TIK TOK

GROWTH GUIDE

Presented by: Gerardo Perez

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

1. WHY USE TIKTOK?

2. HOW THE ALGORITHM WORKS

3. PICKING A NICHE

4. BUILDING YOUR PROFILE

5. CONTENT CREATION

6. DO'S AND DONT'S

 SECTION 1

WHY TIK TOK?

TIK TOK'S CURRENT STATE

Tik Tok is the newest trending social media platform. It

currently has over 1 billion daily users, and continues to grow
at an incredible rate.
Organic reach on the platform is outstanding. In merely 1
month I was able to grow my account to 15k+ followers.
Going viral is possible due to the disproportionate amount of
people currently making content and the amount of people
simply consuming it.
In this mini-book, I will teach you how to establish yourself as
an authority on the platform in order to help you gain
exposure for your business or your personal brand.
The platform will only continue to grow and improve while
steadily continue to integrate different features that will
help your page grow.
Keep in mind that this is all based off of my personal
observations, and I'm just sharing what has worked for me.
 SECTION 2

HOW THE
ALGORITHM WORKS
 THE ALGORITHM

Lets talk about points. I want you to think of each engagement on

your post as fuel. Similar to a car, the more fuel you have, the further
it will take you...
Likes = 1 point
Comments = 2 points
Shares = 3 points
Video completion = 4 points
Video re-watch = 5 points

LIKES

I don't need to go into much depth on this one as it's a pretty

obvious metric used all throughout social media. More likes (hearts)
the better.
Keep in mind that when you like a video on Tik Tok, it saves it to the
"like section of your profile where you can then revisit and re-watch
them whenever you want, so you make memorable videos that
people would want to save!
 COMMENTS

It's quite simple and obvious. Similar to Instagram and other

platforms, the more comments, the more social proof, the more
likely people will share your content out.
When you are getting comments on your videos, I suggest that you
respond back to those comments in the form of a question when
applicable. This encourages the user to comment again and you
build rapport with your audience (2 birds 1 stone).

VIDEO SHARES

After your video was shown to a select amount of people, what

action did they take after seeing your video? Sharing is a key metric
for your video's "ranking" because as Tik Tok grows they aim to
attract new users and retain current users on their platform. That is
why video shares is such an important performance indicator for
your video.
 VIDEO VIEWS

Pretty obvious one that matters for virtually EVERY social media
site / app. The key difference here is where the video views come
from and how it's really taken into account.
The way you REALLY get the growth and the only REAL way you're
going to go viral is the “For You” page. Focus on this. Having a huge
following is great and all, but Tik Tok measures by the individual
video and not so much on the profile. They want to prop up and
promote good pieces of individual content and not so much the
entire profile. This is why you’ll go to a profile and you’ll notice a
video will have 4million views on 1 video, and then 35,000 views on
another. They promote good CONTENT and want people to be
addicted for the content, not the profile.
So anyways FOR YOU is the main mechanism you need to always
focus on when it comes to getting those video views UP! You can
pull outside traffic, and it does work to an extent, but during the 3
Open Phases of uploading your video (we’ll go over that later) the
For You page is the only mechanism to help you go viral.
 SECTION 3

PICKING A NICHE
 WHY HAVE A NICHE?

Establishing a niche is vital to your success on Tik Tok. You

are going to want your content to be congruent and
consistent to your page in order for you to experience
significant and consistent growth.
Over these few weeks I've uploaded niche consistent
content and have tried sprinkling in "funny" content here and
there, and all of my "funny" (at least they're funny in my
opinion...) end up tanking. The reason being is not because my
content was bad, simply because TikTok has already built my
core audience data (CAD) for me. This is why your first videos
are going to be some of the most crucial video(s) you post to
your profile.
In short, if youre uploading fitness content, stick to fitness
content. Its okay to adapt your content to participate in
trends & challenges, but make sure that they are still
relevant to the overall theme of your page.
Pick your niche and follow 10 people that are making content
in that niche for inspiration.
 SECTION 4

