A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take on the 7-Day TikTok challenge organised by the Digital Picnic team. It provided me with the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of TikTok from the perspective of a creator/business account. 

TikTok has undeniably become one of the most widely used social platforms globally, making it essential for us to familiarise ourselves with it. Personally, I had only used TikTok as a passive viewer, enjoying the various tips, tricks, and trends that emerged from the platform without ever creating content myself. 

Participating in the challenge opened my eyes to the process of producing TikTok content and how surprisingly simple it can be. The best part is that you don’t need any advanced editing skills. The platform is user-friendly and allows you to experiment with your content before posting it. 

Read more below as I break down each day and talk you through some of my learnings.  

Getting your TikTok Bio right!  

One of the most important things you can do for your business account is to create an effective bio. It’s the first thing most users look at when visiting your account, so it’s essential to have valuable information readily available. These are some great tips I picked up from the TikTok Challenge to make your bio effective and engaging. 

• Pick a clear profile picture: Make sure your profile picture is easily recognisable and clear. Avoid using small or fancy fonts that can be hard to read. And if there are people in the picture, make sure they are not too small or crowded. 

• Make the most of your links: Take full advantage of the available link options in your bio. But remember, if you have a personal or creator account, you only have one option, and that is linking your Instagram account. 

• Keep your audience in mind: When writing the copy for your bio, think about your audience. Make it about the value they can get from your product or service. 

• Showcase your value: Clearly explain the value of your business by highlighting unique selling points, exciting offerings (like new products or services), and including compelling calls to action. And don’t forget to use emojis to add some character. 

• Get the tone right: TikTok is a platform where you can be casual and inject some humour. Adjust your tone to match the relaxed and fun nature of the platform. 

Day 1 Learnings: Day in the life  

If you are a business on TikTok, your audience will love to see behind-the-scenes content that showcases your business. TikTok’s like “get ready with me,” “day in the life,” “unboxing,” “office tours,” “things in my office that just make sense,” and “pack an order with me” are incredibly popular. These types of videos offer glimpses into the inner workings of your business. 

Challenge: Record a little snippet of your day, what you are up to, your routine (day in the life and the behind-the-scenes footage.  

The challenge was to capture as many snippets as possible from my day, including my morning routine and daily tasks, which I could put together. I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge as it was surprisingly easy, yet it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Normally, I am not keen on showing my face in videos, but the small snippets helped me ease into the full process. In the end, I was thrilled with how it turned out! 

What I particularly loved about this challenge was that it aligned with the type of video content I enjoy watching, and it was incredibly fun to create one myself. The best part is, all you need is your phone and yourself. 😉 

To watch the day in the life video I created, click here. (Day in the life of Digital Marketing Specialist Mikayla)  

Day 2 Learnings: Hooking your audience. 

One important lesson I learned is the significance of hooking your audience within the first few seconds of your TikTok video. There is a limited window of opportunity where viewers are willing to give content a chance. If they are not immediately interested or fail to see the value for themselves, they will simply scroll past your video. 

Those first few seconds are crucial because, regardless of how valuable the rest of your content is, if you don’t have something immediately captivating to hook people in, they will keep scrolling.  

To help effectively hook your audience, here are 3 of my favourite strategies covered: 

• Pose a hypothetical: Engage viewers by asking them to imagine a particular scenario or consider “what if” situations. For instance, if you were in the educational industry, you could say, “You’ve finished school, what’s next?” 

• Ask people to wait around: Create intrigue by using phrases like “wait for it,” “hey, stop scrolling,” or “hey, you don’t want to miss this.” 

• Stir controversy: Say something controversial, provocative, or contentious to spark attention. However, keep in mind that while it may garner attention, it is important to consider whether it’s the right kind of attention. 

Day 3 Learnings: Text Overlay & Using your Voice. 

This tip was incredibly interesting! It’s fascinating to learn about the significant role that text overlay plays in boosting traction and engagement on TikTok videos.  

These are 3 reasons why you should be adding text to your content.  

• Visual interest: When the audience’s eyes need to move, such as during shot changes, adding subheadings or text elements helps maintain their engagement. By focusing on different parts of the screen, you can capture and hold the audience’s interest more effectively. 

• Clarity: Incorporating text helps people follow along with your message and comprehend valuable information more easily. It enhances the overall clarity of your content, ensuring that your message is understood and retained by viewers. 

• Improved focus: Using dot points or lists in your content keeps your message concise and organised. It helps maintain the attention of your audience by presenting information in a structured and easily digestible format, allowing them to stay focused on the key points you want to convey. 

• Using your voice! 

This method of narrating behind-the-scenes content without a voiceover is highly effective. It has gained popularity among businesses because it allows anyone to film, edit, and use text-to-speech for the narration, ensuring consistent quality across all videos. 

Day 4 Learnings: Stitching, Duetting & Green Screening.  

Stitching and duetting are two ways to take existing content and add your own touch to it. In a duet, you appear side by side with the original clip, while in a stitch, the original clip plays first, and you come in at the end. You can share your own commentary, thoughts, or simply react to the original content. 

Here are 3 reasons why it’s worth giving stitching and duetting a try.  

• Potential for reach: When you duet or stitch with the original creator’s content, there is a chance they may repost your video. This can expose your content to a whole new audience and expand your reach. 

• Clever take on trends: TikTok users love seeing clever interpretations of popular trends. By putting your own spin on a trending topic or challenge, you can capture the attention and interest of the TikTok community. 

• Algorithm boost: The TikTok algorithm prioritises content that responds to trends. By participating in stitching and duetting, which are often associated with trends, your content has a higher chance of being boosted and reaching a wider audience. 

What is green screening?  

