Social media giant, TikTok, was only released in 2016 but seven years later, the platform has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users, making it more popular than X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest and Snapchat.
Paul Hebdon, PGA Professional based at Horsley Lodge Golf Club and co-owner of synthetic putting green company, Golf4Home, only started his TikTok business account in 2022. He already boasts almost 5,000 followers and thinks more golf businesses and PGA Professionals should be taking advantage of the marketing potential of TikTok.
Hebdon said: “TikTok is not that new anymore, but I don’t think many PGA Professionals are using it. It probably still has an image of being for children, but that is not the case. It is easy to create good content with TikTok and excellent advertising.”
Hebdon’s top tips for using TikTok:
Experiment with content
Even some of the videos I’ve thought are the more boring ones, some of those have had upwards of 45,000 views - people like it! Whatever you like, you’ll find something on TikTok.
Use the analytics
The analytics on TikTok are great and can really help you find out more about your audience and plan your content strategy accordingly.
Mix sales posts with entertaining content
If we go to a tournament, we’ll film some of the golf, then we’ll mix it up with a sales post, so it’s not just pure sales, it’s a mixture of content to keep things interesting.
Use the TikTok-specific features
It’s pretty easy to use the features - the music, the text and the special effects for example. It’s fairly well explained and easy to learn. Using music that’s gone viral will always be popular and I’d recommend always adding text – that’s important.
Use relevant hashtags
I always hashtag relevant things. Sometimes I might try using #PGATour or #DPWorldTour to reach a larger audience, or TikTok’s own hashtags such as #TikTokGolf to try to get more views.
CLICK HERE to view Golf4Home's TikTok channel.
