The Top 6 TikTok Marketing Tips That Are Proven to Work
May 27, 2021
With nearly 700 million monthly users worldwide – and growing – TikTok is a social media platform that your company can’t afford to ignore.For the past year, it's represented one of the most exciting opportunities for marketers. TikTok is a simple platform with MASSIVE potential.
And yet, most marketers struggle with it.
Which is especially crazy because there are still plenty of companies out there that have been successful at marketing on TikTok.
AND those companies have all followed the same tactics to turn short TikTok clips into long-term marketing results.
UPDATE 9/27: And now, TikTok offers Shopping Ads, which is going to be a total game changer.
6 TikTok Marketing Tips That Are PROVEN to Work
So, if you’d like to add another channel to your company’s marketing arsenal, here are six easy TikTok marketing tips that are proven to be EXTREMELY effective.
1. Use Shorter TikToks for Higher Watch Times
Back when TikTok debuted, it only allowed users to post 15-second clips, so when that limit was extended to 60, most marketers assumed that longer videos would mean better results.
Boy, were they wrong.
That’s because the main way TikTok judges the quality of your video is based on “Watch Time.” – meaning, on average, what percentage of your video do viewers get through? The higher that average, the more likely TikTok is to share your video far and wide.
If you’re constantly making minute-long videos, it makes sense that your Watch Time percentage is probably going to be a lot lower than a competitor who regularly makes 15-second clips. It’s justmuch easier to watch a shorter video all the way through - don’t you agree?
My biggest advice?
You want to get ahead?
Shorter videos mean higher average Watch Times means you get to jump the line and trend quicker.
2. Post 4-5x a Day
Alright, a 15 second video doesn’t sound so hard… right?
Buthere’s the thing: You also need to post on TikTok between 4-5 times a day.
I’ve seen a lot of other marketers claim that you can get away with just 3 times a day. Some even say that only once is enough.
Well, I am here to tell you they are wrong. Posting 1-3 times a day just leaves too much to luck.An astronomical amount of TikToks are being uploaded every single minute that you really have to create at least 4-5 of your own if you want to stand any chance of growing - quickly.
In terms of what time to post them every day, you’ll get a better sense of when your audience is most active as time goes on.However, according toInfluencer Marketing Hub, the best timesseemto be 9 am on Tuesday, 12 am on Thursday, and 5 am on Friday. Those are all Eastern Standard.
So, post at those times for sure and then experiment a bit with these other options.
Give yourself at least an hour between each posting, too. That way, if it turns out 9 am on Tuesday actually doesn’t work well for your audience, you may still be able to get some views later in the day.
3. Don’t Neglect “Niche” Trends
Okay, you now know how long your company’s TikTok videos should be and have a good idea of when you should be posting them. But what about thetypesof TikTok videos you should be posting? Not sure where to start? “Entertainment” is the most popular genre of TikTok videosby far.
So, if you can regularly create those kinds of TikTok videos, you’ll have a better chance of growing your audience.
However, it’s just as important that you jump on emerging trends. Create videos that follow trendy formats and TikTok’s algorithm will help them find a much larger audience. Remember that little tip I gave you about shorter videos? You can use it to get even better results when making trending videos.
Anotheris to keep an eye out for “niche” trends. In my experience, most marketers think that the only trends that matter are the ones that go insanely viral and gain mainstream attention.
Think back to that month in 2020 when it seemed like the entire world was dancing to “Savage” or when countless versions of the “Bored in the House” song were everywhere on TikTok.
By all means, try to jump on those mega trends, but they only come around every 2-4 weeks and the competition is crazy. That’s why I recommend you focus on more niche trends. If you notice the same format for a video on your “For You” page at least three times, that’s probably a niche trend you should jump on ASAP for your business.
They won’t have as much potential for a massive worldwide audience, but there also won’t be as much competition for them, which means your video may actually get some decent views.
4. But Make Your TikToks Unique
Butmaking trendy videos doesn’t mean just copying what you see everyone else doing. That’s a really easy way to kill your Watch Time.
The sooner viewers realize that there’s nothing original about your TikTok, the quicker they’re going to move on. That’s why you need to add some kind of originality to your TikTok videos if you want those higher watch times and a bigger following. And the sooner you can make it clear that your video isn’t like all the others in the trend, the better your chances will be of keeping that watch time nice and high.
A good example of this is when the “Duet” trend was so popular. It started with Bruno Mars doing split-screen “duets” with his fans. Then, TikTokers began doing dances, skits, and conversations using the new split-screen feature.
However, one of the most memorable duets came from a TikToker who set up his mom for a prank using the feature to make it look like other users were mocking her:
Instead of doing the typical duet, this video took off for a unique twist. So, always think about how you can make your version of a trending video stand out in a unique way.
5. Use 4-5 Hashtags Per TikTok
Alright, now,the no brainer part, the easy part, the part you should know already, but I am going to tell you anyway: once you’ve made a TikTok video, be sure to include 4-5 hashtags when you post it.
If you’re jumping on a trend, this is easy. Just use the hashtags associated with it.
On the other hand, if you’re making a completely original video for your industry, take some time to research which hashtags would be most relevant to the audience that you’re trying to attract.
Ideally, you want each of your 4-5 hashtags to have gained more than 100 million viewsin the past. This means these hashtags are extremely popular and that there are plenty of users who are still interested in these types of videos.
6. When Your Video Goes Viral, Upload, Upload, Upload
Follow those last five tips and your business is going to have success on TikTok.
It’s just a matter of time.
When that happens, my last tip is simple: post more.
A lotmore.
The moment you see that one of your company’s TikToks has caught fire, make similar videos in the same format. Assuming you’re currently posting 4-5 times a day, up that to 8-10. Keep creating the same types of videos until you are no longer seeing massive views. You want to take full advantage of this opportunity to grow your company’s account as much as possible so you build up a following that you can turn into customers.
Grow Your Company’s Market One TikTok at a Time
That’s it, guys.
TikTok as a marketing channel is pretty simple. As long as you keep at it, you’ll build a following you can use to increase sales. Just take it 10-13 seconds at a time.