How to Create TikTok Content
Although social media has been around for two decades, it’s constantly changing as trends come and go and new platforms enter the market.
Recently, there’s been a massive shift toward video content, linked to the rise of TikTok. As a result, users have come to expect snappy, engaging videos in their social media feeds.
But it’s not just a TikTok phenomenon: Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, and YouTube Shorts are all becoming adept at presenting short video content.
Video content now has a greater organic reach than imagery and TikTok is creating a community of passionate content creators. But how can you create video content that TikTokers will engage with and give your brand a voice on the platform?
Why should you choose TikTok?
New brands entering the market are likely to gravitate towards TikTok. There’s a real opportunity for new brands to succeed on the fastest-growing social media platform with 3 billion downloads and revenue of $4.6 billion in 2021, a 142 percent increase year-on-year, according to the Business of Apps.
After all, there are fewer ads on TikTok, so you have less competition. According to Peter Shannon of social media agency Simply Social who spoke on the DMI podcast, for every ten ads on Facebook and Instagram, there’s one ad on TikTok. So, there’s real potential to get your product or brand seen so it’s an affordable time to advertise on TikTok.
10 Ways to Create Great TikTok Content
So you see the value in TikTok and want to establish your brand on the platform? Here are our top ten tips to get your content seen on TikTok:
- Create quality content that will grow organically
- Deliver the right amount of content
- Plan your content
- Know what’s trending
- Make it fun
- Be inspired by others
- Understand the algorithms
- Have the right gear
- Repurpose TikTok content on other platforms
- Work with influencers and creators
1. Create quality content that will grow organically
TikTok offers brands a great opportunity for organic growth. TikTok jumps on trends, and brands can use this to amplify their reach. Unlike other platforms that rely on PPC marketing to increase reach, TikTok enables brands to increase reach through clever content monitoring. In best-case scenarios, your content goes viral!
TikTok’s algorithms are incredibly effective at matching your content to the right people. If you create good content that’s aimed at a certain audience or community, the algorithm will put it in front of them. That enables you to grow your following, without relying on paid ads. Don’t forget that your content must be engaging first! A clever algorithm won’t compensate for poor-quality content.
2. Deliver the right amount of content
TikTok is a trend-driven platform. If you want to succeed, you need to keep on top of emerging trends and be clever with the amount of content you post to capitalize on them. Some TikTokers post three or more times a day!
Also bear in mind the right times to post on TikTok. You need to get as much quality content out there in front of as many eyes as possible.
3. Plan your content
Quality content requires planning. Even though TikTok has cultivated a spontaneous, informal persona, it still rewards high-quality, carefully thought-out content. Remember, sometimes the best spontaneity is well-planned.
As with when you’re posting on other platforms, you should have a content calendar to structure your posting schedule. (Download our content calendar template here.)
Bear in mind, though, TikTok is fast-moving and content is often reactive, depending on what trends or topics are gaining attention. Leave room in your calendar for these reactive posts, and devote some time to monitoring trends and deciding which ones resonate with your brand. (More below on monitoring trends.)
4. Know what’s trending
Some brands have people dedicated to watching trends and building content around them, but many brands can’t afford that luxury.
A lot of small or medium-sized companies have to rely on their teams being mindful of what’s happening and spotting opportunities to incorporate the trend into their brand narrative.
Pro Tip: Be careful about posting content that ties into current trends. If done without thought, it can come across as cynical or even offensive. Find a way to meaningfully link the trend to your brand story e,g, illuminate your brand values.
5. Make it fun
Every platform has its own identity. LinkedIn is a professional network that’s generally aimed at a B2B audience while Facebook and Instagram are more casual and friendly.
In comparison, Snapchat and TikTok revel in being seen as fun platforms. This is why you have to be careful when repurposing content. The content must be tweaked to fit in with the target platform’s identity. Some brands are reluctant to engage with TikTok as they feel it doesn’t align with their brand. While others are creating self-effacing, tongue-in-cheek content specifically for TikTok. Then you have a company like Ryanair that embraces TikTok’s fun spirit with off-the-wall content that ties into their brand.
