Show notes
TikTok is the world's sixth-largest social media platform with one billion users.
Slowly but surely, B2B brands are establishing a presence, although it's far from bandwagon jumping.
In this episode of Marketing Spark, Sales Feed's Will Aitken talks about why now is the time for B2B brands to embrace TikTok and the power of video.
From insight into attracting 39,500 followers Sales Feed's TikTok channel, Will offers advice on how companies can get started and the keys to success.
From the conversation
Why B2B brands are looking at TikTok
Will Aitken, head sales evangelist at Sales Feed, sees two reasons for the growing interest. B2B has relied on the same four channels for a long time, and marketers want something new. TikTok also has one billion users, so Will argues that some of any brand's target audience must be there, especially since most users live in North America and Europe. He has made content for decision makers on the platform, and he says it has resonated and performed.
Will adds that TikTok gives out a lot of organic reach, so brands do not have to invest much to get in front of many people. In his view, people go there to be entertained and to learn something. The algorithm picks up on a person's interests quickly and serves more of the same, which leaves room for a B2B brand to show up.
Why timing matters for B2B on TikTok
Will says right now is the most serious time to consider TikTok. B2B has been slow to adopt trends from B2C, partly because of niche audiences and partly because of a "we don't do that" attitude. As more people create on TikTok, there is less opportunity to be shown to viewers.
He compares it to Instagram and Facebook, which are now places brands need to be. The risk of waiting is that growth gets harder in two years. Meanwhile, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are crowded and buyers are being bombarded, so brands that wait lose the chance to be seen by future buyers.
"There is so much value to being early or relatively early to a platform and growing an audience sooner rather than waiting another three years and showing up when it's even more difficult to grow."
How a B2B marketer should get started
Will began with a personal account in April 2021 and grew it to about 36,000 followers. When he joined Sales Feed, he applied every lesson and mistake from that account to the company channel. The first Sales Feed video got 400,000 views.
His advice is to learn first. Look for creators in your niche rather than brands, since there are few brands to study. Search a relevant hashtag, see which videos performed, and study hooks, video length and the use of trends. Consume a lot of content before trying to create.
Practice matters too. Will says his first videos were awful. He suggests asking why a video was good, for example whether the speaker looked at the lens, how long it ran and how many cuts it had. He also recommends learning from young creators who teach others how to become influencers, as long as marketers look past their ego.
How Sales Feed runs its TikTok channel
Will's boss, Tyler Lessard, VP of marketing at Vidyard, noticed his TikTok content and following, and it was part of why Will joined the team. Will's personal account took nine months to reach about 20,000 followers. The Sales Feed account did it in less than a month. Sales Feed is a media brand under Vidyard, and Will says TikTok became its biggest channel by far.
The Sales Feed channel differs from his personal one. It has slightly higher production value and more than one face on screen. The team has no long-form strategy and makes whatever it feels like each week, with a lot of trend-based and timely content. Will says one person should own the channel, and points to the social media manager at Duolingo as an example.
The content mixes humor and sales tips, such as a skit where someone calls a sales help desk with a question. Ideas come from scrolling, from a notebook of ideas, and from trending sounds he wants to use right away.
"I don't think I've ever spent more than thirty minutes on a TikTok."
Common mistakes with repurposing and hashtags
Will sees many brands take clips from webinars or podcasts and post them on TikTok. Those clips are usually landscape, and they take too long to deliver value. Almost every TikTok video opens with a hook, and the content needs to be quick, punchy and valuable immediately.
Hashtags are the second trap. A B2B sales tip that is tagged only with sales may be shown to realtors, insurance salespeople and car salespeople, or to a 14 year old who will not get the joke. Low engagement then tells TikTok to show the video to fewer people. After around 10 low-performing posts, an account can lose the platform's trust.
Will recommends researching hashtags by checking what successful creators in the same niche use. He calls that a five hour exercise to finish before posting anything.
"People don't come onto TikTok to watch a one-minute section of a webinar. That's not why they're on that platform."
Measuring results and who is doing it well
The average Sales Feed video gets between 5,000 and 10,000 views. Last week two videos passed 200,000 views, and some have passed a million. The profile links to the Sales Feed site, so the team can track conversions. The goal is to move followers to the newsletter, YouTube and LinkedIn, and eventually to Vidyard.
Among B2B brands, Will names Chili Piper, PandaDoc and Refined Labs as doing well. He says a Chili Piper recruitment video worked because it spoke to the right demographic and used the right hashtags. He sees individual sales creators growing quickly, but thinks brands are lagging behind.
For brands that have not started, Will suggests finding someone on the team who is interested and giving that person ownership. His one piece of advice is to start, and he says the homework is to watch the Sales Feed TikTok account.
"We think TikTok is right at the top of our funnel, which is great because it's where we have the most followers."