BUILDING YOUR
PROFILE
BUILDING YOUR PROFILE

This is a screenshot of my profile

1 month into my Tik Tok journey.
There are a couple of things that I
would like to observe and take away
from it.
Profile Picture
My profile picture has a white
background that makes my profile
thumbnail pop when it is on a video
of the "for you" page.
Bio
To the point, yet fun and inviting.
You want to use your bio as an intro
for what users can expect to see on
your page. I used a witty line on the
bottom to encourage people to
follow.
Video Thumbnail Captions
Notice how all my videos contain
some sort of caption on each video.
This invites user's who land on your
page to get a preview of what your
video is about making them more
likely to view it.
 BUILDING YOUR PROFILE

Remember the topics discussed in section 3 about picking a

niche. Once you decide what niche you want to dive into, build
all aspects of your profile around it. If you're a fitness trainer,
make that known in your bio, and create content around
teaching people how to gain muscle/lose weight etc.
If you're a stock trader or investor, create content on
information that you wish you knew when you were starting
out as well as content of you making gains on your trades to
establish yourself as an authority and provide social proof.
The pages that grow on the platform are the pages that
provide valuable information to the users without any
expectation in return. Keep that in mind when you're planning
out every aspect of your profile, from bio to content delivery!
Always keep in mind that TikTok's current audience is
youthful (That doesn't mean that it won't mature in the next
year). Speak to them with concepts that they can easily
understand, and think back to what you wish you knew in your
industry when you were starting out.
 SECTION 5

CONTENT CREATION
 STARTING OUT

Start by following 10-15 accounts related to your niche. You can

find these accounts by searching keywords or hashtags and seeing
the top results. Watch their videos, purposely engage with these
user's content, and use them as inspiration for your future content.
"Warm up" the account for a couple of days. Go through the for you
page, watch some videos, favorite videos, comment on a few.
Behave in a way that is as similar to how normal active users do.

SETUP A PRO ACCOUNT

Before you post your videos, setup your Pro Account on your profile.
This will enable you to view your profile analytics, as well as your
individual video analytics. This way you’re able to get some
information on exactly HOW and WHY your content is performing
the way it is.
 CONTENT PLANING
If you've gotten this far, you're probably looking to take this TikTok
thing seriously... One constant variable throughout various
industries such as acting, public speaking, and sales, is that they go
off of a script. I know it sounds excessive, but I personally script my
videos. Theres a couple of reasons why I do this...
1) I try and make my videos as concise as possible, going off of a
script limits unwarranted words and phrases.
2) I am able to communicate my message more effectively
Now this may not apply to every single one of your videos, but
scripting can be beneficial for other reasons that can make your
content more effective. We will get more into that in the following
modules.

VIDEO LENGTH
Video length is important and something that you're going to keep in
mind when you're planning a video. One of the main algorithmic
metrics is video completion and re-watches, so keeping your videos
anywhere between 10-20 seconds increases your probability of
viewers watching your videos entirely.
 CAPTIONS
Caption's are a great way to keep your viewers interested in your
video. I often like to write my captions in a way that encourages
users to watch the video until the end. You should always try and
coordinate your video with a caption that helps you hook viewers,
just make sure that it fits with your video.
Ex: The last one (tip, part, section, etc) is so (funny, useful, my
favorite, what I use, etc)

THUMBNAILS
These are two very important details to video creation that are
often overlooked. I personally start my video's with a type of intro
that introduces what the video is about verbally and I complement
the intro with a text insert (check my profile @gerardo_perez for
reference). I more often then not will use the intro as the thumbnail.
The reason why I emphasize this is because if a user lands on your
profile, they will be able to see what your video is about at a glance
which will increase the chances of them clicking on your video and
watching it.
 MUSIC

