Edgar's Beginner Guide to Using TikTok

TikTok inspires popular culture. It made stars out of Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo, turned a 13-year-old pug named Noodles into a mood forecaster (is it a bones day or a no bones day?), and motivates half of its users to purchase a product after seeing it in-app (#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt). With competitors vying for a piece of the short viral video market pie (*cough* looking at you Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts) and new features constantly rolling out, TikTok is making it clear that it’s here to stay.

Businesses not using TikTok’s platform are missing out on the highest audience engagement rates of any social media app. TikTok has tremendous potential to turn your followers into clients, from private coaching businesses to digital marketing agencies

If you’ve always wanted to start a TikTok account but have been intimidated by its frenetic, revolving feed, now is your chance to hop on the platform. We’ll teach you how to set up your TikTok account, publish your first post, and scout for weekly trends.

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What is TikTok, and why should you use it for your brand?

If you’re a part of any generation other than Gen-Z, TikTok might feel like the wild west of social media. TikTok is a short-form video-sharing app allowing users to record and share 15-second to 10-minute videos.

It was launched in China in 2016 by its parent company, ByteDance, and instantly took off with Gen-Zers in China. ByteDance acquired another video-sharing app in 2017 called Musical.ly, and TikTok quickly took off in North America and Europe, especially with Gen-Z.

TikTok is now the new Google for younger generations. Over 60% of TikTok’s users are a part of Gen-Z, which makes TikTok the perfect advertising haven for your brand, especially if you want to broaden your reach to a younger audience.

Want to take Korean lessons or find a new restaurant to try this evening? Search TikTok. More and more users cling to its personalized algorithm, which shows videos to users based on their content interactions and personal tastes. This algorithm personalization, combined with the sense that real people, not faceless websites, recommend their favorite products, allows brands to personalize their TikTok pages and create authentic connections with their target audiences.

One Gen-Z TikToker uses TikTok to look for restaurants in her area and said about the app, “you see how the person actually felt about where they ate.” In other words, TikTok puts a face to a review, increasing trust in an influencer's recommendation.

And younger audiences are more likely to buy from brands recommended to them by trusted influencers. According to HubSpot, 70% of people trust consumer reviews online, and 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth as a key influencer in purchasing decisions. TikTok is the perfect medium for your brand to promote word-of-mouth marketing through creative, shareable content.

TikTok isn’t only for crazy challenges and beauty tutorials; the platform's algorithm allows targeted advertising to specific demographics, making it a highly effective marketing channel for brands.

How to make a TikTok account

With TikTok gaining in popularity, the time to set up a TikTok account is now! Before you can post videos of your cat as dracula, you’ll need to open up an account.

Here’s how you do that:

1. Download TikTok from either the iOS App Store or Google Play.

2. Open the app.

3. Choose a signup method: phone or email, Facebook, Apple, Google, Twitter, or Instagram.

4. Follow the prompts to create your account. 

Once you create your account, you're not done yet. Now you need to edit your profile: add a profile photo, a bio, and personal touches to optimize your brand. 

Change your username, add a profile photo, and a snappy bio so followers know what you're about.

5. (Optional) Add contact to your account

TikTok allows you to pull phone contacts who have a TikTok and add them to your account.

6. Play around with the app

Explore the app for a little while. Meander to the For You page which a feed curated specifically based on the content you interact with, the accounts and hashtags you follow, your location, your language, and the content you create. The more you use TikTok, the smarter the algorithm gets in pushing content to you.

Next, if you've added friends, go to the Friends tab which shows you content your friends made that you haven't yet seen. 

Finally, check out the search bar. This is where you'll discover users related to your search, trending videos, sounds, Live videos, and hashtags. 

7. Find some industry-related creators 

Now it's time for the fun part: finding creators in your niche to connect to. 

For example, if you are a digital marketer you might want to follow other digital marketers to see what content they're creating. Or, you might also want to follow digital marketing agencies. 

TikTok's new search bar makes this easier than ever. Just type in a search term, press Search, and TikTok will feed you content related to the search. 

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As you can see, TikTok feeds you with all of the trending digital marketing content so you can stay on top of what's hot and sooo not.

Follow any brands that resonate with yours. And feel free to follow brands you like just 'cause. You can often draw inspiration from industries not related to yours.

Use this as an opportunity to meet and engage with like-minded creators. Comment on their posts, share them with friends, call them out in your own videos. When you're building a following on TikTok, don't worry about the follower count; build a community.

How to create a TikTok

Alright, now let's skip to the good part. You've made your TikTok account and you've graduated to the endless possibilities of content creation.

1. Click the + button in the center of your TikTok account to enter Create mode.

2. Before recording, choose from many options like:

• Recording speed
• Self timer
• Special effect filters
• Q&A
• Retouch

3. Add a sound to your video by tapping Add sound at the top of your screen.

4. Once you select your preferences, tap the record button to start recording your video.

If want to upload an already made video, select the Upload button to the left of the record button.

5. To add more videos to the sequence, follow steps 2-4 again.
6. Once you've finished recording your videos, hit the checkmark icon next to the record button.

7. On the next screen, you can add text, stickers, filters, voiceovers, and more.

8. When you finish editing, click Next to add a caption, hashtags, tag friends, add a location, URL, or toggle privacy options.

9. Tap Post and you're ready to rock 'n roll!

Alternatively, you can save it as a draft to post later. Or you can schedule your TikTok in advance to be posted at a later date.

Increase your reach by adding the most relevant hashtags and posting at the right time.

If you want to learn more about starting out on TikTok, watch this video by Howfinity.

How to schedule TikTok posts in advance

If you like to batch create your content or you want to post your TikTok, but not now, you should use a social media management tool like MeetEdgar.

With Edgar, you don't have to worry about forgetting to post your TikTok at a later time. No more phone reminders or running out of dinners early to post your video. Schedule it in advance and Edgar will post it for you at your set time.

Follow the steps below to schedule your TikToks using Edgar:

1. Log in to your TikTok account.
2. Go to your MeetEdgar Accounts page.
3. Click TikTok.
4. When asked, click Authorize in TikTok to authorize the connection to Edgar.

Congrats! Your account is now connected to TikTok.

How to schedule TikToks using MeetEdgar

Now that you connected your TikTok account, you're ready to schedule them with MeetEdgar. 

Scheduling social media posts increases engagement with your followers, helps you reach more people than ever before, and ensures your audience never misses your valuable content. 

Follow these steps to publish posts to your TikTok:

1. Using your mobile device, click on the push notification Edgar sent or open your TikTok app.

2. In your TikTok inbox, you will see a notification saying "Your video from Edgar is ready."

3. Click on the notification to edit and publish your video to TikTok.

From here, add captions, effects, or anything else you want to TikTok your way to the top!We also have an easy-to-follow video on publishing to your TikTok account here:

Conclusion

To jump on the TikTok trend, download the app, create a brand-specific username, and start creating content! Experiment with hashtags, popular sounds, and trends to gain traction and attract new followers. Creating a presence on the platform can give your business the boost it needs to reach new audiences and engage with potential customers. Go off, beginner TikToker, and create to your heart's content!

And if you are ready for more, considering checking our TikTok Marketing guide.

Schedule your TikToks with MeetEdgar
Edgar helps you stay connected with your audience, grow followers, and manage your TikTok.
‍Get Started for Free