What’s TikTok and the way does it work? Properly, have you ever ever come throughout a TikTok video though you’re not on the platform? Odds are you’ve most likely seen at the least one viral lip-syncing TikTok, or screencaps on Instagram or Twitter of meme-worthy TikToks.
One nice instance of one of these pattern spreading throughout social media is the “It’s Corn” viral pattern.
Right here’s an instance of a video that repurposes the track 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 fair larger hit. On the time this text was being written, the track 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 purpose that with the fitting content material, the platform can assist you attain thousands and thousands of individuals and make your model go viral.
However what is that this app? How does TikTok work? And might you really use it to succeed in your audience? By the tip of this text, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the platform, and whether or not or not it’s proper on your model. Be at liberty to leap to the sections you most wish to discover:
What’s TikTok?
TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform the place you may create, edit, share, uncover and watch quick, vertical movies—from just some seconds lengthy, all the best way as much as 10 minutes.
And it’s constantly altering. Whereas TikTok made a reputation as a lip-syncing app, it’s change into far more. “TikTok as we all know it immediately 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 largest alternative for manufacturers at that time limit most likely doesn’t exist but. Nonetheless, constructing a robust community and neighborhood round your model will assist function a basis for what’s subsequent,” TikTok advised us.
When was TikTok created?
Whereas the identify TikTok has gained familiarity previously few years, the premise of the app has been round for some time. It originated as an app often known as Musical.ly in 2014, earlier than being acquired by ByteDance in 2017, a tech firm based mostly 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 authentic kind was created by ByteDance—the corporate that owns the platform immediately.
Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is owned by tech firm, ByteDance. ByteDance already owned TikTok—referred to as Douyin in China—and merged it with Musical.y after buying it in 2017 to create the wildly widespread 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 neighborhood. As soon as shared, folks can like, touch upon, obtain or share a video. Content material is discovered by customers in three feeds: The Associates Tab, Following Feed and the For You Web page, the place the TikTok algorithm recommends content material based mostly on what you want.
TikTok makes video content material creation straightforward with quite a lot of regularly-enhanced instruments. Listed below 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 monitor hyperlink and conducting a search of clips that use the track. So including a preferred track in your video will improve your probabilities of trending in the neighborhood.
3. Co-create content material utilizing duets
TikTok additionally boasts options like duet, which helps nurture engagement throughout the neighborhood. This function does precisely what the identify suggests—it enables you to create a video with one other creator and can break up the display in half to indicate each cameras. Most use this function to sing or dance to the identical track, 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 totally different filters and results. You’ll be able to even add stickers, emojis, textual content, transitions, GIFs and time results to make your movies extra compelling.
5. Reside stream
TikTok additionally comes with a function that allows you to stream reside video broadcasts. However notice that this function is simply accessible for choose customers with at the least 1,000 followers.
Who makes use of TikTok?
Whereas TikTok is understood for its recognition with youthful customers (47% within the US are between 10 and 29 years previous), it’s growing older up, with 42% of customers aged 30-49 and 20% between 40 and 49. This makes it an amazing 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 should not inclusive of all genders. And the platform’s consumer base is extraordinarily lively, watching round 24 hours of content material on the app each month.
Many of the app’s customers are from the USA, 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 recognition makes it a precious app to make use of in case you have a world viewers.
Why is TikTok so widespread?
Most of us hadn’t heard of TikTok till a few years in the past. Since then, it’s change into a family identify, launched the careers of latest celebrities, and is a go-to platform for favourite celebrities and types to create viral moments.
In Q1 2022, TikTok was essentially the most downloaded app worldwide, and surpassed Google as the preferred internet area. In Q3 2022, TikTok broke data once more because the world’s highest-grossing app.
Let’s get into some options that gas its recognition:
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 typically the place traits begin, as TikTok traits are steadily unfold to different platforms, and into widespread tradition.
If you happen to’re questioning learn how to go viral on TikTok, there are a number of distinctive components on the app that gas 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. Individuals can use songs and sounds of their movies by choosing them from TikTok’s library, or saving them from different movies.
Once you use a track or sound that’s trending, you enhance your probabilities 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 change into a part of the bigger dialog.
Like we talked about—traits typically begin on TikTok. If one in all your TikTok movies performs nicely on the app, repurposing that very same content material elsewhere can assist you discover success on different platforms, as nicely. We revealed the above video on TikTok to leap on the viral “It’s Corn” track, but in addition revealed the video on Instagram to maintain driving the pattern wave on one other platform.
