You probably know why you need tradelines on your business credit reports. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to get them there. Adding tradelines is important, but you should definitely avoid business tradelines for sale. Buying tradelines can hurt more than it helps.
Buying Business Tradelines for Sale Isn’t The Shortcut it May Seem
Honestly, there are no shortcuts in life or business. Think about it. Inevitably when you try to cut corners to make things go faster, you miss something important. More times than not, it ends up costing more time and money than it would have if you had just done it the right way to begin with. This is as true about building business credit as it is anything else.
Still, some people try shortcuts anyway. The top three “shortcuts” to building business credit are:
For many, buying tradelines seems like the easiest and least risky shortcut. However, these 6 organizations agree, it’s just not worth it.
#1 Federal Reserve
“The potential distortions in credit scores that piggybacking credit may introduce suggest that a reconsideration of existing regulations, industry practices, or both may be warranted to preserve the predictiveness of credit scoring models.”
“Opening a business credit account with any company is free. If you are paying for it, you are being ripped off. When the company who sold that tradeline to you gets taken down, all of their clients will get punished, too, with a mound of debt and a cursed credit file that will keep you from getting more credit to be able to pay it off.”
When commenting on a 2013 bust of a fraud ring, “A second kind of tradeline is the “authorized user” tradeline, where a credit card holder adds another, so-called “authorized user,” to a credit card account. This raises the credit score of the authorized user, who inherits some of the primary user’s credit history.
Some defendants created and sold fake lines of credit for false identities made up by other defendants. These fraudulent primary tradelines were then used to increase the credit limits on fraud cards, so that the defendants could reap even larger profits. Defendants used the authorized user tradelines to create new identities.”
#4 FICO
FICO’s opinion on piggybacking is obvious here: “A … shadier version of piggybacking has been promoted by some CROs who offer to “rent” to their credit-challenged customers the trade lines of established account holders, in an effort to boost their customers’ credit profiles and scores.”
#5 Equifax
Equifax: “… authorized user abuse occurs when low-risk primary card owners “rent” their tradelines with extensive credit histories, high credit limits and solid repayment profiles to others – most times, knowingly, to fraudsters.”
#6 Experian
Experian: “Buying tradelines may be viewed as deceptive by lenders and credit reporting agencies, and could even put you in danger of committing bank fraud.
Credit scores are designed to help lenders determine a borrower’s creditworthiness, and most use your credit scores and credit reports to determine whether to approve a credit application and what terms you qualify for.
If you pay money to improve your credit scores without doing any of the work or even getting a card to use, you could be falsely representing your creditworthiness to potential lenders.”
Buying Business Tradelines for Sale
So, what are business trade lines, and how does buying business tradelines for sale work? Legit business trade lines are lines of credit extended to businesses by vendors. A business gets goods or services and agrees to pay for them at a later date. Tradelines are often established between a business and a vendor, rather than a line of credit offered by a bank. They can help businesses build credit by rapidly building positive credit experiences.
There are many companies online which promise to sell ‘seasoned’ tradelines. If your company has poor or little credit, you can pay to have your business piggyback on the account of someone with well established, strong credit. This allows new business owners to seem more creditworthy than they really are. Sounds fishy right?
How Does Piggybacking a Tradeline Work?
A third party uses a creditworthy borrower’s accounts to improve their own credit. The borrower adds the third party as a user of his lines of credit. But, he or she does not actually provide the third party with credit cards or account numbers. The third party has no way to actually make charges against the account. As a result, that third party user never actually uses the credit.
The benefit to the third party is an improved credit rating. It appears they already have higher limit revolving accounts. In theory, showing you already have credit makes you more creditworthy for higher limit accounts. Some companies claim to be able to secure $100,000 – 250,000 credit lines once these accounts are reporting. Obviously, this buying of business tradelines for sale is dishonest.
A company offering the piggybacking service maintains a network of creditworthy ‘card holders’ or ‘vendors.’ They will add strangers to their accounts as users for a fee. A third party, looking to increase their credit score, contacts the company. Then, the company selects one of the business tradelines for sale to the client, and charges the client a fee per account.
It Works for Personal Credit, so What’s the Problem?
Consumer trades such as this are legitimate. A person with poor credit can use this strategy without issue. So, if you know someone with great credit, it is perfectly fine to ask if you can become an authorized user on their card. You never need to use the card, and it can still help to raise your personal credit scores.
But, in the business credit realm, things are much different. Consider what the following agencies have to say.
Lenders Know All About Business Tradelines for Sale
Lenders and CRAs know all the unethical methods out there. They know what to look for, and they are looking. For example, when they see a change in company ownership, or a new authorized user on a card, they dig deeper. Furthermore, sooner or later D&B will figure out you are using business tradelines for sale. If a tradeline sales company inquires into your credit report, D & B finds out.
Any time you buy a tradeline, the seller checks your credit. Of course they do, because they want to be sure they get paid. When this happens, here is what happens next:
D&B shuts down tradeline(s)
They red flag your entire profile, including legit trades alongside the illegitimate ones
You lose whatever time you think you gained by using business tradelines for sale
Plus, you’re out the cost of the tradelines
In addition, when a company has a reputation of being a tradeline seller, that company will be flagged as such. Any new inquiries by that flagged tradeline seller harms buyers, including older tradeline sales. There is no Statute of Limitations on this. That means, if you bought tradelines 50 years ago, D&B may still find out and it can still harm you.
Buying Business Tradelines for Sale is Not Worth It
Buying tradelines involves buying tradelines that belong to others and putting them on your credit report. While not technically illegal, it is dishonest. If a lender figures out you are doing it, you could be black balled. It isn’t worth it.
Still, adding tradelines to your business credit report is vital. You just have to do it the right way. Our Business Finance Suite helps you do just that. It walks you through the process step-by-step, so you get your own tradelines that you can actually use. Find out more today by getting a free Business Finance Assessment with a Credit Suite specialist.
The internet has transformed the advertising industry. Traditionally hard-to-measure channels like TV, billboards, and sponsorships are being pushed to the wayside by cheap, trackable online advertising channels like social media ads, display, and paid search ads. This shift is democratizing the industry. Even the smallest brands can compete on the same platform as multinationals if … Continue reading Online Advertising for Business: Creating the Perfect Plan That Gets the Customers You Want
The internet has transformed the advertising industry. Traditionally hard-to-measure channels like TV, billboards, and sponsorships are being pushed to the wayside by cheap, trackable online advertising channels like social media ads, display, and paid search ads.
This shift is democratizing the industry. Even the smallest brands can compete on the same platform as multinationals if they have the right knowledge, ad creatives, and targeting. If you want to grow your business, online advertising should be the first place you start.
I’ll show you how you can do just that in this guide. You’ll learn why online advertising is so beneficial, the best online advertising channels to use and how to create an online advertising campaign from scratch.
Online advertising is a form of paid-for marketing that leverages internet-based channels to promote products and services. There are plenty of online advertising channels to choose from, including search engines like Google or Bing, social media platforms, and display ads, banner ads, and native ads.
Unlike traditional advertising mediums, the cost of online advertising is low. Small businesses can generate hundreds of new customers for just a couple hundred bucks a month. Online advertising is more measurable, too. Every channel can be tracked, measured, and optimized, so marketers squeeze as much ROI from their campaigns as possible.
Such are the benefits of online advertising, companies are increasingly dedicating more and more of their budget to digital channels.
As you can see in this infographic from Visual Capitalist, there have been sharp falls in newspaper and TV advertising spending, while search, social media, online video, and e-commerce spending has increased dramatically since the early 2000s.
Why Your Business Should Advertise Online
However big your business, online advertising is one of the best ways to build a brand, win new customers, and grow revenue. It has many advantages over traditional forms of advertising and other forms of online marketing, but there are four big benefits I want to highlight.
Immediate Results
When you advertise online, you don’t have to wait months, weeks, or even days to get rewarded for your efforts. Sales can happen as soon as your ads go live.
