I’ve been creating and implementing promo campaigns on various social platforms in the past couple of weeks and I thought it would be useful for you to share what’s working right now from my personal experience along with relevant resources.
First, let’s take a look at TikTok and please park any preconceptions you might have about the platform.
I found it not only works fast and effectively, it also has lots of cool features for you to take advantage of, some of which are fairly and even brand new.
Before I share those, I want to talk about format…right now, TikTok is favouring YouTube-style horizontal videos. You’ve been able to use them on the platform for a while but right now it’s actively promoting them over the more familiar mobile-style videos.
To resize videos, I use Canva.
You can also use the Adobe Express tool here:
https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/video/resize/tiktok
Or Kapwing:
https://www.kapwing.com/tools/resize
To create videos in the first place, again I use my phone or Canva although you can create them right there in TikTok.
You might also want to experiment with the AI tools in Capcut:
As for finding out what’s trending on TikTok so you can take advantage of trending hashtags, creators, and so on, take a look at TikTok’s own Creative Center which has a handy AI tool to help you:
https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/pc/en
There are also some great tips here to maximise your TikTok marketing:
https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/pc/en
I found that mixing up your content works really well so, for example, I created a longer ten-minute educational video, shorter quote/testimonial-heavy videos with great graphics, and included my dog in several clips.
Making sure you include the more relatable content such as your dog means that you don’t come across as a constant promo machine.
Including good, educational content that is also entertaining helps to underline that as well. TikTok, like most platforms these days, loves content it considers valuable and it’s all about the algorithm on the platform so understand what they want and give it to them!
They produce their own trend report, the latest copy of which is here to give you even more insights into what’s working now:
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-whats-next-2024-trend-report
I also like the Hootsuite report here which emphasizes what I just said about relatable, authentic content. You don’t have to make perfect, glossy videos…they just have to reflect you and/or whatever it is you are promoting authentically:
To help you grow your audience on the platform, here are some excellent tools:
https://www.socialpilot.co/tiktok-tools
Also, don’t be afraid to use TikTok’s promote feature. Some ‘influencers’ try to scare you off it but I found it highly effective and there was no detriment to my organic views.
Your TED talk this week will help you with the fundamental skill to success not just on TikTok but on every social platform – storytelling.
Watch it here:
