Nowadays, it seems you can't leave your house without spotting someone doing a TikTok dance in the street!
TikTok has become one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, with over a billion active users worldwide.
Brands are increasingly using TikTok to reach younger audiences and build brand awareness. However, many brands make mistakes regarding their TikTok strategy, which can hinder their success on the platform.
In this blog post, we will highlight the top six mistakes brands make on TikTok so you can avoid them.
1. Not Understanding the Platform
TikTok is unique in terms of its audience, culture, and content. It is a platform predominantly used by young people, particularly those in the 16-24 age group. This audience has a distinct sense of humour, style, and language, which brands must understand to succeed on TikTok.
TikTok has a unique culture characterized by its use of music, dance, and challenges. Brands that fail to understand and embrace this risk coming across as out of touch and irrelevant to TikTok users.
You should spend time on the app, studying the types of content that perform well, and engaging with the TikTok community to better understand the platform.
2. Lack of Authenticity
TikTok users value creativity and authenticity, and they can quickly detect when a brand is being inauthentic or overly promotional. Brands that focus solely on pushing their products or services without adding value to their content risk coming across as spammy and can turn users off.
To avoid this, create authentic, engaging content that aligns with your brand values. This can be achieved by using humor, storytelling, and other creative techniques to make your content stand out.
Avoid generic or recycled content. Strive to create original and compelling content that resonates with your target audience.
Finally, it's essential to balance promotion with storytelling, ensuring content provides value to users beyond just promoting your products or services.
3. Ignoring Trends
TikTok trends are essential to the platform's culture and constantly evolve. Brands that fail to keep up with these trends may appear out of touch or irrelevant to TikTok users.
By keeping up with trends and incorporating them into your content, you can increase your chances of success. This can involve participating in popular challenges, using trending music or hashtags, or creating content that aligns with current events or cultural moments.
However, it's important to note that trend-focused content must align with your brand values and messaging. Jumping on a trend just for the sake of it without a strategic plan can backfire and damage brand credibility.
4. Focusing on Sales Rather than Storytelling
TikTok is a platform where users come to be entertained, inspired, and informed. Brands that use TikTok solely as a platform for advertising or direct sales are likely to fail.
You must focus on storytelling, engaging your audience through creative, entertaining, and inspiring content. This can involve using humor, music, and creative editing to tell a story or showcase your values and mission. By focusing on storytelling, you can build brand awareness and connect with your target audience more meaningfully.
While it's essential to incorporate product or service promotion into your TikTok content, you should aim to make this secondary to the storytelling aspect. Instead, the promotional message should be subtly woven into the content to avoid appearing overly promotional.
5. Poor Production Quality
TikTok is highly visual, and content that is poorly produced or lacks visual appeal is unlikely to perform well. Brands that fail to invest in high-quality production risk coming across as unprofessional and can damage their brand image.
To avoid this mistake, consider investing in high-quality equipment, such as cameras and lighting, or hiring professional video editors and content creators to produce your content.
Also, pay attention to details such as framing, lighting, and sound quality, which can significantly affect the overall production value.
6. Lack of Engagement
TikTok is a social platform, and engagement is crucial to building a loyal following and growing brand awareness. You may appear aloof or disinterested in your followers if you don't engage with your audience.
Instead, respond to comments, participate in challenges, or create content that invites user participation. Pay attention to your followers' feedback and incorporate it into your content strategy.
It's also important to note that engagement on TikTok is a two-way street. Don't simply expect your followers to engage with your content without reciprocating the engagement. Take the time to engage with other users' content, participate in challenges, and comment on other users' posts to build a community on the platform.
All in all, brands that want to succeed on TikTok must avoid common mistakes that can harm their brand image and limit their reach on the platform. Follow the advice mentioned above to give yourself the best chance of success.