How Moms Can Take Their Biz to the Next Level With TikTok

Us Weekly Staff
Updated ·11 min read

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Busy mom and a small biz owner? You’re working to grow your little humans and grow your business at the same time, and all that winning means you’ve got a lot on your plate. One of the fastest ways to grow? TikTok.

No longer the new kid on the block, the social media giant has taken the world by storm, now boasting more than 1 billion active global users. Of those, 27% are moms who are often active and passionate brand evangelists. Revenue from TikTok is expected to grow to roughly $12 billion by 2026 — and mama, it’s time to get yours.

Here, we’re spilling the tea on all the ways you can leverage TikTok to grow your business, whether you’re a seasoned content creator, a marketer looking for inspo, or a total newbie to the platform.

TikTok Small Business Tips for Mompreneurs

You got the assignment: build a stable, thriving, and scalable business … all while staying on your parenting A game. Between nap times, feedings, playdates, school recitals, and mommy and me time; it can feel almost impossible to kill it as a mama and kill it as a small business owner. You’ve also got to fit in bookkeeping, order processing, sourcing materials/services, client relations, and product inventory, not to mention marketing and growing your biz.

The secret to a mompreneur’s success? Automate and streamline processes where you can, so your business can be growing and thriving while you’re on mom duty.

One tool that can help a mama out is TikTok. Did you know that 92% of viewers take immediate action after watching a TikTok video? TikTok audiences are some of the most motivated and most brand loyal out there, and building your TikTok presence is a surefire way to discover your audience and connect with them. Here’s how to get started:

Find Your Niche

Before you begin, research TikTok communities where your brand might be a good fit. For example, let’s say you’re an independent author — in that case, you’ll want to be active in the BookTok community. Make and sell flowy dresses (with pockets)? CottageCore is where you’ll find your people.

If you haven’t already, set up a personal TikTok account and devote some time to a little exploration. Pay close attention to the following:

  • Hashtags: You’ve seen them. You use them. As a marketer, you can use them to get your posts found by the right audience. Look at the ones that are most popular among your community.

  • Sounds: Using TikTok’s trending sounds can get you in front of a wider audience. Research trending sounds and add them to your TikToks to develop your audience and market your products.

  • Captions: Some users love to watch with sound, and some keep it on mute. Find what’s most popular with the audience you want to target. Using captions is a best practice, but you may want to consider whether you want them to be voiced or not.

  • Music: Like sounds, certain music can get more eyes and ears on your videos. But be careful if you’re uploading songs — anything with a trademark or copyright protection will get your video pulled.

  • Challenges: TikTok challenge videos are known to go viral. And while some are not mom-approved, if you notice a particular challenge is catching on with your audience, you might want to give it a shot.

  • Length: Shorter is usually better, but look at the top trending videos in your niche. If your videos go on too long, consider breaking them up into a series.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): During nap time or an epic feeding session, scroll TikTok instead of your usual social media platform. Watch for what’s trending, and make a mental note (or take a screenshot). It’s a good use of quiet time, and it provides valuable research.

Build Your Content Creation Kit

No experience with video editing? Don’t sweat it, mama; TikTok’s functionality makes it super easy to create quality videos without any video experience or background. It does, however, help to have a few of the right tools so when inspiration strikes (or when the kids are distracted at the park), you’ll be ready to create. Here’s all the swag you’ll need to put together an on-the-go creator kit:

  • Ring light: Natural light is best, but you can simulate it with a good ring light. That way, you can sneak into a dim corner of the nursery or shoot your videos in the wee hours, and no one will know the difference.

  • Tripod: You don’t need a complicated or overly large tripod; a compact version designed to fit your mobile phone will do just fine. A selfie stick can work, but you’ll probably want an option to be hands-free.

  • Green screen: Sure, you can edit in any background you like on TikTok, but it’s much easier if you shoot your video against a green screen. You can get a small pop-up screen for very little money and have it on hand whenever you need it.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): Find travel-sized products on Amazon or another retailer, like ring lights and tripods that are designed to be tucked away in diaper bags or stroller pockets.

Pick Your Platforms

Yes, TikTok can be an all-in-one solution for business owners, especially with the launch of TikTok for Business. But you might find that you need additional tools to simplify video creation, posting, and monitoring. Here are some software types you may want to explore:

  • Video editing: TikTok’s in-app editing is robust and is preferred by many users. However, you might want to have a non-mobile way to edit your videos, especially if you plan to repurpose them and use them on other social sites. CapCut and VEED are two popular video editing software platforms.

