TikTok is the most downloaded app in the world right now. Hosting over 1.2 billion users who spend an average of 52 minutes per day scrolling, it makes sense that you consider whether it’s suitable for your business. According to the Social Media Examiner, only 5% of marketers are currently using the platform so it’s the perfect time to beat the crowd and board the TikTok train.

So, What’s TikTok?

TikTok is a video-sharing focused social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Originally known as musical.ly, the platform revolves around a variety of short-form videos ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes including genres like dance, comedy and education.

Videos can be grouped by hashtags, often corresponding to challenges, memes or current events. The accounts with the biggest following currently are @charlidamelio with 121 million followers, closely followed by @khady.lame and @addisomre.

Who Uses The App?

Available in 155 countries, it’s wrongly assumed to be exclusive for teens. It may surprise you that users in their 40s make up 17% of the database while 16-26 years old’s make up 41%. The gender split is relatively even with 53% of males and 47% females.

What Makes It Tick?

TikTok is powered by a unique algorithm, using AI and machine learning to create a “For You Page” (#FYP or content discovery feed.) While social media giants Facebook and Instagram build on connections between people you know in real life, it’s easy to scroll through TikTok for hours and not see anyone you know or follow.

TikTok determines your interests by meticulously tracking the type of videos you interact with whether it’s a like, comment or share. For example, the more videos of cats you engage with, the more videos of cats will appear in your FYP. Much like Amazon’s “frequently brought together” section, the app establishes relationships between different videos and the ‘type of users’ that interact with them. For example, if you interact with a lot of workout videos, the app will likely show you clips promoting activewear or protein powder that are watched by other users who view those clips.

Everyone’s experience is unique because of the platform’s ability to tailor content! You may see dance and comedy, while your friends will get food reviews and dogs and some users may receive a lot of educational clips or home improvement videos.

How To Nail It!

The key to creating quality TikTok videos for your business is to keep it is as natural and authentic as possible. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, users are fed content they have not necessarily opted to see. You want to make sure you’re not ‘invading’ their space with overly edited, high-resolution advertisements. Instead, the app favours raw, lower quality content due to its relatability factor.

Australian brands that are currently nailing it include ABC, Guardian, HiSmile and AFL. The @AFL takes you behind the scenes of the country’s most popular sport with face to camera videos from the players, comedic moments at training, TikTok challenges, heartfelt moment with fans, news style pieces and more.

Top Tips

👉 Average user opens the app 8+ times per day. Successful accounts make sure they have a variety of content for users to engage with daily.
👉 TikTok recommends posting approximately 5 videos per week with 3-5 relevant hashtags. Harness the power of sound and scroll through trending songs/audio tracks to increase your chance of reach.
👉First 1-2 seconds of your clip are vital for capturing your audience’s attention. It’s way too easy for them to scroll past your content.
👉 Videos ranging from 11-15 seconds are optimal but anything over 6 seconds is ideal.
👉 Choose a bright, colourful cover photo to attract attention.
👉 Keep content timely and relevant.
👉Consider ways to repurpose content.

The Time Is Now

Getting on a platform early, typically makes it easier to gain leverage. Like Facebook and Instagram accounts in the early days, your business is more likely to be seen with a much higher engagement rate.

Get Advertising

When it comes to TikTok advertising, there are 2 ways to target views; Interest or Behavioural.

Interest Targeting is very similar to Facebook where you can select an audience with a particular interest you wish to see your content.

On the other hand, Behavioural Targeting allows you to target views based on their recent behaviour on the app spanning the last week to fortnight.

Ad products including in-feed, branded hashtags, top view ads, branded effects, and brand takeovers.

Don’t Try Too Hard

TikTok’s Global Head of Small Business Solutions Becca Sawyer says that the ads that perform best on the platform don’t feel like ads. Sawyer encourages brands to get comfortable with being real and authentic, embodying their motto “don’t make ads. Make TikToks.” The best way to be successful on TikTok is to show up, engage with the community and have fun.

A great example is Sour Patch Kids. Boasting over 1 million followers, it’s the platforms most-followed snack brand. They have formulated simple yet effective campaigns including a #SourPatchPrankFunk challenge around April Fool’s Day where the brand rewarded TikTokers with snacks and money for their pranks.

The Power Of Influence

Once you have established your brand you can allow influencers to do a lot of the work for you. IF you choose the right influencer for your brand.

A great example is activewear label Aerie collabing with 19-year-old influencer Hannah Schlenker. Her short video showcasing the brands latest products led to 700,000 searches on the Aerie website and a 200% increase in Google searches.

