The conquest of the Internet by the youngest has become more audiovisual than ever thanks to TikTok, the Chinese app whose downloads in 2019 reached 738 million and which today has 500 million users.
A figure that is not trivial despite being far from Instagram’s billion users or Facebook’s nearly 2.3 billion. But this is not about users. TikTok’s success lies in how it has been able to reach the youngest audience through a fresh format and ultra-fast consumption.
What is TikTok and what is it for?
If you are a neophyte, in a very summarized form we can say that TikTok offers the possibility of creating 15-second videos with music or dialogues from series, movies, and viral videos in a very simple way.
What started in Asia has become a global phenomenon already available in more than 150 countries. This is partly thanks to Byte Dance, the creator of the app, buying musica.ly, which at the time was the leader among applications of these characteristics in the Western market. The purchase did not come cheap, as the start-up had to repay the amount of no more and no less than 1,000 million dollars. A unicorn that raised TikTok to a global level.
If you thought TikTok was just for viral dances or lip-sync videos, you’re wrong – there’s so much more!
From pranks and tricks to beauty tutorials and puppy videos, there’s room for all kinds of content on the platform.
How to set up your TikTok account
Before you dive into so much fun stuff like posting videos, you’ll need to create a TikTok account and familiarize yourself with the platform.
Here’s how:
Step 1: Sign up.
Head to the App Store or Google Play and download TikTok. When you open the app, you’ll find yourself on the “For You” page (also known as the TikTok home page).
From there, go to the “Me” tab at the bottom right of the screen. Here you will be prompted to sign up with a pre-existing phone number, email address, or social media account.
Once you have an account, click “Edit Profile” to update your username and bio, add a profile picture, and add a link to the bio if applicable.
These simple edits are great ways to optimize a profile. Now when people visit your page, they will get key information about your brand right away.
Step 2: Check out the “For You” and “Discover” pages.
Like most social media platforms, trends come and go quickly on TikTok. So if you want to capitalize on a trend, it’s a good idea to act quickly.
The best way to learn about daily trends is to scroll through the “For You” and “Discover” pages.
The “For You” page is algorithmically selected based on the videos you interact with, the accounts and hashtags you follow, your location and language preferences, and the type of content you create.
The “Discover” page is selected using TikTok’s algorithm, which does the work of finding trends for you. Here, you’ll see popular hashtags, sounds, and effects. Click on each trend to see the top videos or bookmark them for later.
Step 3: Follow and interact with like-minded creators.
Are you trying to reach a specific audience? Think about the type of content, brands, and creators you’re most likely to follow and interact with.
Once you’ve done some research, check what those brands and creators share on their TikTok accounts. And if they resonate with your brand, give them a follow!
This is a great way to learn more about your target audience, become familiar with the videos they enjoy watching and find inspiration from trends.
And if you want to build an engaged community on your TikTok account, it’s a good idea to actively interact with other creators in that community.
Fortunately, TikTok makes it easy for you with a series of icons you’ll see to the right of each video:
The first icon (a profile picture with a “+” underneath)which will take you to a user’s profile where you can follow them. How to buy tiktok likes? Be sure to visit their web page to get more important information.
The second is a heart, which you can tap to like a video.
There is a speech bubble that you can tap to leave a comment.
The arrow allows you to share TikTok videos with other platforms.
And there is a rotating log-like icon that will show you the sound used in the video (as well as other videos that use the same sound).
