Abstract:
The fast development of social media sites has changed the marketing behavior, especially to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have limited resources to operate in. Of these channels, Tik Tok has become a formidable application of short-form videos that allows companies to communicate with consumers in innovative and inexpensive ways. This paper evaluates Tik Tok promotional effects on small Peshawar based business taking into consideration the nature of the content, consumer response, intention to purchase and the general performance of the business. The research design used in the study is an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design. The quantitative data were gathered via structured questionnaires among small business owners who actively utilize TikTok to target the market, whereas qualitative data were collected via the semi-structured interviews. The SPSS was used to test the hypotheses put forth by conducting statistical analyses, descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The results show that the Tik Tok content features; entertainment, trendiness, interaction, and visual strategy have a substantial positive impact on consumer engagement. The interaction between Tik Tok marketing and the purchase intention was discovered to be mediated by consumer engagement. Moreover, trust signals, relatability of influencers and Tik Tok Shop functionality improved the purchase intentions of consumers greatly. Another finding in the study is that the higher purchase intention has positive effects on the performance of the small business in relation to growth of sales, brand recognition, and customer base. Nevertheless, the lack of digital skills, time restrictions, and the dynamism of trends were revealed as the obstacles to the successful TikTok adoption. The article is relevant in the new body of literature on social media marketing because it offers empirical data in a developing market setting. In practice, the results provide practical implications to small entrepreneurs and policymakers to utilize the TikTok as a strategic marketing and social commerce platform.
