8 WINNING TIPS TO GET STARTED ON TIKTOK.
So, you want to take over the world?
Well, TikTok really is taking over the world right now. It's one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, with a 45% increase in the past year, taking it to over 1 billion daily active users. This kind of growth is unfathomable and offers up a massive plate of opportunity for anyone ready to go hard with content and get their business, products or services out there.
The average user watches over 24 hours of content on the app every month. What makes the platform so addictive is its real-time interests-led algorithm, consistently pushing a stream of videos curated to the user's interests directly to their 'For You Page'.
TikTok is early on in its lifespan as a go-to social media platform, so although it's dominated by 18-24 year old's right now, that will and already is beginning to shift. So, whatever your niche, industry, category or target audience, you should be on TikTok. It’s a no brainer.
THE OPPORTUNITY IS ASTOUNDING, EVEN FOR SMALL AND INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES.
Because TikTok's algorithm relies on connecting its audiences with personalised recommendations and videos suited to their interests, a user can blow up within the first week or two of posting content. It's not about your follower count. TikTok rewards content creators who do a small number of things well and ultimately deliver content that people want to watch.
What I'm saying is, there really isn't far to go. Anyone can achieve incredible, fast, and unrivalled reach on this platform without expensive production or an already existing follower count or brand reach. With just a sprinkle of creativity and a lot of bravery, you can reach huge audiences in a matter of weeks and start to build your community and long term brand.
BIG BRANDS ARE LEVERAGING THE OPPORTUNITY.
Tesco just launched their genius TikTok campaign to find the next voice of their self checkout, where users duet with the original video to audition for the role.
UGG just made a huge comeback and solidified themselves as the shoes of the season, whilst selling out their catalogue of new product releases, using TikTok user generated content, influencers and coordinated PR coverage. It's hard to admit that UGG season is back, but it is, and in full force. Trust me, I just bought a pair for the first time in 13-years, and if that isn't influencing... then I don't know what is.
Little Moon's practically established their brand and sold out across the UK on first launch using TikTok as their key content channel.
Tried getting hold of the viral Skim's dress? Yep, you can thank TikTok for that as well. It's sold out globally because of TikTok user generated content.
But you don't have to be a vast global brand to get in on the fun and games.
There are just as many success stories from small businesses who have built their entire brands, and a loyal community, using TikTok alone.
There are no shortage of small and independent jewellers, artists, fashion designers, authors, luxury resellers, photographers, bakers, florists, chefs, estate agents, financial advisors, plasterers, plumbers... the list could go on, and on... making it big on TikTok, and building local, national and global customer bases far faster than has ever been possible before.
In short, you have to be on TikTok and the sooner you jump on the bandwagon and make it a priority in your strategy, the better.
So let's look at the two ways you can be discovered on TikTok, the 'For You Page' and search.
THE For You Page.
The 'For You Page' currates endless supplies of video content which are strategically chosen for each individual user based on their behaviour and interests. It's a real time interests-led system which is far different from any other social media platforms algorithm. Take Instagram for example - your feed is a direct result of the accounts you follow, and you follow those accounts because you either know the people or you've found them because they have amassed huge followings and significant influence.
TikTok couldn't be any different, because the ‘For You Page’ is designed to push content to you because you'll like it - it really is that simple.
The majority of content on TikTok is discovered on the 'For You Page' so to be featured on it is the ultimate golden ticket for any content creator. But don't get confused. There isn't one 'For You Page', there's billions of 'For You Pages'. So, all you have to do is be featured for your target audience - the people who want to watch your videos.
Take my 'For You Page' for example, which I've screen shotted in succession this morning. As you can see, I'm being pushed a mix of engaging story times, some fashion commentary, musicians, a bit of funny escapism, and some true crime. I'd say that sums me up pretty nicely. You're not going to see any gardening content on my 'For You Page', because TikTok knows that won't engage me, based on my user behaviour, likes an dislikes and how I've reacted to content in the past. The more you use TikTok, the more it learns, and the better it's recommendations become.
SEARCH.
