Using TikTok for corporate video is a challenge, but with an agile strategy it can provide a great ROI.
TikTok isn’t like other video platforms.
It’s the first brand driven, user created content, streaming service.
Hence when you produce TikTok videos, you’re producing for TikTok in the first instance, with your business benefiting as an aside.
Consequently there are a myriad of potential pitfalls with TikTok.
So a clear TikTok video strategy is required by businesses who wish to engage with its users.
Step 1; Be committed.
Unlike YouTube or Facebook, which accommodates your brand and tone, TikTok is a brand conscious space that attracts users with its own values.
So TikTok requires businesses to subsume their brand and tone to successfully engage users.
Walking away from brand tone and values, can be a big step, so commitment is needed across internal stakeholders.
Building an audience on TikTok takes time;
Time to gain expertise, and time to build your audience.
Adopt an agile approach to your video production, iterating to move forward.
Don’t expect overnight results, you need to be in it for the long haul.
Step 2; Appoint a TikTok Champion.
TikTok is trend driven and requires constant monitoring to identify opportunities to produce content that maximises engagement and ROI.
As such you will need expertise within your business engaged with the platform on a regular basis.
This is most likely going to be someone within your marketing team, but the key is to have someone who is enthusiastic about the platform, and can “Get it”.
Approaching the platform from a sceptical perspective is going to put real barriers in place to success.
The right person in this role can turn TikTok from a conundrum to a celebration, as Zaria Parvez did for Duolingo…
Step 3; Do your research.
Your new TikTok Champion needs to be given time to scroll.
Learning what works, doesn’t work, what could work, trends, hashtags, competitors, and inspirational content producers, are all crucial to being able to identify the paradigms on TikTok that your business can leverage for its own content.
Not every paradigm on TikTok will work, so spend time to identify the good ones for you.
Step 4; Establish your paradigm.
This will be guided by the nature of your business, production capabilities, the goals for your TikTok program, and your target persona.
This paradigm should embrace a particular production style, this could be green-screen, smart phone footage, or animations, as well as a content type, such as singing, recipes, make-up demos, etc.
Consistency of paradigm is central to building audience, and that paradigm should be persona driven and guided by what your business does and what is possible within it.
If your business has a product to sell, then it may be based on demonstrations, use of, accidental inclusion, or influencer endorsements.
To raise brand awareness, use personality lead videos such as challenges or singing, video content which may not be directly linked to business outputs.
If you want to leverage TikTok search, answer questions with how-to demonstrations, cool activities set to music, anything to show or answer questions related to your business activities, whilst retaining a humorous or light touch.
Establishing your paradigm is where a TikTok video strategy starts to come together.
It’s central to identifing internal content opportunities in your business.
Step 5; Build a TikTok Content Matrix.
With an identified paradigm, clear target personas, and internal content opportunities identified, this can be a simple 2d matrix with your persona journey on one axis, and trend points on the other.
Brainstorm and identify internal paradigm video opportunities that can be quickly rolled out when trend points arise.
By cross referencing these with your persona journey, you can ensure your videos are creating actual value, and thus prioritise production.
Your persona’s journey depends on the nature of your business, and what your goals are on TikTok.
If you want to sell a product, the journey may be from awareness to purchase, with pressure points.
To build brand fans, your journey may include awareness, education, entertainment, inspiration and engagement.
Trends can be signposted by predictable external events, and then aligned with TikTok’s current trends.
Humour and lightness of touch need to be at the centre of content.
So reject serious messages and news driven trends, unless it is humorous or light hearted.
Identifying and monitoring trends, should be a core activity for your champion.
Step 6; Produce videos and publish.
This needs to be on a continuous basis, to encourage regular engagement.
It’s not an occasional activity when the planets align.
Regular outputs are needed with paradigm consistent content, to build your audience.
Step 7; Evaluate, benchmark, iterate.
TikTok constantly evolves, so your TikTok strategy needs to as well.
As such results need constant evaluation. What’s working? What’s not?
Benchmark that against similar content, what are they doing? Are you on trend?
Then go back and iterate.
Tweak your paradigm, update and challenge your matrix.
Your champion should be constantly looking for new trends and opportunities.
TikTok video production is the ultimate agile exercise, and needs to constantly iterate.
So get stuck in, find what works for you, and get some engagement!
For more help with corporate video production, contact us!