6. Be inspired by others
To create quality content on TikTok, you need to investigate what content is successful on the platform. See what brands are attracting the most followers and find out what you can learn from them.
Don’t steal their ideas. Just be inspired by them. If something works for another brand, think about how you could put your spin on it.
Also, check out TikTok’s Top ads library, because it shows you what the top-performing ads are. Watch those ads, and be inspired by them.
7. Understand the algorithms
TikTok’s algorithm considers several factors – such as a user’s previous interactions and device settings, video details, metadata, and category, currently popular videos, and timeliness – when deciding what content to present to users.
The algorithm aims to ensure that people see content that they’re most likely to engage with. This adds an element of serendipity to the TikTok user experience, as users are likely to stumble upon content that resonates with them.
If you understand how the algorithms work, how auto-targeting puts your content in front of the right people, and what content gets the most views you will be able to develop content that TikTok will get behind.
Top tip: Check out this Guardian article to find out more about why the algorithm works.
8. Have the right gear
The beauty of TikTok is that its videos often have an ‘amateur’ feel. Spontaneous, reactive content is favored over sleek, expensive, highly produced content like the influencer videos seen on Instagram. This means that anyone with a decent phone camera can create TikTok content.
However, if you’d like to repurpose your TikTok videos on other platforms, you may want to invest in more expensive equipment to produce professional content. You can always add fun elements to the professional video later before posting it.
Top tip: Here are some tips on ‘How to make videos without hiring a professional’.
9. Repurpose your TikTok content on other platforms
You’ll want to get the best return on your content investment. You don’t want to shoot a video and then never use it again. This is where content repurposing comes into play.
You might shoot a sleek, professional video for Instagram, and then break it into TikTok-friendly shorter videos with fun effects and filters.
Alternatively, you might create a series of videos for TikTok and then repurpose them across Facebook Reels, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts. Pay special attention to your top-performing content, there’s a reason it worked, so see if you can repurpose it
10. Work with influencers and creators
Some brands struggle with finding the right pitch for their TikTok content, so they engage content creators and influencers to help get them established.
Influencers can help you increase reach by promoting your content to their audiences. TikTok has a directory of influencers and can match you with the most suitable ones for your content. However, working with influencers can prove expensive (see a few examples here) and may not be successful if you choose the wrong one.
Note: TikTok often refers to ‘influencers’ as ‘creators’ because many of their influencers create content that your audience cares about in a way that looks more authentic and relevant. It becomes more of a creative partnership, rather than just buying influence and likes.
Some final expert TikTok tips
Some final expert tips on how to use TikTok effectively in your marketing:
- Try to get daily updates on what’s happening on social channels (use Social Minds Hub which is free!)
- Customize your ‘For You’ page so that you’re exposed to content that’s most relevant to your brand.
- Follow accounts that will update you on trends that you might miss.
- Remember, many people conduct online searches using TikTok, so make sure you have content that’s likely to come up in your target audience’s searches.
- Ensure your brand’s personality comes across in your videos. Don’t be afraid to stand in front of the camera!
- TikTok is very popular with younger people, so ask young people around you what content they like on the network.
Conclusion
As you can see, TikTok is an effective platform for brands wanting to connect with their audiences through video content. The platform’s authentic and fun feel means you can create content that uses humor or takes a different angle to engage and interact. As a marketer it’s smart to be aware of all the issues surrounding TikTok which often appears in the news: keep an eye on reliable sources like TechCrunch to keep abreast.
Check out our ‘Creating Content for TikTok’ podcast to get some more insights and tips from two experts, Peter Shannon and Olive Maher of Simply Social.
Use TikTok to drive engagement and leads
Social media is a great way to get to know and interact with your audience, but it can be tricky to get right. DMI’s social media marketing course will cover all the key areas you need to succeed. You will explore social research, social commerce, social research and get insights into all the big platforms from Facebook to WhatsApp and of course, TikTok. Enroll today to get started!