According to the Telegraph, influencers with 2.5 million followers or more can charge approximately $600-1000 per post while influencers with 10-20k are usually happy to charge $100-200. This may be a much more viable option than using TikTok ads which start at a minimum of $50 per day.

Keep Your Biz Afloat

COVID had a huge impact on the phenomenal number of TikTok downloads. In a single quarter they achieved a world record of 315 million. The quick, fun, relatable and easily digestible content is the perfect remedy for a period of global uncertainty and fear.

TikTok has become a lifeline for businesses doing it tough, particularly the hospitality sector. A growing number of food-based accounts are showcasing takeaway food during lockdown, delivery services, gift ideas and more. By shining light on local business, they have helped many spots keep operating during the pandemic.

Takeaways

👉TikTok is the most downloaded app in the world at the moment.
👉 The platform feeds you content based on a unique algorithm, using AI and machine learning to create a For You Page (FYP.)
👉TikTok favours raw, authentic, fun and relatable content with optimal videos being 11-15 seconds.
👉 Beat your competitors and get on the platform now. Harness the high engagement rate and post as often as you can. Experiment!
👉Consider TikTok advertising and find appropriate influencers to communicate your brand story.

Need some help making your business Tik? Head to our Social Meteor contact page to chat to us today!

It’s time to cut some cake and wish Instagram a Happy Birthday because this week marks 365 days of Instagram reels.

Wednesday August 4th the platform posted an early gift to celebrate, revealing the secrets behind their algorithm via their @creators account.

@creators boasts almost 6 million followers and showcases the most notable accounts on the platform. It actively encouragers users to hop on board reel trends providing instructions, audio and hot tips to creating ‘viral’ videos.

The Algorithm

Applauded for their transparency, Instagram announced they were “pulling back the curtain to show how the ranking algorithm works.”

In order to determine which reels to show you, they consider how likely you are to:

1) Watch a reel to its conclusion
2) Give it a like
3) Comment saying it was funny or entertaining
4) Go to the audio page to use it to make your own reel

Instagram Loves Engagement

The more likely you are to create your own reel as a result of engaging with an original, the more likely you will see that same type of content on your explore page. Encouraging creators to promote audio based trends is just another way the platform is mimicking the viral nature of TikTok.

Instagram also shared the four most important signals that can boost reel reach:

1. Which reels you have engaged with including likes and commenting
2. Your history of interacting the person who posted the reel
3. Information about the reels such as the audio track and video understanding based on pixels and whole frames as well as popularity
4. Information about the person who posted and how others interacted with them

The platforms looks at the specific details of the previous clips you have engaged with like the audio history and video understanding based on pixels and whole frames. Sharing Facebook’s forever improving AI system, it can identify what is shown in each clip so if you’re watching a lot of reels about cats, you can expect to see more cats in your feed too.

The Big No-No

It’s important to note that Instagram has given a few types of content a big red cross including:

1) Low resolution videos or watermarked reels
2) Politically focused reels
3) Reels that are made by political figures, parties or government officials or on their behalf

It also limits the reach of clips that have been re-shared from TikTok to avoid content cross over. It can easily filter these clips through TikTok un-removable watermark.

The move to give political content the flick has some users concerned about the implications on freedom of speech. Is Instagram just trying to avoid the same political turmoil TikTok faced in 2020 between United States and China?

The Three E’s

Regardless, the platform is keeping it about the three Es
Entertaining content
Engaging users
Encouraging view response

Making a viral reel is not nearly as easy as it sounds and unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all method. That’s why Instagram is giving creators one more reason to start putting their reel skills to the test.

Instagram’s “bonuses” feature is set to drop any day now with creators being paid for the reels they create. Before you get too excited, the feature will not be available to regular users and Instagram is yet to reveal the criteria to access the option. We’re going to take a guess and say that it will be those who have a decent upload volume or audience engagement metrics.

How do you check your metrics? Well Instagram finally made reel and Instagram live data available via insights so you can check out your plays, accounts reaches, likes, comments, saves and shares.

“We know that understanding more about how content is being distributed is important, so we’ve built new breakdowns that provide transparency into which types of accounts you’re reaching and which content formats are the most effective at driving reach,” says Instagram.

Takeaways

👉 Instagram revealed reel algorithm same week as their reel anniversary
👉Engagement history plays a huge role in determining what you see on your personal Instagram reel explore page
👉The platform is mimicking TikTok by encouraging viral audio based content
👉Instagram has banned all political based reels
👉Instagram “bonuses” feature set to drop soon where creators will be paid for the reels they create

Want to find out how TikTok and Instagram Reel strategies can work for your business? Head to our Social Meteor contact page to chat to us today!