Marketers in Need of Therapy
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Marketers in Need of Therapy
TikTok Unfiltered: A Marketer's Guide to TikTok for Business
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Are you still putting off setting up a TikTok account for your company...? Still having stage fright about putting yourself on screen? In this episode, Jess talks about the 'dos and don'ts', and the best practices for being on TikTok! 🤳
And if you're sat thinking 'my industry shouldn't be on TikTok'...you're probably wrong! 😅 Give the full episode a listen to find out more!
Welcome to Mint, Marketers in Need of Therapy. Yes, we joke that we're marketers in need of therapy, but the T stands for so much more. Training, thought leadership, time-saving tips, tools, a team enabling us to fride as marketers. Welcome to the podcast, Jess. I'm delighted to have you. Um, those that don't know Jess, she is an employer of Amber Mountain, and we've got Jess on today because she is a social media guru, absolutely killing it with her LinkedIn personal branding. But what we're here to talk about today is TikTok. Yeah. So do you want to talk to me about why you think TikTok is good for businesses, why you love it, etc.?
SPEAKER_00I have always loved TikTok since it was musically back in the day. Um, and I think I just kind of grew up with it, so it became my thing. A lot of people in my age group love it anyway, but it is also great for businesses because it's kind of the only platform where you can really show a different side of your personality. It's a lot more raw and authentic, and you can get away with being a little bit silly on there, and I think that's what works really well when you're a bit less serious. Um, we have obviously started it for our TikTok. We do kind of a mix of informative and the sillier stuff, and it's just working really well for a lot of businesses that I see at the moment. Amazing, good stuff.
SPEAKER_01And do you think it can work for every business?
SPEAKER_00Yes. I I understand that there are some businesses, some industries, maybe more sensitive stuff or like highly secure content that you can't really be showing. But on the whole, I think yes, because again, it just shows a whole different side of your personality, no matter what industry you're in, if it's restaurants. I mean, our law firm that we've just got on TikTok, you would have never expected a law firm to be on TikTok, and they are just absolutely flying on there. So, yes, I think on the whole, every business should be on TikTok, no matter your industry, especially if you're recruiting, I think.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Because it's the personality that's what's, you know, I spoke to the law firm yesterday and they they just have had a load of interviews and it was all about their social media, um, which is testament to you and Eva, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Really? Yeah, it just shows a whole different side. When you think law firm, you think this is so serious, this is really strict, but it does show that you can have a bit of fun there as well. And I think a lot of younger people, especially nowadays, when they're looking for companies to work for, they want a bit of fun there. And so I think TikTok is just the perfect place to really showcase that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think it's not just young people, just so you know. No, it's not. I'd like somewhere fun to work. I definitely would. And I think it is, it's important that you uh it's it's completely changed. You used to used to go to work and used to have to work really hard and stay late, etc. And the and the the landscape's changing. People want that work-life balance. Yeah. I was saying earlier, you don't want to you don't want to be on a Sunday night ha feeling sick to your stomach. Not you've got to go to work. No, Sunday's scary. I like that. Um, because you've got to go to work on Monday. And I'm not saying everyone's jumping into work on Monday morning, but if you've got some fun there, um I think it's a little bit better. Yeah, and I think as well, TikTok has it's a for us, it's you've seen the team built, like the team building that it does from that point of view. It it does, it can be a bit of a very cost-effective way to help motivate and build the team.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like when we can all just, you know, get up and have a bit of a laugh. If we there was a dancing-ish one we did recently, and everyone was just laughing at all. Yeah, Emma was having a bit of FOMO, but everyone was laughing at themselves, no one takes it too seriously. I think it was always best to leave the dancing ones to when I'm on holiday.
SPEAKER_01Just saw my mom.
SPEAKER_00I don't know, we could bring it back. No, I love it, I love the dancing.
SPEAKER_01Better than I can do, so um, okay, fantastic. So there's still a perception with the older people, um, definitely, that it's just youngsters dancing, chatting crap on on a thing, which there is still some of that, by the way. I think it has taken me a lot of time to get used to TikTok, and even now I'm like, what the fuck are you trying to make me do again? She's got like a scarf on putting lip off. That is one of my favourite ones. It's just it's it's not okay, but sometimes just got to go with it. And also, if it cheers you up on a day, then I'll do it, sudden. But yeah, I think that's the thing. So, how how can you convince your boss? Because there's obviously marketers listening that would love to be on TikTok. How great would it make their time and working on TikTok? How can you convince them?
