These TikTok best practices are part of an ongoing series we have called Social Media best practices. Included in this series: Facebook best practices, Instagram best practices, Snapchat best practices and LinkedIn best practices.
Platform Information
As one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, TikTok has approximately one billion monthly active users. It’s also the most engaging social media app, with an average session length of 10.85 minutes, compared to Facebook at 4.82 and Instagram at 2.95 minutes. TikTok is a great channel for targeting younger demographics and offers a unique opportunity for brands in regards to its broad organic and paid reach. Only 50% of top brands have a TikTok account, meaning there’s still time for corporate accounts to grow on this platform.Platform Audience
Current audience demographics as of September 2021.- 25% are 10-19
- 22% are 20-29
- 22% 30-39
- 20% 40-39
- 57% female
- 43% male
Posting and Cadence Times
We find that this is currently the optimal cadence and posting schedule for TikTok.Cadence
- 1 time a day is ideal for growth
- 3x/week minimum
Posting Times
- Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
- 7 am-10 am PST
Video Formats
TikTok is a video-only platform, where users can choose to share pre-recorded video or live videos. Recorded videos can be up to 3 minutes long (and up to 10 minutes in 2022), but best practice is still videos of 15 sec. max length.Music
Not only is music integral to the entire TikTok experience (originating from the app’s evolution from “Musical.ly”), but audio tracks are one of the best ways to achieve growth on TikTok. Users can choose from the entire music library and add trending music tracks to videos, while brands are restricted to the platform’s commercial music library. Original audio tracks can also be uploaded to your videos.Image/Video Specs
- Videos: 9:16 aspect ratio
TikTok Hashtag Usage
Adding 3-5 hashtags is ideal for TikTok videos in order to increase your video’s reach and appeal to new audiences. There is no limit to the number of hashtags you can include, but the caption is capped at 300 characters.TikTok Advertising
In-feed Ads
In-feed video ads are the most popular on TikTok, appearing on viewers’ “For You Pages,” and should be between 9-16 seconds. These ads feature a clickable CTA button which can be used to drive traffic to an external landing page or to your brand’s TikTok account.Top View Ad
Top view ads occupy the first In-feed post after first opening the app. They show up to 60 seconds of full-screen video, without any distractions from other surrounding videos.Brand Takeover Ads
These ads pop up as soon as users open the TikTok app, taking over the full screen before changing into an in-feed video ad. They can appear on the “For You Page” as still images or videos of 3-5 seconds with links and are effective for generating brand awareness and traffic.Other
There are other options when it comes to advertising on TikTok, including branded hashtags and branded effects/filters. Click here to download a PDF version of our TikTok Best Practices.
BOSTON, MARS