The other way I find content on TikTok is by using the search tool to find content I want to see. Much like YouTube, I can search a question or specific keywords to get a stream of videos immediately. For example, I can search 'Best foundation', 'iPhone 14 review', 'Things to do in Paris, 'Best London restaurant', 'Shepards pie recipe' or 'Netflix recommendations' and I'll get masses of user generated content to consume based on what I've searched.
The great thing for brands and businesses is that user generated content is by far the most trusted form of media, much more than ads or paid media.
TikTok is an incredible way to get your customers raving about your product or service in a really authentic, genuine and believable way, and it doesn't cost a penny. Going back to the viral Skim's dress. I'm far more likely to buy it if I keep seeing video after video after video of real customers showing me the dress on, telling me how excellent quality it is, how form fitting it is, and how versatile it is. Different customers will go out of their way to film a video and show me how to style and wear it, and recommend it to me. That's far more of an influence than a billboard or a TV ad, and probably why the dress is sold out globally, all of the time.
TikTok is becoming the go to discovery search tool for Gen Z, and Google is now listing TikTok short form videos in their SERPs.
Let’s say I have a weekend planned in London and I want to know where to go - the best restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs and sights. Many social media users are now turning to TikTok above Google, YouTube, Trip Advisor and other platforms to find the answers.
At the click of a finger, I have recommendations galore and it's user generated content, not an inauthentic ad, or an email newsletter, but a real and actual experience of someone just like me. I can follow their journey, experience the hotel before I even check-in, get their real time reviews of the food and drinks, and really immerse myself in the excitement. That kind of advertising just can't be found anywhere else, and be consumed so rapidly.
So, how can you get started on TikTok and optimise your efforts for search and the FYP?
Consume content, and find ways to put your spin on trends.
You have to get really addicted to TikTok, and become a consumer, not just a creator. If you find a video that you found to be really creative and interesting, then think about how you can put your own spin on it.
Eiitan Broude started a viral TikTok series which shows his mum rating his designer purchases, wishlists and his favourite designer releases. This series took off because it's relatable, authentic, feelgood and bingeworthy. It's just him and his mum sat on the sofa discussing designer items, often with a funny twist, and there's series upon series upon series to go watch.
Let's say you're a high-end pub based in Cheshire. Do you have a manager or a member of staff who has a wicked sense of humour and comes off well on camera? Then get them to rate your dishes based on their preferences, or ask them to rate different types of customers or the months of the year based on how busy the pub gets.
Let's give another example. Are you a hair salon based in York? Can you rate hair trends, catwalk hair styles, celebrity hair colours, or customer requests?
There's always a way to twist an idea to suit your niche, and that's how you get creative.
2. Get relatable.
Scrap the fancy production, the overscripted dialogue and the overdone aesthetics. There's a reason why Kylie Jenner is starting to trade in her polished and aspirational content for a more authentic and accessible feel.
When you look at how celebrities are positioning themselves on TikTok more recently, it is a much more un-done and real-time version of themselves, which is hard to find on other platforms. These key figures realise that their audiences are reacting much better to a more relatable, accessible and "peek into their daily lives" theme rather than the historical aspirational 'goals' content we used to see.
Audiences just don't want to see mega polished videos and unrelatable content creators anymore, especially on TikTok. Your videos shouldn't look like an ad, because they're not.
Stop sweating the small stuff and just starting making. The more raw and authentic the video feels, the better.
3. Make volume and speed the priority.
When you focus on being relatable, real-time and authentic, you can put content out at volume, which is the key to TikTok success. Therefore, you must make as much content as possible and get it out at scale.
The recommendation can be anything up to 3 - 6 TikTok a day, which may seem scary at first, but once you get into the swing of things, take the pressure off yourself to be overly polished and just start connecting with your audience, then this can be easy to do.
Get good at being fast and putting numerous videos a day out, which brings me to real-time trends.
4. KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
You must know what's going on today, tomorrow and this week. So become an avid news follower, especially regarding your niche or category.