SPEAKER_00I think, like you said, a lot of people have this like idea of TikTok that it is just dancing and being silly and just entertaining stuff, but TikTok is so much more than just that now. It's also a lot of people are using it as a search engine. We're not going to Google anymore. You know, if I was gonna find where's a nice restaurant to go in Hertfordshire, I wouldn't even think about Googling it. I'd be going straight to TikTok. So it is so much more than just a silly platform now. I think if you're not on TikTok, you are missing out on a lot of searches as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Um, and I think from a perspective of how they can convince their boss, are there some stats we could show them? Like I'm just trying to think of what we could. You must be, I think it's about looking at the other industry, it's people in your industry, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would definitely say have a search what other companies in your industry are doing it, see what they're doing well. Maybe take a few different picks, put together a little presentation to show your boss this is what's doing well, this is how it could benefit us. You can definitely research for some stats in your industry specifically to just add a bit more like backing to it. But yeah, I think everyone should be on it. And if it is just your boss that's in the way, you need to find a way around that because you could be missing out on so much.
SPEAKER_01So, not only have um you convinced businesses to go on TikTok, me myself included, and the law firm, but you're finding a different way to show them. So, do you want to explain kind of what you've done there?
SPEAKER_00So, for our law firm specifically, a lot of other law firms that are on TikTok are quite serious and the engagement was low on their content. And so for our client, we are really showcasing the fun side of things as well as keeping it educational as well, so that potential clients or people that want to work there can kind of see the whole picture of what this company is about. Um, but not only just from a recruitment side, they have had people joining their business from the TikTok, but we've also had new clients, people are messaging us saying, This is my situation, can you help me? Um, we've also had people messaging us asking if they can promote us completely free. Um, we had an account say, I've got a lot of people coming to me asking for support because she was a victim of domestic abuse. Um, so she her whole TikTok page was about that. And she just wants to send people to us completely free. So it has become so much more than just recruit recruitment, even though that was all it was originally. So I think if you have the right strategy and enough time to do it, TikTok can be such a big part of your marketing strategy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think from a point of view that's a legal firm, people are nervous about solicitors, they think they're gonna pick up the phone, they're gonna be scary, stuffy, and we're showing they're just humans just like you. Yeah, yeah, exactly that amazing. So, what is the strategy with TikTok? Like, it is a completely different strategy. You can't follow the same strategy for anything else. Like, I know you LinkedIn and um LinkedIn, you can maybe specialise in LinkedIn and then throw your stuff on Meta as well. Not throw your stuff, but you know what I mean. You can pull it on Meta, you can kind of have the similar strategy, but it's completely different on TikTok. Yeah. Explain, explain.
SPEAKER_00TikTok, first and foremost, you have to have the basics right. So things like your opening hook, if your first three seconds or maybe less than is the most important part of your video because the amount of people that just scroll and scroll and scroll, there's so much content on TikTok, it's so oversaturated. Why is someone stopping on your video? So that alone is quite different to any other platform. Um, also, your keywords are so important. It's all about landing on the right persons for you page because the way that the algorithm works is TikTok pushes out your video to the first 200 people, strangers, random people, that might be the first time they've ever seen your content, which is completely the opposite to how it works on Meta. So you have to be providing something that they will enjoy, but also again, coming back to your keywords, if you don't have the right keywords, it's not landing on your target audiences for you page. So again, they're scrolling past. So once it's pushed out to those first 200 strangers, they have to be interacting with it for it to be pushed out to more people, and that is why the keywords are so important. Um, so the likes, the comments, the reposts, it's just crucial. And then once if those first 200 people have interacted well, that's when it's pushed out to more people, your followers, the wider for you page. So it is a completely different strategy to Instagram because on Instagram it's pushed out to the I think the top 10% of your followers that interact with you. So those people already know you, they know like what you're about, what kind of stuff that you post. TikTok, you're being pushed to strangers, so you really have to grip them in the first less than three seconds.
SPEAKER_01Wow, okay. So that's why people say they're stuck in the 2003 view gel. View gel.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So it's not it's not having a good enough hook or keywords.
SPEAKER_00It's the hook, it's not being pushed out to the right people because your keywords aren't right, it's not informative enough. People are also selfish, they're only gonna interact or save or share your content if it benefits them. So you have to be giving your audience what they want as well. Not just pure entertainment, it has to be the right mix.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And what's with the sounds? What's with the trending means?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, obviously, the more trending sounds you use, the more likely you're gonna be pushed out because everyone's searching for that sound, everyone's using that sound. If someone sees that sound, likes it, it's there's a high chance that it's gonna appear again. So if you are posting content, even if it's a talking video, like when we post ours, we just have a trending sound really low in the background because it just helps it push out, push it out a bit more.
