What’s TikTok and the way does it work? Nicely, have you ever ever come throughout a TikTok video though you’re not on the platform? Odds are you’ve most likely seen no less than one viral lip-syncing TikTok, or screencaps on Instagram or Twitter of meme-worthy TikToks.
One nice instance of any such development spreading throughout social media is the “It’s Corn” viral development.
Right here’s an instance of a video that repurposes the tune with new, on-brand visuals on Twitter:
This meme originated on TikTok, the place songwriter and TikTok consumer @Schmoyoho remixed the already-viral corn-heavy interview from the Recess Remedy account into a good larger hit. On the time this text was being written, the tune has been utilized in greater than 1.2 million TikTok movies and has greater than 10 million likes.
That’s the facility TikTok has within the present social media panorama. As entrepreneurs see memes and traits take off, it stands to cause that with the proper content material, the platform might help you attain hundreds of thousands of individuals and make your model go viral.
However what is that this app? How does TikTok work? And may you really use it to succeed in your target market? By the top of this text, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the platform, and whether or not or not it’s proper to your model. Be at liberty to leap to the sections you most need to discover:
What’s TikTok?
TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform the place you possibly can create, edit, share, uncover and watch quick, vertical movies—from only a few seconds lengthy, all the best way as much as 10 minutes.
And it’s repeatedly altering. Whereas TikTok made a reputation as a lip-syncing app, it’s develop into far more. “TikTok as we all know it right now didn’t exist 5 years in the past, and we anticipate the TikTok of 2027 to look equally distinctive. TikTok has been a disruptor in so some ways, so the most important alternative for manufacturers at that time limit most likely doesn’t exist but. Nevertheless, constructing a powerful community and group round your model will assist function a basis for what’s subsequent,” TikTok informed us.
When was TikTok created?
Whereas the identify TikTok has gained familiarity previously few years, the idea of the app has been round for some time. It originated as an app referred to as Musical.ly in 2014, earlier than being acquired by ByteDance in 2017, a tech firm primarily based in Beijing who already had an app named TikTok. Musical.ly and TikTok formally merged platforms in 2018.
Who created TikTok?
Half of TikTok, the aforementioned Musical.ly, was created by Chinese language entrepreneurs Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang. And TikTok’s unique kind was created by ByteDance—the corporate that owns the platform right now.
Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is owned by tech firm, ByteDance. ByteDance already owned TikTok—known as Douyin in China—and merged it with Musical.y after buying it in 2017 to create the wildly fashionable platform we all know now.
How does TikTok work?
On TikTok, customers can customise their movies with filters, stickers and background music, then share them with the TikTok group. As soon as shared, folks can like, touch upon, obtain or share a video. Content material is discovered by customers in three feeds: The Mates Tab, Following Feed and the For You Web page, the place the TikTok algorithm recommends content material primarily based on what you want.
TikTok makes video content material creation straightforward with various regularly-enhanced instruments. Listed here are a few of these options:
1. Create movies
Customers can create TikTok movies by recording them straight within the app, or by importing movies from exterior the app. The video recorder enables you to select how lengthy you need your video to be, with a max size of 10 minutes.
2. Add music
Music is the cornerstone of the TikTok platform. Customers may even uncover new content material by clicking on a observe hyperlink and conducting a search of clips that use the tune. So including a well-liked tune in your video will improve your possibilities of trending in the neighborhood.
3. Co-create content material utilizing duets
TikTok additionally boasts options like duet, which helps nurture engagement throughout the group. This function does precisely what the identify suggests—it enables you to create a video with one other creator and can cut up the display screen in half to point out each cameras. Most use this function to sing or dance to the identical tune, or they develop corresponding movies very similar to comedy shorts.
4. Add filters and results
It’s straightforward for customers to edit their movies with completely different filters and results. You possibly can even add stickers, emojis, textual content, transitions, GIFs and time results to make your movies extra compelling.
5. Dwell stream
TikTok additionally comes with a function that permits you to stream dwell video broadcasts. However observe that this function is barely obtainable for choose customers with no less than 1,000 followers.
Who makes use of TikTok?
Whereas TikTok is understood for its reputation with youthful customers (47% within the US are between 10 and 29 years outdated), it’s getting old up, with 42% of customers aged 30-49 and 20% between 40 and 49. This makes it an important place to succeed in a large viewers.