  • Social media management: An automated social posting tool will allow you to schedule videos in advance to save you time. You can use TikTok’s scheduler, but if you’re managing multiple social platforms, a comprehensive tool, such as Brandwatch and Loomly, could save you some hassle.

  • Analytics: You’ll want to know how your videos are performing, so you can adapt and adjust as needed. Fortunately, most social media tools also can measure and analyze data based on engagement, shares, and more. And you can check your analytics within the TikTok app under the Creator Tools section.

  • Calendars: An editorial calendar can help you plan lengthier campaigns and avoid duplicating old content. It will also help you post on a consistent basis, which is crucial to your performance. This could be as simple as using a Google Calendar.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): Most of the platforms you’ll find in each of these categories offer either a free tier or a free trial, so you can test them out before you make a financial or time commitment.

Leverage Partnerships and Collabs

Just as you do with your own kids, you want to make sure everyone in your TikTok is playing nice in the sandbox. That means building relationships with influencers in your niche, engaging with your audience, and connecting with similar brands. Working with other TikTokers can be a powerful way to expand your reach and get your brand in front of new users. Here’s how:

  • Partner with influencers: Sign up for TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, and you’ll be able to browse and contact influencers in your industry. You can see how many followers they have and what type of engagement they receive. You can even reach out and ask them industry-specific questions to gather valuable insights.

  • Create a Duet: Let’s say a user in your niche has created a high-performing video relevant to your brand or business. Creating a Duet allows you to add your own video on a split screen with theirs. This is popular for creating react videos or adding commentary on a buzzy subject.

  • Create a Stitch: A Stitch allows you to use up to 5 seconds of another user’s video in your own video and is a great way to reach a wider audience.

  • Collab with other brands: You can partner with similar brands or even a brand in a totally unrelated industry. You could plan a giveaway, a video series, or a potentially viral collaboration with powerful results.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): Stitches and Duets are not the same thing. Duets use another user’s full video, sound and all, while Stitches allow you to take small sections and incorporate them into your own video while voicing over those sections if you choose. If you want your videos to be available for other users, set your Stitch settings in your account. Original creators are always linked, so you’ll receive attribution every time another user Stitches one of your videos.

Become an Influencer to Boost Authority

Being a mom is kind of like being the ultimate influencer. Take some of that “because I said so” energy and apply it to your business TikTok. It takes time and effort to become an influencer on such a saturated platform, but it can be done by following these steps:

  • List your brand on the Creator Marketplace. You can create a new TikTok business account or log in through your Ads Manager.

  • Stay tuned for info on the Creativity Program. Launched in 2023 to replace the Creator Fund, the new Creativity Program is still invitation-only but is a way for influencers to monetize their TikTok.

  • Sign up for Creator Next. This is a one-stop shop for all your TikTok monetization tools. You’ll need to meet minimum requirements, like follower count and video views.

  • Stay engaged with your audience. Respond to comments, answer questions, and follow your followers to grow your reach.

  • Post regularly. As we’ve mentioned, it’s important to post consistently to promote your business, but it’s also a key step if you want to create authority and become an influencer.

  • Sell branded merch. Get some buzz going for your product and/or brand by selling merchandise featuring your logo or original artwork, slogans, etc.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): To further monetize your TikTok, make sure to enable gifting. You can receive gifts from followers during livestreams or on previously posted videos. LIVE gifts come in the form of virtual diamonds (a mom’s best friend) but can be converted to actual money.

Use Advertising to Scale

One in three TikTok users have purchased a product simply because they saw it featured on TikTok. Make sure your product is being seen by using TikTok Ads Manager. This proprietary program will guide you through the entire ad process, from creation to analysis. Why choose Ads Manager?

  • It provides a robust platform with video templates, so all you have to do is drag and drop your info and branding.

  • It allows for highly customized, real-time targeting, so audiences see your ad while scroll through their custom feed based on their interests.

  • It has learning opportunities in the Creative Center to help you understand what sounds, music, and hashtags are trending in your industry.

  • It allows you to measure the results of your campaign directly from the app.

  • It offers you the ability to add TikTok Pixel to identify and track visitor actions from TikTok ads to your website, such as pages viewed, forms submitted, purchases, etc.

Mother Knows Best (Pro Tip): Check out TikTok Pulse, another monetization tool. This revenue-sharing program places sponsored ads next to high-performing videos, and the earnings are split 50/50. It’s effective for both content creators and brands, and you could benefit from being on either side of the equation.

Go Get It, Mama!

Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. Being a business owner doesn’t have to be, especially when you’ve got the power of TikTok on lock. Follow these tips to make the most of your TikTok account and watch your business grow (almost as fast as those kiddos).

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