How to Create a TikTok Marketing Strategy + Tools

TikTok is quickly becoming the most popular social media platform, so it’s the perfect time to start planning your TikTok marketing strategy.

But marketing on TikTok is not the same as marketing on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. The content that is successful for brands on TikTok is very different from the other platforms.

In fact, it’s very common for brands to try uploading videos that they would upload to other social media platforms and end up not getting the results they expected.

However, if you follow this guide, you will have the basis for a great strategy.

But before we get into that, why should you be marketing on TikTok?

Why you should have a TikTok marketing strategy

The first reason is the app’s popularity.

To put this into perspective, TikTok currently has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. On the other hand, Instagram, which has been around much longer than TikTok, also has 1 billion monthly active users.

And people of all ages are using TikTok, so you can be sure that your target audience is on the platform. Take a look:

And it’s just the beginning for TikTok.

The second reason is the algorithm.

At this point, everyone knows that someone with 0 followers can potentially get millions of views. The TikTok algorithm makes this possible by having a deep understanding of people’s interests. So every video you post has the potential to reach millions of people even if you haven’t built a big following yet.

All of this means that TikTok makes it easier to reach your target audience.

How to create a successful TikTok marketing strategy in 5 steps

Now, let’s talk strategy. 

These are the steps you need to follow in order to have the best possible TikTok strategy for your business:

1. Set clear goals
2. Define your audience
3. Create TikToks that get views
4. Partner with influencers and creators
5. Post regularly

1. Set clear goals

The first step in any social media strategy is to define what you want to achieve. Once you know what are your goals, it will be easier to know how to get there.

These are the most common goals for TikTok marketing:

• Get more sales
• Increase overall brand awareness
• Build a community
• Drive awareness to a new product launch
• Collect user-generated content

2. Define your audience

You probably already know every detail about your target audience, but for TikTok, you need to take it to the next level.

According to a press release by TikTok, the algorithm works by recommending content based on the following factors:

• Video watch time
• Hashtags 
• Sounds
• Likes
• Shares
• Comments
• Location
• Language

Through them, and probably a few others, the algorithm understands what are the current and potential interests of each user.

That means that you need to do a deep dive into the content your target audience is interested in, and how an AI Video Generator can create videos tailored to those interests. This way, you can create videos based on those same topics and formats.

Your goal is to make TikTok understand that your video will interest your audience.

3. Create TikToks that get views

If you took your time with the previous step, then you probably noticed that TikTok content is very different from other platforms. You can’t be too salesy or post typical corporate content that you would post on Linkedin.

Because of that fact, many brands get discouraged.

Fortunately, since we know how the algorithm works, we can give you a few tips that will help you create content that is successful on this platform.

Get familiar with TikTok

Before you start planning any video, spend some time using the app.

Watch your “For You Page” and pay attention to the views, likes, and comments for videos that interest you. Then, watch as many TikToks from brands as you can, especially brands in your industry. They already have a strategy that may or may not be working, so take notes of the successful video ideas you find.

This is the best tip we can give you to get a feel of what could work for you.

Follow trends

On TikTok, trends are huge, much more than on other platforms. 

So, it’s crucial that you pay attention to the trending sounds, hashtags, and challenges that your target audience is interested in. Then, make your own videos using the same sounds and hashtags.

This will give your videos an organic boost.

Make authentic TikTok content

Most successful TikTok videos feel authentic. 

That’s one of the reasons why the platform is so popular. It’s usually a person doing something in their bedroom without a $100,000 production behind them.

In the case of brands, the same applies.

The more authentic your videos feel, the more successful they will be.

A trap that brands usually fall into, is making videos that feel too salesy. Consumers can tell when you are only trying to sell something, and they hate it. So you need to find a balance between fun content and talking about your products. Make sure to use professional video production for more serious, informative videos, but also feel free to create fun TikTok trends on your own.

With that in mind, involve your employees to come up with fun ideas like behind-the-scenes, Q&As, and memes. Moreover, consider doing fun live streams and use a TikTok stream key to share those videos with even more people, outside of the platform.