There are a million paid-for and free tools to monitor trends, from Google Trends, SEMrush and ahrefs, to just the daily news and the TikTok and YouTube trending pages. You must be very reactive and jump on trends quickly before the hype dies.
For example, suppose you're an independent handbag designer. In that case, you should be providing commentary on new luxury handbag releases, new collection drops, celebrities who step out in a new handbag, and any related bag or fashion accessory news.
You should make videos on any hot-topic travel news if you're a travel agent. Keep an eye on travel destinations, hotels or tourist spots that are going viral on TikTok, be aware of which celebrities are in which holiday destinations, and provide real-time commentary.
These are the basics, but you'd be surprised how many pieces of content can come from just reacting to what's happening in the world and being fast and reactive to putting out videos. If something happens in the world, there can sometimes only be a 1 - 2 day window to jump on the bandwagon before the story becomes old news. Don’t miss it.
5. CAPTURE ATTENTION FAST.
Users will usually make up their minds within the first 3 seconds as to whether or not they will continue to watch, so you have a very tiny amount of time to grab their attention before they scroll on.
You should get to the point quickly and provide text on the screen to grab attention. The text on the screen should also incorporate the keyword(s) you want to rank for, but we'll go into that in more detail soon.
6. MAKE IT BINGE-WORTHY.
Figure out how you can get users returning for more, more, and more.
Storytimes are huge on TikTok, showing content creators tell a real-life story throughout 2, 4, 8 or 10 videos split into parts. This strategy is effective as viewers get hooked on the first part and head to the creator's profile to find and view the rest of the series.
This behaviour tells TikTok that the content is binge-worthy, sought after, and being watched repeatedly or multiple times, meaning that TikTok pushes the content out further.
Other creators start series like "Filming my life as a university student", "Waking up at 5 am every day for 30 days, or "Thailand vlog" and label each video as Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 etc. so users have more and more content to watch and consume.
Finally, another common strategy is for content creators to answer comments or questions left on previous videos. For example, a creator may post a video about how they bought a house as a first-time buyer. Someone may then comment on the video asking the creator how much deposit they paid, and the creator will then create a Part 2 answering this exact question. Again, this idea keeps your audience coming back for more as they know there will be more and more parts to the story.
7. GET GOOD AT CAPTIONS.
In simple terms, your caption should directly reflect the keyword(s) you want to rank for in the search.
Use popular keyword research tools to find out what people are searching for via Google, YouTube and TikTok in your category. Take advantage of the character limit and include keywords your audience will search.
For example, if a user is searching 'Manchester Spa' via TikTok, they're probably looking for spa recommendations or looking to book a spa break or treatment in Manchester specifically.
Your caption should relate to this and could be "The BEST spa break in Manchester" or "POV you visit the BEST spa in Manchester". Your on-screen text within the first 3-seconds of the video should also reflect this message, as TikTok will often rank search results based on on-screen text, even more so than video captions.
As you can see here, the 1st ranking result for Manchester Spa didn't even have those keywords in the caption but did have it on-screen.
8. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE HASHTAGS.
Select approximately five relevant hashtags for your video. Use the FYP and discovery features to find trending hashtags, but focus more on adding relevant and contextual hashtags to your video. If you use trending hashtags that aren't relevant to your video, then the user will skip or ignore them, which will flag with TikTok. The platform rewards content creators with good watch time, so you must ensure that your audience receives the content they seek.
For example, if you're the Manchester Spa and your video is documenting a visitors journey experiencing the check-in, restaurant, pool, gym and treatments, your hashtags could be:
#SpaDay (trending hashtag)
#ManchesterSpaDay (11.5m views)
#ManchesterThingsToDo (6.2m views)
#SpaBreaks (3m views)
#HotelSpa (10.4m views)
SO, JUST START.
You just have to start. Get brave with your approach, post consistently, and do what feels authentic to you. There's nothing to lose from getting on TikTok and everything to gain.
Hopefully, you've got some valuable tools to get you started. Get in touch if you want to drive growth on TikTok, or follow us on TikTok for more tips.