SPEAKER_01Trending sound on every post?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's a full-time job, isn't it? It is a little bit, it's so time consuming. Yeah. So what's the what's the sweet sweet spot for posts on TikTok? Scare everybody.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. A little bit. You do have to be a bit controversial on TikTok to get people's attention. Yeah. Um, you'll find that the brands that really do well are the ones that are a bit out there. So Duolingo or Ryanair, for example, everyone knows them because they're out there and they do stuff that most companies would be a bit scared to do. But you have to be a bit different because otherwise you'll just blend it in. Like I said, it's really oversaturated. So you have to do something that's actually going to make you stand out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And a legal firm having a laugh and a joke is something different, isn't it? Yeah. Let's face it. So it doesn't have to be something too out there, it just has to be, yeah. Not what you'd expect. Not what you'd expect. Yeah. So for solo marketers listening, thinking they know they need to do TikTok, but actually, have they even got the time? Because it is, it's definitely for us one of the most time-consuming shorters.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So, what would you recommend them to do?
SPEAKER_00I think if you don't have the time, it's not worth it because it is an investment. For me, I like to do my community management 15 minutes before I post and then post my video, and I do 15 minutes after. So for each video, it's taking half an hour just for the posting. That's not even about the filming and the editing and all of that stuff. So it is definitely our most time-consuming platform. So, to be honest, if you don't have the time, I don't think it's worth it. But outsourcing it, I would say, is the best option. Obviously, we would be more than happy to help out of the mountain. Yeah. Um, so yeah, I think if you don't have the time, don't bother because otherwise it's just not going to perform how you want it to.
SPEAKER_01I think as well, there's an option as if they can have an employee to bring it. I mean, I just think I'm a younger person just gets it so much more than me. Because, like you say, you've grown up with it. Um, so there is that option to maybe bring an apprentice in and get them them doing what you want on it, etc. Yeah. But yeah, that's that's why people are coming to us, isn't it? For sure. Fantastic. And then have you seen anybody on TikTok that you think this is not gonna work? You're not even doing this right. Like, are there any, if you've seen what the mistakes people are making?
SPEAKER_00I think this kind of goes back to what I said a bit earlier about you're just not standing out, you're blending in with the crowd, you're copying videos that you see word for word, you're not using the trending music, you're not having the basics right, you're not using the keywords, all of that. It's just it's not helping you. And the community management is such a big part of TikTok that a lot of people don't even realise. TikTok will reward you by pushing out your videos if you're interacting with other people's content. It's not just the likes, the commenting is so important, and a lot of people just don't even realise that. So, community management is something that's often kind of pushed to the side a bit, but it really needs to be a platform, to be fair. Not even just TikTok. Yeah, it it should be kind of at the forefront of your strategy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's networking, isn't it? It's building your network, it's building your community.
SPEAKER_00I mean, it's social media, so yeah, you need to be being social.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. So, one of the things we find when we're working with clients, etc., is uh the camera shy of us. So, what would you say to marketing managers that are camera shy?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, just fake it till you make it. I I'm so camera shy, I would so much rather be behind the camera. The fact that I'm actually even doing this podcast right now, it's just it's so out of my comfort zone. But you do just have to fake it. There's again no point on being on TikTok if you're not even gonna show your face because that's what people want to see. They want the raw and authentic content, and you just showing a bunch of nothing is not gonna help. So literally just fake it till you make it, yeah. I know and that's what we tell all our clients, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I think as well, there is a bit like everyone goes, Go, it comes so easy to you. No, it doesn't. Like, I came here this morning, and I'm like, oh guys, my vibe is long, it's it's great to have the yellow lizard boys here because they they they bring the vibe up, but I'm like, I you have to you have to fake it a little bit. Yeah, great by the way. Speaking to people now, it's just brilliant. But but it it from that perspective, no one finds it easy, no one likes the sound of a voice, no one like knows how they look. Oh, sound of my voice. I'm not even gonna be able to watch this bath. I wish I could share the videos from Sam Larkin that's been on the podcast when she saw herself back. It they are hilarious. She's really putting herself down, bless her. But she it she it no one likes it, everyone feels like that. And I personally want to give those marketing managers a bit of tough love because you have to get over yourself. You do like you cannot expect any of your team, any of the people in your business to go on camera where you know it's gonna work when you won't do it yourself. You absolutely can't. So, and even for me this week, I'm like, I've got to show up on camera more. I like we all get busy in our day-to-day lives, but people buy. You have to find the time, yeah. You have to find the time 100% for every platform, not just TikTok.
SPEAKER_00Now there's normally always a deeper reason, like what are you scared of being judged? Is it the anxiety, whatever it is? Everyone's gonna judge you for something. So, does it really matter?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, just yeah, crack on. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, how do you actually measure if TikTok is working for your business and delivering results?
