By Nicole Leinbach Hoffman
Some independent retailers do not understand how to leverage the increasingly popular social media platform TikTok for their business.
The platform’s strengths are too strong to overlook. Authenticity, creativity, and community are among its top assets — much like those of independent businesses. Consider the four tips below to strengthen consumer visibility and sales via TikTok.
Behind the Scenes (BTS) of Your Business
People love seeing the human side of businesses, and there is nothing more human than sharing your store’s realities. From showcasing new product arrivals to revealing how some of your inventory may be made, packed, or delivered to highlighting your backroom office and daily routines to giving personal glimpses of the employees who bring your store to life, there is no shortage of BTS moments to share.
One example is sharing where you sourced a product from — such as a trade show — and then revealing how long ago that was before it landed on your store shelves, why you chose it, a recent story of a customer who bought it, and more.
The ideas for sharing BTS moments of your business are endless. While this may feel challenging if you are uncomfortable on camera, the good news is that these video reels do not need to be long and extensive with tons of detail. By using inventory, your store’s backdrop, your community, and, of course, your team, the stars of your reels do not need to be you.
A few ways to highlight BTS store moments are to:
- Speak directly into the camera or use images and record your voice only without showing your face.
“Every morning, we begin our day with coffee from a nearby café that is also a locally owned business, and then we immediately dive into re-merchandising our centerpiece display for guests to enjoy when they first walk into the store. Coffee somehow fuels our inspiration, and it’s one of our favorite ways to kickstart each morning.” - Use your inventory as the star of this BTS moment. It is a fantastic way to share what inspired you to bring products into your store.
“I found this notebook at a tiny maker market in Maine unexpectedly without original plans to bring it into our store. However, after using it and enjoying it myself, I knew our customers would value their creations as well. Now, whenever someone picks it up in our store, I love sharing that story because like many of our customers, we truly value supporting small businesses.” - Use the BTS approach to showcase products and their purpose — always a customer favorite. Or spotlight new arrivals, highlight inventory you want to move as soon as possible, or bring visibility to your employees’ favorite things. A call to action not to overlook is asking your viewers to comment on your reel, such as used in the example below.
“It’s an unpacking day here at the shop, and this box is always a favorite because it comes from one of our top vendors and is an employee favorite. We never leave our shelves empty from their whimsical kitchen towels and other home accessories, and admittedly I always seem to bring a few home! What’s your favorite kitchen accessory you’ve purchased from us? Drop it in the comments below.”
People love supporting small businesses with their heart. A BTS approach via TikTok reinforces the heart of your one-of-a-kind business while driving emotional connection and loyalty with consumers … and, of course, sales.
Jump on TikTok Trends
The algorithms of TikTok tend to attach to trends, among other details, so leveraging this is a terrific way to boost store visibility. With a chance of gaining a massive organic reach or simply entertaining your current followers, there are many ways to incorporate trends into your TikTok strategy.
Among them? Use trending audio, challenges, or formats, but customize them to your unique niche. For example, a trending sound can be used in combination with inventory from your store,
a customer engaging with a recent purchase, or the visual of your store door opening at the start of the day.
Those who do not mind showcasing themselves on TikTok can also highlight trending sounds, challenges, and formats with employees integrated into these reels. A pro tip to truly optimize these trending moments is to make them feel more personalized with your own business goals.
This may include filming happy customers reacting to something hilarious they found in your shop. It could also be a gift-wrapped item you completed complimentary for someone after a recent purchase, a smiling customer leaving your store with handfuls of bags, and other moments that make you — and your followers — smile.
Bonus tip? Do not forget to ask your customers for permission to film them. In exchange for their approval, offer them a discount on a future purchase.
Go Live To Sell or Engage
Commerce is not limited to your store walls nowadays. You have the beautiful — yet seemingly intimidating — ability to sell well beyond your local community. The catch? You must want to.
That is the No. 1 driver of those selling on TikTok successfully versus those who are not. Whether you want to captivate local followers who are not physically in your store every day or strengthen sales well beyond your immediate community, TikTok can help you achieve this by incorporating live, interactive selling experiences.
One of the easiest ways to do this is by hosting a “shop with me” session that you provide from your store to your followers at the comfort of wherever they may be. In this live session, you can do product demos, answer FAQs, or walk viewers through your store.