This is unlike virtually any other form of marketing—traditional or otherwise. With SEO, for instance, it takes an average of about three months for a page to rank well on Google. Social media accounts tend to grow between 9.4 percent and 16 percent every six months.
The speed at which you see results doesn’t just help you win customers and drive revenue faster, it also helps you optimize campaigns quicker. Because you get data so fast, however, you’re able to optimize your campaigns to maximize ROI much faster. What takes six months or more with SEO, takes just three months with paid ads.
This is vital because optimizing PPC campaigns can double your ROI or more. Easton Sports, for example, doubled its ROI from 400 percent to 900 percent by working with e-commerce marketing agency The Good.
Better Targeting
Forget broad, mass-market ads that aim to please everyone. Online advertising lets you drill down into your target market and know with confidence that every dollar of your budget is being spent on them. That’s the kind of targeting traditional advertising can never compete with.
Most online advertising channels offer granular targeting, allowing you to focus your efforts on a small segment of their audience. Facebook lets you customize your target audience by dozens of criteria, including:
location
age
gender
education
job
interests
behavior
connections
As a result, you don’t have to worry about wasting your advertising budget on people who aren’t interested in your product. If you have strong buyer personas, you can target them with ease. Even if you don’t have buyer personas, granular targeting makes it easy to identify profitable segments of a large audience.
Better still, online advertising allows you to reach millions of people every day. Facebook has almost three billion monthly active users. Google processes around 63,000 queries every second. No other advertising medium lets your average joe business reach audiences of this size.
Low Costs
You won’t be forking over millions in advertising fees to reach targeted audiences. Unlike traditional advertising—where it can cost over $100,000 to run a 30-second TV advert—the cost of online advertising is incredibly low.
It costs, on average, just $3 to $10 to reach 1000 people with online advertising, compared to $22 to reach 1000 people using traditional methods. While your mom and pop retailer can’t hope to afford a TV advert, they can run a successful online advertising campaign on Facebook, Google, or any other channel.
You can limit the cost of your online advertising, too. The vast majority of online ad platforms will let you set a limit on your total and budgets, so you don’t blow everything at once.
Loads of Data
The worst thing about traditional forms of advertising like print, TV, or radio is that it’s tough to work out how well your campaign performed. That’s not the case with online advertising, where most channels show you exactly how well your ads performed.
Typically, online advertising channels will show how many people saw and clicked your ad, how many sales your ad resulted in, and many, many more metrics.
This data is gold. First, it allows you to measure ROI to see whether your online advertising is delivering a return.
Second, you can use that data to optimize your campaigns and make them even more profitable. With it, you can understand why your ad performed well or poorly and what you can change to improve your ROI in the future.
Types of Online Advertising for Businesses
Below are the main types of online advertising you need to know
1. Paid Search
Paid search is one of the most important online advertising channels. The vast majority of all online interactions start with a search engine—which makes it one of the best places to target potential customers.
Google is the dominant force in paid search advertising, which is unsurprising given it currently enjoys an85 percent global market share. Other search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo also offer paid ad solutions.
Paid ads come in two models: pay per click and CPM. With pay per click, brands pay every time someone clicks on their ads. With CPM, brands pay a set cost per thousand views.
They are usually positioned at the top of search result pages, as you can see below. They may also feature at the bottom of result pages and in separate tabs, like the Shopping tab.
Paid search offers some of the best targeting available to online advertisers. Brands can target specific keywords, destinations, devices, and more. This allows them to create highly relevant ads that can return an average ROAS of 200 percent.
That comes at a cost, however. Paid search ads are some of the most expensive you can buy. The average CPC of Google Ads is between $1 and $2. Averages can rise much higher in some industries like law—where the average CPC is more than $6.
Pros:
huge reach
fantastic targeting
immediate results
high intent traffic
Cons:
can be expensive
not visual ads
highly competitive
2. Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is huge. It is the second biggest digital advertising market with revenues of $153.7 billion in 2021. That’s expected to grow to $252.6 billion in 2026.
Consumers are obsessed with social media, too. Over half of the world’s population use some form of social media and the average person uses it for 2 hours and 27 minutes every day.
Every major social media platform has an advertising offering, including:
Ad formats vary depending on the platform, but the vast majority will be a form of in-feed ad. Facebook, for example, has four main ad formats.
The cost of social media ads will also vary depending on the platform. As you can see in this table by WebFX, LinkedIn and Instagram are two of the most expensive platforms with average CPCs north of $3. Facebook and Twitter tend to be the cheapest.
Pros:
insane targeting
wide audience reach
effective for brand awareness and sales
some channels have low costs
Cons:
costs can be very high on popular channels
a lot of competition
can be hard to find the right platform
Apple tracking updates may cause issues
3. Native Ads
Native ads don’t feel like they’re ads at all. Brands partner with publishers to create sponsored content that provides a lot of value to the reader while subtly promoting your business. The content is published on the partner’s site and distributed as normal. The idea is that users read the content and get value from it without feeling like they’re being sold to. It’s a win-win.
Here’s an example of a typical native ad on Fast Company. Note the small “paid content” disclaimer in the top right-hand corner.
Native ads can be very effective.
It’s been shown the softer touch of native ads can result in five to ten times higher CTRs than direct response ads. Native ads can be expensive, however. Major publications charge as much as $200,000 to get featured.
The vast majority of major publishers will offer some form of sponsored content or native ad package, making it easy for your brand to get featured in dozens of high-quality publications.
Pros:
build trust
appear authentic
Cons:
high effort required
typically smaller returns on investment
4. Display Ads
Display advertising is one of the most common forms of online advertising. In fact, it’s probably the one that came to mind when you saw the title of this article. Display ads come in many forms, including banner ads, in-content ads, side-bar ads, and popups.
Below you can see an example of a banner display ad on Digiday.
There are multiple ad platforms that brands can work with to run these ads. Popular platforms include:
Google Display Network
Facebook Network Ads
Taboola
Leadbolt
Display ads are one of the most cost-effective forms of online advertising, costing as little as $0.50 per click. There’s a trade-off, however, as display ads typically have some of the lowest CTRs of any online ad.
Pros:
cost-effective
widely available
great for brand awareness
Cons:
low CTRs
tend to be ignored or blocked
linked with poor UX
5. Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads are much more effective than standard display ads.
That’s because consumers rarely make a purchase the first time they land on your website. When you show them the same products that previously caught their eye, they’ll be more likely to eventually make a purchase.
That’s where retargeting ads come in. This is a form of display ad that only targets people who have landed on your website and left without making a purchase.
Retargeting ads can appear on any website that shows display ads, as well as Facebook and Google. The cost of retargeting ads will depend on where they are displayed. The average cost of retargeting ads on Google, for example, is $0.66 to $1.23 per click.Display retargeting ads will be much cheaper.
Pros:
only target people who have shown an interest in your brand
higher CTR than display ads
Cons:
can feel intrusive
harder to run after privacy updates
6. Affiliate Ads
Affiliate advertising is where a brand partners with a third-party (usually a publisher or influencer) to promote its products or services. Rather than an upfront payment, third-party gets paid a commission every time they refer a customer to the brand.
Affiliate advertising is a rapidly growing market and is expected to be worth $8.2 billion in the U.S. in 2022.
The cost of affiliate marketing can vary dramatically depending on the industry you operate in and the third parties you partner with. Commission rates vary between $3 and $200 and can be as low as 1 percent per sale or as high as 60 percent.
Pros:
only pay when you make a sale
easy to get started
lots of third parties and publishers
Cons:
can be required to give away a large percentage as commission
can be time-consuming to stay on top of affiliates.
7. Video Ads
Video ads are an increasingly popular form of video-based advertising. The most common form of video ads are YouTube ads, but other video platforms like Vimeo host ads, too.
The potential reach of video ads is huge. On YouTube alone, consumers watch more than one billion hours of videos every day. YouTube also ranks second in monthly user numbers for social network platforms and is the world’s second-largest search engine.
