TikTok users are becoming the most dedicated group of buyers on social media.
According to a recent Adweek survey, about half of TikTok users bought a product after
seeing it advertised, promoted, or reviewed at least once.
What does this mean for you?
It means TikTok is a valuable tool for ecommerce.
It can be used to advertise dropshipping products, to raise brand awareness, and build relationships
with your customers.
Considering the steadily rising popularity of the app, learning how to use TikTok for
business has never been more important.
It might seem a little overwhelming for a beginner, so let’s go over the basics together.
In this video, we’ll talk about what TikTok is, how it works and how to create a successful
TikTok account.
But keep an eye out for part two of our TikTok deepdive, where we’ll take a more detailed
look at how to use this social media platform for marketing.
Now, just like you, I’m quite new to the app, so we’ve invited an established TikToker
to help us out with tips.
Meet our guest.
My name is Nico Rojas.
The name of my account is actually I am Nico Rojas as well.
I've actually been making TikTok videos.
For about a year now.
I started in early 2021 and I haven't stopped since.
I share videos about branding and marketing, and I also share tools that I think would
be really helpful for anybody starting their business.
Let’s get started!
What is TikTok?
Before we get into TikTok marketing, let’s start at the very beginning.
What is TikTok?
It’s a short-form video-sharing app, where you can create videos anywhere between 5 seconds
to 10 minutes long.
You can film and edit videos right in the app with a wide range of effects, editing
tools, and a massive music library at your fingertips.
Although the first association people might have with TikTok is teens dancing to popular
songs, that’s just a small part of TikTok.
Similar to YouTube, you can find entertaining and educational videos, and if you give the
app a try, you’re sure to find content that really resonates with you and your interests.
It’s true that the video-based social media platform used to be most popular among younger
audiences, but over time it’s grown to be loved by people from all different age groups.
As of 2021, just about half of TikTok users are aged between 19 and 39, and about 28%
of all TikTok users are aged below 18.
But how can TikTok actually help your business?
Well, first, you can get many eyes on your content quickly, even if you don’t have
a lot of followers or a consistent posting schedule.
And second, your content doesn’t need to be polished to every last detail, so that
means you don’t need to invest hours or a lot of money to create content.
Here’s how this platform has been working for Nico.
TikTok is a great marketing tool because it's a discoverability app.
You can literally create a 15 second video, put it out, and the next thing you know, within
a matter of hours, thousands and thousands of people have seen your product, your service,
your content, or your face.
Not only has TikTok to help me generate more business for my business, but it's also allowed
me to network and connect with some amazing creators out there, not only in my industry,
but in other industries as well.
How does TikTok work?
There are 3 ways to view videos—on the For You page (also known as FYP), on the Following
page and in search results.
Once you open the app, you’re directed to the For You page.
The content you see here is similar to Instagram’s explore page.
You get a constant stream of content that TikTok’s algorithm thinks you’ll like.
This is the page where people actually end up spending most of their time.
When you swipe to the left, you’re switched to the Following page, where you see content
from the accounts you’re following.
And then there’s Search.
Here, you can search for accounts and videos.
Say, I look up the word “t-shirt”.
First thing here is the drop-down menu, showing related terms for me to explore.
Then I can take a look at all videos that have descriptions or hashtags related to the
word t-shirt.
And lastly, I can see all accounts, containing the word I just searched for.
To add a video, click on the plus icon that sits here at the bottom of your screen.
On TikTok, you’re able to record video right on the app or upload an existing one from
your device.
Once you’ve uploaded a video that’s anywhere from a few seconds to 10 minutes, you can
add filters, effects, and sound.
Here’s how Nico, a seasoned TikToker, creates captivating content for his account.
This framework has helped me generate millions of views for my videos.
The framework is very simple.
It's called the AIDA Framework, and it stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
The first couple of seconds of your video should be dedicated to grabbing your viewers
attention.
After that, create some curiosity, make them curious, and make them want to watch more
of your video afterwards.
Give them what they desired by giving them the value, by giving them the punchline to
your joke.
Or giving them that aha moment.
Right.
Fill their curiosity gap and then drive action by asking them to do something, whether it's
to go buy your product or whether it's to drop a comment or simply like your video,
but drive action.
Your TikTok account will initially be under the personal account category, but you also
have an option to upgrade to a business one.
Upgrading your account gives you access to more features that can help you analyze the
performance of your videos and acquire new customers.
This feature is mostly suited for larger businesses.
What makes a successful TikTok?
On other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you might struggle to get your content seen,
but life on planet TikTok is a little different.
Even if you don’t have any followers, and you’re not too sure what you’re doing
yet, you’re likely to get at least a hundred views with your first videos.
Your very first video might even get around a million views—crazy, I know.
But to reach these numbers you have to speak the language of TikTok.
This means the content on TikTok has certain aesthetics and guidelines to keep in mind.
It’s not a place for direct, in-your-face marketing.
Rather, TikTok calls for a more subtle approach that centers around storytelling.
Show the personal—involve your products in stories about your own experiences or funny
mishaps.
In short, make the TikTok about something more than just the product.
Another valuable thing to look out for is trends.
On TikTok, trends are audio pieces that you, the creator, combine with text or other visuals—it
can be a funny or educational story, like a problem that you’ve overcome, or just
something visually appealing, like a beautiful landscape or a vacation spot.
Jumping on trends increases the number of people who will engage with your content,
so it’s worth keeping track of the upcoming trends and trying to get on them early.
You can head over to our Printful TikTok account to see how we’ve used TikTok trends in the
past.
I’ll add the link in the description.
But, really, the best way to learn about TikTok trends is to use TikTok.
Immerse yourself in the culture of the app, and you’ll learn how to make use of trending
sounds quickly.
What type of videos you make will depend on your brand and target audience, but what matters
in the end is that you deliver value with your content.
So here’s a couple of tips from us on how to create successful content on TikTok.
1.
Be consistent The most important thing in most platforms
is consistency.
It’s important to let TikTok’s algorithm get to know you, so that it could find the
right users who’d like to see your content.
Create a consistent posting schedule and stick to it.
You don’t necessarily have to post brand new content every day.
If you have days where your creativity is at an all time low, you can just repost an
older TikTok.
When you repost a video, it will end up on the For You pages of a new group of people.
This means you can repurpose your old content, and it might even get better views and engagement
than the first time around.
2.
Be quick Next, pay attention to your video length.
TikTok is an app that moves fast—although it now allows videos up to ten minutes long,
you’ll be more successful if you stick to a shorter format.
Be quick and to the point, especially in the beginning, when you’re still experimenting.
Once you’ve found your audience, you can start creating longer videos to build a better
relationship with that audience.
3.
Be engaging When you’ve found an audience, look for
ways to engage with them.
A good way to communicate with your audience is through the video reply option.
TikTok allows you to reply to comments with a video, so be sure to incorporate that into
your TikTok marketing strategy.
Final thoughts
Thank you Nico for sharing all of this amazing advice!
It’s been great having you on our channel.
I really hope you found this information just as interesting as I did.
Alright, we’ve gone over the basics.
In the next part of our TikTok deepdive, we’ll look at how to develop a marketing strategy
for TikTok, so if you’re in dire need of ideas and inspiration, hit the bell button
to get notified when we post new videos!
How are you planning to use TikTok for your business?
Let me know in the comments.
And if you liked this video, don’t forget to subscribe and like.