How I Grew My Enterprise’ TikTok Accounts to Over 40K Followers in a Few Months

Like so many founders who’re dealing with the daunting activity of studying yet one more new social media platform, I used to be overwhelmed by the thought of beginning a TikTok for my enterprise.

Coming from the world of finance, I don’t have a background in content material creation, and I wouldn’t even think about myself a very artistic individual. The considered developing with contemporary and attention-grabbing content material day after day that might compete with individuals who actually do that for a dwelling felt not possible.

And but, I had a hunch that my firm—Tandem, an app that helps {couples} handle their shared funds—might join with new customers on the platform. As a D2C cellular app, we’ve seen that one of the simplest ways to accumulate customers is after they’re already on their telephones and subsequently have the best intent. And with a goal market of 25-35 yr olds, I knew {that a} good chunk of that cellphone time was now spent on TikTok. (For some context, TikTok customers within the U.S. spent a median of 25.6 hours per thirty days on the app as of January 2022, and nearly all of these customers are 34 or youthful.)

So, I took the leap and launched Tandem’s TikTok account in August 2022. Inside just some weeks, the account had amassed over 13,000 followers and over 1 million natural impressions and, months later, that quantity retains on rising. It’s been so profitable that I lately added a second account—@missmoneymichelle—to grow to be a finance influencer in my very own proper and bypass costly influencer advertising for my model. In just some weeks, I gained over 17,000 followers.

Higher than followers, although, are the enterprise outcomes. Whereas I’ve been aware of not pushing Tandem too exhausting within the early days, as a substitute opting to carry worth and construct a trusting relationship with my followers earlier than I begin promoting to them, I’ve already seen some movies translate into new web site guests and app customers. I additionally know that in the long term, having our personal viewers is essential in a world the place digital promoting is more and more costly. Plus, studying from the content material that almost all connects with individuals will inform Tandem’s product roadmap as we think about new choices to assist {couples} grasp their funds collectively.

After all, I’ve been doing all of this whereas additionally operating my enterprise. For every other founders who really feel like TikTok is a thriller or that they merely don’t have time for it, right here’s the precise schedule and technique I’ve used to construct up our accounts so shortly.

I discovered from different profitable TikTokers

I ought to begin by saying I didn’t plot out a profitable technique all alone. To kick off my TikTok journey, I spent a couple of weeks immersed within the Secret Socials course, which helped me be taught the ins and outs of the algorithm and greatest practices for making partaking brief type video.

Certainly one of my key learnings was that every video must have an preliminary “hook.” Basically, the TikTok algorithm pays consideration to engagement metrics like how lengthy customers are watching your movies, likes, feedback, and shares to find out what to share extra extensively.

However you’re not going to get traction on any of these metrics if individuals don’t watch your video lengthy sufficient to even determine what it’s about. These first few seconds are essential, and I discovered to speak shortly, add a headline with textual content on display screen, and be a bit dramatic with my titles to essentially catch a viewer’s consideration. (As an example, “three issues that saved me $1,000 that nobody is aware of about,” is way more eye-catching than “three money-saving suggestions.”)

I additionally discovered methods to use TikTok’s knowledge to tell my content material. Utilizing the app’s search bar, you possibly can browse subjects associated to your area of interest, after which filter by latest, most preferred movies. I’ll lookup every thing from generic “finance” movies to extra particular subjects like “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday,” scroll via what’s working for different creators, after which think about how I can put my very own spin on that subject to leap on a development and create one thing invaluable for my viewers.

I used a collection to assist me experiment and acquire traction

Along with following TikTok greatest practices, the technique that’s most helped my profiles develop is hanging a fragile steadiness between amount, consistency, and high quality.

Amount is essential as a result of, as a way to develop a following shortly, you have to give your self as many probabilities to go viral as attainable. I made a decision to goal for posting thrice a day, seven days per week, so I might quickly perceive what’s working and what flops.

Consistency, in each sort of content material and frequency, is essential so that folks know what to anticipate from you. If somebody lands in your profile and sees 20-30 movies on a subject they’re excited by, versus a couple of disjointed posts, they’re more likely to observe your profile. I discovered that launching with a collection—in my case, monetary suggestions for {couples} beneath the umbrella of “Issues Energy {Couples} Do”—helped me preserve that consistency early on.

Lastly, to develop an engaged following, it’s important to place out high quality content material that gives actual worth. I’ve had a couple of purely humorous or entertaining movies go viral, however they’ve hardly ever translated to followers or new customers. In the meantime, I’ve discovered that essentially the most profitable movies are once I share distinctive suggestions which have made an actual impression in my relationship, comparable to making a shared e mail tackle or getting on every others’ insurance coverage as home companions.

Now that my accounts are extra established, I exploit a five-video collection to experiment with new subjects, particularly ones which are extra time sure. As an example, I created a brief collection about successful the lottery when the main Powerball was taking place, and one about Journey Tuesday offers throughout Black Friday weekend. Creating a couple of movies for every subject permits me to attempt barely totally different hooks and canopy extra data with none one video getting too lengthy. Normally not less than one or two inside a collection will go viral, however I can hardly ever predict which, so it’s essential to attempt a number of approaches.

I created a schedule and appeared for shortcuts

Content material creation can take up a variety of your time if you happen to let it—and as a founder, I don’t have a variety of it. I’ve discovered one of the simplest ways to persistently publish at my superb frequency is to batch my content material creation efforts.

Usually, I reserve Monday afternoons for brainstorming and ideation. I’ll take a look at trending TikTok knowledge and metrics from my very own posts to see what sort of content material is performing nicely. I’ll additionally take into consideration upcoming holidays or present occasions. Then, I’ll listing out the entire subjects I wish to cowl that week and what the hooks will likely be. Typically I’ll loosely script out a video, and different instances I’ll plan on simply speaking on the fly, relying on the subject.

Then, on Tuesdays, I spend 4-5 hours doing my filming for the week. That is doable as a result of I’ve discovered a couple of key shortcuts to be extra environment friendly. For one, I’ll at all times use the inexperienced display screen function, which permits me to drop in any background I’d like. This helps create some selection even when I’m filming all of my movies in the identical place, and likewise means I can create from anyplace if I should be out and about on filming day. (I’ve positively recorded movies from my automotive!.) I additionally invested in a mini microphone to make sure high-quality sound irrespective of the place I’m filming. And a remaining bizarre hack: I put on huge sun shades in all my movies so I don’t really feel stress to do my make-up. It saves me time and has grow to be a part of the model look. I additionally attempt to edit on Tuesdays so I’ll have a full lineup of finalized movies to publish all through the week. I sometimes spend not less than a couple of hours making edits to make sure the posts are partaking, together with issues like chopping out lifeless house and including in captions.

I’m not going to lie—TikTok remains to be overwhelming to me typically. Persistently placing out new content material isn’t simple, and it requires exhibiting up even once I’m not feeling it. Plus, since TikTok is at all times altering, I can’t simply discover what works and keep it up. I’ve to consistently be listening to the information together with what’s working for different creators, experimenting, and iterating.

However, with some easy methods and a schedule I can observe week after week, I’ve discovered a option to make TikTok work for me. And the outcome—a deep, ongoing connection to my viewers—makes the hassle greater than price it.