How to Create an Online Advertising Strategy for Your Business
The steps to create an online advertising strategy will be broadly similar regardless of your business, product, or service. You start by setting goals, defining your target audience, and assigning a budget. Next, you pick a channel and create ads. Then it’s simply a case of launching and optimizing as necessary.
Step 1: Set Goals
You should always set goals for your online advertising campaign. Having a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your strategy and how you measure those goals will keep you on track, increasing the likelihood of success.
One study found that 76 percent of people who wrote goals down, made a list of actions, and ran weekly progress reports achieved their goals.
Making more sales is a typical online advertising strategy goal, but it’s not the only one. Others include:
increasing brand awareness
getting more subscribers
growing your social media following
Whatever your goal, make sure it follows the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) framework.
Instead of saying you want to acquire new customers with your Google Ads campaign, state that you want to acquire 1000 customers in one month by spending $5,000 on ads.
Step 2: Find Your Target Audience
With a goal in place, it’s time to decide on your target audience. Who exactly do you want to reach with your ads?
As we’ve discussed, the beauty of online advertising is that you can target an incredibly specific audience. It’s time to take advantage of that. Consider things like:
age
gender
demographic
nationality or location
interests
Make sure you account for your goals. If you want to acquire tens of thousands of customers, you’re going to have to cast a broad net. If your aims are more modest, you can afford to be more specific.
Step 3: Assign a Budget
Assigning an appropriate budget is essential for any online advertising campaign. It will define how much you can spend and, to a lesser extent, which channels you can advertise on. I recommend basing your budget on a variety of factors, including:
your overall marketing budget
your product or service price
your goals
how long you want the campaign to last
any previous results
You don’t want to blow your budget on one campaign. Nor do you want to assign a tiny budget if you want the campaign to run for six months.
While you should always establish a budget upfront, be prepared to be flexible with that budget. The immediacy with which you can see results is another advantage of online marketing, so you should be prepared to increase the budget if you see success.
Step 4: Pick a Channel
Now that you have a set of goals, a target audience, and a budget, you can finally decide which channel you want to advertise on. The truth is you probably already have a paid advertising channel in mind.
That’s fine, but it’s important to make sure it matches your goals, budget, and audience. Budget-wise, advertising on Google Search can be incredibly expensive for certain keywords.
The average cost per click for keywords related to the insurance industry was $20.12 in 2021, for instance. If you don’t have the appropriate budget, you’re better off choosing another channel.
Similarly, there’s no point in advertising on Google if your goal is to increase your social media following. Or advertising on Facebook if most of your customers use TikTok instead.
If it’s your first time launching an online advertising campaign, stick to one channel. It will make creating ads and setting up the campaign a lot easier. You can start to advertise on multiple paid marketing channels when you get a few campaigns under your belt.
Step 5: Create Ads and Launch Your Campaign
This step is going to vary quite a bit by your chosen paid ad channel. In the case of Google Search ads, you’ll need to write ad copy. For display ads, on the other hand, you’ll need to design an image. Whatever channel you use, the bulk of your efforts should be spent here.
For example, if you’re advertising on Google Ads, improving your Quality Score can make a huge difference. This is a measure of how relevant your ad and landing page are. It’s been found that an above-average Quality Score can result in a 50 percent discount on your cost per click. Low-Quality Scores, on the other hand, can result in you paying four times as much.
Spending time improving your ad copy can also increase your clickthrough rates, as I show in my ad copy guide.
Step 6: Optimize Your Campaign
Creating an online advertising campaign doesn’t stop once you’ve hit launch. The wealth of data that these channels provide means you can start optimizing your campaign almost immediately.
Review your ad dashboard daily after launch and look for ways to optimize your campaign. Common strategies include:
changing your bid amounts
changing ad run times
adding negative keywords
changing your copy
changing images
changing a new ad targeting a different segment of your audience
You can also pivot your campaign entirely if things aren’t working out. There’s no point wasting budget on a campaign that isn’t generating any return. Instead, pick another paid channel and launch a new campaign.
Note: Don’t worry if this section seems overwhelming. You can work with an online advertising agency that will handle the entire process for you.
Online Advertising Strategies for Business to Take Your Strategy to the Next Level
Launching your first online advertising campaign is just the start. Once you’ve got a few campaigns under your belt, you can start to experiment with advanced strategies like the ones below to supercharge your results.
Use Tools to Enhance Your Ad Campaigns
You don’t need to spend money on anything else apart from your budget to see results with online advertising. There are marketing tools for almost every channel that can enhance your campaign and help you generate even more ROI.
Find and utilize these tools wherever possible. My keyword research tool, Ubersuggest, is a great example of a tool that can help you improve your paid ad campaigns by getting access to high-quality keyword data. This is useful if you want to make sure you’re targeting every relevant high-value keyword in your Google PPC campaign.
Head on over to Ubersuggest and click on the keywords dropdown in the left menu bar. Enter a keyword in the “Discover new keywords” bar. For this example, I’m going to use the keyword “digital marketing agency.”
Hit search, and you’ll be served hundreds of relevant and related keyword ideas. You can export the keywords as a CSV file and add them to Google Ads immediately. Or you can filter them to make them even more relevant.
For example, say I don’t want to target any keywords with a CPC higher than $20. By clicking on the CPC filter and entering between $0 and $20, I can filter them all out.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with a tool like Ubersuggest. For more help, see my complete Ubersuggest guide.
Automate PPC Bidding
Automated bidding will feel like a lifesaver if you’re not confident in setting bids and optimizing campaigns. Google is the best-known ad platform for automated bidding, but plenty of others like Microsoft and Facebook offer some kind of automated or smart bidding service, too.
Google offers two forms of automatic bidding: a standard automated bidding service and a smart bidding service that uses machine learning to optimize for conversions. You can target five goals when using automated bidding on Google:
Increase site visits: Google will generate as many clicks as possible.
Increase visibility: Google will target impression share to show your ads at the top of the page.
Maximize conversions at your CPA: Google will drive as many conversions as possible at the target Cost per Acquisition.
Meet a target ROAS: Google will try to maximize the value of every click.
Maximize conversion bidding: Google will try to get the most conversion value while spending all of your budget.
The benefit of automated bidding is two-fold. First, you don’t have to worry about setting the right bids and can focus instead on other parts of the campaign. Second, Google will probably do a better job of setting bids than you.
For instance, T-Mobile boosted conversions by 22 percent, decreased cost per acquisition by 27 percent, and increased conversion rate by 23 percent by switching to automated bidding on Google.
Create Hyper Personalized Ads on Facebook
Personalization should be part of every marketing strategy—and your online advertising campaign is no different. More than half of customers (60 percent) say they’re more likely to become repeat buyers after a personalized experience.
When you use dynamic formats and creative, you create a personalized experience for every person who sees your ad. Facebook will automatically change certain elements of your ad to suit the user’s tastes. These elements include:
The format: Facebook will show either the carousel or collection format.
The description: Additional information like price and delivery information may or may not be displayed.
The media and creatives: Dynamic video can be used to create auto-generated videos using your product catalog.
The destination: Facebook may send people to different destinations depending on where they’re most likely to convert.
The benefits of hyper-personalized online advertising can be massive. Facebook tested the dynamic formats and creative solutions across 12 online stores and found they increased views, add-to-carts, purchases, and sales. There was also a 34 percent increase in incremental ROAS, a 10 percent improvement in lift, and a six percent decrease in cost per incremental purchase.
Use Ads to Re-Target New Customers
Most retargeting strategies focus on trying to convert consumers who have visited your site but not made a purchase. Let’s flip conventional wisdom on its head and focus on converting customers who have already bought from you.
Here’s the theory: it costs five times as much to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. You’d be better off turning one-off customers into repeat buyers rather than converting new customers.
Retargeting ads are also the perfect vehicle for these messages. According to an IAB survey, 92 percent of marketers believe retargeting ads perform the same as or better than search, 91 percent believe they perform the same as or better than email, and 92 percent believe they perform the same as or better than other display ads.
