5 Things I Learned About Content Marketing By Accidentally Going Viral On TikTok

April 27, 2021 Paff Evara Insights, Paid Media, Social Media  

Of all the ways we could describe 2020, weird certainly is up there. With the majority of the world in lockdown for most (if not all) of the year, it’s meant a lot of spare time. Some of us learned how to make banana bread, others started a side hustle. As for me? I accidentally went viral on TikTok.

TikTok, once a platform I considered to be purely for teens doing dances, has grown to be a force in the social media ecosystem for all demographics. In case you’re not across it, TikTok is a short-form video sharing platform app that allows users to create TikToks up to 60 seconds long on virtually any topic. Its key difference? In my opinion, it’s the ability to tap into microcosms of society and culture.

 

You see, everyone starts out on TikTok with the same ‘For You Page’, which is essentially an explore page filled with all different users’ video content. You’ll be served dances, generic funny and viral videos, and then this is where the personalisation kicks in. Once you start engaging with a certain type of content (such as dogs, for example) the algorithm gets to work, personalising your FYP with similar content and creators.

Pretty soon, your FYP will be unique to your location, demographics and interests as TikTok categorises you into niches that it knows you’ll engage and interact with. As a queer, Australian powerlifter, for me this looked like: LGBTQ+ content, Australian politics, women in fitness… The more I engaged, the niche-r it became. Pretty soon, I started to post content of my own, and within a few weeks, one of my TikToks went viral, amassing over 550K+ views and 100K likes.

Spurred on by its success, I started to post more frequently. Almost a year on, I’ve grown my following to a community of 87K+ strong, with a total of 2.7million likes across all my content. While most of my content is centred around my personal experiences, as a digital marketing expert, I couldn’t help but glean some insights that can be applied to my day job as well. Although TikTok may not be a relevant channel for every brand to utilise, content marketing more broadly should be the cornerstone for any engaging digital strategy.

So, here are the 5 things I learned about content marketing by accidentally going viral on TikTok:

  1. Find Your ‘Why’, Niche Down & Run With It

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘your vibe attracts your tribe’. While corny, it’s absolutely true. As a brand (business or personal), it’s crucial to identify your why, otherwise known as your vision, mission or brand story. Why do you do what you do? Drill down on that and then run with it. For me, my why is to empower women and non-binary people (especially POC) to take up more space and live authentically. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Find your why and let your content flow organically from there.

  1. Test, Learn & Test Some More

Once you have your niche, it’s time to test! There are so many different variables to test when it comes to content creation. From the type (video, blog),  length (short and snappy or long-form), tone of voice (humorous, educational) and even stylistic choices (colour, use of music, crop of video). The great thing about content marketing, especially on an app like TikTok with a short shelf life, is that you can churn and burn until you find something that sticks. Start to build your secret sauce with the content that resonates best with your audience.

  1. Tap Into Trends To Boost Reach & Relevancy

Now you know what you’re saying and how to say it, how can you amplify this to reach new audiences? Trends and memes are a staple of internet culture, and while it can be confusing to get your head around some of them, jumping on them while they’re hot can work wonders for increasing relevance. Here’s a great example from one of our own clients, Pickering’s Gin, who jumped onto the ‘Bernie Sanders In Mittens’ meme with the below post:

As you can see, the post got some awesome engagement, with plenty of laugh and love reacts as well as shares. The key is to be quick: there’s nothing more cringey to a millennial or Gen Z audience than trying to revive a meme that is past its heyday. 

  1. Fuel Your Strategy With Insights

Now, you didn’t think I’d get through a blog post without mentioning data, right? While the analytics on TikTok isn’t as informative for creators as say, Google Analytics, they do provide some key insights on followers’ gender, location and (probably most importantly) time most active on the app. Using this, I know that my audience heavily skews to users in the US, followed by Australia and the UK, and that my key posting times should be around 5:00PM, 7:00PM and 11:00PM UTC to ensure all those audiences are awake and likely to engage with my content. On a post-level, I can see things like average watch time and the number of shares. These are crucial indicators of whether or not a TikTok will be successful and pushed out to more viewers! Use the data you have on your platform of choice to drive these decisions around posting time for the best chance of success.

