For the last few months, TikTok has been the first-ranking domain on the entire internet. Any guesses as to which domain TikTok beat? It was Google.
TikTok surpassed Google... Let that sink in!
The implications of this are huge, especially if you are trying to capture some of that Gen-Z market. At least 40% of your Gen Z consumers are using TikTok as a search engine instead of Google. Source: (HubSpot 2023).
What this means for you is that your potential customer is out there searching for exactly what your business has to offer, and you are not appearing in their searches. So the question has to be asked: How can they find you if you are not appearing in their search? How can they give you money if they don’t know who you are or that you exist even? They don’t.
And conversely, you are losing money to your competitor that IS USING TikTok.
But not all is lost; in fact, there’s pretty much everything to be gained here. TikTok has opened a world of opportunities for businesses, and today I'll give you three no-BS tips I've used with my clients to transform TikTok from a cringey dancing app to a true revenue generator.
Make content that you would want to see.
No, you absolutely don’t have to dance to become TikTok famous. In fact, jump on the wrong trend, and you may cringe. The TikTok algorithm rewards the quality of content over quantity. So, yes, jumping on trends can help if you can make it make sense for your brand, but, most of all, what works is making content worth seeing.
In order to make great content, you need to spend a lot of time on TikTok, not as a compulsively addicted teen but as a scientist. Save and like all the videos in your industry that really engage you and ask yourself, what was it that I liked about this video? Was it the quality of the footage? Was it a stunning montage of a car? Was it that it taught something interesting?
In my experience, I’ve generated more engagements with valuable tutorials more than I ever have with trends. And the way to know what will be regarded as valuable information is to find out what your audience is searching for. Go on websites like askthepublic.com, where you can see all the questions and search queries related to any industry or product, and try to answer those questions in short but engaging videos.
Some examples of questions to answer (car dealership edition):
How to get a lower monthly payment
Lease or buy? Which suits you better?
3 Features on (new relevant model) that are amazing
Do you know how X feature works?
The possibilities are endless… just keep researching and tracking the performance of each piece of content you put out there, and you’ll soon see yourself become an expert content creator.
2. Make your videos short and to the point.
The first MAJOR mistake I made when developing some TikTok accounts for clients was to make overly produced pieces of content with the length of an Al Pacino movie. Over time, I learned this framework that helps me write scripts that grab the attention of the ever-entertained TikTok user.
Let the user know what you will be talking about in the first 2 seconds of the video. E.g., 3 reasons you don’t want a hybrid.
Don’t overproduce content; the great thing about TikTok is that it encourages creators to be as raw and genuine as possible.
Don’t be afraid of being polarizing. Remember that the person who wants to be liked by everyone ends up being liked by no one (more on this later).
Make sure that every video will look good on TikTok. Please don’t use images; make sure the text is legible, and take into account the positioning of text and engagement icons in TikTok.
Never let any video last more than 3 seconds without some visual changes. (Use texts, camera angles, or B-Roll footage to keep the video engaging).
Use CapCut to edit your videos; it’s free, it’s easy to use, it will save you time, and you can export videos directly to TikTok.
3. Create a brand asset.
Now that you know what to produce and how to produce it, it’s time to level up. See, the secret of internet success relies on creating a personality for your brand or what is called a Brand Asset. A brand asset could be literally anything that you use to stand out.
It can be as simple as your greeting or as complicated as a mascot. The idea here is to create something that you will do or use every time you make a new piece of content.
Some examples of this are: The Geico gecko, The personality of the Trashers (hockey team), or something as simple as the: “This is (car name)” that Doug Demuro uses in his famous car reviews.
This is the step where you don’t have to be afraid of being polarizing. You could choose a cat to be your mascot for your business and create content with it. Not everyone likes cats, but others will absolutely love your content. Or you can choose to speak against something like the horrid trend of putting touch buttons instead of actual physical buttons on cars.
Create something like this, and you will have a voice, a personality that will start to stand out amongst the sea of boring content to be instantly recognizable. Develop this asset, and not only will your TikTok grow, but you will have an invaluable asset that your clients will instantly recognize and like.
And if you want to take your digital marketing game to the next level but you don’t have the time or resources to do so, just fill out this form below, and my team and I will contact you with a free strategy call and a special discount on our digital marketing management service.
Until the next time,
Pietro
Pietro, MBA is the digital marketing director at Avanti. He has a track record of success managing and creating marketing strategies for international automotive and retail brands such as JCB, BYD, DFSK, UD Trucks, SERES, NetaAuto. With training from prestigious schools like the Bologna Business School and famous brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Ducati
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