Does Your Business Really Need To Be On TikTok?

Ahh, TikTok. Governments are fighting over it, people of all ages can’t stay off of it and businesses all over are wondering if they should be allocating budget into making larger-than-life costumes of their brand mascots.

Between 2018 and 2020, TikTok saw a 1157.76% increase in its global user base. Since then, inside jokes and obscure references have made their way into everyday conversations, leaving some who aren’t on the app in the dust. Despite mixed feelings around the social platform, one thing is undeniable, short form video content is engaging.

The average attention span of humans has shrunken about 4.25 seconds since Y2K. That leaves us, marketers, a whopping 8.25 seconds to captivate, inform and hopefully engage our target audience. With less than 10 seconds on the clock, and quite an array of social media platforms to choose from, how do you soundly invest time, resources and money onto a platform that many still don’t really get?

Beyond the concern that is in the room with us right now (cough, TikTok’s future in America), running a social media account on an app that asks for dynamic, on-time content is no small feat, in fact, it’s a person’s full-time job. I chatted with Natalie Steinman, the social video producer for Forbes Vetted and she gave me some insight into what really goes on behind the scenes of creating a TikTok video for a business.

First, you have to do some research. If you tend to see your time on TikTok as strictly business and not pleasure, block some time off and get to scrolling. Entering the mindset of the user will allow you to see the type of content brands like yours are creating, and how they interact with their audience on the platform. Keep an eye out for what’s currently trending on the app, what has the potential to trend soon, and what is on its way out. You want to ensure that the video style and sound you choose to move forward with are at the precipice of interest on the app, otherwise you risk the video not exactly landing, or worse–making your brand appear out of touch.

After nailing down concepts for the next big video, pitching them to management, getting the green light and purchasing whatever props may be necessary, it’s time for a content shoot. In one day, Natalie films, stars in, and edits about 2-3 pieces of content, each taking anywhere from 2 to 6 hours to fully produce and edit. During filming, she references a shot-list that details all relevant talking points, and editing is a whole other thing. Using TikTok’s editor, she smoothes out the transitions, ensures the sound is synching well, and that the copy is correct and legible.

Finally, the content is sent out for approval. The “finally” is ironic, because if anyone gets a piece of content approved for posting as V1, it’s a good day to play the lottery. While revisions are being typed up, Natalie works with the data team to pull trending keywords and hashtags she could use to enrich the video’s caption for SEO. Once she’s made the final edits on her video, the thumbnail is approved and closed captioning has been added, it’s time to go live.

A fresh, new 42-second video is out in the world, and all it took was a total of about 3 working days. Natalie will then monitor the video’s performance and create a report with takeaways on what worked well and what didn’t, in order to inform her future self on what to do differently.

With over 97.6 million users in the United States alone, there is no doubt that TikTok can be a place to diversify your audience and expand your reach. With the right timing and strategy, many have been able to successfully turn TikTok into a primary place to reach and engage new consumers. Plenty of leaders across industries like beauty, fashion, health, home and travel have jaw-dropping stories of overnight sweeps of inventory, and those exceptional cases of instant virality bring us back here, wondering, should my brand be on TikTok?

Look at TikTok like bringing a chocolate cake to a party. You could have all the finest ingredients and follow the recipe to a T, but if half of the party prefers vanilla and the other half has a gluten intolerance, no one is going to eat your cake.

TikTok, like any other marketing tool, can only take you so far. Sure, having the perfect strategy, the latest equipment, and even a dedicated professional who understands the intricacies and quick-moving nature of the app can help. But, if your target audience isn’t big on using the app, there’s not much you can do on TikTok to reach them.

Getting to know your audience, their social habits and the ways they like to connect with the brands that they love will help you reach them in a way that is most effective for you. This way, you won’t be wasting your time baking a cake for people you obviously don’t know too well.

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