Social media has become a huge part of marketing, advertising, selling, and branding in the past several years. One of the most popular platforms includes TikTok, a short video based networking service that can connect users from all around the world. Many users do “challenges” to get views, likes, followers, and attract users to their platform. If you are wondering how you and your brand can use TikTok challenges to increase your sales and other business aspects, you have come to the right place! There are many strategies to attracting viewers to your brand. Knowing how to create effective and powerful TikToks to align with the algorithm is only the first step. This blog will be discussing the following tips:
- Post Quality Content
- Create a Posting Schedule
- Use Trending Sounds
- Hashtags
- Participate in Challenges and Create Your Own
- Reply to Comments
- Promote Your Tiktok and Brand on Other Socials
1. Post Quality Content
When posting make sure you use high quality footage. Good lighting and sound quality is also everything. You don’t need a fancy camera or gadgets other than an iPhone for recording. When a viewer comes across a video, bright light and a clear picture is what will catch the eye. You will also want to create an attractive cover, as this is the first thing viewers will see from a video when going through your page. So you may want to include text so viewers know exactly what to expect from the video. For example, the popular clothing brand Princess Polly uses visuals and text in their covers to allow viewers to find exactly what they are looking for without having to go scroll and watch every video. This also gives them a uniqueness to their page, while maintaining their image and focus on clothing.
A preview of the clothing brand Princess Polly’s Tiktok page front.
2. Create a Posting Schedule
Posting time matters when it comes to attracting viewers. Knowing when viewers are most active can help boost your views and the chances it will get to the “For You” page, which is where the most popular videos are displayed to viewers. As of 2021, the best times to post on Tiktok are:
- Monday 10 am and 10pm
- Tuesday 2 am and 9 am
- Wednesday 7 am and 11 pm
- Thursday 9 am and 12 am
- Friday 5 am and 3 pm
- Saturday 11 am and 8 pm
- Sunday 8 am and 4 pm
Based on this information, you can create a posting schedule that works best for you.
3. Use Trending Sounds
By using a sound that is trending at the time, it may be more likely to get to the for you page, and get to viewers. You wouldn’t want to use a sound that was popular 2 years ago, simply because nobody is using it. Sounds can include a song, a line from a movie or TV show, or a voiceover from another TikToker. You can use your search bar to find trending sounds, or simply find sounds by scrolling through your for you page. Here is an example of how the brand Princess Polly is using a trending sound to create a unique video to show off their clothing pieces to viewers. This allows viewers to see what clothing they have to offer, and what styles they can create.
Each TikTok sound shows you how many users the sound has. This sound is at 65.8k videos, so it is a good choice.
4. Hashtags
Adding Hashtags in a TikTok post is essential to getting viewers to your page. By using hashtags, your video may be more likely to end up on the for you page, and connect you with viewers that are interested in your brand. You should use hashtags related to your brand, or related to your post, such as #trendingmovies #makeup #buildanoutfit #comedy #foryoupage. Sometimes even using a random hashtag can get your video to more views, believe it or not. A current trending hashtag on TikTok is #MakeItGucci. By inserting this hashtag into your caption, it may get noticed because the hashtag is trending, not necessarily because the hashtag is related to the content from the Brand. You can see the current trending hashtags on TikTok by using the discover page found on the app, as shown below. If you represent a brand, be careful about piling on other brand’s sponsored hashtags; instead, create your own and consider a TikTok advertising strategy.
5. Participate In Challenges and Create Your Own
To identify the current trends and challenges popular on TikTok, you can once again use that discover page, or related pages, for inspiration. Challenges and trends can include a dance, transition, sound, filter, hashtag, makeup look, outfit, singing, art, etc. A recent trending challenge appearing all over the TikTok platform has been the #euphoriachallenge which has creators recreating makeup and outfits based off of the popular show Euphoria on HBO. Princess Polly participated in the trend by first using a trending filter to give them character inspo, then picking an outfit from their collection to depict that character. Then they used a clip of that characters voice from the show which is a popular and trending sound on TikTok as well. They are drawing in viewers by showing them they can achieve the look they want shopping their brand.
You can also create your own challenges by coming up with your own unique spin on a sound. Princess Polly does this by choosing a popular sound and putting together a clip to show off clothing pieces that can be styled together to create a certain look, usually something that is trending. By doing this, Princess Polly creates the image for their brand that they are fun, trendy, inspiring, and inclusive. It is a great way to show off their products, and attract viewers to their brand.
6. Reply to Comments
It is important to interact with your viewers. You can do this by responding to comments from users. It keeps them engaged and lets them know you care enough to take the time to read comments, whether it be criticism or not, and respond using professionalism. It creates a positive image for your brand. You can also practice engaging with customers by asking viewers their opinions and what they think. Princess Polly does this by asking viewers what their favorite outfit or piece of clothing in a particular video is. Below is one example of how they do this:
Pictured is how the brand uses a question to get customers engaged in the comments.
This is the comment section from the previous image. Viewers are engaging by commenting their favorite outfit.
Here is how members of the Princess Polly team respond to viewer’s comments on another post to stay engaged.
7. Promote Your TikTok and Brand on Other Socials
To gain more attention on one platform, you can use the others that you have to do so. If you want more followers and engagement on TikTok, but maybe you have more followers on Instagram, you can put your TikTok @ in your Instagram bio. You can also take the videos you make on TikTok and post them on your Instagram reels, which are short video clips very similar to, if not the same as, TikToks. [Note: Be careful to avoid using audio that is not already licensed on Instagram or you run the risk of your video being deleted for copyright violations.] You can also promote your TikTok account with other social media platforms as well, such as Twitter and Facebook. To promote your brand through social media outlets, you can link your brand website in the bio as well. Below you can see how Princess Polly has their TikTok in their Instagram bio, along with a direct link right to their online shop. You can also see how their Instagram Reels page looks very similar to their TikTok page.
How This Increases Sales
Now that we have discussed and laid the foundation for making a successful and engaging TikTok, and TikTok challenge, you may be wondering how this increases a brands sales? By creating a TikTok using the tips listed above, it will attract viewers to your page, and make your items appear desirable. As previously discussed, Princess Polly uses popular trends and also creates their own trends to show off their clothing. They use challenges that are relevant to them. They create unique content that appeals to a certain audience, and create the image for viewers that they have “the look” or any look you are desiring. By viewers being able to see their clothing and accessories in a fun way on TikTok, while also gaining tips on what to wear to what event, and how to style certain items, it draws the audience in, therefore pushing them to buy their clothing, essentially increasing their sales. TikTok trends and challenges give all brands the opportunity to participate in unique and creative material as a way to show off what your brand is all about. This advertising technique is a great way to promote your brand and draw in customers, and lead them to what they are looking for.
Teaching Social Media 