Use video editing tools

The fact that you want your videos to feel authentic doesn’t mean they should be badly edited.

Great editing goes a long way.

Just from browsing the app for a few minutes, you can tell that most viral videos have decent editing, even if it’s a simple video.

TikTok allows you to edit videos within the app, however, the native editor is not great since it’s very limited. 

That is why brands and influencers use editing software, for example, Promo and InVideo.

You can use this tool to easily edit videos based on viral TikToks. Adding a subtitling service to your editing process can also make your videos more accessible and engaging for diverse audiences, increasing their reach. Start from scratch or use one of their pre-designed templates to quickly create all kinds of videos.

4. Add influencers to your TikTok marketing strategy

Influencers are people who have already built a connection with an audience on a social media platform. This connection makes them extremely effective at promoting products and services.

Why?

Because consumers trust influencers and online word of mouth much more than any other channel when it comes to brand recommendations.

Actually, 92% of people trust online word of mouth recommendations.

Influencer opinions are so powerful that people now actively search on social media for product recommendations when making purchase decisions.

With that in mind, TikTok influencers and creators can become great communicators for your business. 

You can run campaigns in which they talk about you and then use that content for your own page as well. Then, you can even repurpose their content in the form of ads.

This is actually a best practice for TikTok Ads and content in general because influencer content feels more authentic than brand content. To strengthen these campaigns, consider using print-on-demand branded items that influencers can feature in their content. Custom apparel, accessories, or lifestyle products that reflect the brand can be seamlessly incorporated into their posts, creating organic engagement with your brand. These items become props for authentic storytelling, subtly reinforcing brand affinity among followers and boosting the reach and impact of your influencer partnerships.

But don’t just hire anybody.

You need to find influencers that can genuinely talk about you so that it feels authentic. And most importantly, you need to see if the creator’s audience will connect with your products. Meaning that their audience needs to be your target demographic.

Before launching any campaigns, ensure you have a solid influencer contract template ready that outlines each party’s responsibilities, compensation, and terms. This legal foundation not only protects your interests but also clarifies the relationship, setting the stage for a successful partnership.

How to find the perfect TikTok influencers?

To start doing collaborations, you first need to find the right creators. This step is critical to the success of your campaigns.

You can do your research on TikTok by browsing profiles and making a list of potential candidates. These candidates should have all your desired characteristics in a creator. You can also use Go web scraping to gather more data about them online and ensure they’re the right fit for your brand.

Another option is to use a tool like Upfluence, which has an influencer database that you can browse through to find the ideal influencers. This tool can also have access to your customer database, so you can find influential customers and partner with them. 

This is actually the best method to find the perfect influencers. Just think about it. Who better to authentically promote your brand than a fan?

5. Post regularly

Just like in any other social media, consistency is key. And TikTok rewards consistency more than other platforms.

So don’t be discouraged if your first videos don’t do well.

For most brands, it takes some time to create content that resonates with their target audience. But if you keep trying, eventually you will find the formats that work for you.

So keep posting videos, even daily if possible.

And most importantly, experiment with new ideas, you never know when you can strike gold.

How to schedule TikToks

To be consistent on TikTok as a brand, it’s a good practice to create a content calendar, record the videos beforehand, and schedule them to get posted automatically.

This way you can be sure that you’re being consistent and that you are posting at the right time.

Unfortunately, there is no way to schedule TikToks from the app, so you need a social media tool that lets you do it.

These are a few great tools that allow you to do exactly this:

• Crowdfire
• Social Champ
• SocialBee
• SocialPilot

Final thoughts on creating a successful TikTok marketing strategy

Something else that you should include in your TikTok strategy is engaging with other accounts.

Make sure you are very active in your comment sections and in other videos’ comment sections as well. People love to interact with brands.

Additionally, consider using ads.

For TikTok ads, the same tips we mentioned above apply. Ads that feel authentic and low-budget perform better.

Adding these 2 pieces to your strategy will take your marketing to the next level.