11 Top Tips for Bossing TikTok
Have you ever found yourself dreaming of going viral on TikTok with your new product or service?
Or are you a charity wanting to reach more donors or campaign for change?
It’s the fastest growing social platform in the world, but it can be tricky to develop TikTok-worthy content that will engage your target audience.
In our guide: “11 Top Tips for Bossing TikTok” we explain how to get to grips with the platform and achieve organic reach to gain new followers and likes.
Entertainment first – but follow the rules
People go on TikTok to be entertained, not to check in, which differs from Facebook and Instagram. TikTok content needs to be approached slightly differently too, because it’s a video-first platform built for portrait videos.
TikTok prides itself on its robust community guidelines, particularly protecting its youngest viewers aged 13 and under. So, all content needs to be suitable for all viewers, and TikTok will be quick to take down content that breaks their rules.
Grab your audience fast
You literally have one frame or one second, two at the most, to grab viewer attention and stop them scrolling to watch your content.
This can be really challenging but crucial. To get this right, you need to familiarise yourself with the content on the platform: you can set up a profile simply to watch videos without ever having to post them.
Keep your viewers glued till the end
Getting people to watch to the end of your video, and preferably loop back to the beginning again, is a key priority. The TikTok algorithm prioritises the number of people watching the full video as well as the number of likes, comments, and shares.
Your ‘completion rate’ can be seen on the TikTok analytics 24 hours after you’ve posted a video, so you can begin to evaluate what type of content is working best.
Be original
There are no quick fixes for TikTok because high-quality, original content that entices viewers to watch to the end usually wins. It is very difficult to simply post the same content from other social channels on TikTok, even if modified.
TikTok prioritises native content built on the platform itself. There are so many different features and functions available to you that – with a healthy amount of imagination and time – you’ll soon be able to create your own original content like a pro.
Don’t hard sell
Brands that use TikTok for hard selling have a lower chance of getting engagement.
Advertising and promotion (unless extremely creative and entertaining) often provide little real value to the viewer, and generally won’t be popular.
Instead, you need to get creative. Try and explore the topics of interest to your potential customers or donors and create content that helps solve a “pain point,” such as a lack of time or money. Use relevant hashtags to help reach interested viewers.
Use a catchy headline
To grab people’s attention in the first frame, use a good headline. For example:
- Call your audience: “Calling all high protein lovers!”
- Address a customer pain point: “Do you lack energy in the morning and need a vitamin boost?”
- Ask a question: “Do you want to improve your stamina?”
- A good and striking caption – “5 tips to improve stamina.”
- Avoid “click bait” terms as the algorithm picks them up.
Understand your target audience
To develop content that is really going to work on TikTok, you need to know your target audience profile very well. Key profile points you should understand include:
- Demographics: age, location, gender
- Lifestyle: interests, personalities, hobbies
- Pain points: lack of time, energy, money, motivation
Set up the right kind of account for your goals
If you are a business or a charity, you can either use a business account or a personal account.
TikTok recently changed the rules so that both types of accounts need 1,000 followers before you can include a website link.
There is a lot of debate about the pros and cons of having a business vs. personal account. Although you can’t use the full range of popular music and trending sounds with a business account, you can use modified versions of trending sounds that you can save to your favourites, and there is a reasonable amount of commercially licenced music available.
Keep your content accurate
Make sure your copy is spot on with no typos. Test each post under “preview” to check that the text looks OK and doesn’t obscure key parts of your video.
Once you have posted your TikTok video, you can’t go back to make changes, unlike most Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts.
Optimise your profile
Let people know exactly what they can expect from your content, and why they should follow your account.
Don’t try and game the algorithm
The exact details of the TikTok algorithm are hotly contested, with lots of different views. There are rumoured to be various stages a video must go through before it can go “viral”, which include algorithm checks and then manual checks.
But the general consensus is that it doesn’t matter how many followers or likes you have to make a video go viral – and in this respect, technically, anyone can go viral.
So focus on making a great quality video that’s designed to entertain or educate, because your reach will depend largely on the response your video receives when it is shown to the first group of viewers.
Your completion rates, likes, shares, and comments then determine how many other viewers see your video before being checked for any banned topics as per TikTok’s Community Guidelines.
Next steps
Ready to start your TikTok journey? Or do you want to find out more about using TikTok’s advertising options? Speak to C4B Media about your video ideas and we can help make them a reality! Call us on 01763 877110 or email hello@c4bmedia.com
