Producing
A musician’s Inexperienced persons Information to TikTok
Beginning your TikTok journey might be intimidating, however with just a little planning and a variety of luck, yow will discover success on the planet’s most influential social media platform.
by James Shotwell from Haulix
TikTok is right here to remain. Inside a couple of quick years, the wildly profitable video-sharing platform has develop into one of many world’s hottest apps, surpassing Fb and Instagram in 2021 because the most used app in the US. TikTok has develop into recognized for its capability to take full unknowns and catapult them in entrance of thousands and thousands in a single day, all because of an insanely well-tuned algorithm. For all of the gripes and criticism individuals might have, TikTok appears to be the one place on-line the place actually anybody can have an opportunity at digital success.
However let’s be sincere. You’ve in all probability tried creating TikTok content material with mediocre outcomes, otherwise you’ve prevented making something since you’re uncertain how one can begin. Both manner, it’s superb!
Beginning a brand new platform is frightening, particularly while you perceive how useful that service can doubtlessly be in your profession.
Very first thing’s first—In case you haven’t began posting to TikTok but, now could be the time.
Don’t know what you’re doing? No drawback! No one does at first.
The one particular person anticipating you to be a TikTok perfectionist is you!
Acquired it? Okay! Let’s start.
What Counts As A View On TikTok?
Every platform counts views in numerous methods. TikTok retains it easy. From the second your video performs, it’s thought-about a view. There isn’t a minimal watch time past that preliminary, split-second engagement.
Watching your personal video on replay 100x over doesn’t generate 100 views. TikTok doesn’t rely views from your personal account.
I see a variety of accounts utilizing #FYP and #ForYouPage hashtags. Do I would like to do this?
No proof utilizing #FYP or #ForYouPage will increase the chance of a video receiving widespread distribution exists. Here’s a TikTok from social media guru Jack Appleby explaining the uselessness of those hashtags:
What sort of movies work greatest for [insert your niche here] musicians?
The reply may very well be something, and that’s the reason TikTok is beloved by thousands and thousands. There isn’t a one solution to interact with customers, construct an viewers, or promote your artwork. Some musicians strictly share high-quality, polished clips on their TikTok, and others put up uncooked demos nearly every day. Sure artists barely put up music, similar to Doja Cat, however that doesn’t imply her content material isn’t serving to her streams or ticket gross sales. Persona will get you far on the web, and that’s notably true on TikTok.
In case you’re not getting any views in your TikToks, be affected person and don’t surrender. TikTok is all about trial and error. Discovering your groove can take time. With the next suggestions and a constant posting schedule, you’ll begin to see the views rise. We imagine in you.
Optimizing Your Content material For The ‘For You’ Web page
The purpose of each TikTok consumer is to get featured on the app’s For You web page (in any other case often called FYP). The FYP is your homepage on the app, and it algorithmically curates an infinite feed of content material tailor-made to your pursuits.
The For You web page is nice as a result of anybody might be featured, and we imply anybody. TikTok’s distinctive distribution system provides each video an opportunity at going viral, so any nice piece of content material often is the factor that modifications your life eternally.
Nonetheless, it’s greatest to hedge your bets by optimizing your content material for FYP distribution. Some methods to do that embody:
- Use related key phrases or hashtags in your captions
- Be constant in your area of interest
- Use trending audio
- Prioritize shorter movies (Though TikTok permits movies as much as a number of minutes in size, the common watch time per consumer per clip is far shorter. One report discovered customers watched between 3 and 5 seconds, on common, earlier than transferring on.)
- Submit at optimum occasions (Our pals at Later have a implausible information to discovering the very best time in your content material)
[ MORE: 10 stats that prove you shouldn’t ignore TikTok ]
Interact With Customers And Content material In Your Area of interest
One of the best praise anybody will pay TikTok is that it has cultivated an area the place each area of interest has a spot, and there may be room for each area of interest. It doesn’t matter what you make or the way you sound, an viewers is ready for you on TikTok. The issue is discovering them.
If you already know your area of interest, take into consideration what content material they’d need to see and the kind of creators they’d possible comply with. After getting an inventory, begin looking for and interesting with that content material. Observe the creators that exist already in your area of interest, and you’ll want to touch upon their clips. Begin constructing these relationships by merely being current, and in time, you’ll find you’ve develop into a part of a supportive group that’s keen in your subsequent put up.
Don’t draw back from trending sounds and results, even these with music
Somebody will learn this information and scoff on the thought of utilizing another person’s music to advertise their content material. “I’m not Dua Lipa,” they’ll suppose, “what may “Levitate” ever do for me?
Research have proven that top-of-the-line methods to get extra views on TikTok is by following common traits on the platform. That features using sounds and results.
There’s a principle amongst some TikTokers that including a trending sound to your video — even at a low quantity — will trick the algorithm into displaying your content material to extra individuals.
