Liz Stansfield, our Digital & Social Content Lead on why brands can’t treat TikTok like free advertising space.

‘Please Can You Put This Up Online’ – seven words to make any digital or social media editor wince. And seven words I have heard too many times in my career working across lifestyle content.

But those days are over. The internet has reached peak saturation; users know where they like to spend time and what they expect to see, read, watch and share.

When TikTok rose to fame in the dark days of the first lockdown (it launched in 2016 but lived under the radar), a sea of content creators flourished; the low-fi, fun vibes gained traction easily and quickly. But brands were slow to get in on the act. Some just shared cut downs of huge advertising campaigns; while others tried branded TikTok challenges – but usually just a little after the party.

If you’re still tinkering with your TikTok strategy, here are some big-picture, golden-rules to follow for brand-led content whatever the space you play in:

1.     Show, don’t tell

TikTok is visual. While subtitles are helpful for accessibility, don’t crowd your content with copy-heavy supers. There’s a robust character count on TikTok posts (2,200 to be precise), so you can always explain more in the post and not in the creative if needed – this is particularly helpful for recipes, crafting and step-by-step guides that you want to be fast-paced but practical.

2.     Make it human

‘People buy people’ – never a truer word is spoken when it comes to TikTok. Try and add real people to your content to help a topic resonate with your audience. Voiceovers – if you write them first remember the golden rule of ‘write how you speak’ to avoid them sounding forced – can also help forge a deeper connection with your audience. Our food team are now the stars of Sainsbury’s recipe TikToks, presenting fast-paced food trends to camera and explaining the steps through VOs with humour and expertise.

3. Don’t make ads…

… make TikToks. This doesn’t mean you can’t use the channel to support your wider advertising message, it just means the content should be channel-friendly. We worked with Tu Clothing to support the brand’s partnership with Channel 4’s Married At First Sight, promoting its new budget bridal range. While the brand had full pre-roll ads for the main episodes, our TikTok content instead focused on the ‘make it extra’ trend, showcasing all the brand’s bridal collection in a way that really resonated with its target audience of budget-conscious brides keen to make every moment of their wedding weekend special. It was fast-paced, trend-led and complemented the campaign’s goals perfectly. Check it out – and it’s 1.5 million view count – here.

4.     Don’t take yourself too seriously

TikTok isn’t the place for slick, approved-by-the-board content, so put on a thick skin and live a little. Don’t be afraid to tap into ‘off brand’ in-app music, effects, sounds and trends to help your content sing. If you haven’t seen the – Kylie approved! – Hobbycraft TikTok of the employees of the Wimbledon branch singing her single Padam Padam you’re missing out on content marketing gold. Haberdashery has never been so fun (or viewed!).

Interested in chatting about TikTok ideas for 2024? Get in touch with our team at hello@seven.co.uk.