How should you re-target customers? I recommend three strategies:
Cross-selling: Pitch them products similar or related to the customer’s first purchase.
Upselling: Encourage them to purchase an add-on or upgrade their account.
Subscription: Encourage them to turn their one-off purchase into a subscription.
Experiment With Under-Utilized Platforms
I’ve got bad news for you. Everyone is advertising on Facebook. Most of your competitors are also probably advertising on Google, too. Ditto for display ads. Competitors with bigger budgets will target the same audience and the same keywords. That doesn’t bode well for you.
Better ads and more optimized campaigns are two ways to stand apart from the competition, but an easier way is to advertise on platforms where your competitors don’t.
Instead of Google, run search ads on Bing or even DuckDuckGo. Read my guide on Bing for advice on how to do it.
There are plenty of other alternative ad platforms that don’t get the love they deserve. Quora is an excellent source of engaged and highly targeted users ripe for being served great ads. Motley Fool Australia used Quora to increase leads by 111 percent and lower CPAs by 47 percent, for instance.
Online Advertising for Business Frequently Asked Questions
What percent of my marketing budget should go to online advertising?
Your marketing budget should be between 2 percent and 5 percent of your revenue. The percentage of that budget you should dedicate to online advertising will depend on your other marketing strategies and your success with paid ads. The fewer other strategies you use and the more success you have, the more you can devote to online advertising.
What is considered online advertising?
Online advertising is any form of paid-for internet-based marketing. It includes PPC, social media ads, banner ads, display ads, video ads, and many other channels and formats.
What is the best type of online advertising?
There is no best type of online advertising. The best form of online advertising is the one that works best for your brand and audience, whether that’s search, social media, or something else entirely.
What types of businesses should do online advertising?
Any business with an online presence should consider online advertising. It’s cost-effective, highly measurable, and incredibly targeted, which makes it easy for any business to get started.
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Conclusion: Online Advertising for Business
Online advertising is an incredible marketing strategy. It’s cost-effective, easy to measure, and accessible to virtually every business, big or small. I hope this article has shown you how easy it is to get started, too.
Why is inflation bad? The simple answer is high interest rates. They affect everything. Money doesn’t go as far, borrowing is more expensive, and everything is harder. Personal credit can be finicky, and inflation doesn’t help. It is subject to a lot of different factors. There is much more to it than just paying your bills on time. Inflation can wreak havoc on personal credit, and that can, in turn, cause serious issues with your ability to get business funding.
Why Is Inflation Bad? The Effect on Personal Credit
These are some of the factors that can affect business credit.
Age of accounts
Account Mix
Debt-to-Credit Ratio
Inquiries
Payment history
And more!
As you might have guessed, this means that even if you pay on time every time, you can still have a less than great personal credit score. Still, how does inflation affect these factors? More so, how can issues with personal credit affect business funding? Then, what can you possibly do about it?
Personal Credit Issues that Can Kill Business Fundability
First, you need to understand which personal credit factors can also affect Fundability. Here are 5 Factors that can affect your personal credit and your ability to get business funding.
Lack of Open Credit
This is the big one. It deals with the debt-to-credit ratio. That is, how much credit you are using versus how much you have available to use, in total.
For example, imagine you have 5 credit cards with a $1,000 limit each. That means you have $5,000 in total credit available to use. Now, if you put $900 on each one, your ratio would be $4,500/$5,000, or .9.
As a result, you are using 90% of your available credit. For an optimal credit score, it needs to be less than 30%. This will especially be an issue if you are using personal cards for business funding. Typically, personal cards have lower limits than business cards. Furthermore, business expenses are usually more than personal expenses. So, even if you make payments, your balance could hover near credit limits.
Why is inflation bad? Higher interest rates mean higher minimum payments with less going toward the principle. Consequently, it is harder to get balances down and keep them down to a more positive debt-to-credit ratio.
Open Charge Offs
If a bank sees open charge offs on your personal credit report, they are going to question your ability to make payments. This can cause them to deny or limit the amount of funding they approve.
Why is inflation bad? With the reduced ability to pay accounts off, more charge offs are likely.
Judgements and Tax Liens
The same is true for bankruptcy, judgements, and tax liens. These kinds of issues on personal credit can make credit providers call other things into question, such as your ability to run and manage a business.
Why is inflation bad? Higher interest rates make it hard to pay obligations, which can increase the likelihood of financial problems, including bankruptcy.
The Relationship Between Business Credit and Personal Credit
How exactly does personal credit have any bearing on business credit? The truth is, at least two of the business credit reporting agencies use your personal credit score when calculating your business credit score. As a matter of fact, both Experian and FICO SBSS do this.
However, when set up properly, the reverse should not be true. Credit in the name of your business should not affect your personal credit score.
What’s the Solution?
First, fix your personal credit issues. Pay down debt, and clear liens and judgments if you can. Bankruptcies only come off with time, but more positive marks will help. Start now, before inflation grows.
Build Business Credit
At the same time, start building business credit, if you haven’t already. Make sure your business has a Fundable Foundation, and start applying for and using vendor credit.
Having business credit will help you get funding to grow and run your business day to day without depending on personal credit.
Work with a Credit Partner or Guarantor
This is someone who has good personal credit that can help you get credit for your business using their good credit score. One way they can do this is by helping you get financing through the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid. The Credit Line Hybrid is unsecured business financing that you need good credit, or a guarantor with good credit, to get. Better yet, you can get up to $150,000.
Don’t Wait, Start Now Before Inflation Gets Any Worse
Building business credit at the same time you are working on personal credit can keep you going. Eventually, you will have both good personal and business credit. Truly, the sooner the better. Not only will you be better able to weather the inflation storm on the horizon, but you can also double your funding options.
Then you will be able to get even more money by using both your personal credit and your business credit.
Many business owners apply for a business loan and end up being denied, never knowing why. Surprisingly, one of the most common reasons for denial has more to do with the actual application than the creditworthiness of the company. A lot of applicants never make it to the financial review process simply because their application triggers fraud concerns with the lender.
Apply for a Business Loan Without Fraud Concerns: Consistency is Key
Discrepancies of any kind set off red flags for lenders. When something doesn’t add up, they don’t look too far for answers. In contrast, they simply deny.
Application denials for this are common because inconsistencies reek of fraudulent activity. Just the appearance of fraud, any inkling, is enough for most lenders to deny.
Consistent Business Information
Your business name and other information must be consistent. If you list it one way on your application and it is different anywhere else, denial is imminent. That means, even an ampersand in one place and the word “and” in another can mean denial.
Information Must Be Verifiable
When you apply for a loan, the information you put on it must be verifiable. Lenders might search with the Secretary of State to verify ownership. As you can imagine, if the business information on the application does not match the Ssecretary of Sstate records, they may very well deny it automatically.
If they decide to investigate further, they may ask for tax returns, even if they already have financials. The catch is, even if they originally ask only to verify information, due diligence dictates that they look at all of it. This may not work in your favor.
The more you make, the more you pay. As a result, businesses do not want to show they make money. Yet, if your tax return shows a large loss, it results in a denial. If your information is verifiable in the first place, it may not be necessary to give lenders tax returns.
Verifying Income
Do yourself a favor and don’t try to lie about income. There are plenty of ways to verify, and credit providers will do that. You can be sure they can and will verify everything. Not just income either. The truth is, this goes for any information. That includes ownership percentage, date of opening, and of course financial information.
Personal Information Matters
Some are surprised to find out that personal information comes into play when you apply for a business loan. It has to be verifiable as well. Resist the thought that you may be able to fudge on personal information when you apply for a business loan. They will know.
Do Not Buy a Credit Privacy Number (CPN) to Try to Hide Bad Credit
A legitimate CPN is available by working with an attorney to file a claim with the Social Security Administration. That is, if you have a compelling claim. Bad credit is not a compelling claim.
Some claim a CPN will offer fresh credit history. As a result, companies use sketchy ways to get numbers to sell. Unfortunately, these 9-digit numbers may be dormant social security numbers or numbers that belong to children. By purchasing one, you could unknowingly end up in an identity theft scam.