SPEAKER_00I think it depends what your TikTok strategy is and what you're using it for. So, if you are using it for recruitment, that's pretty straightforward to see. You know, when people are applying, how did you find us? Why do you want to work for us? Um, again, that's pretty much across the board, actually. So, even for sales um, or again, going back to our law firm just because it's such an easy one to reference. If people are making referrals, they go onto their website, there's a box at the bottom, how did you find out about us? Google, word of mouth, TikTok, literally just a tick of a button. So it can be really straightforward to use, but it depends what you're using TikTok for and what your purpose is for being on there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it's a whole new ball game if it's e-commerce, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, if you can TikTok shop, all that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, TikTok shop is making people millions, is yeah, literally millions. Yeah. Um, I saw Tia who used to uh work at Amber. I I think she said she made 30 grand. Oh, yeah, it's insane. It's just like yes, please. Hi, I'm in the wrong business. Yeah, um, but is there a kind of how many followers do you need for things like that?
SPEAKER_00Um for TikTok shop, there is not a specific following you need, but obviously the more followers you have, the more it's gonna be pushed out, the more people are gonna want to promote your brand because they want the free stuff, they want to send it to you. Um so more followers is gonna help, but there isn't a certain rule for things like going live. That is really popular for TikTok shop. People do live shops where they do flash sales and quit get this deal because it's only there for two minutes and you're gonna miss it. So that's the incentives to be on the live so that you can get the deals for that. You need, I think, a thousand followers. So obviously, there's a lot of work to do before you even get to that stage with all the community management, the again building your following through the posting and your keywords and the likability of your content and all of that.
SPEAKER_01That's the thing, isn't it? I think that's what people I I've just I've just said on myself. Oh, she's made someone 30 grand in three months in a month. Well, before that, that business had to set their uh TikTok up, they had to get people's buying, they had to build the following, they had to be able to actually make enough money to afford the agency.
SPEAKER_00There's a so much that goes into it before you even think about selling.
SPEAKER_01We're still getting those clients. Can you make me go viral? No, no, please. Yeah, so it is there be actually talking about viral. Is there something that you've seen on TikTok that you've just gone, oh my gosh, that's genius?
SPEAKER_00Or is there someone I know you might mention Ryanair and I do love Ryanair, yeah, them and actually Audi as well, Audi, Ryanair, and Duolingo, the brands that don't take themselves seriously are always the ones that do well. Um they just they have this whole start that they don't really care and it shouldn't work, it shouldn't work at all because obviously customer service it should be such an important part of your business, but it does just work for them and I love it.
SPEAKER_01I I must admit I was I really got hooked into them. The Audi did they did the devil wears Prada. Oh, have you seen her? So she's wearing, she's dressed as the I don't know her name in it, but it's the the boss, and she's going around if the devil wears Prada came to Audi, it was just very entertaining, and that's it. You've got to entertain, yeah. We've got to stand out from you know this scrolling. How are we gonna stop this scrolling? You've got to entertain. So we have to talk about AI. Of course. Do you think it's changing the way people are using TikTok?
SPEAKER_00Yes and no. That is like, did you see the AI fruits when that was trending? Yeah. I was hooked, so hooked. I was obsessed. One of them was cheating on her husband, being kicked out, dropped her baby in the ocean. It was all a mess and AI, but I was hooked on it, and I don't know why. And so I think that side of the AI works really well where you can tell that someone's not actually pretending to be real, you can so obviously tell it's AI. I think the content that I've seen where AI is pretending to be a person, I think that's when I see the content flop because people do still want to see people on TikTok. Um, I follow a lot of fashion people, that's what I like to interact with on TikTok. And so I've been coming across AI videos where someone has made an AI person trying on an outfit and the engagement is so low because it's not what people want to see. Then if I scrolled a few more and there was a real person trying on the outfit, the engagement is so high, people are in the comments, where did you get this from? I love this, you look great. People just don't really care about AI when it's pretending to be human because it's not.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I don't think with TikTok that is such a real platform, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Um people prefer the raw content on TikTok. If you mess up, if you stumble over your words, on TikTok, no one cares because they like that you are authentically you.
SPEAKER_01And that and actually people are saying now if you do stumble, if you do muck up, if a car goes in the background or you know your dog barks, carry on because they'll know it's real, which is just it's crazy. Like two years ago you'd start a game, yeah. Or be editing it out. Yeah, exactly. Which makes it so much easier for us all to get on the platforms now. You don't need, you can just be camera shy now. No, no excuse, marketers, no excuse. Okay, and then where do you think you see TikTok heading over the next few years?
