Ace Your TikTok Video With Tips From These Pros

TikTok has taken the social media world and Gen Z by storm. At least two in three users — or 67% — of the platform are aged 24 and below. It’s also been reported that TikTok already surpassed Facebook in hours of time spent by each user in 2020, a.k.a. when we had more time to spend on our phones. That’s a lot of online real estate that content creators can use to reach new audiences, don’t you think? If you want to learn how to begin your TikTok account and potentially go viral, heed these TikTok tips from content creators Bok Cabanting and Andrei King.

Know your passions and credentials

“Creators should consider the type of content to engage in since TikTok caters to a variety of content, from entertainment to food to music and more,” Bok shared. The content creator who is also a foodie and also a law school student by day recommends considering the kind of content you personally like and are genuinely interested in. “In my case, I am really into food and beverages so I opted to focus on that and just started to be creative in my niche.”

@mr.cabanting

Nashville Chicken #TiktokCookOff #itsboktime #fyp #EATSltd

♬ original sound - Bok Cabanting

Aside from your personal interests, you can also make TikTok videos about your expertise to establish your credibility. “We should always consider our uniqueness and credibility for us to showcase our talents, build an impact and gather a solid audience,” Andrei advised. “I am more into lifestyle, travel and fitness content so I make sure that I share it with my followers — not to brag but to inspire and make them happy.”

There are some industry experts that have found fame on TikTok, especially in beauty. Dermatologists like Dr. Shah of DermDoctor and aestheticians like Jenny Bauer of BauerBeauty share some of their expert advice and recommendations for taking care of your skin. 

Start by creating videos on topics you’re confident in sharing with other people and then you can expand later on.

Make use of existing content

One tip from both our interviewees is crossposting content on your TikTok if you already have videos on YouTube or Instagram and vice versa. “Shifting from other social media platforms to TikTok is quite easy and they can use it as a marketing strategy to grow their social media presence,” Bok explained. If you’re on YouTube, you can “crop videos into portrait scale” and “upload them in a shorter version on Tiktok” to reach more viewers.

Know your audience and viral trends

Unlike other platform’s algorithms, all it takes is one video to garner a considerable following on TikTok. “Tiktok helps promote small influencers,” Bok observed. “Unlike other social media platforms, users can easily create a community on Tiktok with just one viral video and content creators are able to grow their audience from there.”

“The first cooking video I posted went viral overnight. My morale was boosted and I became motivated to create more cooking videos since I’m really passionate about cooking and mixology. I also saw that many people on Tiktok are into that as well,” he recalled.

But try to be relatable to non-followers too

Meanwhile, for Andrei, “I think TikTok is really made for a massive audience. People go there for short forms of entertainment and make their boredom pass. So there’s still a lot of people who can view your video as long as they are watching or liking videos that are in the same category of what you’ve uploaded.” That's a broader scope compared to other social media apps where the content you see are from people you consciously chose to follow.

TikTok’s “For You” page, where you can discover content from creators you don’t follow, takes into account several factors. Based on the types of videos you like and create and the sound bites used in them, you’re fed with suggestions on what to watch next. Use the right hashtags and viral music on the platform to ride the wave. Eventually, more people will follow you if they think your content is worth their time.

It requires a bit of research. “I usually check my most viewed video and the latest viral trends through sounds and dance challenges. By this I can easily identify what kind of post will really catch the audience’s eyes,” Andrei shared.

Showcase your personality

Despite viral trends reigning supreme on TikTok, you can’t forget to be yourself. Show your personality or even a little bit about your daily life through your bite-sized content.

Some final pieces of advice

Ready to get started? All you need is your phone and your creative drive to begin. “If you’re looking for a place to channel your creativity, download TikTok, and let your creative juice flow as you’re making your content,” Bok shared.

“Just be yourself. Never mind if you only have a few followers at first, they will eventually come,” Andrei encouraged. As you start out on the platform, be patient, play around with the latest TikTok trends and challenges, and heed our TikTok tips. The most important thing is you’re enjoying what you’re doing and your content reflects this drive. We hope to see you on the app soon!

*Bok Cabanting and Andrei King are exclusively managed by Clozette Management Philippines.

(Cover photo from: Hello I’m Nik via Unsplash)

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