The TikTok Hashtag Guide: How to Get Your Small Business on the For You Page

If you’ve spent any time scrolling through TikTok, you’ll know that hashtags are absolutely everywhere. But they aren’t just there for decoration or to add a witty punchline to a caption. For small businesses, hashtags are one of the most powerful, free tools available to get your videos out of obscurity and onto the coveted “For You” page.

Here’s your guide for using hashtags on TikTok that will completely transform your small business visibility.

Feed the TikTok Algorithm the Right Data

TikTok relies heavily on hashtags to understand what your video is about and who wants to see it. If you use random or generic tags, the platform will struggle to push your content to the right people.

To get your videos in front of the users most likely to engage, you need to be deliberate with your choices. A great framework is to use a blend of three hashtag types on every post:

Broad/Massive Tags (1-2): Think high-volume tags like #SmallBusinessUK or #MarketingTips to position yourself in the wider industry.

Niche/Specific Tags (2-3): These define exactly what the video is about, such as #TikTokForBeginners or #DerbyBusiness. This tells the algorithm precisely who to recommend your content to, so when your video reaches the right audience, your engagement rates will naturally boost.

Trending Tags (1): Drop in a currently trending hashtag to improve your visibility, but do make sure your video is relevant to that trend! Your audience are going to be disappointed if they expect you to be taking part in the trend, but end up with a video talking about your favourite products instead.

This direct approach significantly increases your discoverability because it feeds the algorithm specific signals while keeping your content searchable for users. Believe it or not, many users will actually read your tags and descriptions before watching the whole video to see if it’s worth their time, so a few well-chosen tags give viewers instant context about your video.

Have a test yourself over your next few videos and look at your analytics to see the shift in how people are finding you!

Start Your Own TikTok Trend

Once you get the hang of regular tags, you can take things a step further by creating your own custom, branded hashtags. This is a fantastic tool for promoting a specific business campaign, a new product launch, or a fun challenge.

Instead of just talking at your audience, a unique business hashtag actively encourages user-generated content, as it invites your followers to join in, create their own videos using your tag, and essentially do some of your marketing for you.

Every time a customer uses your branded hashtag, they are providing priceless social proof that builds massive trust with potential new clients. Here are some challenge ideas you could use:

The “Before and After” Challenge: Invite your customers to show the transformation after using your product or service. Users post a clip of their initial problem, followed by a clip of their amazing results. This is brilliant way of capturing social proof for coaches and consultants.

The “Product in the Wild” Challenge: Ask your community to show off how your product fits into their daily lives or workplaces featuring your product on their desk, in their kitchen, or as part of their routine.

The “Unboxing” Challenge: Tap into the excitement of opening packages. Encourage customers to film the exact moment they open their delivery from you, sharing their genuine, raw reaction to the packaging and the items inside. This works wonders if you have unique or beautiful packaging, or are trying to build hype around a newly launched product.

Stop Chasing TikTok Views and Start Building a Crew

Beyond the tech side of things, hashtags on TikTok are essentially digital fan clubs. They are spaces where people who share the exact same passions gather to chat in the comments, share videos, and support each other. By stepping into the right hashtag spaces, you aren’t just broadcasting to strangers, you are joining an active, ready-made community.

Building this kind of loyalty is where the real magic happens, and I know firsthand just how powerful it can be. My own daughter is a theme park content creator, and by embedding herself in those specific hashtag communities (and learning from the best, if I do say so myself!) she has built a fantastic, highly engaged following.

If you want to move past simply collecting random views and start building a genuinely loyal crowd around your small business, TikTok is a fantastic way to achieve that. If you want to figure out the exact hashtag strategy that will get your brand noticed by the right customers on TikTok, I can help you map it out.

Let’s chat about boosting your visibility, get in touch today to see how I can help!