a higher number of customers instead of selling larger volumes of popular items.

So why is TikTok a good place for this type of business? TikTok has a lot of users under the age of 25. In general, shopping trends among this demographic tend to involve hand-made, artisan, or otherwise scarce products (think vintage clothing or unique art). So by marketing on a platform regularly trafficked by this demographic, businesses that use a long-tail sales strategy are setting themselves up for success.

tiktok by age by group

How to Gain Followers on TikTok

Since TikTok restricts its live stream feature to accounts with 1,000+ followers, you need strategies to grow an audience. Keep these three points in mind as you increase your TikTok following.

Prioritize authenticity

No one likes it when people seem dishonest, and TikTok users are no exception. Focus on making content that is relevant to your business while still giving your videos a sense of individual personality. TikTok content that comes across as “corporate” or standardized probably won’t perform well.

Make targeted content

If you run a business of any size, you probably have a pretty good idea of who your target customer is. Just like all marketing efforts, your TikTok page should be designed for that shopper. Don’t go for generalized videos—TikTok users like niche content.

Use the TikTok app regularly

Staying engaged with your audience is super important, but make sure you’re regularly posting videos without compromising quality. You should also actively engage with comments on your posts. Learning how to go live on TikTok won’t be helpful if your business doesn’t stay engaged with the platform.

What Type of Content Should Businesses Post on TikTok?

The best type of content for your business will depend on your target customer, what you sell, and the brand image you’re trying to convey. However, there are a few video ideas you might want to use to get started on TikTok.

Product demonstration videos

We’re not talking about infomercial-style content — that probably won’t perform well. Instead, use product demonstrations as a chance to develop your visual brand. Again, this can be a really helpful strategy for long-tail businesses. Sell rare, artisan candles? Think about the lifestyle associated with this sort of luxury product and make videos that match that aesthetic.

Product or business story videos

TikTok users appreciate content that feels personal. Try making a video that tells the story of your company or one that details how a product is made. And yup, this can also be really helpful for long-tail businesses (noticing the trend?). If you sell lower volumes of hard-to-find products, posting TikTok videos that showcase the unique origin of your business might help viewers connect with your brand on a more personal level.

Product packing videos

If you scroll through the small business hashtag on TikTok, you’ll probably see a lot of product packing videos. These short clips show the business owner or an employee getting shipments ready, and they can be really popular. Try using this kind of video as an opportunity to include an interesting voiceover telling a story about your business to maximize that personal connection with your followers.

How To Go Live on TikTok And How to Launch a Successful Live Stream

Now that you have strategies for meeting that 1,000+ followers guideline, it’s time to learn how to go live on TikTok (it’s pretty simple).

Open the TikTok app and look for the plus/post button at the bottom of your screen (it’s that button you use to post videos).
On the video screen, select “Live” next to the recording button.
Add your title.
Tap “Go Live.”

How to pick a live stream title for your TikTok live stream

When you go live on TikTok, you’ll need to enter a short title for your live stream. The TikTok app lets you write a live stream title that is a max of 32 characters long. Focus on writing a live stream title that’s enticing without falling into the clickbait trap. Remember: you should prioritize authenticity.

How to pick a live stream topic

Learning how to go live on TikTok isn’t really helpful if you don’t know what your live streams should include. Think about these questions as you pick a topic for your live stream:

What video did you post that was particularly successful? Can you expand on that video to make a full live stream session?
Have your followers requested certain types of content that would work better in a longer format?

Pro tip: Try encouraging live viewers to ask questions in the comment section. This will help you focus on topics that your followers are actively interested in.

How To Go Live on TikTok To Grow Your Business

Now that you know how to go live on TikTok, let’s look at two ways to use the app’s live feature to grow your business.

Include a link to your website in your TikTok bio

Making sure your TikTok page includes a link to your business’s website is super important. If people discover your account while you’re live streaming, they might check out your page and tap that link. (Don’t have a website for your business? Ecwid can help!)

If you’re looking for a free but powerful link-in-bio tool, check out Linkup. It lets you easily create a mobile-friendly page with links to all your social profiles, work, content, and even products. This is especially beneficial for brands, artists, content creators, and influencers, as your followers can easily buy your products or merch directly from your TikTok link in bio.

Go live often

Just like posting regularly, going live often can increase your business’s visibility on the TikTok app—which can be really helpful for growth. Try starting a live stream session once per week.

Time to Get Started!

With 100 million monthly users in the U.S. alone, TikTok could be an extremely valuable part of your business’s marketing efforts. So don’t wait! Start growing your TikTok today!

Need a website for your business? Ecwid can help! Online retail sales in the U.S. are expected to surpass $908 billion this year, so it’s a great time to join the market.

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Jun 21, 2021

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.