Is your brand having a hard time figuring out TikTok? You’re not alone. With its short and snappy videos, this app has grasped the attention of many but unfortunately, brands are struggling to figure out the app and what type of content they should put out there. For years, Instagram has been the primary online space for brands to grow their businesses on and some have really succeeded in establishing a good brand image on Instagram. However, while posting aesthetic content might’ve worked great for the Gram, the case is not the same when it comes to TikTok. It’s simply not what Gen-T expects and wants to see.

Who Uses TikTok?

A report released by GWI, show that between Q4 2020 and Q1 2022 Millennials who cite TikTok as their favourite app grew 51%, and Millennials who use TikTok has grown 30% (Global Web Index, 2022). Taking that into account, if you belong to the group of people thinking TikTok is only an app for youngsters who like to show off their choreography-skills, think again. As a matter of fact, right now there’s a large group of people with massive purchasing power who are spending significant time on it (plus, stats show that group is growing!) and so should your brand. Luckily, GWI also informed that on social media, TikTok users interact with companies more often than other social media users. Which, if you can figure out the app to work in your favour, is a very positive discovery for your brand.

How Does TikTok’s Algorithm work?

The TikTok algorithm pushes a video toward a group of users, i.e 100 people. If it’s successful there, it pushes it towards 1000 people, 10.000 people, and so on. The main things that the TikTok algorithm evaluates are user activity, video subject matter, location and language, audio, and “Not Interested” feedback.

Now, let’s dive into our 5 most practical advice on how to do Tiktok the right way!

5 Ways Brands Can Grow On TikTok

Include A CTA

Firstly, when posting a Tiktok video, include a clear CTA. It could be including advice or a value proposition of some sort to get viewers more intrigued. Since the attention span of young consumers isn’t that long, make sure to have your CTA clear and concise, and preferably addressed within three seconds into the video.

Analyse The Time Of Posting

Secondly, posting hours and time of day is crucial. There is lots of research and guides online on what time of day is best for posting but it’s always best to do your own analysis. You could try posting similar content at different times and analyse how the engagement varies, depending on what time you posted. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is to not post while most people are at work/in school and remember that most people check their phones in the evenings or on weekends, which makes a lazy Sunday the perfect day for posting.

Piggyback Off Other Creators

Thirdly, leverage your own engagement off other people’s engagement and/or audience. A great feature for this is the “Tiktok-stitch” where you can respond to, or duet, another creator’s video. If a creator has gotten a lot of engagement on a post you can piggyback off other people’s interactions if you do a successful duet.

Influencer Marketing And TikTok = A Perfect Match

Consider using influencers who can show off your products or services. Influencers already have an online stage and an audience who follow them, which means you’ll immediately reach a lot more people when sharing your content through the influencer.

Go Live

Lastly, go live. It might seem scary as you can’t really plan or do retakes, however, it’s a really low investment way to grab attention and the results you’ll see are well worth it.

In Conclusion…

TikTok is the place to be right now, if you want to reach Millennials and Gen Zers on their playing field. So before you’re about to post your next TikTok, make sure you apply all five of these practical tips and stay consistent with your posting! The algorithm will favour those who do and chances of going viral will be much higher.