Facebook remains the main social media platform of focus for SMB promotions, but TikTok is on the rise, as more businesses look to the short-form video app to expand their opportunities.

That’s according to a new study by SMB support service Hello Alice, which surveyed over 7,000 small business owners to glean more insight into how they’re approaching their marketing in 2022.

You can read Hello Alice’s full study here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the highlights.

First off, as noted, the survey looked at which social platforms businesses are using for marketing and outreach right now, which looks pretty much as you’d expect.

Facebook and Instagram remain the key platforms, with TikTok and Snapchat lower down the list. Twitter isn’t listed, but it looks like Twitter wasn’t mentioned in the survey question, so it’s only relative to the five platforms displayed.

The study also looked at how SMBs are gaining traction in each app, with Instagram coming out on top as the best option for organic promotion.

Individual results will vary, but the reach and engagement potential of IG still offers a lot of value, even if it has gotten more cluttered of late.

But TikTok is clearly on the rise, and in another element, respondents indicated that TikTok is actually the best app for creative expression and storytelling.

Word is also getting around, with more SMBs now considering TikTok, based on other brand experiences.

Indeed, among those that have been using TikTok for marketing, 58% indicated that the platform has positively affected their businesses, while 78% plan to increase their TikTok marketing investment. 

TikTok is also driving new creative uses of social media, which is another key consideration.

There are some interesting notes here – nothing overly surprising, but it is interesting to see how TikTok is altering marketing approaches, not just as a rising, popular platform, but also in terms of creativity, and changing the way brands consider their efforts.

And with projections that the app will surpass 1.5 billion users this year, and user behaviors changing as a result of TikTok engagement, all brands should, at the least, be considering short-form content, and how TikTok may help them connect with their target market.

You can read Hello Alice’s full SMB digital marketing report here.