tiktok Archives - International Food Blogger Conference

1. The Basics

While this might be boring or technical, it’s necessary to mention. To go viral consistently, you must have the basics down. I’m talking about the following:

Video quality

lighting
sound
background
video clarity

Specs

Orientation: Vertical is best.
Dimensions: 1080×1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16 is best
File type: .mp4 and .mov files

Length

Between 1 sec to 60 seconds

Be you!

That’s not so basic but it is the minimum you should be doing. There is no one like you!

2. A Hook

We all learned in grade school that your writing needs a good hook. Same thing here. Your video needs a hook. Think about all the other content out there and how easy it is for people to swipe right past your video. In the first 3 seconds, you need to capture the attention of your viewer. This could be something you say or something you show. Register for the full session for examples.

3. Be Controversial

I’m not talking about religion or politics, I’m talking *food* controversial. If you have a blog or social media, you probably know what I’m talking about. Some people get heated over food and they will let you know. This is great for you because this will result in more comments and therefore more engagement which tells TikTok they should push your video to more people.

Examples:

Saying something like “ranch is the worst sauce” or “white chocolate is the best chocolate.”
Or show a recipe where you over-seasoning or under-seasoning your food.

Check your blog and social media posts, I’m sure you have a recipe or two that’s already considered controversial. Use that to your advantage. Register for the full session for more examples.

5. Quantity or Quality

This probably sounds a little backward, but stay with me. I’m not saying sacrifice your quality, I’m saying quality is subjective. Don’t be so hard on yourself and critical. TikTok is different than other platforms. I would say, it’s more casual. People like seeing the real you. When in doubt, post. Just think to yourself, does it meet the following:

Is it…

… educational
… emotional
… entertaining
… engaging

Above all else, have fun! It will all be fine. What’s the worst that can happen? You post a video, no one sees it but you gain more knowledge and experience. That’s a win! Check me out on TikTok at @TasteandTraveler for some examples of how I implemented these strategies and tag me in your video so I can see what you’re up to. 🙂

Register now to get more information and listen to the full video session from Sarah Wohlner. To view all sessions from the January 15, 2021, Social Media Virtual Summit check out our Agenda Page.

My name is Sarah Wohlner and I grew my TikTok account from 0 to 300,000+ followers in 8 months and there is nothing special about me. A quick back story, I was reluctant to join TikTok because I didn’t want to be sucked into another social media platform but just like everyone else, in April of 2020 I had more times on my hands while staying home as a global pandemic unfolded around me. At this point, I did have an Instagram that was noticeably losing followers every day and where I rarely posted a single photo because I had no motivation. TikTok was a new challenge that I never thought would grow as large and as quickly as it did. In two months, I learned how to record and edit video effectively while cooking. In three months, I added voiceovers. In four months, I had 50k+ followers and sponsors reaching out to me. From there the momentum grew. On January 15, I will have a session on TikTok Strategies to Get That Viral Video and if any of the following statements apply to you, I know you would benefit from TikTok:

#1 I want to reach a bigger audience.

According to Tech Crunch, TikTok is estimated to surpass 1 billion average monthly active users in 2021 and this is already after having tripled in size since 2018. Video is only continuing to grow and with more people staying home, the consumer’s shift to mobile, and the pull of social media, views will only continue to rise.

Image Credits: App Annie

#2 I’m not able to grow my account on other platforms.

This was me to the extreme. Not only was I not gaining new followers on Instagram, but I was also losing followers. It was frustrating and made me want to post even less. What’s magic about TikTok is the algorithm. Even with 0 followers, you can reach hundreds if not thousands of people. With just a few hundred followers, one of my simple TikTok videos “randomly” went viral and I got 500,000 views and hundreds of new followers in one day. Check out the video. TikTok also allows you to link your Instagram, YouTube, and website in your bio. That same day I went viral, I started to see new followers, subscribers, and newsletter sign-ups on my other accounts.

Photo Description: Screenshot from TikTok overnight after eight hours of not checking my phone.

#3 I already create videos for YouTube, IG Reels, or other platforms.

You are already doing the hardest part! Repurpose your old video on TikTok, done. Now we just have to talk strategy, which is where my session comes in. Personally, this was not me and I was intimidated by YouTube and the quality and length of video I thought I needed to produce. I would describe TikTok as a more casual, fun platform. They make it easy to shoot and edit all in the app.

#4 I want to repurpose my content and make my life easier.

Same! The IFBC is my full-time job (yay!) and I don’t have time to create and edit recipes, photos, and videos all day for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. If you also have a full-time job, or kids, or other responsibilities you probably feel the same way. With TikTok, I am able to create one video, repost on YouTube with links to my website, then slightly edit it for IG Reels, which doubles as a main feed post and share it to IG stories. With this strategy, I was able to take one TikTok video and receive a combined 5.1 million views. Not bad for two total hours of cooking and editing.

#5 I want to get sponsored and make money.

We can get more into detail about this at our third 2021 Virtual Summit about Monetization but once you reach 1k followers, you can go live and start receiving gifts from viewers that convert into actual money. At 10k followers, you are eligible to enter the creator fund and TikTok will pay you based on your video views. TikTok is the hot new app and that’s where brands want to be. You will be surprised at how quickly you might be contacted by a company and start receiving products and/or money.

Answer: Yes, TikTok is worth your time. Download TikTok and let’s talk more about this and how you can see similar, if not more, success on TikTok at my session on January 15! Recording now available! Register now.

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