1.7 billion users couldn’t be wrong, can they? TikTok’s short-form video and swipe style has been shown to capture and hold people’s attention. While the platform is known for fun challenges, dances, and lip syncs, it is also becoming a strong tool for professionals to communicate and consume information.
TikTok launched as an entertainment platform in September 2016, but the app saw tremendous growth during the pandemic. In fact, TikTok was the top downloaded app in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Not only was the number of individuals using TikTok growing, but so was the amount of time users spent on the program. According to Oberlo, the amount of time users spent on TikTok each day climbed by 24.6 minutes from 2019 to 2022, and predictions show that the amount of time will continue to increase — implying that it’s not too late to join TikTok and reap the rewards.
Here are three crucial recommendations for leveraging TikTok for your business:
1. Prioritize Personality And Purpose Over Information
The first thing businesses should realize is that simply being informative will not suffice on TikTok. It all comes down to having fun and engaging your present and potential audience. Make sure to show off your personality and be relatable while also being informative. The typical TikTok user’s attention span is 60 seconds, so it’s critical to get your point over quickly.
It’s also vital to find ways to make it personal while also sharing a greater sense of purpose. According to the National Safety Council, there will be approximately 62 million injuries, 224,935 preventable fatalities, and $1,225.4 billion in expenses in the United States alone in 2021.
2. Find Methods To Be Both Entertaining And Strategic
Second, while TikTok is an entertaining medium, organizations should still have a content strategy. Consider how many times per week/day to publish and when to post. There are platforms that assess the ideal times and days for your audience to post. Using these tools and sticking to a plan will also reduce stress when developing your TikTok profile. When developing my content, I consider three categories:
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Evergreen Content
Evergreen content is content that is always relevant, or even more generic, in the sense that it is not bound to a specific moment, event, or happening. Dr. Miami describing the history of plastic surgery is one example of this type of content.
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Reactive content
This is content that responds to something, such as a specific occurrence. Examples include ESPN sports commentator Stephen A. Smith addressing Victor Wembanyama becoming the first overall choice in the NBA draft and Dr. J Mack Slaughter reacting to Jeremy Renner being ran over by a snow plow.
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Timely content
Not to be confused with reactive content, this focuses on topics that happen on a regular basis, such as holidays, awareness days, or events. Dr. Daniel G Amen, for example, discusses the benefits of Dry January.
Consistency is also essential. Even if you aren’t getting the expected results, you must persevere. Use your existing social media outlets to help cross-pollinate your following. My TikTok, for example, contains a connection to my Instagram, and my Instagram includes a link to my TikTok, so my followers on both platforms know where else they can find me.
3. Identify And Expand On Viral Content
My third piece of advice is to double down on viral material. My first video about how to grow taller became viral, garnering over 1.1 million views. Because my audience seems to be very interested in this topic, I have continued to make videos about it, and those films have also gone viral, increasing my follower count, views, and interaction.
Being active on TikTok, even if it appears to be for fun and games, can result into actual business rewards for professionals. For me, this has included legal professionals contacting me for expert witness services, offers to serve on medical advisory boards, offers to be an ambassador for many products, more traffic to my website, and even media chances from journalists. Although it may appear scary, there are significant benefits to using TikTok as a tool to promote your business for founders.
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