Supply: Statista
As of January 2022, TikTok’s consumer base skewed 57% feminine and 43% male—though these reported numbers usually are not inclusive of all genders. And the platform’s consumer base is extraordinarily energetic, watching round 24 hours of content material on the app each month.
A lot of the app’s customers are from the US, with 136.5 million customers as of April 2022. Indonesia is available in second with about 99 million customers and Brazil lands in third with 74 million. TikTok’s widespread and rising reputation makes it a invaluable app to make use of in case you have a global viewers.
Why is TikTok so fashionable?
Most of us hadn’t heard of TikTok till a few years in the past. Since then, it’s develop into a family identify, launched the careers of recent celebrities, and is a go-to platform for favourite celebrities and types to create viral moments.
In Q1 2022, TikTok was probably the most downloaded app worldwide, and surpassed Google as the preferred net area. In Q3 2022, TikTok broke data once more because the world’s highest-grossing app.
Let’s get into some options that gasoline its reputation:
Supply: SensorTower
Fueling viral traits
One of many causes TikTok is so sticky is as a result of it’s a discovery machine. It’s usually the place traits begin, as TikTok traits are regularly unfold to different platforms, and into fashionable tradition.
For those who’re questioning find out how to go viral on TikTok, there are just a few distinctive parts on the app that gasoline traits and consumer loyalty:
TikTok Sounds
TikTok sounds are a key a part of the platform expertise—a lot in order that TikToks with sound carry out 2.2x higher than these with out. Folks can use songs and sounds of their movies by deciding on them from TikTok’s library, or saving them from different movies.
Whenever you use a tune or sound that’s trending, you increase your possibilities of going viral. The songs or sounds that take off can spark new memes, create a billboard hit, encourage cross-platform content material or just develop into a part of the bigger dialog.
Like we talked about—traits usually begin on TikTok. If one in all your TikTok movies performs effectively on the app, repurposing that very same content material elsewhere might help you discover success on different platforms, as effectively. We printed the above video on TikTok to leap on the viral “It’s Corn” tune, but additionally printed the video on Instagram to maintain using the development wave on one other platform.
However a phrase of warning: in case your video makes use of a tune, keep away from copyright points and double verify that you simply’re legally allowed to make use of that tune on different platforms.
Utilizing a device could make repurposing content material simpler by slicing out the necessity to runaround to every social platform.
With Sprout’s TikTok integration, you possibly can publish a TikTok video solely on TikTok, or publish one video throughout a number of platforms with the contact of a button.
Hashtags
Hashtags are a key a part of viral traits and challenges. Utilizing the proper ones may give you a serious visibility increase.
They’re additionally a good way to seek out your group on the platform. #BookTok is a good instance. This hashtag connects you to movies about guide suggestions, bookstores and extra. Tags like this may foster area of interest communities and develop into extraordinarily fashionable amongst them—the BookTok hashtag has over 80.9 billion views.
Collaborative instruments
TikTok is all about connecting along with your group and your pals. Their latest transfer to change the Uncover feed with a Mates Solely feed helps that.
Collaboration is constructed proper into their video creation instruments. TikTok stitching, for instance, means that you can add your individual commentary or response to present clips, together with viral clips. TikTok consumer Hank Inexperienced usually makes use of this to reply questions or clarify the science behind fashionable movies.
Studying find out how to sew on TikTok might help you get began on the platform by piggybacking off of present content material earlier than creating your individual.
Challenges
Customers and types alike provide you with challenges that ultimately go viral and encourage consumer participation. These challenges are additionally extremely efficient for engaging non-users to affix the platform.
A viral video of TikToker Nathan Apodaca (aka Doggface208) skateboarding whereas ingesting Ocean Spray cranberry juice impressed the model to create a problem, encouraging individuals to recreate the video. #DreamsChallenge now has 21.1 million views.
We might point out extra. However TikTok strikes so rapidly that by the point you learn this text, there’ll possible be fully new ones.
Video format
Put merely, TikTok has the kind of content material that customers need: bite-sized movies. In actual fact, 66% of shoppers say that short-form video is probably the most partaking sort of content material.
TikTok popularized this format to the purpose that different platforms added their very own quick video feeds, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Appropriately, we’ll go away this part quick and candy.
Video downloads gasoline extra shares
Customers on the platform can freely obtain movies from different customers and share them to different social media platforms to succeed in extra folks. That is maybe one cause why the platform has gained a lot reputation so rapidly.
Since every video has a TikTok watermark and the username of the unique creator, it leaves little room for plagiarism. It provides due credit score and when folks watch these downloaded movies on different platforms, they’ll know precisely who to comply with for extra.
