TikTok is now a fully-fledged marketing machine for businesses, so we’ve asked the experts to share their top TikTok marketing tips!
From finding your niche to shooting your content, we’ve got all of the best tips from content creators who’ve seen huge success on the platform.
In this guide, you’ll learn TikTok marketing tips from an incredible all-star lineup of TikTok stars from our TikTok for Brands workshop.
TikTok Marketing Tips: Expert Advice from TikTok Pros
With more than 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, TikTok has taken the world by storm.
And whether educational videos or fun dance routines are your thing, there’s a space for your brand or business to make it’s mark on TikTok.
TikTok is a space where brands, businesses, and influencers can have fun, be their authentic selves, and try something new. And, chances are, there’s an audience out there that’s perfect for your brand.
So, how can you make sure that your TikTok strategy drives the best results for your business? Listen to the experts.
We chatted with an amazing lineup of TikTok pros to get all of their top tips and best practices for going viral on the app, including:
⭐ Seth Obrien, Beauty influencer
⭐ Chriselle Lim, Co-founder and CMO at bümo
⭐ Nichole Ciotti, Co-founder at Storyluxe
⭐ Nathan Allebach, Creative lead at Steak-Umm
⭐ Sawyer Hartman, Filmmaker & Vlogger
Can’t wait to learn more? Here are 10 TikTok marketing tips from the experts in a nutshell:
Looking to start using TikTok for your brand or business? Hear these TikTok marketing tips and more from the experts in our free 1-hour TikTok for Brands workshop.
TikTok Marketing Tip #1: Be Quick on The Trends
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok — even just a few minutes — you’ve noticed that TikTok is all about the trends.
Some trends come out of nowhere, and others are tied to current events. Beauty influencer and TikTok star, Seth Obrien, says that speed is one of the best ways to get your content seen on TikTok.
Seth, who has over 3 million TikTok followers, recommends his approach of recording and uploading the same day.
“Since trends can come and go as quickly as one day, it’s important to stay on top of the trends to keep your content new and refreshing.”
This process isn’t as time-consuming as it may seem. Because, rather than thinking of an entirely new concept every single day, Seth gets most of his ideas by scrolling his FYP and Explore page.
And, the best part about jumping on the trends? Users are actually searching and watching the content under trending hashtags — so you’ll be reaching new audiences in no time!
Want to keep up with the TikTok Trends? Learn about the rise of quick turn TikTok trends and how to get involved in this blog post.
TikTok Marketing Tip #2: Choose A Niche
TikTok has proven to be more than just dance moves and cute animal videos. There’s a niche for everyone, and Chriselle Lim, Co-founder and CMO at bümo, is here to prove it!
The fashion-obsessed mom of 2 says that whatever your brand is, no matter your age, no matter your subject, there is an audience on TikTok for everything.
“That’s the power of TikTok — finding a niche group of people.”
For example, if you’re looking to reach parents, create content that resonates with or provides value for them.
Chriselle shares content for parents who are looking to teach their children about social themes and concepts, with the tagline: “helps little minds learn big things.”
By consistently sharing niche content, your desired audience will eventually find it — especially if you use the right discovery techniques. And, once you connect with your audience, you can start to build a strong community that extends beyond the app.
“Meet people where they are at and you’ll find that you’ll see growth in your business in more ways than just on TikTok.
“Once my TikTok started taking off, all of a sudden my Instagram started growing again.”
When it comes to finding your niche, spend time scrolling and searching TikTok. Look at what your competitors are doing in the space and see where there’s a gap in the market for you to make your mark.
TikTok Marketing Tip #3: Prepare and Practice
One popular trend on TikTok is transition videos, so popular that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of videos of TikTok users showing others how to nail down the transition effect.
They’re so satisfying and interesting to watch — it’s no surprise they’re so popular!
If you’re looking to nail down transitions, Nichole Ciotti, Co-founder of Storyluxe, tells us it’s all about preparation and practice.
With over 500K followers on TikTok, Nichole is one of the original influencers to embrace the outfit transition trend. Her “today’s outfit ideas” videos inspired a whole new wave of fashion-related content on TikTok.
“For flawless transitions, you want to move as little as possible in the frame,” explains Nicole.
Instead of relying on your eyes to keep everything consistent, Nichole suggests using tape to mark down where you’re standing.
“When you use the tape trick, you can leave the frame, do what you have to do, and come back to that exact same spot.”
TikTok Marketing Tip #4: Immerse Yourself on the App
If you’re serious about using TikTok in your marketing strategy, Nathan Allebach, Creative Lead at Steakumm’s, recommends immersing yourself in the TikTok world.
