What you need to know

‍

For a couple of years, TikTok has been known as the dancing platform for GenZ’s, but here’s a key fact: it’s the most effective way to skyrocketing your sales in 2024 (and no, no worries, you don’t need to dance or lip-sync to achieve it).

‍

Just think about this: TikTok has an audience of over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. That's roughly one-seventh of the world's population logged in, watching, and interacting. Imagine the millions of potential customers hiding in that huge amount of TikTokers.

‍

This quick and beginner-friendly guide will arm you with effective tactics and invaluable insights to increase your business sales with TikTok.

Understanding TikTok (with facts)
‍

Through my experience as user and creator of the platform, I’ve identified 3 characteristics traits that make TikTok so different from other platforms and that you should consider for your business.

‍

1.    Instead of aiming for perfection, TikTokers value organic content.

‍

• Unpolished and“effortless” videos have +33% stronger retention (vs. videos that are polished)— TikTok.
• What this means for your business: forget about the over-produced content and bet on organic videos (i.e.: behind the scene of a product/service creation, answering to the most asked questions, your routine, etc).
  ‍

2.    Instead of copying creators, TikTokers value authenticity.

‍

• On TikTok, there are more than 500 million businesses and countless small businesses available.
• What this means for your business: show your brand’s personality in your own style to differentiate from them all. You can set your own style in the 1) tone of communication, 2) editing style, 3) video recording, 4) elements in the video and much more.
  ‍

3. Instead of googling, TikTokers “TikTok it"

‍

• Nearly 40% of Gen Z members prefer TikTok for online searches, according to internal data from Google.
• What this means foryour business: unlike other social media platforms, on TikTok it’s more likely your product or service would be discovered due to this new trend. Therefore,your social media strategy should be consumer-centric.

‍

Unpolished and “effortless” videos have +33%stronger retention (vs. videos that are polished) — TikTok.

‍

‍

Understanding the TikTok Algorithm for Business Sales
‍

Now that you understood what’s TT about, let’s dive into the most technical yet important part of the platform: the algorithm.

‍

The mysterious "ForYou" page is what TikTok's algorithm primarily controls. An unique blend of machine-learning and artificial intelligence, this algorithm provides personalised recommendations for each user. It takes into account several factors:

‍

• User interactions: TikTok observes how users interact with different types of content. The videos they share, like, and spend time watching are all crucial here (that’s why your content should be shareable or engaging in some way).
• Video details: The details of the video also matter. These include details from hashtags and geolocation tags to whether the footage is user-generated or from an official business account (that’s why you should specify clearly what your video is about, in the video and in the description).
• Device and account settings: Information from your smartphone and settings also play into what content the algorithm provides, like your country of residence, preferred language, categories of interest, to name a few (that’s how you can target your content to specific people or regions).

‍

The mysterious "For You" page is whatTikTok's algorithm primarily controls. An unique blend of machine-learning and artificial intelligence, this algorithm provides personalised recommendations for each user.

‍

‍

How to leverage TikTok’s algorithm for business growth
‍

This algorithm can be advantageous for businesses if appropriately leveraged. The personalized "For You" page can serve as a powerful marketing tool to reach potential customers.

There are hundreds of tips and recommendations, but as a Content Manager, I know what is more important for you to understand at first. I’ll narrow it for you:

‍

Before we continue big shout out to content partner DesignRush

‍

1. Hooks are a must-have
    
   • “Hooks” are that something that grabs your attention and makes you watch the video. They can be visual hooks (something visually appealing, like a landscape, irregular shapes, interesting objects and more), they can also be written/spoken hooks (something that you say which shocking, amazing or interesting “if I had to start all over again in ______, this is what I’ll do _______” or “This simple mistake could be costing you hundreds of euros”) or it can be the combination of both.
 
2. Your videos NEED to be search optimized
   
   I told you before that this is how you train the algorithm to recognize your content topic.

How do you do it?

‍

Firstly, create content that your audience wants and needs to see. My favourite way to doit is to go to TikTok’s explore page and analyse the search.

‍

‍

‍

Secondly, add keywords to your content. In the Tesla example, I’d make sure to add the brand, the model and characteristics of it to the title, the description, the hashtags and more.

‍

‍

And lastly, analyse & adjust for better performance. Because the social media environment it’s a lot about creation and iteration.

‍

3. Create high-quality videos

 
• This applies for the video, the sound and the background.
 
• For video: if you don’t have a ring light or anything similar, record your videos facing a window to take advantage of the sunlight. And ALWAYS record with your back camera, not the frontal one because it lowers the quality.
 
• For the sound: if you don’t have a microphone, try to record in a quiet place. If the noise is too notorious, edit the audio once the video is finished. Cap Cut can help you if it’s simple.
 
• For the background: you don’t need to spend tons in creating the most luxurious background, you just need to make sure it looks neat and visually appealing.

‍

And the tip you shouldn’tforget: let the best of your brand personality speak. The best videos are the simpler, yet creative ones. Try, practice, iterate it and repeat!

‍

Ready to start on TikTok?
‍

I promise you TikTok is easier than it sounds and this beginner-friendly guide will make your journey easier with everything I’d love to know if I had to start over on the platform.

One last piece of advice? Each video you post is a unique opportunity to connect, convert, and conquer! Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.

Now the ball is in your field, good luck! I know you’ll rock it.

Valentina

‍

‍