Introduction

Do you, as a user or marketer, get the chance entirely to digest TikTok’s full potential these days? If you have been on your phone recently, then you’ve probably found yourself covered in TikTok-related videos for some time now. What people are currently seeing, as it happens, is TikTok’s golden age, which is taking the world by storm.

This is why you need to get on TikTok Now! It’s not too late to start things out just yet. Are you hoping to grow your following? Looking for tips and tricks to get more views and followers, or maybe find a social proof way to kickstart your brand visibility.

To help answer some qualms of yours. In this article, we’ll give you a hook for a strategy, winning practices, and ways you can leverage your content in the algorithm: most importantly, to your audience’s interest.

Table of Contents

What is TikTok?

Content creators, meanwhile, prefer to post on TikTok (30%), followed by Instagram (22%) and YouTube (22%). Of course, like its predecessors— Dubsmash, Musically, and Vine: There are plenty of instances of what users can do, i.e., people lip-syncing to scenes, reaction videos, dancing, educational content, doing art, business promotion, and many more.

The world-famous Tiktok app recently moved to the number one spot among the most downloaded apps worldwide in 2021 and is still enduring popularity to this day without any signs of stopping. TikTok is a short-form media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short clips up to 90 seconds long, made by over 1 billion active users worldwide. Due to the “short nature of contents,” it, later on, gained international appeal, becoming the hub for viral trends and serving as a creative space for people to grow and interact.

TikTok is the most popular Gen Z’s and Millenials. Still, it would be a mistake to write TikTok off as only that since the older generations are closely following behind the statistics with growing numbers as we speak.

The social native mindset

Bite-sized video content is driving an immense amount of growth online. TikTok users spend more and more of their valuable time on the platform for one simple reason: they love what they can do and see inside the app. When content creators make videos themselves, it sparks conversation, attention or catches the emotion or interest of their audience.

Now, in the talks of user-generated content and engagement. Knowing its billions of users, the app’s social natives are best at doing that part.

To be entertained—that’s the one. People are looking in TikTok to have fun. To last in the world of TikTok, you need an in-depth understanding of the platform’s potential, particularly how you can establish a connection with young and old audiences. There’s a lot of content on TikTok. If you want to strike a chord with your audience, you need to be unique or give a refreshing take on your content style. If you offer something new, then it will get noticed.

Remember Dubsmash and Vine? Musical.ly? Back then, people were quick to jump on their platform due to the new concept of “short video clips”. One would even go as far as to say these three acted as a catalyst that completely transforms how people look at entertainment forever. All went smoothly at some point until Vine closed its doors by 2017 while ByteDance acquired Musically in the same year. And soon, Reddit will close Dubsmash for good in 2022.

People were left with one question: How did TikTok grow to be so big, yet the other three failed? For one, Tiktok perfectly calibrated its interface model to fit the whirlwind interest shift of the modern world and seamlessly combined the best of what these worlds had to offer. At the same time, find a solution to what most social media platforms fail to see.

To understand that statement, we have to fall back to the psychology of things, specifically, into the paradox of choice.

Where more and more options are easily placed in front of us, there is a high tendency of getting overwhelmed with many choices, and rather than being satisfied and happy with the many options to choose from. It’s quite the opposite; actually, people lead the moment feeling less happy and less satisfied. Consequently, with everything all at once, it’s near impossible for people to make up their minds. Thus, putting an individual in the state of “analysis paralysis”

Tiktok made the wise decision to transform this modern world mishap strategically to their short-form video format. And that addresses the sustained attention span problem of people these days. Most importantly, the paradox of choice isn’t anywhere near causing a problem on TikTok, thanks to the “For You” page that lets the algorithm decide the type of content for you based on two things: preference and your watching pattern. All that’s left for its users to do is consume and scroll all the way.

The steady stream of short, engaging videos makes for an instant dopamine hit. It’s almost hypnotic, and before you know it, you’ll keep watching and creating videos on TikTok all day long.

What should you post on TikTok?

The exposure you can get in TikTok indeed can be next-level above other social media platforms. And while the growing number of users may sound intimidating, and you may feel like there is no more space in TikTok or too old to get the TikTok fun for yourself— that is certainly not the case. In fact, all you need to bring to the party is a TikTok ready personality, and you are set! It’s new enough to get in the Millenials and Gen-Z on board and relatively simple for older generations to ride in.

The great thing about TikTok is you can create your content and post anything and everything you want. It’s a great avenue to show your creativity to the world. Once there, you can post anything you want.

