TikTok may feel intimidating for both big brands and small businesses to get right.Here, we talk to five brands that hit it big on the platform and learn how they did it.
In 2020, Tina Nguyen, the Creator of
XXL Scrunchie & Co., a brand for oversized hair accessories, spent around $1,000 on paid ads on social media.She estimates she reached about ten customers that way.Someone posted a TikTok that featured XXL Scrunchie soon after.That day, Nguyen’s website hit 50,000 visitors.
The XXL Scrunchie? It sold out.
These days, XXL Scrunchie & Co has almost half a million followers of their own on TikTok channel.
Based out of Ontario, they now have customers from all over the world.“Without TikTok, I don’t think we could have achieved such a great audience within three years,” Nguyen tells us.
She’s not alone.
We interviewed five small businesses with unique and flourishing TikTok presences about how they built a brand and a community online.With their help, we put together this guide to navigating TikTok as a small business.
XXL Scrunchie & Co
On TikTok, Nguyen shares behind-the-scenes moments from the studio.She reveals what goes into making her accessories, from sewing to shipping.Her videos follow her and her family’s transition from their living room to their first warehouse and then, ten months later, into a bigger space.
“My most viral video has been one with my Mom,” Nguyen says.“It shows how our scrunchies really are made with love.Being an entrepreneur is hard, and that support—not only with helping cut fabric, but tidying up, making sure I had lunch, and letting me move home and take over her space—makes me feel so thankful.”
Pro Tip: Make it Personal
From sharing her parents’ reactions to online sales to teaching her grandma how to make her first scrunchie, Nguyen’s videos are all about the people behind her business.
Forget perfection.Authenticity is more valuable.
“Don’t be scared to show who you are, behind the scenes, the messy bits, the unorganized chaos,” she urges.
“I wish I started sharing my story sooner.I didn’t record or film the early days when I launched in my tiny 400-square-foot apartment, because I was embarrassed about the setup.But I now wish I documented that to share that if I can do this, others can too!”
Lala Hijabs
Sana Saleh and Muhammad William Saleh, the Creators of the original tie-dye hijab, launched their business,
https://lalahijabs.com/, on TikTok.“In just a matter of a few months, we had millions of views on our handmade products,” Sana Saleh tells us.
“Our hijab-friendly silk mask video reached 1.4 million views at the start of the pandemic, back when no one else was offering hijab-friendly masks.It sold out our masks several times, and many people would be on a waiting list to grab them each time we restocked them.”
Pro Tip: Educate and Empower
Saleh regularly shares tutorials on her page, covering how-tos like styling your hair under a hijab, how to pick an underscarf, and how to wear a beanie with a hijab.
She’s also answered fan questions like “Is it okay to buy a hijab for someone who wears one?”
In other words, the Lala Hijabs page focuses on helpful tips rather than sales pitches.“We highly recommend being non-salesy,” the Salehs say.“We just like to educate people about our products and share our story! It makes us unique and easy to relate to.”
Piglet in Bed https://us.pigletinbed.com/, a linen bedding and sleepwear brand, specializes in all things cozy.
On their TikTok channel, you’ll find tips for making up a lovely guest room, living out your “cottagecore” fantasies, and creating at-home fragrances using natural ingredients.
“Being first and foremost a platform for entertaining, TikTok provides brands with a chance to show their personality,” Rhiannon Johns, the Head of Brand for Piglet in Bed, explains.“For this reason, small businesses can actually find they have a head start over larger businesses on TikTok.Often they won’t have a long approval process, meaning you can take more risks and act quickly, jumping on trends before it’s too late.”
Pro Tip: Take the Trends and Make Them Yours
Tapping into trends is a great way to get more eyeballs, but as Piglet in Bed proves, you also have to give those trends a unique twist.“Our number one TikTok video has been a video I created entitled ‘
How I would fold my towels if I was ‘that girl,’” Johns says.
The video is based on a larger trend:
#thatgirlaesthetic.
As Johns describes it, the aesthetic is all about people who have everything together and make it look easy.“They wake up early, they journal, they eat healthily, they work out, etc.‘That girl’ is the kind of person who would go to a huge amount of effort to fold their bathroom towels in a fancy way.”
The video is funny and relatable, but it’s also educational.“Despite the whole ‘that girl’ angle being purposefully quite silly, the video does feature a towel folding technique that people will want to try and replicate themselves,” Johns says.
“It’s a tutorial that is both saveable and shareable.”
As a bonus, the video features another detail unique to Piglet in Bed: Nellie, Johns’s dog, who’s lounging on the bed.“Let’s be honest,” Johns admits.“She’s the real star of the show.”
Pwuffy
Joyce Pan is the Owner of
https://pwuffy.com/, a Kawaii-themed shop specializing in plushies and all things cute.“TikTok has allowed many business owners like me to turn our hobbies into careers,” she tells us.
“In the first year after I joined Tiktok, my business grew from earning a few hundred a month to having my first five-figure month.I was in college at the time TikTok was just starting to blow up, but now, because of TikTok, I decided to run my business full-time.”
Pan’s TikTok channel features new products.It also showcases the adventures and antics of her originally-designed plush characters.They recovered after being splashed by boba, stained with food, soaked with water, and tossed in the freezer.
Pro Tip: Engage With Your Audience
On TikTok, Pan regularly fields fan questions, like, “How much did you invest at the very start of your business?” “What can I get for $100?” “What is your worst customer experience story?” By responding candidly to questions in real time, Pan gives her audience an inside look at her business and how it runs.
“When it comes to marketing your business on TikTok, it’s better to entertain rather than sell,” she says.“People want to see something cool or hear a story instead of being sold something.
Fun videos are easily shareable and make viewers feel a connection to a product.”
Carpet Repair Guys
“My claim to fame came from TikTok in 2020,” Josh Nolan, the Founder of
https://www.carpetrepairguys.com/ in California, tells us.His videos are super satisfying, revealing how he meticulously repairs damaged carpets (and makes them look new).He fixes burned, ripped, and stained carpets.He tackles any issue, from paint to battery acid.Nolan narrates every video.
He shares the behind-the-scenes story of how the carpet was damaged and how he saved the day.
Pro Tip: Have Fun With It!
From sharing funny anecdotes from the job (like the corgi who destroyed a carpet) to playing 1990s tunes in the background, Nolan is always making people laugh.And in many ways, that’s the secret to TikTok: try not to take yourself too seriously.
“Do what you like, and be consistent,” Nolan advises.“Like a comedian, keep an ideas list on your phone.
Write down thoughts that come to mind when you’re not committed to being creative.My best ideas come in the shower and dozing off at night.”
License this cover image via
Kaspars Grinvalds.
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