6 Tips for Starting Your Brand on TikTok

Social media platforms continue to expand their reach worldwide, with more people signing up daily and engaging with their content and friends. But one social media platform is far outstripping others in terms of growth: TikTok.

But this growth is both a blessing and a curse if you’re just starting out building a brand. On the one hand, you have a fast-growing audience to tap into, but on the other hand, you’re just one fish in an enormous pond.

Because of these factors, your strategy is crucial if you want to start your brand successfully on TikTok. To increase your chances of meeting your goals, try these six tips for starting your brand on TikTok.

• 1. Find Your Audience

  Identifying your audience is the key to creating relevant content. There are hundreds of millions of TikTok users, so no matter how niche your brand is, your people are out there. But you must find them and get your brand in front of them. To increase your chances, consider these key tools.

  • Hashtags

    The hashtags you attach to your content help people who are actively searching for certain things. It can be tempting to tack on a bunch of general hashtags, but you might still be lost in a sea of content. Identify core or niche hashtags that fit your brand and content, so people with those interests are more likely to see you when searching.

  • Ads

    Buying ads is a great way to get your foot in the door. To maximize views, ensure your ad content uses audio and isn’t too short or too long—about 25 to 35 seconds is effective. Change up your ad content at least weekly to avoid boring your audience, and check what’s trending to cash in on music or dance challenges. In addition, try out multiple ad types and watch your analytics to see which performs best for you.

  • Third-party apps

    Find a third-party app that can help you manage follower engagement across all your social media and also provides analytics. The more you respond to your followers, the more they’ll engage with you and your brand.

• 2. Identify Exactly What You Are Selling

  

  You started a brand for a reason. Whether your brand is you, a service, or a product, you are selling something to your audience. While you can create all kinds of content, you should be clear about what you are selling on your TikTok account. Make sure your profile reflects your brand and helps people find what you’re selling quickly and easily.

  Consider these important details:

  • A branded hashtag
  • Your logo and profile pic
  • A link to your website or landing page, if applicable
  • A concise, targeted bio
  • A theme, such as a color palette, specific sound, or catchphrase

• 3. Know When Your Audience Is Engaging

  Watching your data is crucial. You need to know when the best times for posting content are so you have a better chance of getting in front of more eyeballs. However, the best times to be seen aren’t always the best times to create content. Currently, the best day of the week to post on TikTok is Saturday, and the best time slot is 6 to 9 PM.

  Using these general best times can help you get started with releasing your content. Still, you’ll also want to pay attention to how your audience responds and where your audience is located. If you have a global reach, the best times for you might be very different, or even in the middle of the night.

  Using third-party apps can make a huge difference in how quickly you jump-start your brand. For example, while you can rely on TikTok’s analytics tools, a third-party app can give you a more detailed picture of how people interact with your content and help you schedule your content releases at the best times for you.

• 4. Find Out Where Your Audience Is

  

  If you can answer this question, you’ll gain insight into how you can reach them. While there are many more older people on TikTok than ever before, the audience is still skewed younger. And within the TikTok community, there are hundreds or thousands of smaller communities with branches.

  Think about other brands that may be similar to you. You’ll probably fit within the same niches, and their customers and followers could potentially become yours.

  You’ll also need to know where in the world your audience is. If you are a highly specific niche brand, then you might appeal only to people in a specific geographical region. However, don’t discount your potential to reach a broader audience than you expected. And knowing where your growing audience is located will help you shape your content subjects as well as when you post.

• 5. Learn Why You Are Starting a Brand

  It is vital to know why you are starting a brand. Are you filling a need that other brands don’t answer? Are you passionate about a subject or product and want to offer that love and passion to others? Perhaps you’re starting a brand for more financial, pragmatic reasons.

  Whatever the reasons are, you must identify them, or you will struggle to form a cohesive message. Knowing your ‘why’ will drive your goal-setting and motivate you when you’re working hard to gain a foothold.

  Once you have determined why you are starting your brand, set some SMART goals. SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.

• 6. Plan How You Will Take the Next Step

  

  There is always room for growth. If you go through the previous steps and you’re beginning to see more followers, you’ll need to think about what you’ll do next. How big do you want your brand to be?

  And if you’re still struggling to get views, consider buying likes and views. This tactic can boost your visibility and help you with the algorithms so your potential followers and customers can find you among a sea of other brands.

The most successful brands reevaluate their strategies and techniques regularly to ensure they are adapting to changes while staying true to their brand. And checking in can help you figure out if there’s something you can do better or if some of your strategies are just wasting your time. Stay the course, and you’ll create a strong brand on TikTok and beyond.