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1.7 billion users can’t be wrong. TikTok‘s short-form video and swipe style has been proven to spark and keep people’s interest. And while the platform is synonymous with fun challenges, dances and lip-syncs, it increasingly represents a powerful platform for professionals to share and consume information.
TikTok emerged as an entertainment platform in September 2016, but it was during the pandemic that the app had rapid growth. In fact, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app. Not only was the number of people using TikTok increasing, but the amount of time users spent on the app was also increasing. According to Oberlo, the amount of time users spent on TikTok each day from 2019 to 2022 has increased by 24.6 minutes, and predictions show the amount of time is continuing to increase — meaning it’s not too late to join TikTok and reap the benefits.
I decided to start TikTok strictly based on my passion for health and my desire to help those who don’t have access to medical professionals as easily as others. Medical information doesn’t have to be a snooze fest, and TikTok has helped me to create, grow and maintain an audience of engaged and inquisitive people. I never imagined I would grow my following to 86K and that TikTok would have such a profound impact on my business.
Having achieved exponential growth on my own TikTok channel, I’m here to share three key tips on how to leverage TikTok for your business.
Related: How Businesses Can Leverage the Power of TikTok
1. Put personality and purpose first, information second
The first thing businesses should recognize is that it’s not going to cut it on TikTok by just being strictly informative. It’s all about having fun and engaging with your current and potential audience. Make sure that you’re showcasing your personality and being relatable while also being informative. The attention span of the average TikTok user is 60 seconds, so it’s also important to make sure to get your message across quickly.
What’s equally critical is to find ways to make it personal and share a larger sense of purpose. According to the National Safety Council, in 2021, just in the U.S., there were over 62 million injuries, 224,935 preventable deaths and over $1,225.4 billion in costs. My purpose is to make injury advice more accessible.
2. Find ways to be fun and strategic
Secondly, although TikTok is a fun platform, businesses should still have a content strategy. For example, think about how many times a week/day to post and at what times. There are platforms that analyze the best times and days to post for your audience. Utilizing these tools and having a set structure will also cause less stress when creating your TikTok profile. There are three categories I think through when planning my content:
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Evergreen content: This is content that is always relevant, or maybe even more general, meaning it is not tied to a particular time, event or happening. One example of this type of content is Dr. Miami discussing the history of plastic surgery.
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Reactive content: This involves creating content that reacts to something, such as a particular event. Examples of this include Stephen A. Smith, an ESPN sports personality discussing Victor Wembanyama being the #1 NBA draft pick or Dr. J Mack Slaughter reacting to Jeremy Renner being run over by a snow plow.
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Timely content: Not to be confused with reactive content, this revolves around timely things like holidays, awareness days or events that consistently happen over a period of time. An example of this includes Dr. Daniel G Amen discussing the benefits of Dry January.
Consistency is also key. You must stick with it even when you’re not reaching your desired views. Leverage your other established social media channels to help cross-pollinate your followers. For example, my TikTok includes a link to my Instagram, and my Instagram includes a link to my TikTok so that my followers on both platforms know where else they can find me.
Related: How to Use TikTok to Promote Your Business
3. Identify and double down on viral content
My third tip is to double down on viral content. When I posted my first video about how to increase your height, it went viral with over 1.1 million views. Since my audience seemed very interested in this topic, I have continued to make videos related to this topic, and those videos have also continued to go viral and increase my follower count, views and engagement.
For professionals, being active on TikTok — even though it may seem like fun and games — can translate to real business benefits. For me, that has included legal professionals reaching out for expert witness services, offers to sit on medical advisory boards, offers from several brands to be an ambassador, more traffic to my website and even media opportunities where journalists have reached out. It may feel intimidating, but for founders, there are real upsides to leveraging TikTok as a tool to grow your business.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