TikTok opens your exposure to an audience much more expansive than you could ever imagine. If you’re a business owner, you could get creative marketing your product/service to your audience. Other times you want to get on a comedy skit, dance to what’s the viral song of the week, or react to viral videos. Maybe some education videos along the way— then you can do that! There’s no stopping you from posting on TikTok. Even TikTok users can engage in the app with another user: duet, stitch, or go live! The sky is only your limit.

How to get more followers on TikTok

“Growing your social media following doesn’t just happen overnight”. That’s what you always hear every time you hop on to any social media outlet but let me tell you this, that rule does not apply to TikTok at all.

Before we go on and talk about growing your followers in TikTok, let’s first understand the list of things you should do for that to happen:

1. Who is your target audience? When your content aligns with a user’s views and beliefs— they become your audience.

Narrowing down your niche gives you higher engagement potential than hitting content that targets a broad audience.

Ask yourself, “Who will watch my videos?” or “Who do I want to dedicate my content to?” It’s important to know the answers to these questions in making your TikTok Video.

2. Get creative with TikTok’s new features: Post content regularly Now that you’ve got your audience in mind, it’s important to create valuable content that serves the purpose of these goals. You need to post a lot. About 3-5 videos to make your account seem more official.

Many users end up going viral on TikTok because of one video, and they follow through with that sudden burst of engagement by uploading a steady flow of content.

Anytime TikTok comes out with a brand-new feature, use it. In that way, TikTok will push your content out in the algorithm, which will help you reach more people.

3. Reel in number of users by participating in TikTok trends What runs on TikTok? Trends. TikTok users love to see and jive into new trends. Trends are a big deal on TikTok — and they’re not just for individual content creators. Try to create videos that make sense for you, and through creativity, ramp it up with a bit of twist. That way, you can easily set yourself apart from the rest. By participating in TikTok trends, you get the chance to showcase your creativity and content to the sea of potential viewers.

Creating videos around these trends is also a proven way to jump-start your presence on the platform without breaking so much sweat.

4. Pay close attention to #hashtags and your caption Have you ever noticed how a social media challenge becomes a viral hit? That’s because content creators start something with a good hashtag and unique caption.

Engagement comes from everyday people like you and me. People who feature relevant hashtags and compelling captions in their video, either by explaining or showcasing their talent, can launch that video onto a viral circuit. For inspiration, head over to the discover page on your app to see what hashtags are trending and what you can use on your feed.

TikTok Influencer tip: Don’t forget to use the #ForYou #ForYouPage hashtag. This would likely increase your chances of slating your videos to the user’s landing page—A personalized video feed seen explicitly upon opening the app.

5. Post your content at ideal times You must find the best time to post on the platform based on your audience as trends and user performance patterns regularly change on TikTok. It would be best if you outlined a posting schedule that fits your unique audience.

Posting at the right time guarantees to help improve the performance of your content with active user engagement on your posts. Use the TikTok analytics to your advantage and find out the best time to post on TikTok. Here is how to navigate through it: Head over to the Analytics section and click the Followers tab. Scroll down to Top Territories. This section of the Followers tab will pull in your audience demographics to help you identify your follower’s location and time zones.

How can TikTok be used in business?

Truly, living up to the “next big thing” hype cemented TikTok in the world of pop culture. And as the key destination for marketing your business.

And in 2021, many small businesses did explode from promoting their product in TikTok. Take it from Shannon Schutt of Clear Mind Jewellery, based in Peterborough, Ontario, who uses TikTok to give people a behind-the-scenes view of her business. She lets her audience see the entire process of her jewelry making, she said. “By being authentic and approachable in how we show behind-the-scenes work, we have been able to have some very successful TikToks that have moved followers onto other platforms or driven them to request quotes.”

Jason McCarthy of DigiNo seems to get the right idea making interesting educational videos on TikTok offering a far different service than others—an online education company. “These facts were designed to give viewers a subtle bit of brain satisfaction, but also leave them wanting more. For a small online teacher recruitment business, the best way to advertise the job is to show the job.” told McCarthy

What this meant for your business: It all starts with the right video with the right content. If your first plan didn’t work for your business, try another one. Do research, develop a strategy, get up your feet and create content with a different formula. And top it off with the most important one—Be informative, upbeat, and entertaining. The most successful videos make someone feel something good, whether that’s by giving them knowledge, a smile, or a laugh.

Is TikTok good for eCommerce?

Tiktok is growing exponentially before our very eyes. And it’s only a matter of time before it falls in the ear of the eCommerce world; should I say it already did as ByteDance, is already in the steps of taking its aim for eCommerce sectors.

