Communicating on TikTok: advice and strategy to get started

More and more brands have figured it out now: TikTok is a marketing opportunity not to be missed.

Users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the application. 52 minutes of "available brain time" each day to promote your brand.

But to perform on TikTok, you need to understand the codes and know how to reappropriate them.

First of all, you should know that the most important thing is to produce formats between 0 and 60 seconds in portrait mode. Relying on a snack content logic can also be very effective.

→ As a reminder: snack content is a short format that gets straight to the point.

The strength of this social network is that it is easy to use, both for users and for content creators. Indeed, the latter can produce their videos entirely from TikTok, which allows them to give free rein to their creativity, free from technical constraints.

Thus, there is a great diversity of content and niches (humor, travel, dance, sports, beauty, cooking) that are fed with informative or entertaining formats.

The creative possibilities are therefore very varied! To help you find your voice, here are our tips for communicating well on TikTok.

Set up an effective communication on TikTok

1. Create videos that stand out

Being recognizable is a real marketing issue, and TikTok is no exception. Creating a content strategy that stands out will help catch your target's attention and prevent your videos from drowning in their 'For You' feed without being noticed.

Take the time to focus on creating content that is unique. But also think about respecting the production logic of TikTok, especially by respecting the different video formats that exist on the application.

Some content creators have developed their own DNA that makes them easily identifiable. This is the case of @monsieurpof; who always uses the same tone and the same kind of outfit in his videos.

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2. Interact with your community

It is obviously important to exchange with your community, in order to maintain a certain form of proximity with it. By exchanging regularly with your community, you will be able to maintain a relationship, especially through comments, duets or collages.

This will allow you toincrease the engagement of your community in the long term. It is better to have a small, highly engaged community than a large, less loyal one.

TikTok's algorithm takes into account user interactions on your videos, to determine the reach with which they will be broadcast. So an engaged audience can really make a difference.
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3. Publish content regularly

On TikTok, it is also crucial to publish content on a regular basis, so that your community will remember you.

But above all, publishing regularly tells the algorithm that you are a regular and assiduous creator . Social networks always reward regularity and assiduity of their users.  

Once you find out what type of content works with your audience, take the opportunity to publish as many videos as possible. Also, do it on the same days. The algorithm is able to analyze your posting habits and value your consistency and regularity. Choose days to publish and stick to them!

4. Telling a story

Storytelling is very powerful on TikTok. Telling a story allows you to keep the attention of your audience and therefore ensures a good Watch Time. Now, the average viewing time is very important for the algorithm. 

The more users watch your entire video, the more likely TikTok will share it with more people.

5. Be authentic

TikTok is a social network that values authenticity. Creating very elaborate content works well on Instagram, while on TikTok, we favor a more natural communication.

Stay spontaneous in the way you shoot your videos. This will allow you to stay close to the formats that users are used to seeing on the platform.

6. Participate in trends by adapting them to your universe or that of your brand

To be able to participate in trends and challenges, you need to constantly monitor hashtags, music, and content published on TikTok. 

But above all, you have to know how to adapt this trend to your niche and your universe. The goal is to adapt the trend to your communication strategy and the type of content you publish on your account. This will ensure that you remain consistent and bring value to your audience.

7. Focus on entertainment

Entertainment remains the most popular type of content on TikTok. Entertaining your audience can be very profitable. 

The idea is to stay in your niche, but to be willing to treat your topics in an entertaining way in order to appeal to your audience. Anecdotes, for example, are both entertaining and use the same storytelling logic that works for the application!

8. Humanize your communication

TikTok's offer is singular:"Don't make ads, make TikTok ".

Indeed, marketing campaigns on the platform are necessarily limited in time, while TikToks are long-lasting.

This platform is an opportunity for you to change the codes and tell your brand story directly to your audience.

Content creators on TikTok are used to being spontaneous and authentic with their community. This social network is a real platform for personal expression, where creative collaboration (between creators and brands in particular) is facilitated.

If you want to be inspired by brands that humanize their communication very well on TIkTok, we let you discover these examples of brands that have broken through on the app.
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9. Offer high value-added content

On TikTok, the most important thing is to deliver value to your audience. It is indeed essential to have a real perceived added value, since it is precisely this added value that generates engagement and subscriptions.

For each TikTok you post, you need to ask yourself: what does my audience get out of it?
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10. Collaborate with content creators

You can also use content creators who are in the same niche as you. The advantage is that they have alreadygenerated a qualified audience for your sector. They will be able to redirect them to your account, or to your website as part of a marketing campaign.

