TikTok Inspiration
The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than it decodes text. It’s no wonder then why TikTok–have seen a virtual explosion of users since its inception in 2018, and why engagement is so much higher than on other platforms. Today, TikTok is home to over 2.2 Million monthly users 900 million of which visit at least one brand profile every day.
But with over 2500 images and videos uploaded to TikTok ever second, the visual content merchants post on the platform needs to be engaging and compelling with a solid call-to-action, or they will fail to stand out from the roughly 45 million other brands seeking to make an impact using social media. Needless to say, TikTok is a competitive field, and everyone wants to win.
The good news is that TikTok’s distinctly visual format makes it the perfect place for brand content – beautiful visuals that come across naturally and feel less intrusive than they would on other platforms. TikTok followers have proven themselves brand-loyal and receptive to brand messaging. The platform also has a knack for adaptation. TikTok continues to reinvent itself as the social media scene changes, which bodes well for sustained user growth.
Writing for TikTok
Your TikTok profile should be inviting and inspire users to follow you. That starts with your bio but figuring out what to say can be daunting.
For starters, your bio (and everything they post on the platform) should be dripping with personality. You should consider the things that make your business unique – Are you local? Do you support sustainability? – and put those characteristics at the forefront of your bio and profile.
The TikTok bio is your playground. You can include just text, or you can get creative and experiment with hashtags, emojis, and special characters.
TikTok captions should follow suit, adding context and personality, showing off your brand, entertaining the audience and/or enticing them to act.
Just like with any piece of digital content, captions should be well-written, easy to follow, and speak to the audience. The goal is engagement – always.
See and Be Seen on TikTok
While engagement is still the name of the game on TikTok, maybe more so than on any other social media platform, the way in which users engage and how active they are is different and must be treated as such. You should set clearly-defined goals, which you can measure against two categories of metrics: vanity metrics (i.e. likes, comments, shares, followers), which will tell you how well your content is reaching your target audience and help measure presence against competitors on the platform; and business metrics (i.e. reach, engagement, traffic, lead generation, and revenue generation), which help you track and understand how your presence on TikTok is impacting your business.
You know by now, after following along with our series, that content is king. Beyond creating compelling content of your own, they should explore the option of utilizing user-generated content. After all, nothing speaks to followers more than seeing people just like them in the spotlight.
Tip: Make sure any user-generated content used matches the overall look and feel of your account. This includes fitting in with the visual consistency you have created on your feed and ensuring that the images or video used appear to be high-quality.
Bonus Tip: Always – always! – make sure to get permission from the original poster to use their content. While TikTok is an open web forum and, therefore, the rules on utilizing other users’ content are laxer, it’s good form to ask permission before snagging someone else’s content. More often than not, followers are more than happy to share.
Finally, you may want to consider influencer advertising as part of your marketing budget. Influencers are people who have already established a voice and an engaged audience, and they’re people potential customers trust. Influencer campaigns can range from one-off posts to long-term relationships that can vastly increase your your brand exposure and potential revenue.
Videos
Video is the future of marketing. Roughly 85% of all internet users in the U.S. watch online video content on any of their devices, with more than 54% of consumers wanting more video content from brands they support. Statistics also show that video marketing generates more qualified leads than other forms of advertising and generates more engagement.
Luckily for merchants, TikTok also allows for videos, but only up to one minute in length. Research actually suggests that shorter videos have a bigger impact, with videos 30 seconds or less being the ideal timeframe for this platform.
For this reason, merchants need to be creative with how they utilize video content on TikTok.
The Platform You Need
With the move to visual content picking up pace, you can’t afford not to utilize every tool available to you, including TikTok’s highly visual platform. TikTok holds the key to better user engagement and higher conversion rates.
While TikTok may seem straight forward and simplistic – it is a picture-sharing platform, after all – TikTok has a lot of moving parts and a variety of ways to reach and connect with users that all work together to increase your chances of success. With this guide, we hope some of the inner workings of the popular platform have been decoded and have been made easier to understand.
