Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across South Africa are finding new ways to thrive in the competitive digital landscape, and TikTok has become a cornerstone of that success. With its highly engaged audience and powerful storytelling capabilities, TikTok offers SMBs a level playing field to grow their brand, expand their reach, and drive customer engagement.
The beauty of TikTok lies in its vast audience and in its ability to showcase authentic content that resonates with audiences. For SMBs, this platform enables direct connections with consumers, bypassing the need for massive marketing budgets. It’s about creativity, relatability, and leveraging the ad tools TikTok provides to grow your business.
Success Stories from South Africa’s SMB Community
Several South African SMBs are already harnessing TikTok’s potential and setting the stage for others to follow – today we’re sharing their journey and insights for success on the platform.
- Freedom of Movement @fombrand: Blending Tradition with Modern Business Growth
Freedom of Movement (FOM), a South African lifestyle brand, perfectly illustrates how blending heritage craftsmanship with modern marketing trends can drive business success. FOM utilised TikTok’s Spark Ads format which seamlessly integrates videos into users’ For You Feed and generates additional engagement with the brand’s account, increasing the number of likes and subscriptions. This helped the brand reach 1.2 million impressions at an incredibly low cost of R0.004 per video view. This campaign, showcasing FOM’s leather goods and trendy sneakers, demonstrates how SMBs can use TikTok to amplify their brand’s story and engage younger audiences without losing authenticity. TikTok allowed FOM to scale its reach while maintaining a focus on craftsmanship and quality.
- Chioma Asomugha @peachichi_, Founder of Aesthetics by Chioma
Chioma’s TikTok journey shows the importance of transparency and storytelling. “TikTok has been instrumental in growing my audience,” she says. “It allows me to connect with customers in a way that feels personal and authentic.” Her behind-the-scenes content, skincare routines, and real-life customer feedback have helped her build a trusted brand that resonates deeply with her audience. By being herself, Chioma has turned TikTok into a key driver of brand growth, proving that SMBs don’t need to spend big to grow their customer base.
- Andile Mtolo @andiile_mtolo, Founder of The BossUP eCademy
Andile Mtolo uses TikTok to share educational content, empowering aspiring entrepreneurs in the eCommerce space. “It’s all about storytelling,” Andile explains. “TikTok has allowed me to grow a community and turn engagement into real business opportunities.” Her mix of motivational content, coaching tips, and real-life business advice has made her a go-to source for entrepreneurs looking to grow their e-commerce ventures. Andile currently has more than 88k followers and her success proves that TikTok is not just a platform for fun but also a powerful educational tool.
- Varsity Vibe @varsityvibesa: Reaching the Student Market
Varsity Vibe, South Africa’s first student discount app, uses TikTok to connect with students in fun and relatable ways. “We’ve used memes and comedy to build trust with students,” says Marketing Manager Donna Mohamed. By creating content around student life, offering tips on maximising discounts, and promoting their partnership with big-name brands like H&M and Nando’s, Varsity Vibe has successfully built a loyal following. Their influencer collaborations, such as the one with @mmotso._, have further boosted their visibility, showing how TikTok can drive customer acquisition through creativity.
Practical Takeaways for SMBs on TikTok
For SMBs looking to tap into the power of TikTok, there are key lessons to be learned from these success stories:
- Authenticity Wins: TikTok users gravitate toward brands that feel real and relatable. Whether you’re showcasing your day-to-day business operations, customer testimonials, or creative product uses, showing the human side of your brand can drive deeper engagement.
- Educational Content Works: As demonstrated by Andile Mtolo, TikTok isn’t just for entertainment—educational content that offers value can quickly attract a loyal audience. Businesses offering services or advice can share tips, tutorials, or real-world experiences to establish authority and trust.
- Leverage Creator Partnerships: Collaborations with influencers, as Varsity Vibe did, help brands authentically reach new audiences. Partnering with the right content creators can amplify your message and build trust with potential customers.
- Entertaining stories are the key to viewers’ hearts: 4 in 5 users say TikTok is very or extremely entertaining, and viewers spend 26% longer watching entertaining ads when compared to ads with low entertainment value [1]. And when a brand is integrated naturally into a video, viewers will find it more engaging. That’s what we mean when we say advertisers should find a natural hook for their creator-led content. When a creator uses their typical storytelling techniques or trademarks in branded content, the resulting videos are more likely to have the entertainment value that users are used to.
- Use trends: TikTok is practically synonymous with trends—but they’re not all created equal. It’s best to choose ones that make sense both for your brand and the creator you’re working with. When you do, the resulting content feels the most organic and honest, and it allows you to show that you’re trend-savvy, which users love: 77% of viewers like brands better when they create or participate in trends on TikTok [2].
- Pick the right community: TikTok’s subcultures can give you a built-in audience to work with. When you do tap into communities in a nuanced and effective way, it can help you form bonds with viewers, who value the different niches on TikTok. 70% of users say they “feel part of a community on TikTok”, and 76% of viewers like it when brands are part of special interest groups on the platform [3].
TikTok Levels the Playing Field for SMBs
TikTok’s accessible, creative platform has made it a game-changer for South African SMBs, enabling them to grow their brands, engage with diverse audiences, and achieve measurable results. As the stories of Aesthetics by Chioma, The BossUP eCademy, Varsity Vibe, and Freedom of Movement illustrate, the combination of authenticity, creativity, and targeted advertising on TikTok can lead to meaningful business growth — regardless of the size of your business or marketing budget. If you have a smartphone, a pinch of creativity and a willingness to experiment with trends and creative approaches, you are on the right way to finding the brand’s voice on the platform.