SPEAKER_00I think it's just gonna keep growing. Honestly, I do. I think the more businesses that get on there, it will encourage more businesses to join. Um, like a bit of a snowball effect. I think everyone is just gonna be on TikTok in the next few years. It is the place to be. And especially more now that the older generation is getting more used to it, and the more time goes by and yeah, the older generation will be retired. Yeah, the new generation. I mean, my dad's on TikTok. My dad loves it, yeah, so it's definitely Not just for the younger generation anymore, but I think it's getting the older generation taking more time to get used to it. But I think once they do, it's just gonna keep growing.
SPEAKER_01So what is your go-to in marketing tool right now? I have two. Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_00Um, my first one, Cap Cut, maybe a basic one, but I love it. I've been doing a lot of editing for our little secret project at Amber Mountain, and Cap Cut has been my go-to. It has so many video templates, text templates, all of the sounds that you can add on. It's got everything I need, and you don't even have to pay for the subscription to get all of this. So for me, Capcut has everything I need, video editing-wise. My second one is an AI tool and it's Claude. I'm obsessed with Claude. I know that you said give it a go, and it really is the shit. I love it. I'm obsessed. Chat is out the window.
SPEAKER_01Love that. Why do you think it's so it's so good?
SPEAKER_00It feels a lot more human. Um, I mean, obviously, I know it never will be, but it got my tone of voice instantly. It's the same as chat, you can have the different tabs for each client, which is what I do have, and it just makes it so easy for brainstorming or oh, this caption isn't quite right. Can you tweak it for me? It just got it instantly. And it also, I think you were saying you like it, it has more of a backbone, didn't you? Yeah. So it knows what it's talking about. Whereas chat would just say, if you say, Oh, I don't like that, chat GPT is that, oh, you're right. Whereas Claude, it knows what it's saying a bit more, that's what it feels like. So it has more of a backbone to fight against why it said what it said.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Tina, who's doing the AI podcast, she said that there's somebody's full-time job is to give that, give it a personality. Really? Yeah. I know I'm sure it is for all the platforms, but I I don't even think like that one. I think I would um platforms, which is quite exciting. Well, they're doing a great job. Yeah. In terms of marketing, this is called Marketers in Need of Therapy. What part of marketing is putting you in therapy right now? Don't say me.
SPEAKER_00Damn stole my heart's off. Um, I think it's time um having the capacity for everything that you're trying to do. Obviously, I'm not a lone marketer, and if I'm struggling to find the time, I can't imagine what these lone marketers are actually going through. Um, there's a lot of expectations, a lot of, oh, you need to cram this in. And when you've only got a certain amount of time to do it, it's well, what do I need to prioritize? Or my content isn't going to be as good because I'm stressing to try and get through it. So I think it's the timing that's putting me in therapy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. And I think speaking to um Tina on the AI podcast is about finding those AI tools that can help you with the admin to maybe be able to help you concentrate on being creative and the strategy, which is so important. Um, and I think it's only going to get easier for marketers time-wise, as we get used to those AI tools. Um, but there are so many plates to spin when you think of all the social media platforms, websites, SEO, newsletters. If you're just yeah, if you're just on your own doing that, this is why we've set up Mint, right? Yeah, which take that you have been, Jess, absolutely instrumental of setting up. So thank you. Um, the social media is all Jess, so appreciate you. And um, we're gonna be working on our mint tick tock from May, aren't we? And that's that's quite exciting. Let's get her back up. Yeah, she said I see uh she just said she hasn't really got my climb. But hey ho. So, last and final question, Jess. If um, if you're a lone marketer, they're listening now, what advice? You know, they they've got a hundred different things going on, spinning uh loads of plates, juggling loads of balls, what one piece of advice would you give them?
SPEAKER_00I think it's that you're not actually alone. It might feel like it, but realistically, we're all in the trenches over here, we're all fine for our lives. Um, none of us know what we're doing all the time. We're still Googling at what, like 10 p.m. at night. Oh my god, how do I do this? Um, so I think it is that if you do feel alone, you're actually not. Find your people. That is, like you said, literally why Mint was built to help and support. We have such a lovely community of so many people that are here to help. Um, so I think find your people, reach out, you're not alone, you have so much support around you. But also speak to your boss because they might not understand that you're going through all of this and you're struggling. Sometimes it is just sitting down and having that conversation and planning for the future, and maybe that's all you need. But join mint is my final answer.
SPEAKER_01Love it, amazing, and sign up to TikTok if you haven't already. Yeah, on TikTok, amazing, Jess. It's been amazing to have you. Thank you so much.