Since Tiktok is one of the world’s most sought-after video platforms with millions of daily users worldwide, this gives a fantastic chance for sellers to introduce their product to their target audience with ease. As of late, Tiktok has made it easier than ever to create your brand content and turn user engagement into sales conversions. Currently, TikTok is testing and introducing more eCommerce features making it easier for sellers to promote their products to billions of users.

What is TikTok eCommerce?

At its core, TikTok aims to inspire creativity and bring a sense of delight to its users. However, it has become more than for entertainment purposes. For other reasons, the app has made a more profound impact on the business side of things. The rising popularity of TikTok presents a whole new range of marketing opportunities. And as part of its ongoing growth and push to implement more monetization opportunities. TikTok has been steadily partnering with many leading eCommerce platforms, which can help facilitate increased advertiser activity while also providing more revenue potential for individual creators through brand partnerships.

TikTok marketing has boasted tons of success with the practice of using TikTok to promote a brand, product, or service. It can include different tactics, like TikTok advertising, influencer marketing, and creating organic viral content. TikTok is expanding its investment in e-commerce. TikTok For a Business allows an account to add a Shopping tab to their TikTok profiles and sync their product catalogs to the app to create mini-storefronts. Later this year, it also introduced fuller solutions for TikTok commerce, including ad products and a TikTok Shopping API.

How to boost eCommerce with Tiktok?

Your product may be remarkable or trailblazing, but no one cares about your product unless— of course, you market it right. Another thing, it is only normal for people to end up with the” what’s in it for me” and “how genuine is your product” question before considering that what you offer is worth their money.

In that case, strike while the iron is hot! You want to be ready to stake your genuine and back up this potential consumer’s question with what really is your brand’s intention. Begin to grow your brand’s power through your story. Humanize your business. In that way, you are urging your audience to take action.

Your action steps

After reading through the testaments and eCommerce potential of TikTok, the best step forward is to bring in a presence directed to your brand. Learn the following action you could take:

  • Master the art of brand storytelling: What’s the inspiration behind your business? Why should a customer care? How to use your product?. Be clear about what customers can expect with your brand. In answering this question, you can build a story that connects your business to your audience.

  • Learn to optimize your TikTok profile. As obvious as it is, many sellers tend to overlook their profile, especially their bio.

  • Don’t make ADS! People are quick to learn that you are selling things. If that happens, 99% you’ll be passed on as desperate and lose any chance of making sales. Captivate your audience, be more creative, more authentic, create content that truly speaks to people.

  • In a world where consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of their purchases. Get real with a clean, unedited video finish of your business behind-the-scenes. PRO TIP: If you are starting out: Be organic with your growth. Post content daily because that gives users the feel of your business as official.

  • Test new marketing channels and ideas and be on your foot for recent TikTok trends. Jumping into a stitch format type of content now and then is one of the perfect ways to get your product up in people’s attention. Stay dedicated to your agenda but have a little time for a variety: transform and reimagine. Those keys compel your audience to participate rather than observe your brand.

  • Use popular and relevant hashtags. See to it that you treat hashtags the same way you make sure to embed high-volume keywords in your product. After all, they are the little things that can pull your content into people’s TikTok feeds.

  • User engagement is less on weekends, especially on Saturday: If you’re trying to use TikTok for your business, it would be best to keep in mind that posting on Saturdays doesn’t generate the same performance or engagement as the other days.

  • Partner with an Influencer to market your product. TikTok influencer marketing can be a big part of making a massive impact on the success of your business. Influencers have a lot of following behind them. Use the power of word-of-mouth to easily increase your product engagement by tenfold.

  • Don’t pay to advertise if you’re just a startup. Avoid rushing things out. Grow your roots first before. Let’s be real—If you’re just a nobody in TikTok, no one will give your ADS a chance. Hold the thought of spending, and once you are already known as an established business. That’s the best time to advertise using TikTok’s new campaign options.

Wrap Up

Of course, being a massive sensation on TikTok has some luck involved (that’s the algorithm for you), but there’s also a lot of well-informed strategies that play behind the part of landing you in people’s attention. TikTok is full of surprises, but there are some best practices you can try and work out. So if something doesn’t go well with you, bear in mind that you can try a million different types of videos before you find the one that really resonates with your audience.

At this point, it’s worth mentioning that Tiktok users love the celebration of positivity and affirmation. Integrate well within TikTok by creating that kind of content for your audience. The case of TikTok’s algorithm can go second.