Also, using any number other than a Social Security number where an SSN is called for is a violation of two federal laws.
Your best bet is to resist the temptation to use a CPN.
Apply For a Business Loan the Right Way
It’s not hard to avoid denial if you just apply for a business loan the right way. First, make sure all of your information is consistent everywhere. Then, ensure that when you provide information on a loan application, it is verifiable. Last, be honest. Don’t use numbers other than your Social Security Number or EIN. In the end, this is your best chance at getting your application through the initial process and to the financial review. The best part? This is just one of the business loan secrets we can share with you.
Using a business investor is a legitimate way to get money for your business. However, there are more ways to do it than you may imagine.
Partnering with an Business Investor
This is one of many ways to get money for your business. Surprisingly, you have a number of options, including:
Venture capitalist
Angel investors
Equity crowdfunding
If you choose to pursue this option, you have your work cut out for you. First, you have to choose the option that will work best for you. Then, you have to find a potential investor and convince them. Still, it may be worth it considering Interest rates are rising and it’s becoming harder to find loans. These are non-issues when you work with venture capitalist funds.
Angel Investor
Angel investors typically invest in early-stage or startup companies for 20 – 25% return on their investment. Basically, they invest less than venture capitalists, but also require less control.
Equity Crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding is when potential investors visit a funding portal website and explore different investment opportunities posted on the site. Potential investors are subject limits based on their income and net worth. Also, they must be 18 years old or older.
Venture Capitalists
Venture Capitalists are investors that give money to build startups. Generally, they are looking for investment opportunities that have both high-growth and high-risk potential. These are fast-growth companies with an exit strategy already in place.
Usually, they expect a recovery time of 3-5 years, often they want to own a large piece of the business, or even controlling stake.
To have a chance, you need to have a:
Strong management team
Large potential market
Unique product or service, and strong competitive advantage
A Winning Pitch Deck to Catch the Perfect Business Investor
Of course, the pitch deck won’t seal the deal immediately. Yet, it is the first impression investors get of your business. Typically, it is in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
What is the Goal of a Pitch Deck?
The final goal is to get your business funded. However, the immediate goal is just to get to the next meeting. You want to create interest that entices investors to consider investing in your business.
What to Include in a Pitch Deck
While you do have some creative leeway, there is general information that should be included in every pitch deck.
Company Overview
This is a quick 4 or 5 bullet summary that includes what the company is. So, tell them what you do, how you do it, and why it needs to be done.
Mission Statement or Vision for the Business
Include a crisp, concise statement telling them what you want to become. Honestly, it is the backbone of the presentation.
Your People
This is where you will introduce yourself and the team, including names and pictures. Tell what each person contributes to the company.
The Problem Your Business Solves/ Need it Fills
Of course, every business should solve a problem or fill a need. Now, your job is to show potential investors how your business does that.
What is Your Product?
Obviously, this is where you introduce your product or service. Explain how it’s different from anything else in the market. Consequently, it’s best to have a prototype or at least pictures for this section if you can.
Is There a Market for It?
First, define your market. For example, who will be using the product? Then, explain the dollar market size. Do you already have customers? If so, include them here. Use the logos of well-known customers the audience will recognize. For lesser known customers, include names and testimonials.
Technology
Does the business use any proprietary technology. Include diagrams, graphs, and photographs to show progress if it does. Furthermore, be sure you include proprietary rights like patents and copyrights.
How to Handle Competition
Don’t make the mistake of ignoring competition. In contrast, you will need to address the subject with potential investors. Inform them of who you believe your competitors are. Then, tell them how your business is different. Explain what it is that gives your business a competitive advantage.
Previous Success
This section includes any early sales figures along with:
Website traffic
App downloads
Growth metrics
Partnerships
Praise from the press
And testimonials
Business Model
Tell them how the business makes money, including how a customer retains value long-term. Also, you’ll need to explain what your pricing plan looks like.
Marketing Plans
This is where you talk about marketing platforms and channels. Don’t forget, it’s also important to note the cost to acquire a customer, as well as the estimated lifetime value of a customer.
Financials
Here, you’ll include 3- 5 year financial projections as well as complete current financials. In addition, be to include any key assumptions used for the projections.
The Ask
Now, it’s time to ask for exactly what you want. Tell them precisely what you’re looking for, remembering that it is okay to give a range. Discuss how long you think this funding will last, as well as how you plan to use the funds. Lastly, if you have any existing investors, include that information here as well.
6 Bonus Pitch Deck Tips
Make the presentation professional, but visually interesting. If it’s boring, you’ll lose them before you get started.
It also needs to be easy to access. If they have to click through a billion links, they may never see it.
Do not include a date. Chances are you will use the presentation more than once, and that is just one less thing you have to remember to update.
Keep it as short as possible while still including all the necessary information.
Keep acronyms to a minimum. Too many are hard to follow.
Using a Business Investor is Just One Funding Option
Working with a business investor is a totally legitimate business funding option. However, it is not your only option. Find out what other types of funding you may qualify for with a free business finance assessment. What are you waiting for?
It’s not just a place for dance challenges or pranks, either. Brands can use TikTok to build their reputation, engage audiences, and drive conversions. However, unlike Facebook and Instagram, it’s not immediately obvious how brands can best use TikTok to their advantage.
That’s why TikTok created TikTok For Business. This marketing tool offers everything brands need to create awesome TikTok ads that drive real business results.
This article explains what TikTok For Business is and how it works, who should use TikTok For Business, and how you can get the most from this tool. By the end of the article, you’ll have a clear idea of how you can succeed with this phenomenal social network.
What Is TikTok For Business?
TikTok For Business is highly recommended. It won B2B Brand of the Year at The Drum Awards for B2B in 2021, thanks to its rebranding efforts and glowing recommendations from brands of all sizes.
Before we dive into actionable strategies, let’s take a moment to cover what TikTok For Business is. TikTok For Business, formerly called TikTok Ads, is an all-in-one marketing tool built to help businesses release their creative side and create awesome campaigns that can go viral.
The tool makes it easy for brands to start advertising on TikTok. It contains in-depth guides on the solutions it offers, including:
Introduction to TikTok For Business
Creative Best Practices
The Creative Exchange
The TikTok Shop
It also offers plenty of inspirational success stories (something we’ll cover in more detail below) and loads of blog posts and how-to videos.
Why Should You Use TikTok For Business?
OK, TikTok For Business sounds great. However, is it right for everyone?
I think almost every business has a lot to gain from TikTok. For one, it is the leading app for consumer spending. In 2021, users spent a whopping $2.3 billion in the app, up from $1.3 billion in 2020. It also offers the following three major benefits to brands.
Enormous Exposure Potential
Consumers love videos. In 2022, we watched an average of 2.5 hours of online video contentper day, up from 1.5 hours per day in 2018. The same study also shows we’re twice as likely to share video content with friends than any other online content.
There are few better places to watch videos than on TikTok.
As the leading video-based social network, TikTok gives brands access to millions of potential views. As I mentioned in the introduction, TikTok has a phenomenal number of users in over 140 countries.
What’s even more important is that those users are highly engaged. Data released by TikTok shows the average user opens the app 19 times a dayand actively uses the app for 89 minutes per day—basically an hour and a half.
Even better, almost anyone can create a viral TikTok video. The nature of the platform’s algorithm means even creators with tiny audiences can become viral hits. Just ask Nathan Apodaca, whose video become so popular it reached Fleetwood Mac, whose song he sings in the soothing video he records while skateboarding to work.
Brands Look More Authentic on TikTok
No one wants to be known as the company that runs cheesy adverts on social media. Consumers don’t want crap ads, either. Consumers want an emotional connection to brands now more than ever, and 90 percent say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they support.
Thanks to the solutions offered by TikTok For Business, it’s easier for brands to come across as authentic and create the same level of content pushed out by veteran content creators.
