TikTok Marketing

TikTok has grown from a lip-sync app into one of the most influential platforms for discovering products, places and businesses. According to DataReportal's Digital 2026 report for the UK, TikTok's advertising tools could reach 26.8 million adults in the UK in late 2025.

Its recommendation feed means even a brand-new account can reach people who have never heard of it. That makes TikTok a real opportunity for businesses, but only if you are prepared to create content that fits the platform. This guide covers organic content, advertising options and how to get started.

• Discovery is built in. The For You feed recommends videos based on what people watch and interact with, not just who they follow.
• It rewards authenticity. Simple videos filmed on a phone often outperform polished adverts.
• People use it to find things. Many users search TikTok for recommendations, reviews and how-to content.
• Trends spread quickly. Sounds, formats and ideas can take off within days.

TikTok is not the right fit for every business. If your customers are mainly senior decision-makers in traditional industries, LinkedIn may be a better investment. But TikTok's audience is broader than many assume, and it is no longer only a platform for teenagers.

Switch to a business account in your profile settings. It gives you access to analytics, the Commercial Music Library and other business tools.

Business accounts should use sounds from TikTok's Commercial Music Library, which are cleared for commercial use. Popular chart music used in trends is often licensed only for personal accounts.

Ideas that work well for businesses include:

• Behind-the-scenes looks at how you make or deliver what you sell
• Quick tips, answers to common customer questions and how-to videos
• Before-and-after transformations
• Introducing your team and showing your personality
• Responding to comments with video replies
• Joining relevant trends, where they genuinely suit your brand

People decide within a second or two whether to keep watching. Open with the most interesting moment, a question or a bold statement rather than a slow introduction.

Regular posting helps you learn what works. Use TikTok's analytics to see which videos keep people watching and which bring in followers, then make more of what works.

Promote is TikTok's simplest ad tool, built into the app. It lets you pay to show one of your existing videos to more people, with a choice of goal such as more video views, profile visits or website visits. It is a useful starting point for testing.

For more control, TikTok Ads Manager lets you create campaigns with specific objectives, audiences, budgets and tracking. In-Feed ads appear in the For You feed between organic videos, and can include a call-to-action button.

There are two kinds:

• Standard In-Feed ads, created as ads and not shown on your profile
• Spark Ads, which promote existing organic posts from your account, or from a creator's account with their permission. Because they appear as normal posts, likes, comments and follows go to the original account.

TopView ads appear when someone opens the app, as the first video they see. They offer huge reach but are bought through TikTok's sales team and are generally suited to large brands with big budgets.

Brands can create custom filters, stickers and effects for users to try, or launch a hashtag challenge encouraging people to create their own videos. These are premium formats typically sold through TikTok's sales team.

TikTok's creator marketplace, now part of TikTok One, helps brands find creators to partner with. Creator content can be posted on the creator's own account and then boosted as a Spark Ad, which often feels more natural than brand-made content.

TikTok Ads Manager has minimum daily budgets at campaign and ad group level, which you will see when you set up a campaign. Beyond the minimums, you set your own budget. Start with an amount you are comfortable testing for a few weeks, and judge success on cost per lead, sale or other meaningful result rather than views alone.

Install the TikTok Pixel on your website, or use the Events API, so you can see which ads lead to visits, enquiries or purchases. Many website platforms, including Shopify and WordPress via plugins, have integrations that make this straightforward. Make sure your cookie banner and privacy notice cover advertising cookies.

• Film vertically in 9:16 and keep important text away from the bottom of the screen, where captions and buttons appear.
• Add captions so videos work with the sound off.
• Keep it human. Real people and genuine reactions build trust.
• Test lots of ideas. TikTok rewards experimentation, and it is hard to predict which video will take off.
• Reply to comments. Engagement builds community and can inspire your next video.

TikTok is worth considering if your customers use it, you can commit to creating video regularly and you are comfortable with an informal, creative style. Combined with other channels, it can help you reach new audiences that are hard to find elsewhere.

If you would like help planning content or running TikTok ads, our social media and social ads teams can help.

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