Four Marketing Lessons From TikTok [Part 2 of 4]
Somewhere in the early days of the pandemic, I downloaded a dance app everyone was talking about for entertainment. I enjoy Tik Tok because it's generally a happy place for me - my algorithm is solidly about lighthearted entertainment.
I've also been super fascinated by the early adopters and the swift rise of Tik Tok creators. This isn't an email telling you that you need to be on Tik Tok. But, I find the marketing angle in everything and I can't wait to share this with you!
Here are four of my favorite Tik Tok creators, specifically chosen for what we can learn from them about content creation.
Mikayla has 13 million followers who watch her makeup tutorials that range from everyday wear to the theatrical. With a professional history in broadcasting and radio, she actually has a "performance" voice she initially used in her videos to mask the harshness of her accent.
But, it wasn't until she regularly showed up bare-faced, full BAH-stin accent ablaze (despite bullying and criticism), and discussed how makeup gave her a creative outlet that improved her mental health that she caught fire.
Take-away: Be real. There is no longer room for any hint of fakery online.
There are a handful of TikTokers whose entire account and business model is posting reviews of Amazon items that link back to their Amazon storefront, where they receive a small commission.
What started as a side hustle will probably put the baby they're about to have through college and grad school. If you have something to sell, you need to talk about it - all the time, like every day in some capacity.
Consider this: Rachel has 2.2M followers. If only 1/8% (a fraction of 1%) of her followers buy a product from her storefront every day, and she only makes a $0.25 commission on each sale, she's still making over $20k per month. Her real-life commissions are much higher, especially considering the perpetual nature of her content.
The gold is in the sheer simplicity of her videos. They start exactly the same every single time. She and her husband lean into each other, and she says, “Things you didn’t know you needed off Amazon, Part X." She quickly demonstrates the product, anticipates skepticism, and delivers the benefit/result. The products are almost selling themselves - it's either something you want or it's not.
Take-away: Keep it simple. But do not hold back from selling your sh*t! People can't buy your stuff if they don't know it exists or how it will help them.
In October 2021, everything changed for this Tik Toker when she shared her worst date; it involved a guy online who met her at Taco Bell and proceeded to order - literally - 100 tacos on her dime.
Elyse has a unique style, cadence, and surprise element in all her stories - which is why she is the most referenced TT user among other TikTokers and likely, the most famous. She's neurodivergent, regularly speaks about mental health, and is the kind of person who says "yes" to almost anything, which is why she has so many good stories.
Creators like Elyse have shifted the entire platform from being one focused on dance (physical performance) to storytelling - that's how powerful storytelling is. She left her job as a UX web designer to tell stories online full-time.
Take-away: Tell your stories. Be awkward, funny, and genuine - that's how people connect.
After floundering a bit as an "affluent influencer" sharing her designer handbag hauls and beauty routines, Danielle hit her stride when she started sharing videos of her "snacks."
While hunched over her kitchen counter with poor lighting, her phone leaned against her backsplash; she captivated the internet with her interesting combinations: smoked oysters on a corn chip, drizzled with chili crunch oil (most be Momofuku), or fitness bread, spread with Irish butter "to the tooth," and topped with caviar. Ca-vi-ar! At 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, as a snack.
Let's be real; nobody cares about watching a rich lady eat bougie food - that's why she struggled to get noticed among similar style-influencers. But, her unique knowledge (her family owns one of the world's largest caviar producers and distributors) and enthusiasm taught us how to eat caviar, smoked mussels from a can, and even "tin fish" like mackerel and sardines, and it's what makes her content appealing.
She constantly mentions her family's brand, Marky's, but refrains from selling us on her product alone. She knows that plenty of people will find their way to her brand... the key is to show them exactly what to buy and how to use it when they land there.
Take-away: Share your expertise freely and regularly. It builds your credibility and leads people to the best user experience within your brand.
In an effort to claim “I'm working" while scrolling through Tik Tok, I've whittled this list down from many successful creators. These women work hard as full-time (or almost full-time) content creators. They earn their living from commissions, sponsorships, or indirectly by promoting their brand.
The good news is that you have a business and viable offers that make money. You just have to get in front of more people to level up. In the past - that was often by using paid ads. But the thing about ads is that THEY ARE ALSO CONTENT! So, even if you plan to "pay to play," you need to create the ad content.
You don't have to:
Be on Tik Tok
Create content every day
Do video if you don't want to
But you do need to:
Be consistent in delivering content to your audience
Create engaging content
Build a pipeline that ensures your content leads to monetization
This is your year to build a content machine that inspires you to show up, share your ideas and solutions, and create a greater impact.
Whether you've already started planning your content or feel completely overwhelmed at adding this to your business plan, take just two hours with me to get a system and a plan in place for the next 6-12 months.
In our time together, we'll:
Create an Idea Bank system to drop all your topics
Establish a workflow to draft, edit, publish, and optimize
Develop an action plan to repurpose your content across multiple platforms
Ensure you have multiple call-to-action options so all of your content becomes a pipeline for conversion
Brainstorm a year's worth of solutions-based content
*You'll walk away with a system and a plan to produce content with intention and ease throughout the next year.
Book your Content Creation Intensive with me by today!
This is part 2 of 4 in my series about the importance of Content Creation. If you want to catch up on article #1, you can find it here.