“It’s important to actually figure out who is popular, why they are popular, what people are saying, and what people are actually interested in,” he explains.
The best way to immerse yourself? Scroll through your For You Page day in and day out, follow popular creators, listen to all the trending sounds, and consistently browse the Explore Page.
They say it takes 10,000 hours (or ten years) to become an expert or master at something. But don’t worry, it doesn’t take that long to get the hang of TikTok.
After immersing yourself in TikTok for a few weeks, you’ll soon begin to gain a better understanding of what it’s all about.
“The more time you spend on the app, the more it becomes second nature to you. You’ll soon begin to understand why certain things work and why certain don’t,” shares Nathan.
TikTok Marketing Tip #5: Tell A Story
According to Sawyer Hartman, filmmaker and vlogger, the key to TikTok — and any social media platform — is storytelling.
And one of the best ways to tell a story and grab your audience’s attention is by strategically using text overlays.
Not sure where to start?
“First, I use the text to establish a problem or grab attention. I usually address people’s fears and concerns right off the bat. And then, step by step, I solve the problem,” explains Sawyer.
Regardless of what kind of video you’re creating, the text on your video should always help tell a story.
“Imagine your perfect viewer is sitting and watching your video with the sound off, what text can you put and what story can you tell that will convince them to turn their sound on?”
Adding text is an effective way to stop scrollers in their tracks, and is great for viewers with hearing impairments too.
TikTok Marketing Tip #6: Post Often
If there is one constant with all of our TikTok experts, it’s that they all post to TikTok at least once every day. Chriselle often posts up to 5 videos per day.
And the best thing about TikTok is that you can get creative with your content strategy. It’s a great platform to test new ideas and see what works for your business.
Once you find a format the resonates with your audience, you can keep replicating it to build on your success. Nathan follows this strategy for Steakumm’s page:
“It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what makes people laugh,” he explains.
Posting regularly is likely to help improve your performance with the TikTok algorithm, too.
Start experimenting with your content strategy, be brave with new formats, and once you’ve found your winning formula, post as often as possible!
TikTok Marketing Tip #7: Be The First
While so much of TikTok is about jumping on the trends and finding ideas on the For You Page, it can also be about trying new things and creating original concepts.
Finding inspiration from the For You Page is a great strategy, but you don’t have to be tied down to what’s already happening out there.
People want to see new and exciting content, and it’s often the most innovative brands who see the most success on the app.
And you don’t always have to start from scratch. Putting a unique spin on an existing trend can be just as valuable.
Take Sawyer’s advice: “You don’t have to re-invent the wheel. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can take whatever trend is out there and add something to it that no one has seen before.”
TikTok Marketing Tip #8: Don’t Give Up
If there’s one mirror mantra to take away from all the expert TikTok marketing tips, this is it: don’t give up.
TikTok can be exhausting, especially when trying to use it to grow your brand or business. While it only takes one video to go viral, don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away.
Take it from our TikTok experts — it isn’t easy!
It took Nathan uploading 10 videos to SteakUmm’s TikTok before one video caught steam. And, even after that viral video, it took another 40 before another one followed suit.
“A lot of it was just learning at the beginning. It was a lot of experimenting, ” he explains.
When starting off, experiment with everything like what time you post to TikTok, what sounds you use, the type of videos you upload, and the style of your videos.
TikTok Marketing Tip #9: Be Authentic
Authentic may be a social media buzzword, but in TikTok’s case, it does ring true, especially when you’re just starting out on the app.
On TikTok, authenticity comes before aesthetics — so don’t be afraid to try something new and let your personality shine!
When Chriselle started posting to TikTok, she found she was expressing her true self on TikTok more than she was on any other social platform.
“TikTok encouraged me to be more authentic to myself and just have fun with it.”
Similarly, when Nichole started posting content on TikTok, she also knew she wanted to stay true to who she was.
“When your brand is inherently authentic to who you are, it makes transitioning to a new platform so much easier. You don’t have to think of new things, you can just continue to be true to yourself,” she explains.
TikTok Marketing Tip #10: Have Fun With It
TikTok is all about having fun — and for so many of our TikTok experts, the answer to their success on TikTok was simple: have fun with your content.
When Seth started creating content on TikTok, he quickly realised that having fun was key to success.
“There was a point where I was so focused on view count and likes. Finally, I decided that I was going to start having fun with this. Once I made that shift, my videos started to do so much better. I was having so much fun. I really recommend just having fun with your content”
If you’re enjoying creating content, the chances are your viewers will enjoy it too.
So there you have it! The top 10 TikTok marketing tips from the TikTok experts themselves.
And if you’re looking for even more tips, check out our free TikTok workshop below!