Of course, it’s easy to go too far and jump on all of the latest TikTok trends. While it’s important to be creative and authentic, take care to stay true to your brand’s personality. If the trend doesn’t mirror your brand image, you don’t need to jump on the bandwagon.
Access to Endless Influencers
The power of influencer marketing is well understood. Three in four marketers use influencers as a marketing tool, and 90 percent believe it to be effective.
TikTok takes influencer marketing to a new level. Because it’s possible for someone with very few influencers to go viral on TikTok, brands have access to a potentially unlimited number of influencers.
TikTok also makes it easy to connect with influencers thanks to its Creator Marketplace. We’ll talk about this analytics tool below, but it’s a great way to find partners with the engagement, reach, and demographics you care about.
Who Should Use TikTok For Business?
It doesn’t matter who you are or what kind of business you run; TikTok has something to offer everyone from large enterprises to small businesses and agencies.
Big brands with even bigger marketing budgets have quickly made TikTok their home. Companies like Coca-Cola, Google, and Sony have already established effective partnerships with popular TikTokers to promote brand awareness and drive conversions.
The New York Times reports that at least 18 public retail brands have referred to marketing efforts on TikTok on calls with analysts and investors between August and December.
TikTok goes to great lengths to promote itself as the social media platform of choice for small businesses. In 2021, the company unveiled its Small Wins initiative, which showed the value it can bring to smaller businesses around the globe. This includes a bakery that turned 3,000 followers into 2 million and a candlemaker who went viral.
Agencies are also a focus of TikTok’s marketing efforts. The company has created TikTok Marketing Partners, a community of companies that help marketers grow their businesses on TikTok. These partners provide a range of services, from creative design to campaign management. Agencies who have a penchant for TikTok can even sign up to become Marketing Partners themselves.
As you can see, virtually any company can use TikTok to their advantage. However, you’ll want to ensure your audience is present on the platform. Just because you find success on Instagram or Facebook doesn’t mean TikTok is a good fit.
TikTok has already become the app of choice for Gen Z consumers, surpassing Instagram in popularity. They aren’t the only people using the app, however. One in five U.S. adults uses theplatform, including 22 percent of consumers aged 30-49.
Even if you don’t think TikTok is suitable for your brand, it’s still worth creating an account to reserve your business username. Maybe you’ll change your mind by the end of the article.
6 Strategies to Use TikTok For Business
Finally, it’s time to start using TikTok to promote your business. Here are six ways you can use TikTok For Business today.
1. Get a TikTok Business Account
TikTok offers two types of Pro accounts: Business Accounts and Creator Accounts. We’re going to focus on the former here.
TikTok Business Accounts are designed especially for brands and companies. They come packed with awesome features to help engage your audience, including in-depth metrics, campaign management advice, TikTok’s Web Business Suite, and a commercial music library of over 500,000 royalty-free sounds.
Creating a Business Account is easy.
If you already have a TikTok account, you can convert your current account into a Business Account. Click on the menu dots in the top right-hand corner of the Me page, then click on Manage My Account and select Business Account under the Switch to Pro Account option.
It’s similar to setting up an account on any social media platform. You’ll need to enter an email and create a password.
Next, you need to create your business account.
Start by finding a username that isn’t already taken. Ideally, it will just be your brand name, but you may need to add a prefix or suffix to make it unique. Try one of these handle ideas if your brand name is taken.
With your Business Account created, you can start thinking about what you want to achieve with your account, who you want to target, how you’ll use your account, and the kind of videos you’ll create.
2. Use the TikTok Ads Manager
TikTok’s ads are fantastic. According to Hootsuite, they reach 17.9 percent of all internet users above the age of 18—and you have the potential to reach 884.9 million people.
One of the best things about running ads on TikTok is that they blend in seamlessly with organic content on the platform. There are several forms of TikTok ads, including:
In-feed ads: Standard TikTok ads that show up as videos in a user’s feed. They can last up to 60 seconds and can link to landing pages.
Brand takeovers: These ads show up when a user opens the app. They can be three-second photos or 3.5-second videos. They are more expensive than in-feed ads but potentially more powerful.
TopView ads: These are enhanced versions of brand takeover ads, lasting between five and 60 seconds.
Sponsored hashtag challenges: Hashtag challenges are huge on TikTok, and this ad form lets brands sponsor a hashtag challenge, complete with a custom banner shown on the Discover page.
TikTok makes it easy to get started with their ads manager.
First, select your goal. That could be to connect with your audience, generate web traffic, or generate leads.
Next, you choose your audience. You can let TikTok choose your audience or set the audience size yourself.
Next, set your daily budget and the dates you want your campaign to run.
While much of TikTok advertising is dominated by big brands, you don’t have to blow your annual marketing budget to see success. TikTok has a minimum campaign budget of $500 when using the ad manager and a minimum ad group budget of $50.
Finally, design and launch your ad. Now watch the impressions, engagement, and revenue roll in.
3. Partner With Creators
Influencers are crucial on TikTok. Interest in creating influencer advertising campaigns is on the rise too, with a 325 percent increase in 2021.68 percent of marketers now say they want to leverage the platform.
In response, TikTok released the Creator Marketplace (TCM) in 2019 to make it easier for brands and content creators to collaborate.
Brands use the marketplace to search for registered content creators, manage their campaigns, pay creators and generate reports and insights.
The Creator Marketplace means brands can manage multiple influencer campaigns in one place and keep track of everything through a single dashboard.
Better still, the Creator Marketplace massively increases transparency. Accurate reporting is notoriously difficult when working with influencers, but it’s baked into the Creator Marketplace.
As a result, brands can see at a glance which influencers help them meet their goals and which aren’t. This not only lets brands drop the influencers that aren’t working out, but also gives influencers the information they need to create awesome campaigns.
Finding the right influencers is another notoriously tricky part of working with influencers. Again, the Creator Marketplace comes to the rescue by letting you filter influencers by several criteria, including:
country
topic
reach
average views
gender
age
audience device
e-commerce anchor feature
Once you’ve found the perfect influencer, you can use TCM to send them messages, manage your joint campaign, and pay them.
The Creator Marketplace isn’t the only way to find and work with content creators on TikTok. TikTok also launched the Creative Exchange, designed to help brands and content creators form successful partnerships.
Finding influencers is one of the biggest challenges for brands, making this a fantastic addition to the TikTok Business suite. The 2021 Influencer Benchmark Report survey found that 22 percent of participants find the task difficult, and 56 percent rated it as having medium difficulty.
The Creative Exchange flips the script on influencer marketing. Rather than searching for the right influencer, brands create a campaign plan and let content creators respond to it with their suggestions.
Once you sign up for the Creative Exchange, TikTok walks you through the process of creating your project and provides several campaign ideas. These include a “Story” and “Product Intro,” among others.
Next, you’ll fill in a questionnaire related to your brand and product so content creators can get a better idea of who they’re working with.
Creators registered with the Exchange get notified every time opportunities match their interests. If they’re interested, they can apply to relevant projects by submitting their ideas or entering into a conversation with the brand.
The TikTok Creator Exchange is a faster and more efficient way of working with influencers on TikTok. However, it’s important to have a clear idea about the kind of campaign you want to create. The more information you can provide influencers, the better responses you’ll get.
5. Find a TikTok Marketing Partner
Every minute, people watch a staggering 167 million TikTok videos. That’s a huge number, and it shows just how hard you have to work to stand out from the crowd.
Most brands won’t be able to do this on their own.
Luckily, TikTok has a partnership program that connects brands with vetted TikTok experts. TikTok Marketing Partners have a wide range of skill sets and specialties, meaning they can help your business succeed at every stage of the campaign creation process. This includes:
Campaign Management Partners help you get the most from the TikTok Ads platform.
Measurement Partners help you squeeze as much performance from your campaigns as possible.
Creative Partners have the audiovisual skills to help you create awesome ads that are a natural fit for the platform.
Effects Partners can create augmented reality effects to help your ads really stand out.
Sound Partners can help brands leverage TikTok’s sound-on environment.
Helping you create killer ads is just one of the benefits of working with a TikTok Marketing Partner. There are plenty more, including getting access to new features first, benefiting from expert advice, and knowing what’s coming next.
When you work with a TikTok Marketing Partner, you’re eligible for early access to the platform’s alpha and beta releases. Since TikTok Partners have a strong understanding of the platform, they’ll be able to make these new features work for your brand almost immediately.
Because they’ve achieved success on the platform many times over, they know the exact strategies you need to implement to meet your goals. TikTok also vets every partner to make sure they can do everything they promise.
Finally, a TikTok Marketing Partner has a deep knowledge of the platform’s product roadmap. That means they can notify you immediately of future developments in the app so your brand can take advantage faster.
6. Create a TikTok Shop
Social commerce is a huge, growing market. There were roughly 79 million social buyers in the U.S. in 2020.By 2025, it’s estimated that figure will grow by 37 percent to 108 social consumers million.
More and more businesses are jumping on the social commerce bandwagon. A 2021 survey found eight in ten businesses plan to sell on social media platforms within the next three years.
If you’re looking to get to grips with social commerce, TikTok should be your starting point. According to the company’s own research, 67 percent of consumers say they’re inspired to shop due to TikTok, even if they weren’t planning to. You only have to look at the TikTok feta effect for proof.
There are three core ways merchants can promote products on TikTok:
Merchant-led LIVEs and In-Feed Videos: Merchants can promote products directly in the app through LIVEs or standard in-feed videos.
Creator Collaborations: Merchants can collaborate with creators to leverage their communities.
Campaigns and Promotions: Merchants can participate in TikTok Shop’s monthly campaigns.
Creating a seller account is easy:
Open the TikTok Shop app and click Become a Seller if you already have an account. You can also create an account from scratch.
Fill in your personal data.
Fill in the TikTok Shop Seller Center profile.
Click continue and start selling.
Many major brands are already selling on TikTok, like Kylie Cosmetics and Manly Brands. Even smaller brands have seen success selling on the platform.
U.K. perfumer retailer PerfumeBoss created their first live shoppable event just two days after signing up. It now hosts five live events every week and has seen a 438 percent increase in net revenue and a 369 percent increase in order volume.
TikTok For Business Success Stories
If you’re looking for inspiration before you dip your toe into TikTok For Business, you’re in luck. The company has plenty of case studies showcasing just how much brands can achieve on the platform. Here are three of the most impressive.
SLATE & TELL
Are you looking to use TikTok to drive online sales for your business? Then you need to learn how SLATE & TELL leveraged TikTok For their spring promotions. The personalized jewelry company aimed to see a 2x return on ad spend over six months by using TikTok For Business’ Smart Video Creative Tool.
They launched a series of in-feed ads that looked like a natural part of consumers’ For You feeds. By the end of the campaign, SLATE & TELL had reached four million people on TikTok, generated 1000 add-to-carts, and hit their goal of a 2x return on ad spend.
How can you replicate SLATE & TELL’s results?
Use TikTok’s Smart Video Creative tool.
Make ads look like a natural part of a consumer’s For You feed.
Coincide TikTok spend with your busiest time of the season.
Momentary Ink
Increasing brand awareness is a massive benefit of TikTok For Business, and one Momentary Ink took full advantage of. The company, which specializes in custom temporary tattoos, worked with TikTok’s partners to use in-feed ads featuring influencers trying out the product to demonstrate how good they looked.
Taking things further, the brand grew the campaign using TikTok’s auction feature and used the Conversion Objective feature within TikTok’s Ads Manager to track the campaign’s effectiveness. They followed up every purchase with a survey asking customers how they discovered the brand—a survey that further proved the power of TikTok for product discovery.
By the end of the campaign, they had reached 14 million video views, with 60 percent of buyers saying they discovered the brand on TikTok.
How can you replicate Momentary Ink’s results?
work with a TikTok partner agency to develop awesome creatives
partner with influencers to showcase your products
use conversion tracking to prove the effectiveness of TikTok ads
Princess Polly
When your brand’s values match those of TikTok users, the results can be incredible. That was the case for Princess Polly, a Gen Z-focused fashion retailer that prides itself on ethical and sustainable fashion and has a no-photoshop policy.
That’s the perfect brand for TikTok’s youthful audience that cares about creating genuine connections between bands.
The brand ran a unique discount code and promoted it using auction ads focusing on driving traffic. By the end of the campaign, the brand’s ads had garnered 9 million impressions and had delivered a 15x return on ad spend.
How can you replicate Princess Polly’s results?
tie your brand values to TikTok’s audience
promote your brand values
focus on conversions with discount codes
TikTok For Business Frequently Asked Questions
Is TikTok For Business free?
It’s free to sign up to TikTok For Business, but you’ll need to pay to work with content creators or run ads on the platform.
Can TikTok help small businesses?
TikTok can do wonders for small businesses. There are several small business success stories on TikTok’s site, and they even ran a Small Wins campaign to highlight the impact they can have on small businesses.
Should I switch to a TikTok For Business account?
If you’re only using TikTok for yourself, stick to a personal account. If you are using TikTok to make money, either as a business or an influencer, it makes sense to switch to a TikTok For Business account for additional insights and data.
Why should I use TikTok For Business as opposed to other social media platforms?
TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform and the most downloaded app of 2020. The nature of the site means it’s possible for brands to develop genuine and authentic connections with their audience that result in better business results.
It’s free to sign up to TikTok For Business, but you’ll need to pay to work with content creators or run ads on the platform.
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“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: ”
TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform and the most downloaded app of 2020. The nature of the site means it’s possible for brands to develop genuine and authentic connections with their audience that result in better business results.
”
}
}
]
}
Conclusion: Is TikTok For Business Right for You?
TikTok isn’t just an app for Gen Z to kill time on; it’s a serious tool for businesses to increase brand awareness, build relationships and drive purchases. TikTok For Business makes it easy for companies of any size to get started advertising on the platform, whether that’s by partnering with creators or creating a TikTok shop.
Business credit is a journey, not a destination. It’s not somewhere you get to, but rather a road you travel down, continually making progress. It’s time to change our mindset from business credit being a thing you get quickly, to being a thing you can start building quickly, and then continue building upon. This is the truth behind fast business credit
How to Build Credit for a Business: The Truth is Growth Takes Time
Growing your business credit portfolio doesn’t happen overnight. Your portfolio can grow over the life of your business. The key to speed is to get accounts that will build business credit while growing your portfolio at the same time.
Profession, user friendly business website and email address on same domain
Initial Accounts
With a Fundable foundation, you can start applying for initial accounts. These are limited, but as you grow, more tools become available. There are not a ton of vendors that offer credit without an established business credit score, and of the ones that do, even fewer report positive payment history.
Even if they do, they do not always make it easy to find that out, or what they require for approval. Applying for and using smaller accounts that report sets you up to qualify for accounts that are harder to get in the future.
The major roadblock when it comes to building business credit is finding accounts that you both qualify for and that will report positive payment history.
Trial and Error is Slow
If you just start applying for credit in the name of your business, without knowing if you qualify or if they will report, your progress will be slow.
How to Build Credit for a Business: The Business Credit Builder
This is the beauty of the Credit Suite Business Credit Builder. We find the vendors for you and tell you which ones to apply for and when. This saves you an abundance of time.
In fact, we gather all of the business credit building blocks together in one place and tell you when it is time to use each one. We offer lists of vetted vendors as you become eligible for them. This cuts out considerable time over the trial and error method.
When you know specifically which accounts will approve you and report your positive payment history, you stop wasting time on accounts that will do neither.
The Secret Benefit of the Business Credit Builder
Once you complete the steps, the initial building process is done. However, you aren’t finished growing your portfolio. That process continues. The Business Credit Builder has a large list of advanced vendors. These vendors extend credit to businesses based on business credit scores, but they may not report.
