Since the beginning, TikTok has been a creator-driven platform and businesses large and small have been slow to adopt short-form video into their social strategy. Over the past 2 years, we’ve seen a variety of brands embrace TikTok marketing and skyrocket their organic reach, engagement and, ultimately, product sales.
If you’ve been on TikTok for at least a year, you’ll probably remember the “accidental” fame that Ocean Spray had after Nathan Apodaca (aka @Doggface) lip synced “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac while riding his long board to work. Even if your brand doesn’t become “accidentally famous,” you can still achieve success on this platform by creating consistent entertaining and educational content for your target audience. Today we’re spilling a few of our TikTok strategy secrets with you, starting with how to use hashtags in this app.
Use Hashtags Like SEO
While you may be accustomed to using 15-20 hashtags on Instagram, the amount of space you have for a caption (including hashtags) is very limited on TikTok. What does this mean for you as a brand? Try to keep your caption as clear and concise as possible and utilize hashtags that are hyper-specific to your audience and the video itself.
How To Use Trending Audios
In no way does using an audio that’s trending guarantee that your video will go viral, but it does give you a better opportunity to do so if your content is also exceptional. There are a few different ways to find trending audios on TikTok. The first is by simply spending time scrolling through videos. If a sound is trending, you’ll likely see it a handful of times during your research. The second way to find trending audios is by clicking the “+” sign to record a new video, tapping “Add Sound” at the top, and then choosing the “TikTok Viral” playlist.
#EduTok
Educational videos are one of the most popular types of content you’ll find on TikTok. While YouTube provides longer, in-depth videos, TikTok allows its users to create short, to the point educational-style content. For example, if your business is in the food industry, creating easy to follow recipe videos with cool audios and transitions would not only educate but entertain your target audience.
Using Duet + Stitch Features
As a brand on TikTok, one of your main goals is to increase brand awareness and engagement. By utilizing TikTok’s Duet and Stitch features, you can achieve this by inspiring those in your target audience to take action and/or contributing to important conversations in your industry.
Posting Frequency
While the expectations of posting quality vary from what you might see on Instagram or YouTube, the TikTok community still expects a great viewing experience. To succeed on this platform, the more you post, the faster you’ll grow (as long as the quality of your videos is up to snuff). And while there are accounts who post upwards of 5-10 times per day, if you’re just starting out and building your social calendar, we recommend starting with 1 or 2x per day.
Working With Content Creators
If no one on your team has the time or resources to create TikTok videos on a regular basis, hiring Content Creators to produce videos is a great way to grow on this platform. This job is becoming more and more popular, and there are a number of ways to find creators that align with your brand and audience. You can search industry or brand-related hashtags and directly reach out to a creator via DM/email, or you can use platforms like Aspire to advertise the role. Full time Content Creators typically have rate cards or pre-built packages (ex: 15 videos per month for X dollars), and are accustomed to working within a brand’s guidelines.
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