Some companies go so far as to hire content creators to produce TikTok videosdirectly on their brand's account . This is a way to ensure that the content is well adapted to their audience.

You can use the Creator Marketplace in TikTok for Business to identify the right content creator for you.
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11. Test the native tools of TikTok

To grow on TikTok, you should try its native tools. The application is well made, so you should not hesitate to make the most of it.

For example, you can explore trendy music, popular filters and all the video creation features available.

Just click on the small "+" in the bottom middle of the screen to open the video creation part. At the bottom right of this interface, you will see the available filters. And at the very top, you can access the music.
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Once you have made a capture for your video, you will also be able to see how to "Adjust Clips", add "Captions" and "Add Text" via the different elements available on the right.

Test as many features as possible, it will allow you to diversify your content!
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12. Use analytical data

TikTok provides very precise data on the performance of each video you produce. This is a wealth of information that you should definitely study, for your content strategy. Analyze what worked best for you and apply it.

Test, analyse and reproduce!

You must never stop trying new things : it is the key to communicate well on TikTok. So you should always try to innovate and challenge yourself!

On the other hand, avoid an overly institutional tone, overly polished videos, or a marketing campaign with an advertising angle (like on TV). These are not formats that users are used to seeing on TikTok. These communication formats are therefore unlikely to be effective, while they often require more production time.

It's best to do Test & Learn on formats that don't take a lot of time, but feel authentic.

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What kind of content on TikTok?

If the vertical video reigns on TikTok, there are still several formats to communicate:

• Videos about your brand and products

You have to find a very natural and fun tone to fit naturally into the flow of the videos. Since corporate communications don't work on TikTok, you need to find the right balance between the two. 

The choice of music also plays an important role, you need to choose music that is related to your brand/content while being used regularly by other content creators.

• The challenges

Every week, all kinds of challenges are proposed to TikTok users. Some of them become very popular and encourage users to share their own videos. 

You must participate in this kind of content. You can even go so far as to launch challenges yourself. This will increase your visibility, and potentially get users involved in creating content related to your brand.‍

• Duets with designers

The principle of duets is to echo an existing video by copying its spirit. The viral effect can be worldwide, and it is necessary to follow the trends on a daily basis to identify the videos that are rising.

In addition, on TikTok, there are a lot of content categories:

• Humor: TikTok's humorous videos rely heavily on audio.
• Gaming: Gaming videos are very popular with the young audience. For example, there are clips from Fornite, GTA, Apex, and many other popular games.
• Beauty/fashion : makeup tutorials or videos are extremely popular on the platform. The hauls and outfits of the day are also very popular.
• Educational content : the hashtag #TikTokacademie remains very important on the platform. Many content creators choose to educate their audience on a variety of topics.

The list is not exhaustive, there are a lot of possibilities on TikTok and you just have to do a little bit of research on your niche to realize it!

Just keep in mind that the TikToks that perform well areusually native : that is to say, adapted to the platform, while bringing value. Often, it turns out that they follow a trend or use a production logic known on TikTok.

The importance of music

TikTok is difficult to conceive without sound. Most of the formats are built with a music on which the logic of the video is based.

The choice of music is therefore essential on TikTok, whether it is in the foreground or background. It is the best way for you to reach a larger audience. It just has to be related to your content, because it will give an instant native dimension to your video.

Integrate your music on TikTok

The challenges are created according to the latest trends. For example, Wejdene became known because one of his songs exploded on TikTok.

The power of music challenges is considerable. You can even earn money via Qeels, by participating in challenges on TikTok.

Qeels proposes you challenges in which you can participate. For example, for the sound of Gambino la MG (ft. Tiakola), you can win between 150€ and 250€. It's time to get started and enjoy a new way to earn money with TikTok.

What does it cost to communicate on TikTok?

To communicate on TikTok,you need a lot of time. And in a way, time is money.

You'll have to find theright niche strategyfor you, and that may take a while.

You will also need to understand why this or that content works or not. This A/B testing method allows you to see what your audience likes the most, and therefore to evaluate the best strategy for your brand. And it's a method that doesn't necessarily require a budget, if you have a good expertise on TikTok in-house.

On the other hand, if TikTok seems like another world to you, you may waste a lot of time and energy testing different types of content. 

To launch your account, it can be interesting to be accompanied by our agency, which masters the codes of the platform and will help you to break through on TikTok.