10 Tips for Creating Unique Content for TikTok
3.5 billion downloads…let’s say that again. According to Investopedia, TikTok has been downloaded over 3.5 billion times worldwide, meaning it's one of the most popular social media platforms ever. Around 39% of those users globally are aged 18 to 24. So, if you’re interested in your business reaching this demographic or some new audiences, you might want to get your brand onto the platform.
But, what does launching your brand on TikTok look like and where do you begin? How do you create content to reach new audiences? That’s where we come in. Below, we’ve outlined 10 tips for creating unique content for TikTok, and where to start when launching your profile or trying to grow on the platform. If you’re looking for a comprehensive plan to boost your business on TikTok, find out how we can help you elevate your strategy to get the most out of the platform.
How to Create Unique Content
Now, here’s our comprehensive guide on where to start and how to create unique content that will help your brand stand out on one of the world’s most-used social media platforms.
1. Know Your Brand
Before you can even begin making a TikTok video, you must understand whether the platform is right for you and your brand persona. Who is your target audience? How old are they? Where do they live? What about your brand appeals to them? Do you want them to see a new side to you? Ultimately you have to decide how you want your business to be perceived on TikTok before you even begin to strategize specific content.
If you’re not sure where to start when trying to identify your brand voice on TikTok, we suggest looking into competitor behaviour and general industry trends. For example, if you are a bar in London looking to promote your brand on the platform, you need to first ask yourself, what are other bars doing? How are they connecting with audiences? How are audiences responding to their content? How are your target audiences responding to other content on the platform? Once you’ve answered these questions, you can start thinking about the actual content you’d like to create and share.
2. Be Authentic
Being authentic on TikTok is arguably the most important piece of advice we can give you. More so than on any other platform, TikTok users can see right through advertisements or “fake” content. TikTok’s main purpose is to entertain rather than to directly market or sell to users. The platform's users want to understand who you are and build a personal connection with your brand beyond just seeing your products or services.
Forbes highlights the way TikTok has revolutionised the social media industry by “further democratizing content creation.” What does this mean exactly? It means to reach and pull audiences on the platform, you don’t need to use the most advanced filming equipment or spend huge amounts on big productions or intense advertisements, but you just have to focus on delivering your authentic story on the platform.
3. Create “Native” Content
“Native Content” simply means content specifically created for the TikTok platform in a 16x9 format. Not only does this make your video look better for viewers, but as LinkedIn recently explained, the platform’s algorithm tends to prioritise videos created directly in the app, using built-in features or editing tools including writing, audio, clipping, dueting, and more.
So, if you’re looking to create content specifically for TikTok, we suggest using the platform's tools to your advantage. Film directly in the app using audio, effects, and editing functionalities to help your video stay as authentic and in line with the platform's algorithm as possible. Here, we’d also like to emphasise the use of hashtags and tags on TikTok. Much like Instagram, hashtags allow users to search on the platform for content by topic. According to Sendible, hashtags act as keywords that “help the TikTok algorithm show your videos to your target audience.” Basically, they act as a form of social SEO to help target your videos and, hopefully, boost them to reach users for your pages.
4. Be Entertaining
As we’ve mentioned in an earlier point, TikTok is not designed for marketers, it’s designed purely for entertainment. So, your brand’s success on TikTok is not about trying to sell with every post, but rather about being entertaining. Investopedia highlights that “conventional advertising that stresses a product’s superior qualities doesn’t work” on the platform. But rather, “light, fun campaigns” are what really resonate with TikTok audiences.
People don’t use the platform to sell products or experiences; they use the platform as an escape from reality and to feel entertained. So, don’t get swept up in the “message” of a video or the selling point you’re trying to promote. Just show people who you are and have fun with it!
7. Feature People
To keep your content engaging and to build a real connection between your brand and your audience, we suggest featuring people throughout your TikTok as much as possible. As we’ve mentioned, people can see right through marketing tactics and are on the platform purely for entertainment. One of the best ways to stay authentic on the platform is to feature people including your team, your customers, and influencers where possible.
People-centric content can include interviews, behind-the-scenes shots, funny voiceovers, and so much more, and is often one of the best ways to get creative on TikTok. By crafting an engaging narrative or highlighting personal stories, you can infuse your brand's unique personality into your content. Whether you choose to show off your internal team or your customers enjoying your experience or product, the storytelling possibilities are virtually endless.
6. Use Trending Audio Effectively
Trending audios include music tracks and voiceover sounds and can be used to your advantage on TikTok. Put simply, trending audios are sounds that are being used regularly on the platform and are appearing in people's feeds. LinkedIn highlighted that utilising TikTok sounds is a great strategy for creating content that resonates with your audience and can help you “go viral” which is ultimately going to help your business grow. Users on TikTok often search for content based on popular songs or audio trends they have seen. For example, last year we saw the “girl dinner” trend span social platforms and countless individuals and businesses hopped on the trend. This helps you stay relevant and show a more playful side.
While it’s important to stay on top of trends and trending audio, it’s also important to “stay in your lane” so to speak. Essentially, don’t just jump on a trend for the sake of it; instead, consider what trends align with your brand and choose those.
7. Be Original
Now saying use trending audio and then saying be original might sound contradictory, but stick with us here - we promise it’s not! Starting with trending audio is a great strategy to gain viewership on TikTok, however, just copying and pasting trends alone will not help you stand out from the crowd (think about it - if everyone’s doing it, why would anyone be interested in you doing it too?). Consider this instead: find a way to take your own spin on a trending audio. Don’t just duplicate what’s already out there, but figure out how to make it original and unique to you to appeal to your audience.
Beyond this, for trending content to be effective, we suggest balancing it with some totally unique content that purely reflects your brand ideas and creativity. This can truly be anything that you feel will help your audience connect with you. We know it’s easy to say but hard to come up with ideas out of thin air. If you’re looking for more unique and interesting content ideas for your account, contact us today and we can work with you to harness your brand's unique perspective on TikTok.
8. Keep it short
Sadly, there is no “perfect” length for a TikTok video, and the jury is still out on exactly how long a video should be. However, a lot of the industry agrees that keeping your content short and sweet will help keep audiences interested in what you have to say. You need to entice people in immediately; if the first few seconds of your video aren’t gripping, they’re likely to scroll right past.
Remember, a single video isn’t supposed to tell a viewer every single thing they need to know about your business, so focus on just one idea or concept per video and run with it. Although TikTok technically allows you to create videos that are anywhere from 3 seconds to 10 minutes long, we suggest keeping them under 1 minute and finding a balance anywhere from 15 seconds to 45 seconds long to keep your audience engaged.
9. Be consistent
Posting on TikTok is great, but posting regularly is key to success. Much like any other social platform, the more you post, the more your content will appear in people’s feeds, and thus the more likely you are to get noticed. Although it’s possible to reach huge audiences with just one successful post (and really does happen on TikTok), your odds are vastly greater if you share consistent, high-quality content.
When it comes to planning and posting, we suggest creating long-term content strategies that include specific posts and content ideas. This long-term plan ensures you regularly post to keep your account active, increasing your chances of both reaching new audiences and keeping your existing audiences engaged.
10. Respond to your analytics
Last, but really and truly not least, you’ve got to look at what is or isn’t working for you. While the above advice will help you create content for the platform, there is no definitive way to guarantee your content will get the response you expect - we are after all relying on human consistency. Once you’ve shared any content on the platform, take a look at its performance.
Consider what you want your content to achieve. Are you looking to reach new audiences? Are you looking to get more likes? Are you looking to get more followers? Are you looking for more comments on your content? Figure out your priorities and take a look at what content is performing the best in regards to what you actually want.
Once you’ve examined your content, and you understand what is vs. isn’t working, you can determine what style of content to create more of.
Some ideas to start with:
Tutorial
Share tutorials for how to use your product or service or how your team creates a product. For example, a chef explains how he/she makes the most popular dish on the menu.
Behind the scenes
Create behind-the-scenes videos to show the personality of your company. For example, if your business has team-building days - show this on TikTok.
Trending voiceovers
We’ve mentioned trending sounds, but trending voiceovers are often some of the funniest and most engaging ways to get your staff involved and make your account feel more authentic.
Get to know our team
Meet the team style content almost always does well. Introduce your restaurant's head chef or your spa’s head masseuse. This adds credibility to your account and helps people feel connected to you.
Menu or product hacks
By hacks, we don’t mean sneaky workarounds, we mean fun and engaging tips for your customers. This can include styling tips, pre/post-treatment tips, menu hacks and more.
Fun facts
Fun facts can encompass anything about your business, from facts about your ingredients or supplies to your team, to your inspiration, and more.
Influencer partnerships
Influencers already have a large following who trust them, so working with these influencers can help immediately add credibility to your business, and help you reach new accounts. When partnering with influencers, however, it is critical that you ensure these influencers are authentic and in line with your brand values as partnering with influencers who are inauthentic or do not.
Long-Term Tips To Consider
The 10 tips outlined above are designed to help you create unique content for your business’s TikTok page, but sadly there is more to being successful on the platform than the content alone. We know, we know it’s a never-ending world of strategy and ideation when it comes to social media, but it really does all pay off in the end. So, beyond just creating great content, there are some more tips and tricks to consider that we’ve just touched on below. Stay tuned for a detailed piece on some more overarching TikTok strategies soon, but for now, here are a few pieces of advice.
If you’re looking for more guidance on how to create engaging content for your business on TikTok, and create a strategy for social media success, let our team of experts help you. Get in touch today.