Music and audio is so often overlooked when creating videos, and

using the right one for your video is crucial.
You don't necessarily need to use a "trending" sound. Just make
sure that it fits your video and your personality.
When you use a sound to complement narration on a video, you want
to make sure that the music you select doesn't drown out the audio.
I personally set the "soundtrack" audio anywhere between 15-20 to
make sure it complements and doesn't overpower the original audio.
Even if you don't want music in your video, select a sound and set it
to 0 volume. It will help your video rank higher.
 TEXT INSERTS
Adding Text inserts to your videos can significantly improve your
ability to story-tell and keep users engaged.
You can get really creative with this feature and set durations to
have them pop in and out of your video.

Adjust the length of your insert

 KNOW YOUR SPACING

People have different sized smart phones, so how your video

appears on your screen won't appear the same way on a larger or
smaller screen. That being said, try keeping your text inserts, emojis,
and stickers visible.

Keep text
within this
space 
 1ST POST
By this point, you've followed a few accounts, checked out
the current trends, recognized popular songs, and gotten a feel for
the "language" of the platform. Now you're ready to create your first
post.
If you’re going to be creating an ORIGINAL (not curated) content
based profile I encourage you to record your first few video's
straight off of the TikTok platform, then upload your first few videos
using the TikTok camera, and not uploading from Camera Roll. Long
story short, when you upload from camera roll, TikTok has to do more
security checks and analyzing to make sure your content passes
everything that doesn’t violate their terms of service. Play it safe,
shoot from the TikTok camera to avoid any possible reasons that
TikTok might give your profile or content a bad strike.
Plan your post, think about props to incorporate whether they are
physical, or gifs/stickers. Know what you want to communicate and
script it so you cut down on your video time. Use text inserts and
factor in what a good video thumbnail would be. Don't forget to add
music to it! It will help keep viewers hooked on the video and
increase your ability to juice the algorithm!
 POSTING CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to make sure that you have everything in place
before uploading your videos.
Does my video communicate what I want?
Is it engaging enough to motivate the user to see the entire
thing?
Did I include a text insert caption for my thumbnail? (If applicable)
Did I include music to my video?
Is the music set to a reasonable volume (20 <) so that my voice
is still heard? (If applicable)
Does my caption complement my video?
Watch the video one last time to make sure everything is in order
before uploading
 SECTION 5

DO'S AND DONT'S

 DO'S

Create a posting schedule

Find a posting schedule that works for you, and post as frequently
as possible as long as it doesn't compromise the quality or value of
your videos.
Be true to your ideas and personality
Being authentic and original is irreplaceable. Its your biggest asset,
don't lose sight of it.
Observe your results
By creating a "pro account" you will be given access to key analytics
that can provide insights on why your content is doing well and what
times you should post.
Know your audience
Keep in mind who you are making the videos for. TikTok is currently
very youthful, speak their language, adopt their terms, show them
things that you wish you  at the time. It's Gen z's world now, were
just playing in it.
Never stop learning and observing
Be open minded and never stop learning. What works for you today
may not work for you tomorrow.
 DONT'S
Don't get impatient
Growth on social media takes time, adopt a long-term mindset and it
will help you take things day by day.
Don't copy others content
I get it, sometimes coming up with your own ideas is difficult, but
don't "copy and paste" other peoples videos and make them your
own. It's okay to take similar concepts and add your own spin to it,
just make sure its a "remix".
Don't delete your videos
Sometimes videos get a surge of views days or even weeks after
posting. Have the mindset of wanting to provide value to users
regardless on the performance of your video.
Don't completely disregard everything you have learned
If you had uploads prior to reading this guide, don't go about TikTok
the same way you did before...
 GOOD LUCK!

You have learned everything you need to know about growing on

TikTok, now go out there and provide value to your audience!
If you ever need a point of reference for any of the concepts taught
in this guide, visit my TikTok profile: @gerardo_perez