Green screening is an effect where you use a green background and replace it with another video or images during editing. This allows you to change the background behind you to create various visual effects or settings, giving your videos a unique and creative touch. 

Day 5 Learnings: CapCut 

Before this TikTok challenge, I had heard of CapCut, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. However, this challenge changed everything. CapCut turned out to be game changer! It is incredibly user-friendly and perfect for anyone no matter if you’re a beginner or expert in the world of editing. 

If you didn’t know, CapCut is a versatile editing tool that allows you to edit your TikTok’s and reels with ease. Whether you’re an avid user of the app or have just downloaded it, give the below video edits a try to enhance the visual appeal of your videos. 

• Press the “Adjust” option located on the bottom panel of CapCut. From there, navigate to the “Sharpen” setting and adjust it to 30 for a sharper image. Next, continue to the “Exposure” setting and adjust it to 5 for optimal brightness. 

• Click the arrow located in the top right corner of the screen to access additional settings. Change the resolution to 1080p and set the frame rate to 30. These settings will enhance the quality of your video. 

• Once you have made the desired adjustments, continue to export your edited video.  

If you haven’t already, download CapCut on your desktop or iPhone. This free app is not only great for editing TikTok videos but also for enhancing your Instagram reels, stories, and YouTube videos. 

Day 6 Learnings: ‘Get ready with me’ (GRWM) & TikTok Dances 

• GRWM 

One thing I found interesting was that the TikTok algorithm prioritises watch time as a crucial factor in determining which content to serve to users. If people watch a video in its entirety, it is more likely to perform well.  

One effective tip to improve performance is to engage in multitasking while speaking in your videos. This is why “get ready with me” content is immensely popular, as viewers get to enjoy the best of both worlds by witnessing the process of getting ready while receiving engaging commentary or insights. 

Personally, one of my favourite types of content is “Get Ready with Me.” I thoroughly enjoy watching beauty and fashion creators while they share insights about their lives or provide tutorials. It’s a great combination of visual aesthetics, engaging storytelling, and learning some tips & tricks.  

• TikTok Dances  

Dance trends are an integral part of the TikTok experience, whether you personally like it them or not. As a business, it can be a fun way to get the team involved, or simply bring something fun to your content.  

The TikTok dances can often be sharp and fast paced, which can make it difficult to execute The Digital Picnic, shared some useful tips on how to make it a little bit easier.  

• Start a new project on TikTok and set the duration to 60 seconds. 

• Choose a suitable sound or music for your dance video. 

• Adjust the recording speed by clicking on the speed option and changing it from 1x to 2x. This will make the recording process slower, allowing you to focus on capturing each beat and movement accurately. 

• Utilise the timer function to give yourself a countdown before the recording starts. This way, you can prepare and position yourself properly. 

• Begin recording yourself performing the dance. Remember, since the speed is slowed down, it gives you more time to synchronise your movements with the music and capture each beat precisely. 

This little TikTok editor hack helps you achieve a polished and well-executed look for your TikTok dance videos, as the slower pace allows you to maintain rhythm and accuracy. 😉  

Day 7 Learnings: TikTok algorithm & Keywords in TikTok 

When it comes to the TikTok algorithm, it is important to understand that TikTok positions itself as an entertainment platform rather than a traditional social media platform. The algorithm is designed to continuously present users with a never-ending stream of content that it believes will capture their interest and provide entertainment value. 

The TikTok algorithm relies on three key factors to determine what content to show to users: 

• User interactions: The algorithm considers your engagement activities, such as the comments you make, the posts you like, the content you share, the videos you save, and the type of accounts you follow. These interactions provide insights into your preferences and helps TikTok understand what content is likely to appeal to you. 

• Video information: TikTok considers various elements within the videos themselves, including captions, hashtags, audio, effects, filters, and any text displayed on the screen. These components contribute to the context and relevance of the content, allowing the algorithm to identify patterns and better tailor recommendations to your interests. 

• Device information: The algorithm also considers certain device-related details, such as location settings, the type of mobile device you’re using, and language settings. These factors provide additional context and assist TikTok in delivering content that aligns with your specific preferences and local trends. 

• 3 ways to make your content more searchable 

It was interesting to hear that some day’s the search volume on TikTok exceeds the search on Google… how crazy is that. The Digital Picnic really highlighted the importance of making your content searchable on TikTok. Below are some great tips on how to make your content more searchable.  

• Search Section: When you go to the search section n TikTok, you will see a list of trending topics. Often, they won’t be overly relevant, or trends that you can take part in. But you will want to do is start to search in the search field. From there you will want to enter what seems like a relevant keyword for you. For example, you may enter ‘makeup’ as you type it will suggest already keywords, so you can go with one of the suggest phrases.  **Refer to image 1 

• Find keywords: As you scroll down you will see “others searched for”, that means the main keywords and phrases people are searching for in relation to your niche or chosen topic. These can be used for ideas for content. **Refer to image 2 

• Add keywords into your titles: If you tap on one of the videos in the search, most times people have added the keywords into the title or the on-screen text of the TikTok. This is great because it tells anyone who is scrolling what they are about to see, tells the TikTok algorithm what the video is about, and it makes content more searchable.  

Participating in this 7-day challenge proved incredibly valuable to me as I not only learned numerous valuable insights about the TikTok platform but also actively engaged in creating content. Initially, TikTok seemed overwhelming due to the sheer volume of available content and the constantly evolving trends, which made it challenging to stay on top of. However, when you stick to the basics and follow what you feel will work for your business, then it can be super enjoyable.  

The biggest takeaway was the importance of having fun and creating content that resonates with your business’s audience. Above all, enjoying the process of content creation is essential too. It’s the perfect platform to bring a touch of personality to your brand.