How to get started with TikTok

And why you might want to make it part of your marketing

This week I thought I’d tackle a whole social media platform - TikTok. It has gone from people telling me ‘I don’t want to dance, so I’m not doing TikTok’ to asking me whether they should be on it, which is usually what happens when a platform continues to grow and attract different audiences over time.

As with anything I would first say this, and if you’ve been on my mailing list for a while you already know what I’m going to say. You don’t have to do TikTok, and in fact if you are just doing it because you feel that it’s something you should do, then it is not going to end well. And also, if you want to do TikTok then you will absolutely find your audience on there.

Don’t ever think that a certain platform is ‘not for you’ because that just isn’t true. In today’s modern world there is nothing that isn’t for you, everyone is using social media and other platforms in new ways every single day and your tribe is definitely out there to be found on TikTok, or any other platform for that matter.

So what does being successful on TikTok take? And what does that tell us about marketing and content creation?

Well, first up, TikTok is not for the faint hearted when it comes to content creation.

I think that your content is the key to any marketing that you do, and finding great ways to tell your awesome stories is always going to be a differentiator between you and others online when it comes to finding and connecting with your audience.

TikTok is driven by short video content, although there is now more photo content on there as well. So if this isn’t something that you’ve done before, and you’re not keen to get started then you might want to think about leaving TikTok until you are ready to tackle learning the (not difficult) skills you need to create short videos.

This doesn’t mean that you need to be dancing, or that you’re suddenly going to need to spend hours per day creating video content, or buy any special equipment. The videos that I used to grow my TikTok account to over 1k followers in 6 months were made and edited on my phone and took me around 20 minutes each to create once I’d figured out what kind of videos I wanted to create.

But it does mean that you are going to need to learn how to make these videos, with your business goals and audience in mind, and really get good at the storytelling that TikTok loves to push out.

Next up you are going to need to be consistent on TikTok. This is not the platform for you if you are going to post 3 videos and then leave it for a month.

You don’t have to go crazy, I’ve seen so many things saying that you should post 3x per day, and that is excessive, well I think it’s excessive if you run a small business!

What this kind of advice is trying to tap into is that idea that you are going to create videos consistently and very quickly over a short space of time to see rapid growth. It’s the idea that if you post 3x per day you’ll quickly get over yourself and just create content, you’ll learn fast about how to create videos, you’ll learn fast about what your audience on TikTok like, you’ll see what’s working and be able to double down on that quickly as well.

One of the key things you need to remember about TikTok is that there are so many ways to use it and monetize your account on it. This means that rapid growth and rapid posting would perhaps work well for someone who is all in on getting 1k followers to use lives to sell products or get virtual gifts that turn into actual money, or get to 10k and get into the Creator Rewards Programme.

For you as a small business owner, you’re coming to this to find more of your people, who are going to connect with what you do and work with you or buy your products. This kind of growth is not something that, I think, needs this rapid growth or super frequent posting, instead you can use it to learn some great new content creation skills and grow steadily over time.

Which brings us back to consistency. What does it actually mean on TikTok? I’ve started a second account on TikTok for my business and for my Content Club which focuses on giving small business owners tips around how to create content and do their marketing.

What I’ve found in the 3 months I’ve had the account is that posting around 3x per week does well. It means I’ll get good consistent views on my videos, the odd one that does better than others, and I’m gaining followers here and there over time. It seems to be the sweet spot for my account.

To start with, think about the content that you want to create on TikTok. How often can you realistically create that over time to start with? You might be doing videos for the first time, so they are going to take longer as you get started. Committing to once a week is more than enough if you know that it means you’ll show up and do it. Once your video skills are better and your content ideas are flowing you can always post more, but trying to commit to something that is too much will only end up in you doing nothing, which doesn’t help you at all.

So, you’ve thought about your content, you’ve committed to your consistency, what else do you need to think about? Finding your audience!

Now here is where I do think that TikTok needs to come with a slight warning. Whilst some countries in the world are worried about an app made in China spying on them, I would argue that TikTok does not need to spy on us. Instead they have created an app which is so addictive that they could do almost anything while we’re all staring at our phone screens having LOLs about the TeaTime alarm in the UK. (No shade, I spent a lot of time watching TeaTime alarm videos and didn’t feel any of it was wasted!)

My first attempt at TikTok did not end well. It was highly addictive and I was sucked in straight away, spending far more time on the app than I wanted to. In the end I had to delete it as I realised that it was taking up so much of my time.

So what had changed when I returned to create my Leighton Buzzard Local account, or more recently my Digital Deconstructed one?

Well, it always helps to know what you’re up against, so I used a couple of tricks that I’ve used before around my own screen time. I set a timer for 10 minutes, and when it goes off I will ask myself ‘am I having fun?’ If the answer is no, then I’m all done. If I am having fun, then I’ll go for another 10 minutes and then I’ll close the app and go do something else.

How are you going to find your audience, if I’ve just told you you’re going to lose hours of your life to this app? Well, I just think that forewarned is forearmed, so you know now that it’s completely normal to go onto TikTok and down a rabbit hole when you first start.

So create a rabbit hole that you like! Get into the search on TikTok and find videos that you like, find others in your industry. You’re going to need at least one cute cat account (I have two favs, I can’t decide on just one!), and don’t be afraid to create a For You Page that reflects what you like and enjoy. TikTok will use this to push your video out to others who like the same things.

And engage with those videos. When you first start your account you’ll get loads of videos about how to ‘go viral’ ‘get 10k followers in 30 days’ etc. I wouldn’t bother watching them, or interacting with them much. But do go and find some other videos. Like them, comment on them, share them with others. TikTok, like any other platform, wants you to be part of the community, so engaging does two things - it shows TikTok what you like and where to show your videos, and it shows TikTok that you want to be there and find your own community too.

Another great tip here is to save videos that you like that you’d like to create yourself. If there is a style you’re seeing, a template you like, a sound someone has used that you want to use, hit save and keep those. It’s great engagement and you’ve now got a bank of video ideas to work towards creating.

I hope this has been helpful to break down TikTok a bit and give you an idea of where to start if that’s something you want to do.

Want to get started on TikTok? Or Insta? Or nail your content? Or get started making short videos? Or become the voice of your industry on LinkedIn? Then you need to join my Content Club! I’m the Marketing Director you need for your small business, and you can afford me too! I’m currently looking for my first 50 Founder Members to join me, and I’d love you to be one of them. Find out more here.

If you live locally to Leighton Buzzard I’m running a TikTok workshop on Wednesday 18th June where I’ll be doing over all of this in more detail as well a breaking down how to create 3 types of popular video for TikTok (or Reels or YouTube Shorts) - vlog style, face to camera and using trending sounds. If that sounds good then just hit reply and I’ll send you more details and the booking link.

Chat soon
Laura