Our Senior Social Media Manager, Lizi Legge, attended from the comfort of her home office (aka the desk in her living room), and is sharing her key takeaways from the event with us…

How to do TikTok well

Whilst still in its relative infancy compared to other platforms, TikTok is only just on the cusp of becoming a brand-saturated money-maker. As a platform, it’s culture-driven and powered by the community, so authenticity from branded content is key to ensure that messaging sits side by side with creators on the FYP.

Ultimately, it’s about creating TikToks, not ads. Campaigns should be created based on TikTok behaviours and trends, but it’s important to remember that not every trend is yours to own. Nobody wants to see a brand coming across as cringe-worthy.

Look for your shooting star moment

James Cadwallader, from KYRA, likened TikTok opportunities to star gazing – if you look for long enough you’ll see a shooting star. Much like if you spend enough time on TikTok, eventually an opportunity will appear that you can take and run with. Whether it’s a product going viral, a trend which aligns perfectly to your brand values or organic pick up of your brand, if you have a decent brand, the opportunity will come.

TikTok is a numbers game – and that’s not just talking about the number of videos you see before you get your shooting star. The FYP doesn’t ‘punish’ bad videos in the way that other channels do, so putting out content in high volume isn’t detrimental – it’s a case of trying new things until performance trends emerge and something sticks.

The discovery mindset

People come to TikTok wanting to discover new things, but also shop from the platform when they are there. With this discovery mindset, it’s important to remember that it isn’t a sales tool first and foremost. Brands should give users an opportunity and reason to spend time with them – Gen Z in particular don’t buy brands, they join them.

From likes to loyalty

Following the joining of brands by Gen Z, it’s becoming ever more important for brands to define themselves as part of the lives of their consumers, not just in the eyes of them. Being seen is one thing but being embraced is another. Attention from the most socially savvy and culturally aware generation needs to be earned, and it needs to be authentic. Understanding of ritual and language is key – nobody wants to be the brand who gate-crashes the party and ruins it by sticking out like a sore thumb on a platform.

Build a fan base of valued people

Ultimately, we don’t like everyone in life, so we can’t expect everyone to like us, right? Spending time engaging with your customers on social, talking to them and understanding what is important to them should then go on to define your social approach. Being true to your audience and deciding what you care about is key, likewise, leading with actions and not words. Virtue signalling is continuing to be (rightfully) called out, and talking about what you have done, not what you’re going to do, is important. Brands have an opportunity to show up in the moments that matter for their customers, and there is an increasing expectation that brands should know what they stand for.

Make influencer marketing a two way street

Working with creators is beneficial in so many ways to a brand, but that relationship can be reciprocated by more than monetary value to influencers. With a sizeable fan base and a paid media marketing budget, brands can significantly increase exposure of influencers (in addition to paying them for their content!), and also provide them with insights to shape their own content. For example, sales data and search queries onsite can show an influencer what their audience is looking for, so that they can serve more relevant content – which could even result in sales via affiliates. The true measure of influencer success is not related to their follower count, it’s the impact on their community, and brands have an opportunity to amplify that.