You may have noticed a few conversations floating around your favourite platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Especially among experts, creators and entrepreneurs. They tend to go a bit like this:
Is Instagram really dead? Shall we all flock away from social media? Is it time for us to embrace short-form video?
Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a great idea. And when it comes to a sound marketing strategy, social media should not be getting all of your attention.
In our 6-week marketing certification, we embrace social media as one step to building a solid marketing funnel. Social has its pros and cons. However, it still is an excellent way for people to get to know you and your brand.
Video is also a great format – yet, our students, alumni and broader audience are becoming increasingly frustrated with the direction Instagram is taking.
Unsurprisingly, many have eventually flocked to TikTok (after a few years of eye rolls and resistance). TikTok is a low-effort, high-return platform that welcomes short-form video content. Plus, it removes the pressure of high-production value, constant ads, and boosting posts to get your content seen.
If you are an entrepreneur or have a personal brand that wants to create a more visible and relatable persona, TikTok could be your place. Trends like BeYourOwnBoss show more and more attention from the platform to entrepreneurs and creators.
Don’t get me wrong, it does require you to be in front of a camera.
However, it can be an influential tool to answer critical questions, drive your expertise, and become that go-to person. There are three ways you can harness TikTok to establish yourself as an expert whilst remaining true to the platform and its unique features.
Become an expert on TikTok, but stay human
First, you must dive deep and get clear on the intention behind your content. TikTok is tapping into a unique audience, and the said audience’s habits are different from those on other platforms. To harness the app effectively, for example, you have to look at your goals differently regarding TikTok.
On most platforms, you may find yourself giving a more 360 approach to your brand and who you are. Showing different sides of you as the expert you are.
However, on TikTok, becoming the ‘go-to person on a specific subject, field or topic is what can help you nail down your messaging. A great example is Dr Julie Smith, who became known as TikTok’s psychologist.
Whether you are here to educate, inspire, answer questions, or dispel myths, TikTok allows you to zero in on one problem and turn you into the person for the job.
Still, I’d personally recommend adding a personal touch to it. For example, I love coffee and band t-shirts, and I made that part of my content to add personality and relatability.
Credit: @fabgiovanetti on TikTok
Your expertise should inform the type of content you will create on the platform, but you should also remember that being human means showing up as your whole self every once in a while.
How can you use your expertise or unique USP to add value to TikTok? What personal trait, hobby or love can you share with your audience?
Embrace TikTok trends and show up imperfectly
TikTok has become a digital destination for communicating about various categories of your everyday routine, and it’s where Gen Z, Millennials and boomers go to find sources they trust.
Far too often, we may fall into the trap of trying to make our TikTok the reflection of every other platform. We want to polish it to perfection and show ourselves as trustworthy and experienced. Yet, TikTok allows you to be more approachable – where its superpower lays.
Are you struggling to nail that side of your social strategy? Trends can be excellent for injecting personality into your personal brand.
Whether it’s LinkedIn or your Instagram feed, social media puts a lot of pressure to ‘curate’ how our showreel looks. We want to be perceived as experts – yet, vulnerability and the ability to show our human side become more relatable.
As a bonus, you’ll tap into discoverability thanks to TikTok’s algorithm. Discoverability is big on TikTok, and something Instagram is trying to emulate with Reels. 68% of engaged TikTok users claim to have watched somebody else’s video.
TikTok can be a clever combination of fun, relatable content and information in short bursts. Spend time on the discovery page of TikTok to get more ideas for challenges and hashtags.
The beauty of trends is that you can adapt most of them to what you talk about – remember our go-to conversation just a few moments ago? You create content that speaks to your audience by aligning them to your goals.
Tap into challenges for creative ideas
Check out this great sponsored challenge from LinkedIn called Work this Way as an example of how you could use trends for yourself. The challenge encouraged users to share their priorities in the workplace.
Trends and challenges help you keep your content fresh, no matter how creative you feel. For example, I take a famous sound on TikTok and give it my flair by tailoring it to my niche. Or, even better, telling an inside joke to add a personal touch.
Use TikTok Q&A to engage and drive trust
There is a little, maybe not a prominent feature that doesn’t have as much spotlight as it deserves on TikTok. If you set your profile as a creator, you can choose to add the TikTok Q&A to your profile. It might seem an effortless addition. However, for experts, it can be a true revelation.
I am a massive fan of allowing my audience to ask me questions to understand their needs, struggles, and pain points. Seeing and accessing something like the Q&A is a no-brainer when trying to grow and create relatable brands.
You can add a Q&A profile link to your Profile bios, which leads to a separate Q&A page where all questions and answers are aggregated. Users will browse earlier questions and answers and submit new questions directly from the Q&A page.
If you are looking to educate your audience to be more proactive, you can even respond to comments to encourage people to ask questions, just like vixmeldrew did below.
Credit: @vixmeldrew on TikTok
There are three ways you can use Q&As for yourself
- Encourage your customers and audience to ask questions about your products or services via the TikTok Q&A. You could even activate it during specific times: before a launch or a particular campaign.
- Prompt your audience on TikTok to ask questions about a new product and answer them in a TikTok video by potentially spotlighting some experts, team members, or people best suited to answer this question.
- Showcase your expertise on a given topic by encouraging your audience to ask you questions on TikTok. I know of quite a few well-known TikTok users that use a Q&A to answer specific questions on that topic of expertise.
Once I saw the Q&A in action, I understood how it could help you develop content your audience wants and needs and become the person others would associate on the platform to a specific skill or industry.
How to show up as an expert on TikTok
All in all, TikTok is an excellent platform that uses the power of video content to create a deeper connection between yourself and your audience as an expert.
- Define your expertise, but don’t let it limit you
- Add personal touches to show your whole self
- Use trends to keep the creativity flowing
- Ask questions with the Q&A feature to grow your community
TikTok is straightforward in its proposition: encourage its users to create unique content and discover new users.
The beauty of the platform is that it provides endless ideas for new content for you to film and try. Get out of your comfort zone and embrace it – because TikTok is here to stay.
What if you could find out about a simple way to show up more authentically online and create an irresistible brand identity your audience? Don’t forget to check out our brand archetype lab to define your unique brand archetype mix and bring it life.
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