Building Your Thought Leadership Profile on TikTok
Unsure of how to get started with TikTok? Rest assured that you are not alone - many leaders, including seasoned communicators, have not ventured onto the app because they either:
1) feel intimidated
2) don’t know how to make TikTok work for them
3) don’t understand its value
This explainer breaks down the basics of getting started on TikTok as a thought leader.
Q. Do I need to be on TikTok?
The answer is yes if you have 1) a public platform, 2) need to build an audience, and/or 3) require a robust digital presence. Additionally, if your line of work or passion benefits from creating a thought leadership profile online and talking about what you do and/or sharing your unique perspective, you should be on TikTok.
The ability to be discovered by and connect with new audiences is unparalleled on TikTok. The most successful accounts can grow from 0 to 100K+ followers by consistently posting (daily) valuable and interesting content in just a few months.
Success is relative and it’s more important to connect with the right audience rather than create a huge audience, and TikTok is one of the best apps to use to connect with audiences looking for what you want to talk about.
TikTok has 1.5 billion active global users. 148 million monthly unique users are based in the United States - 44% of the U.S population.
Q. Isn’t TikTok getting banned?
Not necessarily. Although President Biden signed a bill banning TikTok this spring, the ban is facing legal challenges that will likely delay action and get tied up in the courts.
And even if a ban were to go into effect some time in the future, it is still worth it to use TikTok to build an audience that you can 1) channel into your other social media platforms and 2) into an email list to stay connected with.
The key is to avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket and diversifying your digital thought leadership footprint across multiple social media platforms. Content that you prepare for TikTok can easily be repurposed on YouTube and Instagram, among other social media platforms, and a smart social media strategy ensures this is the case.
Q. How does TikTok work?
For thought leaders, I recommend creating videos speaking directly to the camera and addressing your audience.
Successful videos are engaging:
Open with a hook to capture audience attention.
Tell a story or share something of value in an interesting way.
Close with either a call-to-action, question, or insight that prompts the user to like, comment, save or reshare the video.
Video engagement is everything on TikTok and a combination of likes, comments, saves, and reshares drives the number of people your videos reach. The videos with the most engagement reach the largest number of users.
Q. What do I talk about?
While you can talk about anything, I encourage you to develop a content strategy for TikTok. Identify select topics that you want to talk about.
Once those are identified, do some research on the topic areas on the app and see what other accounts are talking about and how they are delivering their messages. Are they creating explainers, vlogs, storytimes, question & answer sessions, etc.?
Once you’ve done your research, determine how you want to talk about and deliver your selected topics and then start recording.
Q. What equipment do I need to make TikTok videos?
You need a smartphone; good lighting; and a phone holder, stabilizer, and/or tripod. And potentially a microphone or headphones if you’re going to be in a noisy space or want to record on the go.
Find a space in your home or office that’s well lit and not overly distracting - you want the user paying attention to what you’re saying, not fixated on your background.
Good lighting is key and you can buy a clip light to adhere to your phone when recording that you can also travel with.
Q. What are do’s and don’ts?
Minimize noise
Have great lighting
Stabilize your recording device
Open with a hook
Keep your eyes focused on the same point as you are recording
Videos should be fluid, continuous, and not lose momentum. That means they should be edited to cut out any dead air, pauses, “umms,” and other filler words.
Record and post consistently
Develop a system to make creating content sustainable for you
Repurpose TikTok videos on your other social media platforms
Add a trending audio
Add keyword optimized text on the video as audio captions and a headline, and for the cover and post caption, too, for TikTok search optimization
Q. Do I need to boost my posts with paid spend?
It depends on your goals.
If there is urgency to grow your account quickly, then yes. Boosting your TikTok posts is the fastest way to scale your account and I’ve seen it be effective when the target + goal of the boost are very specific.
Otherwise, there are organic ways to scale your account via your content strategy and approach.
Q. When will I get over the cringe factor of posting videos of myself on social media?
It fades fast! Trust me - I can personally attest to this. You will get over the cringe very quickly as you create and post content.
In my own experience as a creator and in working with thought leadership clients, you’ll move beyond it within 1-2 weeks.
Each time I launch a new client, the initial reception is warm and wonderful, it motivates my clients to keep going and to create more.
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Feel free to comment or reach out with specific questions or to schedule a consultation to learn more about TikTok strategy and our thought leadership coaching and consulting services.