TikTok has emerged as a top player in the social media space. This is primarily due to the addictive nature of the short-form video content and the onboarding of the young users at first. Businesses also flocked to the platform due to a large audience. But as with everything, there are also some Disadvantages Of TikTok For Business i.e. the ad platform of TikTok.
The main disadvantage of TikTok for business is that it is too expensive compared to other ad platforms such as Facebook/Instagram Ads or Google Ads. The cost for advertising in TikTok far exceeds the Return On Investment you get from the Ads in some cases. Also, TikTok is strictly a video platform and texts and other formats.
In this article, I will present you with some compelling arguments on what are the different disadvantages of TikTok for business and why you should look to other platforms for online advertisements for your business.
Disadvantages Of TikTok For Business
TikTok in all its glory is a very good social media platform and has a huge audience. The music that gets trending on TikTok becomes a huge hit in the industry too. Dance moves can make any person a star on TikTok. All this may seem like TikTok is a good choice for business too. But it cannot be farther from the truth and TikTok is not a very good place if you want to advertise your brand online.
TikTok is a fairly new platform and the business model it relies on is a mixed one between Ad revenue based and In-app purchase based. In addition, TikTok takes 50% of the income of a creator when they want to cash out their income.
TikTok also has a reputation as an addictive platform and some people equate it with Drug addiction that has gripped society. Some countries have banned the app based on its link with the Chinese government too. And many countries consider it a threat to their national security.
Heavy Cost For Advertisement
TikTok Advertisement is expensive, really expensive. TikTok ads start from $10 CPM which compared to Facebook and Instagram’s $1+ CPM is expensive. This puts a big burden on the business which places an advertisement on TikTok For Business. In some cases, the return on Investment on those advertisements can be very less.
TikTok is a very new platform so its advertisement algorithm is not sophisticated enough to place the right ad on the right audience. The machine learning algorithm needs years of experience in ad placement and audience recognition to be able to give a better return on investment for advertisers.
The expensive nature has come against TikTok’s favor. Small and medium businesses cannot afford such expensive ads. As most businesses are small and medium-sized, a large part of the advertisers is cut off from the platform due to high costs.
Also, most users of TikTok are young adults who have little to no disposable income to spend on products and services. This means there will likely be fewer sales against the advertisement done using TikTok For Business. If businesses cannot increase their sales through advertisement then they likely won’t advertise on such platforms. Even if they do, it is not a good strategy for their business.
Creative Limitation
TikTok is a strict video platform which means all the content that goes on the platform are videos and not images or texts. This has become a liability for TikTok as not all advertisers and advertisements are video-based. Most advertisements are graphics-based and aim to simply convey a message rather than storytelling with the use of video ads.
Even though video advertisement is on the rise and it cannot be denied that it is an effective way of advertising but not all advertisements can be done in video format. And a business should also not rely on video marketing only.
Static graphics are the prevalent advertisement materials that most businesses use across the world. But TikTok does not offer static image ads and only lets video ads that are 5-15 seconds long. This puts a creative limitation on the business and makes it hard for businesses to rely on TikTok for their marketing or promotional activities.
A business has to make video ads that are very expensive compared to graphic images or pictures that are less expensive and can be produced in-house. This puts another hurdle on top of the already expensive ad cost on TikTok. All these factors play an important role in why TikTok For Business is not a viable option for businesses.
Limited Area Advertisement
As I have already stated that TikTok is a young platform. The advertisement service i.e. TikTok For Business is not available in all parts of the world and is only available in some selected countries. This limited area is another hurdle for businesses to choose TikTok as an advertisement platform.
A global brand such as auto manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, and others will likely select TikTok as the advertisement platform because of its limitation only in selected countries.
Businesses across the world who are out of the area where TikTok provides TikTok For Business service are excluded from the service by default. This has come as a bad impression on TikTok for businesses and even if TikTok will start serving worldwide with its TikTok for Business service, it would have to struggle to relay the message across the businesses again.
Brand Reputation On The Line
Brand reputation is one thing that a business will protect at any cost. And when it comes to online presence, businesses are selective about where will they place their ads. In the case of TikTok, it does not have a good impression on people because of its bad reputation due to various suspicion and its addictive nature of TikTok.
As I have already stated, TikTok is seen as close to the Chinese government and many countries do not feel confident that TikTok will protect the user data. Already there are reports of TikTok not placing enough resources and attention on protecting user data and privacy.
The CEO of Reddit has even described TikTok as Parasitic and Spyware. This gives quite a bad reputation for TikTok as a brand. In such a situation, no international brand would like to place its reputation on the line by keeping a presence on TikTok.
Short Form Video Only
The form of content that TikTok is primarily known for is one of its biggest disadvantages when it comes to using TikTok For Business. The short form and Vertical video format place a limit on what type of content can a business use on the platform.
TikTok is best when you view the videos vertically and on full screen. So, to provide a good user experience and get the message across to the public, a business needs to create content based on those parameters.
TikTok for Business, the ad platform of TikTok also prefers the same format as its content. Businesses who pay for the ad also need to create their ad content inside the limit and format.
Why You Shouldn’t Use TikTok For Your Business
TikTok is trying to convince advertisers to use its platform. TikTok for Business, the ad platform of TikTok is designed to make it easier for advertisers to create and run ads on TikTok.
Although TikTok may be able to successfully revive its ad platform in the future. And provide a useful means for advertisers to run ads in the future. But the current situation of TikTok ads does not present a compelling ROI or atmosphere for advertisers to successfully run ad campaigns.
If you are a small business or a startup, you should think twice before you create and run ads on TikTok. The disadvantages of TikTok for the business mentioned above do affect how successful will your campaign be on TikTok.
While there are benefits of using TikTok for business, the disadvantages are equally convincing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Some frequently asked questions related to the “Disadvantages Of TikTok For Business” are taken from the internet. Go through the questions and their answers to understand more about the platform.
How To Create TikTok Business Account?
Like every other social media platform, TikTok also provides a special TikTok account for businesses. First, you have to create a Personal TikTok account. And then you have to change the TikTok account to a business account. To change a personal account to a business account, read this article.
What Is The Difference Between TikTok Business Vs Creator Account?
There are key differences between TikTok business vs creator account. TikTok business account can access tools such as post scheduling, third-party analytics tool, etc. For a more detailed comparison between the TikTok business account vs Creator Account, go through this article.
How To Promote Your Business In TikTok?
To promote your business on TikTok, you need to use the ad platform “TikTok For Business”. If you are a business owner and want to understand how can you use TikTok for business growth, refer to this article on “How To Advertise/Promote Your Business In TikTok”.
Conclusion
Therefore, there are various disadvantages of TikTok For Business. The disadvantages such as heavy cost of ads, creative limitations, limited area advertisement, brand reputation on the line, and short-form video format. It makes it difficult for businesses to use it.
