As service-based business owners, we have to rely on organic social media for a lot of our content marketing. Sure, we can run a few paid ads here and there, but paid ads don’t tend to perform as well for a service-based business.
We also don’t always have the benefit of showing off products in our marketing, particularly if our clients would prefer we not use them in our content marketing. This means we have to work incredibly hard to build up an audience on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. and wait until they’re ready for our service before we see a return on investment.
That is… until TikTok came along.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a video-based social media platform known for turning small businesses into viral hits. Unlike traditional social platforms, most TikTok users browse their “For You Feed”, which is curated by TikTok’s algorithm to show users videos they think they will like, based on their browsing history.
What is the “For You Feed” on TikTok?
The “For You Feed” on TikTok is curated for each user on the platform. It is based on their viewing history and the more time they spend on TikTok, the more the algorithm understands what content they like to consume.
Videos on TikTok are pushed out to two feeds. The first is the “Following” feed, which is less used by TikTok users and only includes accounts they follow on TikTok. The second feed is the “For You Feed”. Some videos will never make it to the “For You Feed” which is entirely down to the TikTok algorithm.
Why should service-based businesses post on TikTok?
Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok doesn’t care how many followers you have. This means that any account can have a viral video on the platform. It might even be your first video!
This means that you don’t have to wait until your audience is ready to invest in your services, or even educate them on the importance of it because you’re a lot more likely to land on the “For You Page” of someone who is interested in the services you offer already.
Is it too late to start posting on TikTok?
Despite the platform becoming bigger and the algorithm adapting to suit, it is still easy to go viral on TikTok. Every day small business owners are going viral on TikTok and their businesses are quite literally changing overnight.
You’ve got it to be in it to win it!
If you’re looking for some tips on how to get started with your TikTok profile, check out my TikTok for Business post for a thorough breakdown!
What should a service-based business post on TikTok?
There are lots of different ways you can market your service-based business on TikTok. Below I’ll break down lots of different TikTok video ideas for service-based businesses with examples so you can see how the pros are doing it on the platform!
1. Behind The Scenes
This type of video allows you to create a more personal connection with your audience. You can show yourself working at your desk, taking client calls, and over-the-shoulder footage of you working or your design/creation process.
Here’s a great example:
2. Your Desk Setup
People love behind-the-scenes content like this. It provides an intimate look into your workstation and people will often notice similarities with their own. You get bonus points for this type of video if you have something unique that is likely to make people share or comment on your TikTok video.
3. Your Team Members
It’s great to put a face to a name. It’s also great to know a service-based business has a tight team behind the scenes. Showing off your team members and what they do is a great way of increasing your business authority on TikTok.
4. Your team members (an alternative take)
Lots of service based businesses on TikTok are one-man bands. This is your opportunity to put a comedy spin on things and show people on TikTok just how many hats you wear in your business. This example is great:
5. Your morning routine
Like to grab a coffee, take your dog for a walk and catch up on LinkedIn before you start working? Share this with your audience! Like other suggestions here, it helps create a personal connection with your followers and I guarantee a lot of them will follow a similar routine to you.
6. Essential business tools
Sharing your essential business tools shows your followers that you’re not just winging it in your business. You’ve got a stack of tools supporting you and in turn, those tools are part of your service offerings. For a service-based business, this is an easy way to produce educational content, which we’ll cover more of next!
7. Business Tips
If you follow me on TikTok, you’ll recognise this. Sharing tips is one of the best ways to go viral on TikTok because these videos are often watched multiple times, shared and liked because of the value they provide. Try not to overwhelm your videos with too many tips, I’ve found one “deep dive” on one tip tends to work best.
8. “How to” walkthroughs
Use “how to” videos to show people how you do certain things in your business. For service-based businesses, this is an opportunity to generate curiosity about what else you can do and in some cases, people will struggle to follow your tips because they don’t have the expertise. They will then reach out to you to do it for them!
9. Industry data
These videos are super easy to create. All you need to do is screenshot some data relevant to your business and use the green screen effect on TikTok to place yourself over the video. Then you share the data with your audience and give your take on it. This shows authority in your industry and is super interesting for your audience to learn about.
10. Client wins / success stories
Client wins work best for service-based businesses on TikTok and there are lots of different ways you can share them. You might show a snapshot of a report or use a simple text on-screen video (more on that below!) to highlight your success stories, depending on if the data is sensitive or not.
11. Text on screen
This is my favourite type of TikTok video to create when I’m short on time or don’t feel like being on camera. Make sure you trim your video length to 5-7 seconds and that the text is long enough the viewer may have to watch the video twice to read the whole thing. That’s a little viral tip for you 😉.
12. Office tours
Similar to showing your desk, this enables people to see “the other side” of your business aka what you see every day. If you’re a one-man band, it’s a great opportunity to “be real” with your followers. If you’ve got an office space, it helps to showcase how “big” your business really is.
13. Analyse popular brands
This is similar to the industry data video suggestion as you’ll use the green screen feature to create it. In this style of video, you can dissect popular brands and share what works for them and why. This works particularly well for service-based businesses because you can showcase your knowledge within your area of expertise.
14. Ideal client videos
This is another video that works best for service-based businesses on TikTok. Bonus points if it features a celebrity. This is your opportunity to show what you would do for this individual if they were your client and it works exceptionally well for generating new business.
15. Free Audits / Reviews
Offering free audits or reviews on TikTok is a great way to showcase your expertise. It provides something super valuable for your audience and because it’s free, it will quickly become high in demand! If you’re looking to grow your account quickly, this is a great way to do it.
Okay, I refuse to believe this list hasn’t given you some inspiration for your next TikTok video! A lot of these videos are tried and tested on TikTok already, with many of the examples above being viral TikTok videos. So we know the formula for them works already, all you have to do is get out there and create the content!
