Since its launch in 2016, TikTok has gained immense popularity, becoming an entertainment and information space for more than 800 million monthly users worldwide.

Thanks to its vast user base, being among the world's top five most downloaded apps, TikTok gives small businesses the opportunity to connect with local audiences and expand their reach within their community.

But what are the advantages that TikTok ads provide to local businesses? Can it help your brand or store, even if it’s small? Read on to find out!

Benefits of incorporating TikTok ads into your marketing strategy

It's important to understand that TikTok is much more than a platform for the young generation who love dance and pranks videos. Today, it can reach all age groups, including those that your small business needs.

Unlike other social media platforms that focus on providing a curated experience, TikTok focuses on creativity and authenticity. That means that local businesses have a free path to create engaging content and grow their customer base or even go viral.

Furthermore, it's a platform designed from its mobile version, allowing people to use it whenever and wherever they go without any hassle. As a result, large, local and small businesses alike can leverage this optimized experience to increase their marketing strategies' effectiveness.

How TikTok ads work

While TikTok didn't support paid advertising until 2019, its marketing platform now has several ad products available, including In-Feed Ads, Top View Ads, and more.

In addition, it includes tools that can be useful for creating quick quasi-native content, such as Smart Video, Smart Video Soundtrack, and Automated Creative Optimization (ACO).

But what benefits local businesses are most the most is TikTok's ad targeting, as the platform offers six key types of prospecting targeting: Audience (with five standard custom audience types available for creation, including Customer File, Website Traffic, App Activity, Engagement, and Lead Gen), Demographics, Interests, Behavior, Creators, and Devices.

As you can see, they are all great targeting options you can use to direct all your content efforts to local audiences that really grow your business.

Advertising with high levels of user participation.

If you want your social media ads to work, you need targeted users to fully engage with the platform you're advertising on. That's another reason why TikTok ads can be an excellent tool for small businesses.

Stats speak for themselves. Over 90% of active TikTok users use its app several times a day for around 45 minutes, making the ad cost really worthwhile.

In this sense, TikTok attracts an active and engaged audience, making users more likely to respond well to your business' ads.

Final thoughts.

Besides everything we mentioned, TikTok is easy to use and its popularity is expanding internationally.

Its latest figures show that it remains an exciting, entertaining and fresh social media platform for users. That's a big plus for local businesses, as that huge audience is an invaluable opportunity for marketers hoping to reach more people and increase their brand's exposure.