Whether or not or not that’s confirmed to be true, it is smart. TikTok’s algorithm desires to point out customers extra of the content material they already love, so utilizing movies that share the identical sound or impact would possible fall below that umbrella.
All the time use key phrases in your captions (even when it feels apparent)
TikTok has an unbelievable search performance designed to rapidly join customers with the content material and creators they need to uncover. Meaning writing related captions utilizing descriptive key phrases can drastically influence your content material’s discoverability.
Let’s use heavy steel for example. Many individuals might assume heavy steel has no place on TikTok, however that isn’t true. Heavy steel has a thriving group on TikTok, however customers will not be more likely to bump into it blindly. These hoping to see heavy steel content material might want to seek for it, which means they’ll possible use phrases similar to “heavy steel” and “heavy steel music” to see what creators and creations exist on the app.
Andrew Baena makes use of TikTok to advertise his band Carcosa with out utilizing their music.
Andrew Baena makes use of TikTok to advertise his band Carcosa with out utilizing their music.
For artists, this presents a chance for a straightforward win. By describing your music and elegance within the captions of your content material, you open your self as much as discovery from customers looking for out new content material. It’s a match made in heaven alternative out there to anybody good sufficient to explain themselves in each caption.
Listed below are some easy examples of how a heavy steel act may caption their TikTok content material:
- “In search of brutal heavy steel? Try our new music, “TITLE GOES HERE”!”
- “The place are our fellow metalheads at?”
- “We wrote this music with mosh pits in thoughts. Any heavy steel followers coming to [insert festival performance]?”
- “We’re a heavy steel band from [insert your hometown], and that is our story.”
As you’ll be able to see, every caption makes use of key phrases and phrases that heavy steel followers are more likely to search.
Quick movies typically carry out greatest. Right here’s why:
Watching full movies is a powerful indicator of curiosity, particularly after they loop so nicely that viewers watch them a number of occasions. That’s the reason TikTok’s algorithm emphasizes shorter movies. The app might enable for movies as much as 10 minutes in size, however most customers—new accounts specifically—usually tend to see greater viewership with shorter movies.
This can be a nice instance of a brief video with a looping sound that may simply trick viewers into a number of repeat viewings.
This can be a nice instance of a brief video with a looping sound that may simply trick viewers into a number of repeat viewings.
On the naked minimal, consultants say movies want a minimum of three seconds of common viewership to get an algorithmic enhance. Design your video in order that viewers really feel compelled to look at a minimum of that lengthy.
It bears repeating: Submit invaluable content material
When contemplating what to put up on TikTok, ask your self the next questions:
- What do I like to look at on TikTok?
- What would make me need to take heed to an artist?
- What would make me not need to take heed to an artist?
- How do I promote myself to somebody whose by no means heard my music?
- What are different artists in my area of interest doing? Would one thing comparable work for me?
- Do I discover this entertaining?
Unbiased artist Nic D discovered success on TikTok by posting quick performances of his music in public locations. His TikTok is stuffed with movies of him performing in nail salons, eating places, metropolis streets, mountain tops, and just about anyplace else can identify. For music, Nic makes use of particular clips from his songs repeatedly to emphasise their catchiness. Right here’s an instance:
The solutions you provide you with will function the idea in your preliminary content material choices. Discovering main success might take time, however that’s okay. TikTok is a platform that encourages experimentation. In case your first few movies don’t land the way in which you hope, pivot and check out one thing else. If the outcomes nonetheless don’t match expectations, strive one other thought. Repeat that course of till one thing clicks, then benefit from that momentum.
Keep in mind: Leisure is essential to TikTok success. In case your video isn’t partaking, individuals gained’t watch.
Cross-promote on different platforms
There was a time when social media gurus advised us that cross-platform promotion was unhealthy. “Tweets are for Twitter,” they’d say to us, however that’s now not the case.
At the moment, the most important accounts on Instagram are stuffed with memes using Twitter screenshots for content material. The most important tweets typically comprise viral TikTok or noteworthy Instagram posts.
Every thing price posting on one platform is price contemplating for others.
Sharing your TikTok movies to Instagram Tales or Twitter (with a transparent call-to-action that encourages viewers to take a look at your TikTok channel) is a superb tactic to get extra eyes in your content material. It ensures your followers are conscious of your new account whereas additionally showcasing the distinctive content material it could possibly present.
James Shotwell is the Director of Buyer Engagement at Haulix and host of the corporate’s podcast, Inside Music. He’s additionally a public speaker recognized for selling careers within the leisure trade, in addition to an leisure journalist with over a decade of expertise. His bylines embody Rolling Stone, Different Press, Substream Journal, Nu Sound, and Beneath The Gun Assessment, amongst different common shops.
MORE:
