A guide by InSain · Updated · 7 minute read

Is TikTok worth it?

Yes, as one of four places your videos go. Nobody can tell in advance which platform will carry a video, so the same film belongs on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts.

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Still from “Mechanic leg position, explained”, a short video for Icon Auto Centre
Still from “What’s in the bag”, a short video for Shah’s Halal Food
Still from “Who drank it?”, a short video for Azal Coffee

Owners ask whether TikTok is worth it as if they had to choose. Making the video is the work; putting it on TikTok as well takes minutes. Here’s where TikTok stands in Canada, how to set up, what we’ve seen there, and what to post.

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The short answer

TikTok is worth it as part of the mix. Once a video is made, posting it on TikTok as well takes minutes, and it’s one more place someone new can find you. The question is rarely TikTok or Instagram; it’s whether the video is good enough to travel on either.

Is TikTok staying in Canada?

Owners ask because of the news. In November 2024, the federal government ordered the wind-up of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review, while saying it was “not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content” (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 6 November 2024). On 9 March 2026, after a further review, the government decided “to permit the investment to proceed, subject to new legally binding undertakings”, including new protections for Canadians’ data and for minors, an independent monitor of data access, and TikTok Canada keeping “a physical presence in Canada” (Minister Joly’s statement, 9 March 2026). For a business posting videos, the app has stayed open throughout. Posting the same video on four platforms also means no single platform’s news decides whether your customers see you.

What we’ve seen

Our films for Icon Auto Centre passed 10.11 million views on Instagram and TikTok together, and more than a million of those were on TikTok. For Da.Si.Mar Shawarma, almost all of its 3.88 million came on Instagram. Neither shop could have known that before posting, which is why we post every video everywhere.

A business account, and its music

A TikTok business account gives you analytics and business tools, and it changes the music you can add. TikTok’s own page says that with a business account, when you start a new video and tap Add Sound, “you will only see sounds from the Commercial Music Library”, which it describes as “a global music library of 1 million songs”, “free for businesses”, whose sounds can be used “for organic or paid content” (TikTok, how to use the Commercial Music Library, last updated July 2026). In practice:

  • Pick sounds from the library in the app, or record your own: people talking, the kitchen, the shop, without someone else’s music playing in the background.
  • Don’t borrow a personal account’s songs to promote the business. A song outside the library needs its own licence for business use.
  • Edit with the sound in mind. A video built around a chart song may have to change when it moves to a business account; one built around voices and real sound is easier to post everywhere, though each platform’s own rules still apply.

Getting set up

  • Use the same name and photo as on Instagram, so people recognise you.
  • Write the bio for a stranger: what you are, where, and one reason to come in.
  • Add your address and hours wherever the profile allows, and a link to your menu, booking page or website.
  • Turn on analytics before you post. TikTok only generates analytics for videos posted after you enable them, and the numbers can take a day or two to update (TikTok Support).
  • Check your followers’ hours. TikTok shows follower activity in your local time zone; the rest of its analytics use UTC (the same page). “The best time to post” covers what to do with them.

What works there

The same as everywhere: a first second a stranger understands, your business on screen, and an ending worth watching again. TikTok’s For You feed is where people who don’t follow you yet find you, so film for strangers. Stay clear of what TikTok keeps out of the For You feed, such as content that “may not be suitable for a broad audience” (TikTok Community Guidelines).

Upload your own file to each app

Upload your original file to TikTok and to each other platform. A video downloaded from one app carries its watermark, and Instagram’s rules for recommendations ask for posts without visible watermarks (Instagram for Creators). “One video on every platform?” has the steps.

A first month on TikTok

  1. Week one: set up the business account, the profile and analytics; post the best videos you already have, as original files.
  2. Week two: film three or four short videos of what only your business has: the dish made in front of the camera, the repair explained, the team.
  3. Week three: post on a steady rhythm, and reply to every comment; a reply can become the next video.
  4. Week four: read the analytics, see which openings held people, and plan next month around them.

What to measure

Views tell you how far a video travelled; watch time and the share who watched to the end tell you whether the opening worked; follows and profile visits tell you whether people wanted more. Compare a video with your own others, not with another account. “How many views is good?” explains what a good number is.

TikTok on our plans

Every video we make goes on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, and we count the views on each, toward a monthly number that every plan guarantees. See the plans.

Questions owners ask

Is TikTok good for small businesses?

Yes, as one of the places your videos go. Post the same video on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts too: you can’t tell in advance which will carry it.

Is TikTok being banned in Canada?

No. In November 2024 the government ordered TikTok’s Canadian business wound up but left the app open; in March 2026 it let TikTok Canada keep operating, under binding undertakings on data and minors.

Can a business account use popular songs on TikTok?

A business account adds sounds only from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library, about a million songs, free for businesses. Sound you record yourself, without someone else’s music in it, is the easiest to use everywhere.

Instagram or TikTok first?

Both, with the same video. For our two Toronto shops, most views came on Instagram, yet the garage still passed a million on TikTok. Neither could have known that before posting.

How do I start?

Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us

Keep reading

Sources

Updates

  • : Rewritten at full length: where TikTok stands in Canada (the federal statements of 6 November 2024 and 9 March 2026, read), business accounts and the Commercial Music Library (TikTok’s page, last updated July 2026, read), a profile checklist, a first month, and what to measure.
  • : Corrected: our view totals for the two Toronto shops are on Instagram and TikTok, not Facebook.

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