Use TikTok Shop (if available in your region) to link products directly for purchase or share a call to action for viewers to call your store to secure their purchases for shipping or pick up. If you decide to do this, just be sure you have extra staff ready to answer those calls and capture the necessary details to make the transactions happen.
FIVE PRO TIPS FOR TIKTOK
TikTok’s search function is growing fast, and that means you should be part of it. Thinking like a customer, consider how the best practices below can help your business stand out on TikTok.
- Use keywords to help TikTok users find your account if they do not know how to search for your specifically. Add relevant keywords in captions and on-screen text. Aim to think like your customers, and ask yourself, “What would they type to find my product?” These are good words to consider for keywords per each post or reel shared.
- Engage with your account versus just posting on your account. The key to all social media is to be social, so be sure to interact with comments posted to your page, follow nearby community businesses, do duets with other pages to create stronger engagement, and be consistent in your TikTok time management. Actively engaging on TikTok will help your algorithms as well.
- Aim to create a community, not just content. While this may sound easier said than done, if you create a TikTok account that your followers feel connected to, you have done your job. When users open TikTok, they should be excited to have you pop into their feed. Do not just sell — also engage. Be an account that informs, entertains, connects, and offers value. Through that, sales will follow.
- Review your TikTok analytics routinely. Daily may be excessive but weekly should be your goal. Check what has worked for you by seeing your peak posts and then refine future content to support views, watch time, engagement, and overall success of your efforts. Do new arrivals attract more views than store merchandising updates? Only you can make that analysis based on reviewing analytics. Do not overlook this important step.
- Have fun! TikTok is an entertaining platform for users to scroll and enjoy. Along the way, they learn from it. Explore on it. Engage with it. And even shop. Be part of this journey for users that brings them a smile in their day. Or better yet, days. Do not stress if you do not succeed with thousands of followers overnight but instead recognize you can learn from TikTok and have fun. Over time, you will get the hang of it. And along the way, you may also realize you enjoy it!
Many TikTok viewers randomly realize you are going live, which is simply a setting you switch into on TikTok. Others plan to attend if you promote this in advance.
Both are valuable ways to capture attention, so be sure to share with viewers when you are going live while also welcoming viewers who happen to stumble upon your live feed. Once you are actually live, be sure to entertain and inform your audience so they feel captivated to continue watching and more so, want to spend with you.
Before implementing this strategy, check to see if your store qualifies for the TikTok Shop. This allows for a direct path to purchase within the app and allows you to tag products in your videos, go live with product links, and encourage impulse buying by making it super easy to check out.
If you are not eligible for this, still do not overlook the value of live selling. You can use your phone number as a way for customers to engage or even the comment section. Many small businesses prefer this.
Create a TikTok Store Series
A series may sound like a commitment to some, while for others it may sound like a roadmap to success. By introducing a store series to TikTok, you can begin to build expectations from your followers and create consistency for yourself and/or team.
Recurring video formats can vary. A few ideas are to share:
- New Arrival Spotlights as they come in.
- This Week’s Customer Favorites Picks every Friday.
- Employee Favorites at the start of each month.
- Retail Confessions consistently — highlighting real-life retail stories.
The key takeaway is TikTok is not for hard selling. It is for storytelling. Share customer stories, your brand origin, or challenges you have overcome. A Store Series allows you to take control of your account while making your content relatable and personal.
In Conclusion
Gift shops and niche retail boutiques are perfect for TikTok. If you do not believe me, use a few key words that summarize your store and search TikTok to see how other retailers are already leveraging this platform to build visibility and sales.
Be inspired and then get busy! Why? Because you sell fun, quirky, meaningful, seasonal, and highly shareable products … ideal for short-form videos, which is what TikTok delivers on.
And as commerce grows, so will selling on TikTok. Missing out on this simply is not good for business.
Nicole Leinbach Hoffman is the founder of RetailMinded.com, a well-respected retail industry resource that has been recognized worldwide for its leading business insight since 2007. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, the UK’s Telegraph, CNN, the Today show, and countless other industry resources. Additionally, she has supported American Express’s Small Business Saturday as a spokesperson and is the author of the book Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business, published by McGraw-Hill. With a core concentration on small businesses and independent retailers, she welcomes you to connect via Instagram at @RetailMindedWorld and Twitter via @RetailMinded.