Still, they are important to your business credit portfolio. They allow you to get supplies you need to serve your clients and pay for them after you are paid for the job. As you grow, you can ask for higher limits. The best part is, you have access to this list for 5 years!
The Beauty of a Strong Business Credit Portfolio
Think of a business credit portfolio as a pool of various types of business credit. You can leverage it to run your business successfully. This “pool” will allow you to further business growth and success.
How to Build Credit for a Business: It’s Okay to Use Personal Guarantees
A well-rounded business credit portfolio can include both PG and non-PG financing. In general, personal guarantees should be avoided, but sometimes you just can’t avoid them. If a personal guarantee will help you qualify for funding or credit cards, and you wouldn’t qualify without it, it can be smart to offer one. This is especially true if they report payments to the business credit CRAs. Then they can help you build your business credit score.
How to Build Credit for a Business: The Truth
You can get business credit quickly, in the form of vendor credit, soon after you set up a Fundable Foundation. But, you won’t get anywhere on vendor credit alone. You need a variety of types of business credit accounts. The only way to get those is to continue building on the accounts you have and manage them responsibly.
How to Use Business Credit As a Startup: Where to Find It
The truth is, even as a startup you can benefit from business credit. Generally, the mindset is that you have to have credit to get credit. Unfortunately, this is more true with business credit than personal. However, it is possible to get credit for your business as a startup. With inflation on the rise, it’s more important now than ever. So, here’s how to use business credit to fight inflation as a startup.
First, starting this process as early as the startup phase has many benefits. In fact, the earlier you start the better. Still, it isn’t easy to find companies that will extend credit to a startup.
Business Credit Options for the First 30 Days
In the first 30 days most businesses can get accounts with:
Uline
Brex
Grainger
Uline
Uline sells shipping, packing and industrial supplies. To get a Net 30 account with them you need to meet the general requirements for a FundableFoundation. In addition, they may require that you make a few prepaid orders before they offer net terms.
Now, how do you use business credit with Uline to fight inflation as a startup? Use your Uline account to buy things you need for your business now, before prices rise anymore. Imagine, even if you buy things you will not use for later, you are probably saving money in the long run. Due to inflation, the price may very well go up before you actually need to buy them again.
Some examples of things you can buy include:
Office furniture
Office supplies
Warehouse equipment
Shipping supplies
PPE
Items needed for retail setup
Brex Net Daily
To start, open a Brex cash account. Everyone with a cash account gets a corporate card that works like a debit card. However, as you buy things on it, they report to Dun & Bradstreet like you are making payments on a credit account. Even though this doesn’t include extra funding, it can still be helpful. This is because it can help build your business credit score faster.
Grainger Industrial Supply
Grainger sells hardware, power tools, pumps and more. In addition, they offer fleet maintenance. The account reports to Dun & Bradstreet. To qualify, you need to meet the standard Fundable Foundation requirements, plus be registered with the Secretary of State for at least 60 days.
Furthermore, if you have no established credit, more documents may be necessary. These may include:
Accounts payable
Income statement
Balance sheet
How to Use Business Credit With Grainger to Survive Inflation
You can use your Grainger account to buy:
Constructions supplies
Cleaning supplies
Tools
And more!
Just like with Uline, you can buy now to lock in lower prices before inflation causes them to rise.
Business Credit Options for the First 60 to 90 Days of Operations
In the first 60 to 90 days many will qualify for accounts with:
United Rental
Tiger Direct
Amazon
United Rental
United Rental is the largest equipment rental company in the world. To qualify for a credit account with them, you need to have a FundableFoundation. There is no minimum time in business and they do not require a minimum purchase to report payments.
Use this account to rent tools and equipment, which can help you manage your cash flow better.
Tiger Direct
Tiger Direct is an online provider of electronic products. They offer pretty much anything you can think of when it comes to electronics, including:
Computers
Hard drives
Keyboards and more
Use your account to buy things you need, run your company more efficiently, manage cash flow, and build business credit.
Amazon
Everyone knows Amazon is an online retailer of virtually everything. However, they also report payments on business credit accounts to D&B and Equifax.
So, wondering how to use business credit with Amazon to help your company make it through inflation? Like the others, use it to buy things you need for your business while the prices are lower. Then, when you have the cash to pay later, you will not have to worry about the rising prices.
Keep Building Business Credit
That’s how to use business credit as a startup. Leverage the few credit accounts you can get as a startup, and grow your business credit score through the startup phase. Truly, credit for your company can be an excellent life raft to help you get through the sea of inflation. After that, you can continue to grow your business and thrive well past startup.
How to Use Business Credit As a Startup: Where to Find It
The truth is, even as a startup you can benefit from business credit. Generally, the mindset is that you have to have credit to get credit. Unfortunately, this is more true with business credit than personal. However, it is possible to get credit for your business as a startup. With inflation on the rise, it’s more important now than ever. So, here’s how to use business credit to fight inflation as a startup.
First, starting this process as early as the startup phase has many benefits. In fact, the earlier you start the better. Still, it isn’t easy to find companies that will extend credit to a startup.
Business Credit Options for the First 30 Days
In the first 30 days most businesses can get accounts with:
Uline
Brex
Grainger
Uline
Uline sells shipping, packing and industrial supplies. To get a Net 30 account with them you need to meet the general requirements for a FundableFoundation. In addition, they may require that you make a few prepaid orders before they offer net terms.
Now, how do you use business credit with Uline to fight inflation as a startup? Use your Uline account to buy things you need for your business now, before prices rise anymore. Imagine, even if you buy things you will not use for later, you are probably saving money in the long run. Due to inflation, the price may very well go up before you actually need to buy them again.
Some examples of things you can buy include:
Office furniture
Office supplies
Warehouse equipment
Shipping supplies
PPE
Items needed for retail setup
Brex Net Daily
To start, open a Brex cash account. Everyone with a cash account gets a corporate card that works like a debit card. However, as you buy things on it, they report to Dun & Bradstreet like you are making payments on a credit account. Even though this doesn’t include extra funding, it can still be helpful. This is because it can help build your business credit score faster.
Grainger Industrial Supply
Grainger sells hardware, power tools, pumps and more. In addition, they offer fleet maintenance. The account reports to Dun & Bradstreet. To qualify, you need to meet the standard Fundable Foundation requirements, plus be registered with the Secretary of State for at least 60 days.
Furthermore, if you have no established credit, more documents may be necessary. These may include:
Accounts payable
Income statement
Balance sheet
How to Use Business Credit With Grainger to Survive Inflation
You can use your Grainger account to buy:
Constructions supplies
Cleaning supplies
Tools
And more!
Just like with Uline, you can buy now to lock in lower prices before inflation causes them to rise.
Business Credit Options for the First 60 to 90 Days of Operations
In the first 60 to 90 days many will qualify for accounts with:
United Rental
Tiger Direct
Amazon
United Rental
United Rental is the largest equipment rental company in the world. To qualify for a credit account with them, you need to have a FundableFoundation. There is no minimum time in business and they do not require a minimum purchase to report payments.
Use this account to rent tools and equipment, which can help you manage your cash flow better.
Tiger Direct
Tiger Direct is an online provider of electronic products. They offer pretty much anything you can think of when it comes to electronics, including:
Computers
Hard drives
Keyboards and more
Use your account to buy things you need, run your company more efficiently, manage cash flow, and build business credit.
Amazon
Everyone knows Amazon is an online retailer of virtually everything. However, they also report payments on business credit accounts to D&B and Equifax.
So, wondering how to use business credit with Amazon to help your company make it through inflation? Like the others, use it to buy things you need for your business while the prices are lower. Then, when you have the cash to pay later, you will not have to worry about the rising prices.
Keep Building Business Credit
That’s how to use business credit as a startup. Leverage the few credit accounts you can get as a startup, and grow your business credit score through the startup phase. Truly, credit for your company can be an excellent life raft to help you get through the sea of inflation. After that, you can continue to grow your business and thrive well past startup.
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Foundation. In addition, they may require that you make a few prepaid orders before they offer net terms.