With a billion users and growing, TikTok is no doubt the app of the moment. True enough, TikTok has recently been crowned the most popular app, driving droves of people to check out its platform to both consume and create content. TikTok’s surprising rise to fame has caught the attention of various stakeholders, with celebrities and marketers also now eyeing the platform as a means to expand their reach and further maximize their efforts.
With its unique structure and uncanny ability to drive trends, TikTok is a social media hotspot, making it a good platform choice for brand-building and engagement. Everyone seemingly wants a slice of TikTok’s pie, perhaps you, too, have had a thought or two about joining? If you’re looking to be part of the action and try your hands at being a TikTok creator, then you need not look further! Below are some creator best practices that might just help boost your TikTok performance right off the bat.
Virality 101
So, you want to be a ‘TikToker’ eh? Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place! Now, there are various guides out there that give you a ton of helpful tips and tricks to get started, so we decided to aggregate that information and present you with the most common overlaps and key notes across multiple sources. TikTok is such a dynamic environment that there really isn’t a “Fits All” guide anywhere. If there was, trust us, TikTok would’ve already released it by now. Then again, what fun would there be if everyone knew how to be a TikTok star, right?
1. Get Acquainted
To be great on the platform, you have to first understand how it works. Explore the platform and get a general feel of the dynamics and interactions of the various elements at play.
2. Embody The Culture
TikTok has a certain atmosphere, as most social platforms do. However, the cultural nuances of TikTok seem to stand out more compared to its competitors. The platform revolves around creating content for and by users, meaning that it highly encourages you to participate and not just consume. ‘Be part of TikTok’ is a clear message here.
3. Find Your Niche
Everyone will do better if they find a specific audience. Connect with people that have similar or at least highly-related interests. While you can stick to creating content that appeals to the masses, personalized content for a chosen set of viewers often leads to higher engagement. Establishing a niche also lets you better layout your audience profiles, allowing for more precise strategic adjustments.
4. Trends Matter
Tiktok isn’t only the trending app of the moment, but it’s also driven strongly by trends themselves. Memes, viral songs, audio-on, challenges, Hashtags – all of these are strong engagement drivers on the platform, as such, it then becomes your responsibility to adapt to these trends and integrate them into your content, while simultaneously ensuring that the end-product doesn’t come out as corny or tacky. You have to be able to ‘vibe’ with people.
5. Cadence
How often/frequently you post also matters. If you want to maintain your engagement levels and keep your audience hyped for new uploads, then you must practice posting consistently. Set up a manageable upload schedule and ensure that your content is of superb quality. Yes, TikToks may be short, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to post low-quality content. Speed with sauce is a must.
6. Be Authentic
No, we don’t mean to endorse expensive branded products; what we mean by being authentic is to stay true to who you are. Show people the real you and don’t try putting on a mask or alternate persona just to appeal to their interests. Majority of those on TikTok praise creators who are authentic and ‘Keep Things Real’. Don’t try to compete with Hollywood, let them be the ones to “Act”.
7. Engage With Users
Do you know the famous lines “LIKE, COMMENT, & SHARE”? Well, those are exactly what you need to do on TikTok. Your audience will appreciate you taking the time to respond and mingle with them; it makes them realize that they’re dealing with a person and not some bot behind the content they watch. Interacting with users also helps boost your reputation and appeal, allowing you to potentially expand your reach in the future.
8. Collab
Collaborations are well received on TikTok. Partner up with other creators and create content ‘Super Bowls’ for all viewers involved. You might even be able to tap into your partner-creator’s audience as a result.
The Wrap
That’s all there is to it. Then again, we also can’t say that these are all that you need to do because, in essence, each of these steps requires careful and diligent execution. Yes, technically it can be easy to start a TikTok account, it’s getting said account to the top of the ladder that becomes difficult. With a lot of patience and practice, this quick guide hopefully boosts you a couple of steps up towards becoming a TikTok star.
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