What is TikTok?
TikTok, at its core, is a social media platform for short, easily digestible videos. It originally started as a lip-syncing app named Musical.ly but now has become one of the most popular platforms for video content. As of January 2021, TikTok had 689 million monthly active users worldwide, with more than 100 million of those users in the United States. It was the most downloaded app of 2020, and its explosive growth is showing no
signs of slowing down anytime soon. Currently ranking as the seventh-largest platform when it comes to user count, TikTok is bigger than SnapChat, Pinterest, and even Twitter! Users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on TikTok, only a few minutes
behind the 58-minute average for Facebook.
But wait, isn’t TikTok really just a bunch of kids sharing silly videos? Absolutely not!
While it’s true that TikTok does have a higher number of younger users, 1/3 of its audience is over 30 years of age and that number is growing. And interestingly enough, TikTok has more male users than female users, which is not the case for other popular social media platforms. According to an analysis by the App Ape, 55.6% of TikTok users are men, and 16.8% of its users are in their 40s.
TikTok is available in more than 200 countries and is recognized by 89% of Americans.
One major feature that sets TikTok apart from other social media platforms is that users have the ability to download videos from other users and upload them to other places. Even if you don’t have a TikTok account yet, you’ve most likely seen viral trend videos (called TikTok Challenges) on Facebook or Instagram that were originally from TikTok. In short, it’s everywhere. But in spite of the numbers, few marketers are using TikTok for marketing, which means it’s the perfect time to get started!
Optimize Your TikTok Profile
When you first setup your TikTok account, it’s important to optimize your profile right away so that users can find and follow you. Here are the steps you need to take:
- Make sure you are using a business profile and not a personal or creator one.
- Choose the appropriate category for your business profile.
- Make your username relevant and descriptive.
- Fill out your bio.
- Add a website link to your profile.
- Add an email address to your profile.
- Add a YouTube channel link.
- Add an Instagram profile link.
- Add a profile photo.
How to Build A TikTok Following
- Choose a niche so that you can gain followers interested in that topic.
- Be trustworthy! Share information that people know they can trust.
- Have fun with it, after all, no one wants to watch someone who is obviously not enjoying themselves!
- Post videos often, multiple times a day if possible.
- Be authentic. Viewers can tell when you’re being fake and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth.
- Tell a story. People love stories! Use your videos to tell a story in a creative way that keeps them engaged until the end.
- Immerse yourself in the TikTok app and learn the lingo, how people use the app, etc.
- Monitor analytics on a regular basis to see what is working and what isn’t. Use that info to help you plan future content to grow your following.
- Focus on one message for each video. Keep it simple and to the point.
- Be consistent with posting content. Don’t post 10 videos today and then nothing for a week. You’ve got to keep up the momentum!
- Post at the right time of day for your audience. Post at various times on different days and watch your video stats to see what gets the best response.
- Use the right hashtags for your content and niche. Choose at least 1-2 relevant hashtags and then add one trending hashtag, like #fyp, #tiktok, or #foryoupage to help extend your reach.
- Duet other people in your niche so that you can reach their existing audiences as well.
Use Your Existing Community to Grow Your TikTok Following
- Download your TikTok videos and share them on other platforms
- Link to your TikTok in your other social media profiles
- Add your TikTok link to your website
- Be direct and ask current fans from other platforms to follow you
- Create posts where you share your TikTok link and invite others to put their links in the comments as well
- Offer an exclusive lead magnet that is only available on TikTok and promote it on
your other social channels
Make Money on TikTok
TikTok isn’t just for fun, there are many people making big bucks too! Here are a few ways to make money using TikTok:
- Sell your goods – Demonstrate a product or service that you offer and invite viewers to purchase via the link in your profile.
- Give something away for free – Create a video that offers a free product or service that can be claimed on your website. Include a paid upsell option after people grab the free item.
- Promote affiliate products – Share informative reviews of products that you are an affiliate for. Be sure to offer a special bonus or discount code (if available) that is exclusively for your viewers.
- Offer a TikTok discount – Promote a paid product or service that you offer but provide TikTok viewers with an exclusive discount code.
- Partner with influencers – Find influencers in your niche or that appeal to your same audience and partner with them to promote your product or service. Give them an affiliate commission for each sale and a discount code they can share with their
followers.
BONUS TIPS: Profit from TikTok Without Showing Your Face or Voice
- Use user-generated content such as reviews from customers, product use videos, etc.
- Create videos that showcase product functionality, features, and benefits.
- Create animated videos that show an engaging quiz or helpful tutorial with a link to more information.
- Create a screen recording video to show how to do something that would be helpful for your audience.
- Upload your video and add text. Click on the text and click “Text-to-speech” for a Siri-esque voiceover that reads your captions out loud.
- Upload a video with you talking and use the automatic add captions feature, then remove the original audio and include music instead.
- Hire someone on Fiverr to read the scripts for your videos.
Tips For Making Viral Organic TikTok Posts
- Stay on top of trends. Regularly scroll through the For You Page (FYP) and see
what trends are emerging. Don’t wait to create the content, trends come and go
quickly! - Don’t wait on a trend or challenge, start your own! Make it easy and fun and it could go viral.
- Always use hashtags, for every video. It’s how users find new content to watch. You can find relevant and trending hashtags on the Discovery page (search page).
- Engage with other TikTokers, especially those in your industry and target audience. Leave relevant and helpful comments on their videos.
- Use creative effects to make your videos more fun and engaging. TikTok has multiple options available, or you can edit in another program and upload to TikTok.
- Add attention-grabbing captions and thumbnails. You only get a few seconds to get the attention of viewers so make sure your content stops them in their tracks!
Best Practices for TikTok Advertising
- Always add music or other audio to your videos.
- Use high-resolution videos and images. You want to avoid blurry or stretched media because it makes people skip your content.
- Use the mobile templates available on TikTok to create and immersive video
experience. There are many options available. - Open your video with something that sparks interest right away and get to the point quickly.
- Promote one product but show multiple features and benefits.
- Tell your brand story with video clips and images that will resonate with your
target audience. - Show your product being used, instead of just talking about it.
- Use images and videos that have worked well in previous campaigns on other platforms.
- Create and test multiple different versions of each ad.
- Create and test multiple different ad groups (placements, audiences, locations, etc.)
- Use contrasting colors in your videos to liven things up.
- Keep your important video content and images inside the green “safe zone” (see below). Keep in mind that adding more text decreases the green zone.
Example TikTok Ads
Caption: Bunch O Balloons, the fastest filling water balloons around! Video by Kennedynz.
This 15 second ad was made from a video that was created by a customer of Bunch O Balloons. There’s no hard selling or text, simply a video showing how the product works with the logo overlaid at the beginning and end.
There’s not even any talking! It just has music playing along with the video. It received over 350k likes and 1000+ shares.
Caption: Create and share awesome videos!
This 15 second ad showcases the functionality and features of a free app for adding backgrounds, stickers, and overlays to videos.
It quickly shows how to search their library and add backgrounds to a video. There’s a voiceover element telling viewers about the product and how to use it and text overlay that talks about the volume of content available in the app. It received over 4600 likes.
Caption: None
This 14 second ad showcases how to use
a product that attaches to your sink faucet. There is no talking or text overlay on the video, just music in the background. It just lets the product speak for itself. It received over 2600 likes and hundreds of shares.
Caption: professional writing service
This 17 second ad for just_do_my_essay professional writing services doesn’t even show the product or have anyone
explaining what it is! It’s just a video of someone turning poor letter grades into an A. It lets the viewer draw the conclusion that this service will help them turn their bad grades into excellent ones. It received over 5600 likes.