TikTok marketing 101
- Charlotte van den Hoogen
- Oct 21, 2020
- 3 min read
In our first ever podcast we talked about TikTok. And as if 30 minutes of uninterrupted talk about the platform wasn’t enough, I’m here to bring you some ways in which you can get the most out of TikTok as a marketing tool
Before we dive into it, let’s start with some background on the platform. TikTok is a video-sharing platform where users can upload short videos between 3 and 60 seconds, using a large variety of sounds and special effects. Unlike most other social media which center around a friend or follower network, the first thing you see upon opening TikTok is the For You page, which is a content feed based on a recommendation algorithm. This algorithm bases itself recommendation on user interactions, video information, and your device and account settings. You navigate through different videos by scrolling up and down, which enables a fast-paced consumption of content, making the algorithm very accurate, very quickly.
So, how can you use TikTok as a marketing tool?
Create your own content
One of the reason’s TikTok is a great platform to push your own content is because of the algorithm, which isn’t affected by follower count or previously high-performing content. Sure, having followers helps because those followers are likely to share your content if they vibe with it, but it’s not a necessity. If you know how to work the algorithm, you’re more likely to get on someone’s For You page, here are some tips:
Using trending hashtags can help get you on people’s For You page. Just make sure to only use hashtags that are related to your brand or the content you’re creating, otherwise your videos won’t reach the right audience.
Keep your captions short. Unlike on Instagram, value isn’t provided on TikTok through captions, but primarily through the videos itself.
Use trending sounds, similarly to using trending hashtags, videos under these sounds are more likely to show up on someone’s For You page.
Create quality content and invest time into learning how to properly edit your videos. Like with any other platform, it is important to create the type of content your audience wants to see as well as to ensure its quality. This doesn’t mean you have to bust out the professional equipment, but seamless transitions and good editing can be that extra push your video needs.
Use influencers
We’ve seen the success of influencer marketing on other platforms, and TikTok shares that same potential. Influencer’s might even be seen as more trustworthy since the content shared on TikTok is usually less curated and more raw in comparison to other platforms. Influencer marketing is accessible and can be very effective, but there are some things to consider:
Choose trustworthy and believable influencers. There is no point in choosing a strictly sports influencer to promote art products. The better an influencer fits your product or brand, the more authentic your collaboration will come across.
Trust the influencers. Of course you’ll need to keep some control over the content that will be shared, but the influencer will know their audience best so it’s important to let them create their own content.
Tying in to 1 and 2, ensure that the content remains authentic and keep it natural. Don’t ask influencers to create videos that are basically an advertisement. Instead, have them incorporate your product or service into their videos in a subtle and believable way.
And lastly: experiment!
TikTok has already established itself as a solid platform amongst consumers, but it’s still relatively new for brands. Some guidelines exist for you to follow when creating your strategy, but there is so much to learn and the best way to learn is by doing. That doesn’t mean you have to jump into it without a plan, but rather create a strategy, evaluate based on feedback, and adapt.
In order to get the most out of TikTok as a marketing tool, you have to be willing to go through some trial and error.
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Thanks for this - beautifully compliments your podcast about TikTok! Really liked your podcast, thanks for sharing your experiences :)