How you can use TikTok for enterprise
With traits like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, and 49% of customers saying TikTok helped them make buy selections, the app is a first-rate place to succeed in new shoppers.
Nevertheless, entrepreneurs are nonetheless not using TikTok to its full potential. Our newest Sprout Social Index™ discovered that solely 39% of entrepreneurs have been utilizing TikTok.
Many entrepreneurs are nonetheless within the means of understanding how TikTok works and the way it matches into their social media content material technique, social media advertising technique and bigger advertising campaigns.
Listed here are just a few fashionable methods manufacturers use TikTok to assist get you impressed:
Launch a branded hashtag problem
We’ve already talked about how utilizing viral trending hashtags can lengthen your attain. However you can too create your individual traits. TikTok challenges are campaigns or traits that encourage folks to take part by performing duties like demonstrating a expertise, exhibiting how you employ a product, utilizing a filter, lip syncing and extra.
In Vogue’s #MakeItVogue problem, Vogue partnered with TikTok to launch a marketing campaign impressed by the Met’s About Time exhibit. It inspired folks to have fun vogue historical past by posting movies recreating vogue of the Nineteenth-century utilizing on a regular basis objects. To this point, the hashtag has 3.6 billion views, and the problem introduced Vogue from 0 to 128K followers.
Vogue additionally launched a much less formal problem with the hashtag #ifeelstrong. This problem encourages folks to put up movies of themselves doing one thing that makes them really feel highly effective. This problem hashtag has amassed 565.3K views.
There are just a few methods to advertise a branded hashtag problem on TikTok. Formally partnering with TikTok on a branded problem is expensive, however partnering with creators on the platform or creating a contest might help increase your hashtag. Simply make sure you comply with copyright legal guidelines.
Work with influential content material creators
Influential content material creators on TikTok have hundreds of thousands of followers and drive tons of engagement that manufacturers can leverage to amplify their efforts. Manufacturers can collaborate with creators on a wide range of campaigns, from content material that includes their services or products to jumpstarting a branded hashtag problem and extra.
For Common Photos, TikTok influencers performed a serious function within the promotion of their film, “The Home with a Clock in its Partitions”. They partnered with 10 influencers who every created ‘magical’ tales utilizing the hashtag #FindYourMagic. These movies garnered a complete of 1.3 million likes and even resulted in 19k+ extra movies from different customers.
The model additionally gained 11k+ new followers in simply six days. To this point, the hashtag has amassed over 80 million views on the platform.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
The fantastic thing about TikTok’s quick tempo is that if one video flops, you possibly can transfer on and check out once more. Bari, social media supervisor for Auntie Anne’s, recommends reusing outdated content material with new sounds in her TikTok Bootcamp.
TikTok’s standing as a fast-moving development incubator means experimentation is rewarded, and plenty of manufacturers are cementing their TikTok presence by testing new ways on the platform.
Analyze your exams through the use of TikTok analytics to establish which of your posts are most profitable and must be recreated. Whereas TikTok solely saves your information for 60 days, Sprout’s Reporting and Analytics instruments don’t put an expiration date in your put up efficiency information. You possibly can measure how your TikTok content material performs over time, and even in opposition to the content material in your different platforms.
Have interaction, interact, interact
Responding to feedback and questions on TikTok is simply as necessary as responding to them on different platforms. Monitor your feedback and reply—even a easy response or “like” can imply the distinction between gaining a fan, and shedding one.
You possibly can even reply to feedback with a brand new TikTok video. That is an revolutionary and ultra-interactive method of partaking along with your group, and filling out your content material calendar.
It’s all too straightforward to lose observe of TikTok feedback if you’re monitoring conversations throughout a number of channels. That is the place utilizing a social media administration device to streamline feedback from all your platforms into one hub turns out to be useful.
Closing ideas: Is TikTok match for you?
TikTok advertising could be extraordinarily highly effective when executed strategically. Opposite to fashionable perception, the app is residence to a widespread, numerous set of customers and types—from B2C to B2B and nonprofits.
For any model contemplating getting began with TikTok, it pays to begin with analysis. Validate that your core viewers, or the brand new audiences you hope to succeed in, are on the platform. Then, develop a short-term plan for content material testing and iteration.
To be taught extra about bringing TikTok into your advertising fold, take a look at our important TikTok for enterprise article to begin crafting your plan.
