The strategies you use for standing out on Facebook or Instagram won’t work on TikTok, the latest social media sensation. In fact, if you want to capture the attention of its 800 million monthly users, you need to do the exact opposite of what you’ve been doing. That’s exactly what the co-founders of the Wisteria Group did to funnel clients from the social media platform to their $35/month membership group.
After less than six weeks of posting short videos on TikTok, the co-founders were able to consistently pull in $9k a month (which adds up to six figures in a year) off of their membership group alone. Not only have they mastered the art of turning TikTok into a funnel goldmine, but they also show their clients how to do so to the tune of getting more than a million views—which has translated into tens of thousands of dollars in sales.
“Anybody has the potential to be seen by millions of viewers on the platform—no matter how small their following is,” says Katie Bird Suder, co-founder of the Wisteria Group who specializes in money manifestation and psychic activation. “It’s one of the things we love most about the platform. Every post has the ability to go viral. And when it does it feels like hitting the lottery!”
Katie gives us the top three things you must unlearn if you want to be successful on Tik Tok.
3 Social Media Strategies That Will Backfire On Tik Tok | Stephanie Burns
Lynzie Ann Photography
1. Flex Your Authenticity Instead Of Your Authority
“Even if you’ve got an MD after your name, it’s better to do your videos in your pajamas than in your lab coat. On TikTok people crave personable, relatable content and community,” explains Suder. “Being authentically you on the platform is going to help people get to know you as a person. The ‘know, like, trust’ factor comes into play here, more than ever before, as you reach out to huge audiences and attempt to reel in your ideal clients.
“Keep in mind that the average viewer knows within a few seconds of watching your video whether they want to continue watching or not. That’s why your personality needs to shine through. If the viewer likes the vibe you’re giving off, they will stay and watch. If not, they swipe. That means that you are calling in people who are drawn to you rather than your product.”
2. Cast A Wide Net Instead Of Creating A Niche
If you have been in the entrepreneurial world for any amount of time, I’m sure you have heard the popular saying “narrow your niche” or “niche down.” On TikTok, while it is important to know who you are talking to, you want to keep it very broad, and here’s why.
“Unlike traditional platforms like Facebook or Instagram, people don’t have to be actively looking for your content to find you,” says Suder. “The TikTok algorithm is extremely complex and intuitive. It not only shows the viewer more of the content they actively seek out, but it also learns what the viewer may be interested in seeing. This gives you the potential to reach a much larger and more broad audience than ever before. All you have to do is talk about what you love, and TikTok does the rest.
“One of our clients is a psychologist who only wanted to use the platform to speak to divorced women over 30 because she thought they had the potential to be future high-end customers. Instead, we convinced her to go broader, speaking to survivors of abuse and people with anxiety. One of her videos on anxiety went viral, hitting over 1 million views and enabling her to find high end customers due to that reach. But she never would’ve gone broad if we hadn’t convinced her to switch her focus.”
3. Notice What Works And Copy The Trends
TikTok is a platform of collaboration, creative liberty and breaking social norms. You may have been taught to not use the ideas of others and always come up with original content. Here, it is OK to copy the content of other creators and make it your own.
Spend about twenty minutes a day watching and commenting on videos. You’ll quickly pick up on trends, like the song or filter everyone is using in the moment, so you can duplicate those in your videos. If it worked for someone else, it’ll work for you. Noticing trends and popular videos can be a valuable way to figure out what your viewers want to see and boost your engagement.
