Plenty of us in the world of social media remember the early days of TikTok.

“Isn’t that a singing app?”

“It’s for kids, right?”

“That’ll never work for brands.”

It seemed unbelievable that a short-form video content app that favors the niche and chaotic would ever work for anyone but kids lip synching and dancing haphazardly in front of their iPhones. But now, available in over 150 countries, TikTok’s user count is creeping into the billions. That’s right, TikTok has over a billion users. (To put it into perspective, Instagram also has about a billion, and it’s been around for twice as long as TikTok.)

You might be thinking that your company is too serious or too small or too new or too traditional  for TikTok, but we want you to understand that when it comes to TikTok, you’re gonna need to throw any notions you have about social media out the window. Like, completely. 

In this article, we’re going to dig into how TikTok works, what it can do for your brand, how you can utilize it to generate leads, build a rapport with your customers, and grow your business.

HOW DOES TIKTOK WORK?

If you’re reading this article, there’s a chance you don’t really get the platform yet (if you do, feel free to scroll to the next section), so let’s do a quick runthrough of how it works. 

TikTok’s primary feed (called the “For You Page” or FYP) is an infinitely-scrolling video feed (3 minutes is the max length for now) that utilizes the best algorithm in the game. It keeps track of the content you watch, like, and comment on to dial in your interests to some of the most specific pieces of content you’ve ever seen. And believe us when we say that no interest is too niche; if you can think of it, it exists on TikTok. 

The platform utilizes hashtags to help users find the content they like, but what really makes TikTok stand out is its utilization of sounds. While you can opt to create and use your own audio over your video, TikTok has a built-in database of featured music and sounds created by other users. You can search for the sounds themselves, which gives users an opportunity to jump onto popular trends. What’s so fascinating about TikTok’s use of sound is that the sounds themselves have become meme-ified where trends are tied to sound rather than the traditional visual medium.

Videos are also parsed by filters—you can save your favorites and come back to them later. Similarly to the audio feature, filters themselves can also become meme-ified trends. 

TikTok is unique in that it pushes everyone’s content to someone else’s FYP; most of the people on your primary feed aren’t accounts that you follow and there’s a separate feed that only shows the people that you are following. This gives your content a chance to reach the right eyes without having to do much targeting besides your use of hashtags, sounds, and filters. That’s what makes it so powerful—you don’t necessarily need a lot of followers for a video to get a lot of likes and views. 

HOW DO BRANDS INTERACT WITH TIKTOK?

There are a few approaches to creating TikTok strategy—we’ve actually got a whole blog about it.

When it comes to the voice and tone of your posts, being a brand on TikTok is all about coming down to earth and getting in the mud with your customers. It’s about breaking the 4th wall that has to exist on polished platforms like Instagram or Pinterest and admitting that we’re all just people trying to make our companies work on social media. 

Generally speaking, the more you’re willing to throw norms and expectations and create content that’s just unhinged enough, the better your content is going to behave. Think of it this way: watching an account with a blue checkmark participating in a weird/funny TikTok trend is like seeing a celebrity at Target. It reminds us that they’re just like us, and that makes us like them more.

CASE STUDY: DUOLINGO

One of the brands pushing boundaries on TikTok is Duolingo, the popular language learning app. The star of their TikTok account is a green cartoon owl mascot named Duo (or, at least, someone wearing a giant Duo costume) who follows the latest TikTok trends that vary from cute and quirky to vulgar and bizarre. 

The genius behind Duo’s TikTok fame is 23-year-old Zaria Parvez, who wasn’t afraid to try something new. You can find videos of the mascot twerking in conference rooms, “thirsting” for Dua Lipa outside of her concerts, and running around Times Square with posters reminding people to do their language lesson for the day. 

The content isn’t what you would consider appropriate for a brand to post on social media, which is what makes it so good. TikTok is a platform that demands the outlandish, so don’t be afraid to try new things and be a little risque. You have to walk a fine line here, but it’s so worth it if you can do it right. 

THE FINAL WORD

With an algorithm that blows its competition out of the water, 1/7 of the world’s population on-platform, and an unlimited stream of content to take inspiration from, you should be utilizing TikTok.

Whether you go for a more-polished feed or think waaaaay outside the box, you just need to start creating content. We know that the idea of getting in front of a camera, editing video, and trying to stay on top of trends is intimidating, but it is very, very worth the time and effort. 

With engagement falling on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, it looks like TikTok is the platform of the future, and it’s better to hop on the train now than realize one day that you’ve been left behind. And if you need an extra hand, we’ve got your back—you can get in touch with us here.