  1. Before Posting, Ask Yourself: Is This Relevant And/Or Shareable?

The best content is something that makes your audience think “oh my god, that’s so me” and then share it with their best friends. As mentioned above, shares and comments are extremely important metrics to all social algorithms and weighted higher than just likes, for example. When I look back at my best-performing TikToks, they’ve been something niche enough but also relevant enough for that specific audience to share around – like one of my best-performing ones below:

Your content needs to be super engaging, funny or informative enough that people want to boost and share it around. Before you post, ask yourself how relevant and shareable your content is. If you’re unsure of the answer, you might be better off going to the drawing board and coming up with another angle. 

So there you have it! The 5 things I’ve learnt about content marketing by accidentally going viral have helped my TikTok take off and grow my personal brand. Although my first viral post was an accident, these tips will help you achieve sustainable growth for your own following and community, making your content strategy absolutely unmissable. 

If you’re keen to chat more about content marketing, TikTok or need a hand with your own digital strategy, reach out to me at [email protected].

Happy TikTok’ing!

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Paid Ads Director Needed!

April 27, 2021 Paff Evara Uncategorized  
Come join our awesome, award-winning, digital agency based in the heart of Edinburgh (although, as Covid has shown us, remote working is becoming the “norm” so we’re happy to accept applications if you feel you tick all the boxes- you have to be UK based though and willing to travel to Edinburgh at least twice a month once travel restrictions allow)! We are looking for an experienced Paid Ads Director to join our vibrant team, with particular expertise in Facebook Ads and Google Ads campaigns (Search, Shopping & Display).
About Us
We are a social media and digital marketing agency with a varied client portfolio of quirky and elegant brands, from long-standing family businesses and startups to global companies.
We’re entering the teenage years of Pilot Fish; saying hello to new clients and colleagues more than we ever have before. We’re a small but mighty team, and it’s an exciting time to join the agency.
In Brief
We’re looking for a super ambitious and talented Paid Ads Director (FB and Google Ads, mainly) to join us full-time, to help us plan, execute and optimise our clients’ paid campaigns. Work at Pilot Fish Media is, like most agencies, fast-paced and exciting, and no two weeks will look the same; we work closely together as a team, to come up with exciting, creative and trendsetting new ways of doing digital for our clients; and you’ll be a key player in that.
What would you be doing?
  • Develop and execute well-researched ad campaign strategies to meet client business goals
  • Frequently test audiences, creative assets, ad formats and copy across platforms to optimise campaigns
  • Stay up to date with the latest best practices across platforms
  • Advise the creative team on required ad assets for campaigns
  • Implement full website tracking for each platform as well as within Google Analytics / Google Tag Manager
  • Create monthly reports and recommend next steps for clients through insightful analysis
  • Adhoc training and development of a team of 1 (but likely growing) Paid Ads Executive

 

Who we’re looking for
  • You’ll require experience in formulating paid media strategies in order to plan and execute high performing ad campaigns for our diverse portfolio of clients
  • Someone with proven ability of implementing and monitoring campaigns that have driven significant ROAS
  • Someone with a strategic head on their shoulders – you know the Paid Ads tools inside and out but also can think big-picture in terms of wider digital strategy
  • Someone with preferably 3+ years of experience in paid media (Facebook Ads Manager & Google Ads a priority) – but if you’ve proven yourself in less time, just let us know!

 

What we can offer you
  • A competitive salary based on your experience.
  • Central Edinburgh office.
  • A fantastic team to work with. We work hard but a fun, positive atmosphere is very important to us as well.
  • The opportunity to work on big global brands as well as smaller local companies and start-ups.
  • The opportunity to develop your career and move up the ranks as we continue to grow and expand.
  • Regular team lunches/get togethers (on zoom right now, of course!).

 

HOW TO APPLY
We’re a creative digital agency – so we’re not old school. Be as creative as you want with your application – just make sure you include an overview of your experience somehow, and some paid media results you have previously generated. Please send your application to our Paid Ads Director – [email protected].
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