We sat down with two Nordic TikTok stars, Lovisa Wallin and Celina Blanche to discuss all things TikTok; the algorithms, challenges and possibilities and discussed what brands, as well as creators need to know about the app. They were early adopters and today they’ve created their own communities with thousands of people who engage with their content on a daily basis.
We are really excited to share their insights and thoughts on mistakes they think brands are making on TikTok and what is necessary in order to become successful.
This article covers:
- Reasons behind TikTok’s popularity
- Common mistakes brands make
- What successful brands get right
- How brands build an authentic presence on TikTok
- Advice for effective influencer collaborations on TikTok
Prefer to watch? Check out the webinar with the full interview here!
Lovisa and Celina’s Influencer background
Lovisa and Celina’s background as influencers differentiates quite a lot. Lovisa began her career on Instagram a couple of years ago, and today she has over 200 thousand followers who go to her account for fashion and lifestyle inspiration. Lovisa says she was forced by her assistant to start a TikTok as saw that it would be the next big thing, and knew Lovisa had to be on it. Turns out, her assistant was right.
At first, Lovisa was sceptical and a bit hesitant towards the app as she perceived it to be a space mainly for Gen Z, who shared videos of themselves dancing. Today, she emphasises how there really is a space for everyone. In her case, she found her niche in fashion and today creates videos of her outfits, try-on hauls and new purchases.
Celina, on the other hand, did not go on TikTok with a background as an influencer; however, she’s worked in social media her entire working life, on the brand side of things, and instantly felt like this platform was meant for her. Instagram had never really been her thing but on TikTok she could talk directly to her followers and create content that suited her better. Celina makes videos talking about dating, relationships, career advice and her followers have commented that they view her as an “online big sister”.
The reason behind TikToks popularity
More than one billion users are on TikTok today, what do you think the reason is why people come on the app if you were to pinpoint some examples?
C: There’s something for everyone. Since all age groups are on TikTok now, it means there are also creators in every age group and there are lots of different interests. So, whoever you are, you can log onto TikTok, spend a week there and get the algorithm working according to your interests. After a while you will have all of your interests in your feed, which I think is so clever.
L: There’s also a search tool, where you can find everything from good restaurants and recipes to life hacks. You can search for anything on TikTok and you’ll find it. Going to a new country, I always look up new restaurants on TikTok. Before I always used Instagram for that function, but now I go on TikTok to look it up because I get to see short videos and I get the vibe. It’s so easy to get the entire picture.
C: Yeah, that’s cool. Last year, the search engine was actually used more on TikTok than Google’s own search engine. Celina adds, Tiktok as a whole is like a community, almost like a movement. People who spend time on TikTok every day will understand what I mean by that. There are different communities that can be found within a song, a trend, there’s even a community of moms; people who like certain things unite and I find that so cool. All users who log onto TikTok will feel like they’re a part of something.
Mistakes Brands Make on TikTok
We touched upon the topic of mistakes, one mistake could be taking your Instagram content and reposting it on TikTok. What other mistakes do you see brands making regularly?
L: I think you can see when a brand posts a TikTok without actually having scrolled and spent time there, getting to know the app. You see that they post something that they would’ve posted on another platform e.g. Instagram or in a magazine. So, I think the most common mistake is to not transform your content and make it feel more suitable to TikTok.
C: Yes, you can absolutely tell if the content comes from Instagram and if someone reposts it. Another thing I see brands doing, that they have to stop doing, is they have their social media manager post content that other social media managers will consider funny. They won’t reach their target audience with that type of content. If you sell a product, you should post content on the product e.g. how to use it.
L: I have made mistakes too, my account is very niched and sometimes I see a trend that I think is funny and I would try that too but I have realised that isn’t for my audience. If I want to post those types of videos, I should have another account where I only post funny videos. Set a niche and stay with it.
What successful brands get right
If you look at brands that are doing good on TikTok, what are they doing right?
C: The successful brands on TikTok have understood that they are there to show their audience their product, they share their story and stick to it long term.
L: I follow several brands who are good at sticking to their niche. When I see a video, I know it’s from them and they don’t just hop on any trends. They also recognize that they will need to make an impression within two seconds, if the video isn’t interesting the viewer will just scroll by it. If you make an impression within two seconds, make the viewer laugh or feel something, it is more likely that they will watch the full video.
C: Some brands I follow show the brands through the employees eyes and make content from their point of view.
L: It’s really fun to see that type of content. Brands who share “a day at the office”, clips of the employees of a brand and getting to see behind the scenes.
How brands build an authentic presence on TikTok
What should brands do to make their content feel authentic and real on TikTok?
C: Forget about aesthetically pleasing content. Don’t try to do Instagram on TikTok – where everything is just picture perfect. Instead, start by educating your target audience about your product’s and your brands’ story, it’s good to start there. Try to figure out what works and keep doing the things that do, that’s how you build an authentic brand image. Brands also need to keep in mind that from the beginning, nobody will care about you and no one will be inspired unless they know who you are. It’s kind of like walking up to a stranger and asking if you could inspire them. They would probably say no, because they don’t know you. But if you were to ask the same question, talking incredibly passionately about your product and sharing the story behind the product, they might say yes to you “inspiring” them. The tenth time you’d walk up to them, you’ll no longer be a stranger to them. They would feel like they know you and hopefully say, “ I recognise your products and you get to inspire me”.
What about a creator like you Lovisa, who already has that relationship and built trust with your followers, working with you would be like taking a shortcut for a brand, right?
L: I’m just being me, I can show myself and be personal. But for a brand, it can be hard to be personal since your main goal is to sell a product. That’s why it can be helpful to collaborate with influencers or TikTokers who will share your brand/products as they already have a community of people who follow them and find them authentic.
Advice for effective influencer collaborations on TikTok
What advice would you give to brands who want to do successful influencer collaborations on TikTok?
L: A lot of brands have set briefs that they always work with, but they should adjust the briefs to TikTok and change them to the specific influencer they’re working with. I would probably do the collaboration differently than Celina would as an example. For a lot of brands, paid ads are very hard to do because as soon as a viewer sees that it’s a paid ad they will most likely scroll, but if an influencer can make a creative and interesting video they can include the message and hopefully get more people to watch the advertisement.
C: I think being flexible is super important. A campaign would probably flop if the brand would interfere too much and not give the influencer any creative freedom. Because ultimately, I know my audience best and my TikTok is a lot like a diary. If I collaborated with a brand and the draft would have to be a month in advance, my followers would notice it. Which is why I also like short deadlines, because then the content will be up to date.
Curious to learn more about how to succeed on TikTok?
Tune in to our podcast episode where we are joined by Emma Lundgren, Agency Partnerships Lead at TikTok, who shares her best tips and tricks from the inside.