Years ago I once asked a Facebook rep whether a recently released ad format was successful because it truly was what users were engaging with the most *or* if it were simply because Facebook was pushing the new format and serving it to users the most? 

A true Chicken or the Egg conundrum. 

The Facebook rep was unsurprisingly unwilling to commit to a direct answer. It’s not uncommon for tech platforms to implement new features and then chase the desired behavior after the fact. As marketers and business owners we simply need to acknowledge the tools available to us and understand how to maximize their effectiveness. 

With that being said the latest example of the Chicken or Egg conundrum is the explosion of TikTok and Reels over the past couple of years. Reels are Meta’s answer to TikTok, similar to how it created Stories as a response to Snapchat. I can say from personal experience the introduction of Stories on Instagram drastically reduced my time spent on Snapchat, effectively weaning me off of Snapchat’s ephemeral content. Meta has attempted to do the same with Reels to combat rising competitor TikTok with mixed results as TikTok continues to dominate the rankings of app downloads, time spent on app, and user engagement metrics. So the question as marketers and business owners: Is this going to stick? Do I need to be making TikToks? What about Reels?

Yes.

Okay, the answer is obviously more complex than that depending on your brand, your audience, your goals, your resources etc. But, brands need to be paying attention to what consumers are doing and where they’re spending their time. More and more of that time is being spent on platforms like TikTok. Video content still reigns supreme over static social posts, with vertical, shorter, engaging video content currently presiding at the top.

Not sure where to begin? My team can help your business jump right into the deep end, but if you want to dip your toes in first there are a few ways to do just that. To skip spending the hours necessary to understand top performing trends, content styles, formats etc. below are a few tips on how your business can get started on TikTok right now.

• Create for sound on
  • Unlike Facebook and Instagram where content is automatically muted and it’s a best practice to optimize videos for sound off, TikTok is the opposite. Users browsing their For Your Page on TikTok will be shown full screen videos with sound on and each piece of content served based on individual engagement and interests. Compare that to the Instagram Discover section where users see thumbnails of posts as well as muted videos and Reels, which they can choose to engage with, or not.  
• Keep It Short and Simple
  • Multiple studies recommend the ideal video length is 9-15 seconds with no longer than 60 seconds
  • With this being said, it’s vital to create hooks in the opening frames
• “Don’t make ads. Make TikToks.”
  • It’s the north star of TikTok content guidelines as brands will perform much better interacting more like an individual than a business. 
  • Humor and authenticity are key
• Be consistent
  • The TikTok algorithm looks at the amount of activity and engagement a post has in determining its reach, but according to TikTok it does not factor in total follower counts or virality of previous videos. What this means is even if your brand is completely new to TikTok, you’re only one piece of content away from going viral. Give yourself plenty of at bats.
  • A best practice in terms of what to create is 1/3 original content, 1/3 jumping on trending topics, 1/3 directly engaging with your community.

These are just a few tips to get you started, but the key is to just experiment with your voice and your messaging. It’s your brand, but don’t pigeonhole yourself into one type of content out of the gate. The more types of content you experiment with and create, the more opportunities you’ll have to find and reach new audiences.