Too old for TikTok? Yeah nah. Here's your TikTok for brand

10.06.21 | By Ellie Laffner | social media

Too old for TikTok? Yeah nah. Here's your brand guide.

It has never been easier to get eyes on your brand.

Whether you’re a brand, a business, or a living, breathing human being who works in marketing: you need to be on TikTok.

  • Think you’re too old for it? buzzer sound Wrong.

  • Think your brand won’t benefit from it? buzzer sound Wrong again.

  • Think this is rich coming from a Gen Z x Millennial cusp-er who is definitely addicted to said app? ding ding ding Fair enough. But aren't I your target market?

It has never been easier to get eyes on your brand.

No matter your age, TikTok has proven its weight in gold for brands, content creators, and viewers alike. With over 2 billion downloads and 689 million global active users, you can't ignore the blatant opportunity sitting right at your fingertips.

TikTok’s ecosystem is built on virality. It wants your content to be seen. None of this ‘slow-growth’ stuff. Quite the contrary. TikTok’s algorithms can push your 20-second video out to millions of users before you’ve written out your morning do-to list. 

You’ve now earned the Do’s and Don’ts for TikTok content creation. Godspeed, my friend. 

 

Do:

Educate

Never has our attention-span been shorter, and our appetite for information more ferocious.

What does this mean for your content? Bite-sized information, baby.

This includes top tips, demonstrations, interesting facts, and countdowns. For example, frank body’s TikTok video featuring their new Dry-Clean Volume powder.

It’s a 15 seconds demonstration video with benefits in a dot-point format.

The result? Over 683k views. 144k likes. 92 shares. 

To be engaging when your content isn't emotionally driven, you must be providing utility to the viewer, otherwise you're just making skippable noise. And the more digestible the content is, the more likely audiences are to forward it on, too.

Entertain

Be it in storytelling, music or memes—having the aim of entertaining your audience will always take you far. 

Think of it like watching a Halloween makeup tutorial. Chances are you’re probably not going to replicate it. But man is it amusing to watch someone transform into Cruella de Vil in 32 seconds.

Or take our client work at ArcheSupps for example. An entertaining premise, an exorbitant result. 

15 seconds. 2.8 million views. 33.8k likes. 1383 shares.

If you aim to entertain, the TikTok audience will be there to catapult you forward.

Inspire

People love to be moved, delighted, inspired and motivated. Make sure your content is pleasing to the eyes or ears -  because if the aesthetic is on point, a call to action will be easier to add in.

Before you make any content, think of the purpose of your content. If you’re doing any of the above three in the process, you’re more likely to stand out.

 

Don’t:

Overthink 

This is not Instagram. Your content doesn’t need to be perfectly curated to be well-liked and well-received. As long as it is hitting one of the three ‘do’s’ (see above) it has a chance of reaching people.

Be late to the trends

Think of it like the news cycle; fast moving and quickly irrelevant. 

TikTok rewards speed. And the longer you spend umm-ing and ahhh-ing about your content, the more likely you’ll miss the boat (and the great ocean-views).

Hot Tok Tip: check the Discovery page to see what’s currently trending. Work down from there. See trend. Create content. Repeat.

Jump on trends you don’t understand

If you don't understand the trend, or why it's going bonkers, don’t just join in for the sake of it.

Trends have layers; the humour is nuanced and the cultural references are specific. Jumping in when you don’t quite ‘get’ it is a surefire way for your brand to seem disingenuous and inauthentic.

The TikTok audience is quick to judge. If you get the trend right, the audience will respect you as a brand and give you a virtual fist bump. Get it wrong? The TikTok audience will feel your content to be cringey. Simple as that. Ensure you’ve done your research, and that you’re not underestimating the TikTok community. 

So to answer your question; no, you’re not too old for TikTok.

You just need to acclimatise to the altitude of quality content reaching rapid heights, fast.

Now go on, download it and start creating. Time is of the essence. Taps watch tick tock.

 

Need help with your social strategy or content? We can help with that. 

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