However a phrase of warning: in case your video makes use of a track, keep away from copyright points and double verify that you simply’re legally allowed to make use of that track on different platforms.
Utilizing a device could make repurposing content material simpler by reducing out the necessity to runaround to every social platform.
With Sprout’s TikTok integration, you may 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 fitting ones may give you a serious visibility enhance.
They’re additionally a good way to search out your neighborhood on the platform. #BookTok is a superb instance. This hashtag connects you to movies about e book suggestions, bookstores and extra. Tags like this will foster area of interest communities and change into extraordinarily widespread amongst them—the BookTok hashtag has over 80.9 billion views.
Collaborative instruments
TikTok is all about connecting along with your neighborhood and your folks. Their latest transfer to substitute the Uncover feed with a Associates Solely feed helps that.
Collaboration is constructed proper into their video creation instruments. TikTok stitching, for instance, lets you add your personal commentary or response to current clips, together with viral clips. TikTok consumer Hank Inexperienced typically makes use of this to reply questions or clarify the science behind widespread movies.
Studying learn how to sew on TikTok can assist you get began on the platform by piggybacking off of current content material earlier than creating your personal.
Challenges
Customers and types alike provide you with challenges that ultimately go viral and encourage consumer participation. These challenges are additionally extremely efficient for attractive non-users to hitch 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 members to recreate the video. #DreamsChallenge now has 21.1 million views.
We may point out extra. However TikTok strikes so shortly that by the point you learn this text, there’ll probably be solely new ones.
Video format
Put merely, TikTok has the kind of content material that customers need: bite-sized movies. In reality, 66% of customers say that short-form video is essentially the most partaking kind 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 gas 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 purpose why the platform has gained a lot recognition so shortly.
Since every video has a TikTok watermark and the username of the unique creator, it leaves little room for plagiarism. It offers due credit score and when folks watch these downloaded movies on different platforms, they’ll know precisely who to comply with for extra.
Learn how to use TikTok for enterprise
With traits like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, and 49% of customers saying TikTok helped them make buy selections, the app is a primary place to succeed in new customers.
Nonetheless, 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 and marketing technique and bigger advertising and marketing campaigns.
Listed below are a number of widespread 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 it’s also possible to create your personal traits. TikTok challenges are campaigns or traits that encourage folks to take part by performing duties like demonstrating a expertise, displaying how you utilize 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 rejoice vogue historical past by posting movies recreating vogue of the Nineteenth-century utilizing on a regular basis objects. So far, 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 publish movies of themselves doing one thing that makes them really feel highly effective. This problem hashtag has amassed 565.3K views.
There are a number of methods to advertise a branded hashtag problem on TikTok. Formally partnering with TikTok on a branded problem is costly, however partnering with creators on the platform or creating a contest can assist enhance your hashtag. Simply make sure you comply with copyright legal guidelines.
Work with influential content material creators
Influential content material creators on TikTok have thousands and 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. So far, 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 may transfer on and take a look at once more. Bari, social media supervisor for Auntie Anne’s, recommends reusing previous content material with new sounds in her TikTok Bootcamp.
TikTok’s standing as a fast-moving pattern incubator means experimentation is rewarded, and lots of manufacturers are cementing their TikTok presence by testing new ways on the platform.
Analyze your exams by utilizing TikTok analytics to establish which of your posts are most profitable and ought to be recreated. Whereas TikTok solely saves your knowledge for 60 days, Sprout’s Reporting and Analytics instruments don’t put an expiration date in your publish efficiency knowledge. You’ll be able to measure how your TikTok content material performs over time, and even towards 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 dropping one.
You’ll be able to even reply to feedback with a brand new TikTok video. That is an revolutionary and ultra-interactive means of partaking along with your neighborhood, and filling out your content material calendar.
It’s all too straightforward to lose monitor of TikTok feedback once you’re monitoring conversations throughout a number of channels. That is the place utilizing a social media administration device to streamline feedback from your whole platforms into one hub turns out to be useful.
Ultimate ideas: Is TikTok a great match for you?
TikTok advertising and marketing will be extraordinarily highly effective when executed strategically. Opposite to widespread perception, the app is house 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 study extra about bringing TikTok into your advertising and marketing fold, take a look at our important TikTok for enterprise article to begin crafting your plan.
