TikTok is a popular social media platform that allows users to create, watch, and share 15-second videos shot on mobile devices or webcams. With music and sound effects added, great TikTok videos are fun, entertaining, quirky, and, most importantly, addictive. As a business owner, you're probably saying, "Well, TikTok is good for teens but not for my customers." And that is understandable, but what you're missing is TikTok's high levels of engagement.

TikTok For Business

Since its launch, TikTok's popularity in the U.S. has grown exponentially. There are over 2.5 billion downloads of the app worldwide and 136.5 million users in the U.S. alone. 

A new survey from the marketing agency MGH found more than half (53%) of TikTok's millennial users in the U.S. have visited or ordered food from a restaurant after seeing it on TikTok. Additionally, 38% of TikTok users in the U.S. across all generations have visited or ordered food from a restaurant after seeing a TikTok video about it — equating to approximately 51.8 million U.S. restaurant-goers.

The survey also revealed that TikTok videos have prompted users to travel farther for new dining experiences (30%) and influenced them to spend more money on restaurants than they usually would (28%). The driving factor is the appearance of the food itself with 72% of respondents stating that seeing appetizing food on TikTok led them to place an order.

That type of engagement has made TikTok an increasingly important marketing channel for restaurants. The rapid growth of Crumbl Cookies, for instance, has been fueled in large part by its more than 6 million TikTok followers. And many large chains now have a TikTok strategy.

Ryan Goff, EVP, Social Media Marketing Director at MGH, says, "TikTok truly is a restaurant marketer's dream come true. There aren't many other tools left in our marketing toolbox that can drive the sort of impact promised by TikTok through this survey."

Marketing on TikTok is still finding its way. Conventional advertising that stresses a product's qualities doesn't work. Light, fun campaigns set to music hook the users. The goal is to go viral and spur imitations by other TikTok users.

If you'd like to implement a social media strategy – including TikTok – for your business but don't have the funds on hand, Quikstone Capital Solutions can help. 

Since 2005, Quikstone Capital Solutions has provided thousands of merchants with easy, fast, and flexible working capital for all their business needs. 

A cash advance from Quikstone is not a loan; it's a purchase of a small portion of your future credit card sales. There's a simple one-page application, and no collateral is needed. If you process credit cards, you could qualify for as much as $250,000. Use that funding to add new technology, buy equipment, make improvements, increase inventory, and stabilize your cash flow. 

Just fill out this simple form and get started with a no-cost or obligation consultation.