Like other forms of social media, TikTok is a useful way to connect with your audience and potential customers. This is a platform that is diverse, authentic, and fun. People use it for entertainment, to learn new things, and even discover products. TikToks are so influential these days that you’ll see them bleed over to other platforms like Instagram and Facebook. If you’re new to creating TikToks or looking for additional ways to increase your views, continue reading for some tips to boost your discoverability.
Promoting TikTok Videos
We’re going to go over a few of the many ways you can promote your TikTok videos. These can be through paid or organic methods. Usually, it is a combination of both that hit the sweet spot and get you to a point where you’re getting more exposure.
If you’re looking to expand your unpaid opportunities in promoting your videos, the best thing to do is to understand how to optimize your content in a way that reaches more eyes. This includes incorporating SEO, considering accessibility, and tapping into trends.
TikTok and SEO
Your basic SEO research can get you far on TikTok, too. If you haven’t considered how search can play a role in your TikTok videos, now is the time. One way to go about optimizing your content is to utilize relevant keywords and hashtags. This can increase your chances of being seen by your target audience since it makes it easier for TikTok to populate your videos with content of similar topics. It’s also a good idea to keep some set hashtags that speak to your brand’s purpose in rotation.
TikTok and Accessibility
Another area of focus to increase your discoverability is to work on creating videos that are accessible to all. In addition to the general best practices you’re already aware of, also take note of what you can do specifically in regard to video.
One example is to add text overlays to your videos to create captions for your viewers. This is useful for any situation whether someone is hearing impaired or viewing your video in a quiet environment.
Take into consideration onscreen text characteristics too, like the font style, color, or placement. A video that is easy to watch is more likely to be viewed and, as a result, shared with others across the platform.
TikTok Trends
Now comes the fun but somewhat unpredictable and chaotic part: TikTok trends. While you can’t always tell what will go viral, you can stay knowledgeable of trending content if you keep a steady watch over the app and your niche within the app.
We’ve all seen TikTok dance videos or scrolled through a feed and noticed the same songs pop up throughout. This is one of the first places you can start with when creating popular content. Trending songs are often promoted by TikTok and can be a gateway to discovering varied content with the same sound. For example, how many videos have you seen in the past few months using music from the hit Netflix show, Wednesday? Or, how about those 2022 year-end recaps that featured the same voice followed by the same music?
There are also content trends you can keep up with. A few that have popped up recently include unboxing videos, package-an-order videos, “What I Do in a Day” videos, or behind-the-scenes videos. If you’re seeing similar content circulating that interests you, there’s a good chance it’s interesting to others too.
TikTok Promotions
The alternative route to promoting your brand on TikTok is through paid promotions. Ideally, you’d use these alongside your organic efforts to gain the most traction. One way this can be done is through TikTok Promote which gives you the ability to leverage current videos and turn them into ads. This is a great way to take something that’s already viral and add some fuel or give lower performing videos an extra boost.
It works similarly to ad features you may already be utilizing in other platforms. You’ll have the freedom to tailor the advertising to the constraints of your campaign. This means you can alter the timeline, the budget, and most importantly, the target audience. A few key things to keep in mind as you work through these — your videos can only be promoted if they are public and you can have your videos rejected if they violate any guidelines such as using copyrighted music, presenting misleading claims, showing graphic content, or a number of other reasons.
Once it’s all set up, all that’s left is to launch the campaign and wait for results to come in. Once your campaign is completed, you’ll receive access to analytics that will give you insight on how well it performed. This information is valuable for sharing performance metrics but also for helping you gauge what to tailor for future campaigns.
Costs to Promote on TikTok
Like any other platform you’re promoting content on, TikTok paid advertisements require a budget. You can factor these expenses into your annual budget plan. At a minimum, you’ll need $50 in your budget to cover an ad campaign. From there, prices can increase to the hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands depending on what type of reach you’re after. The best bet is to start off small and experiment before allocating your whole marketing budget towards TikTok.
What about other costs of promotion? Well, ads aren’t the only kinds of paid marketing. You can also employ influencers to spread the word about your brand. Those on TikTok who already have a large following are ideal to reach out to with partnership opportunities. Costs here can vary depending on who you’ve partnered with. Major celebrities or influencers with massive followings can charge thousands for a sponsored post while micro influencers can be more affordable.
The Takeaway
TikTok is one of the most powerful social media platforms being used today and has completely changed the way we consume videos, forcing other platforms to take note and follow suit. There are plenty of opportunities to capture new audiences and engage current ones by jumping on board. Take to it just like you would other social accounts by creating engaging content and regularly uploading new videos. With its relaxed culture that focuses on showcasing the real rather than filtered realities, this is a fun and refreshing new way to market your brand. Thanks to TikTok, video content is here to stay and more popular than ever.
