How to crush it on TikTok - 12 exclusive strategies from The Queen of Social Media
If you want to get started with TikTok, grow massively, and get clients for your business, you are in the right place! This guide is for you (and no, you don't need any dancing skills go viral 😅)!
Rachel Pedersen, "The Queen of Social Media" is a successful and highly sought-after social media expert named one of the top 50 most influential online marketers in the world.
1.1M followers on TikTok, 300k+ on Facebook, 173k on Instagram and 121k subscribers on YouTube. The numbers talk for themselves.
I have recently attended a one-day workshop on advanced TikTok strategies that Rachel and her team put together. As this was one of the best workshops I've ever been part of, I couldn't help but share with you Rachel's 12 advanced TikTok strategies to dominate TikTok and get more leads.
TikTok is blowing up!
Why be on TikTok? First, TikTok has officially surpassed Google for overall watch time (and remember that Google owns YouTube).
Secondly, TikTok is a game changer, and when you create on TikTok, you are ahead of the trends on all other social platforms (where there is a "second-hand culture"). Why? Because all the other platforms transitioned to short form-video (Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, FB reels, Idea Pins), trying to replicate TikTok's success.
The traditional way that social media platforms work is to get everyone hooked and over a period of 5-10 years, to reduce organic reach so that people have nothing else to do but pay for ads. Following TikTok's model, all platforms started to give more organic reach but did not know how to create a culture. And TikTok's culture is a big part of its success. In Rachel's words, "you have to learn how to crush it on TikTok to then crush it on all other platforms."
And what better way to learn how to crush it on TikTok than learning from someone who is crushing it every day and has more than 1+ million followers?
The 12 advanced TikTok Strategies to dominate TikTok and get more leads
Strategy 1: The big promise
This is all about creating your irresistible offer/ unique selling proposition. E.g., $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No (by Alex Hormorzi)
Strategy 2: Grab attention
If you get people to stop scrolling, pay attention and ultimately click and comment, you win. Two ways two grab attention are: click and bait (e.g. thumbnails with surprised facial attention) or bait and switch (which Rachel does not support), e.g., 17 celebrities you didn't know are dead (thumbnail of alive celebrity)/"I paid 30k on a call". These false bait and switch posts will grab the attention but will make people never want to follow you again. So the difference between these two methods is that click and bait usually backs things up.
Strategy 3 - Use hooks that create outrage
The bolder you are with your hook, the more views you will get. So bold, controversial hooks can grow your account, yet Rachel doesn't recommend this strategy unless you are mentally ready to handle the heat/ backlash.
One rule of thumb is to only check comments when you are in a good mindset. In addition, if you are sensitive, avoid comments after the first 10 minutes of posting content (as you'll be more inclined to delete the post). Nonetheless, if any of your posts goes viral, one option is to have your friend change your TikTok password until you are ready to face the situation.
Strategy 4 - Use jump cuts and attention resets
Did you realize that creators intentionally switch the clip every couple of seconds? Look at viral videos; very few of them don't have jump cuts and attention resets. Why use them? Because they work wonders at constantly re-engaging the audience and capturing their attention to watch two more seconds, another two seconds, and so on.
Strategy 5 - Record and edit within TikTok App
You could also record in IG reels or use editing desktop apps such as InShot, CapCut, Splice, or Screenflow. If you don't like editing or you feel like it's slowing you down, feel free to leave that aside for now. It's better to get out there.
Tips: one of the easiest ways is to edit within TikTok while filming, make sure there is NO blank space between the clips (even cut the last word -you can create TikToks anywhere (e.g., on the stage/place, at home/office, in the gym/park) and look at the camera, don't look at yourself.
Strategy 6 - Consistency
The idea of consistency can create panic, but consistently doesn't necessarily mean a flawless track record or, 75 hard challenge or nothing. When you break a streak and get really stressed out, remember that consistency doesn't mean perfection. If you miss a day, just pick it up the next day and go again. The important thing is to find a pace that works for you and be consistent with that.
Strategy 7 - Problem-based/ Awareness-based marketing
Problem-based marketing means you know where your audience is at, you meet them where they're at, based on what they need.
It can be very challenging to teach to a group that contains both basic beginners, brand new and advanced personas (their problems are different). Yet, in short-form content, you can serve diverse audiences with each video.
Let's take the example of targeting the advanced profile:" Here are five ways to slash your CPL with FB ads". This is a self-identifying hook. You can see then how important it is to know whom you want to attract with each video and speak to the pain points of each of the different target persons.
Strategy 8 - It has nothing to do with the font
Many people think that the font or color of the subtitles makes the video go viral. This is not the case.
The strategy underneath it is: that the emojis and text on screen align with the video style that the people you want to attract enjoy watching. In other words, people with successful video views know their audience (they obsess over them) and understand what their audience watches.
If you know whom your audience follows, ask them why they watch those people or start to study those things. Ultimately, you should be mirroring what your desired followers are already consuming (e.g., Grant Cardone, Russell Brunson, Dan Lock, Graham Steven, MrBeast). Why? Because anyone who likes MrBeast will be more likely to consume content that has a similar style to MrBeast.
Strategy 9 - Outrageous claims
You can share outrageous things if they are accurate, and you have proof of that (e.g., Alex Hormozi makes huge claims, and he can back them up). If sharing outrageous claims is your type, you might want to study the FTC regulations.
Strategy 10 Attract and repel
If you want to be comfortable with people loving you, you must be comfortable with people hating you. People are allowed to hate you. You are also allowed to block people.
Yet, the bigger you get, the more the fallout can be from blocking people and deleting comments. As a rule of thumb, ensure you are clear on what topics you are willing to stand for. You don't have to say something if you're unsure where you stand for something. The goal is someday to be able to share and fight for the things that you care about the most.
Strategy 11 - Curiosity and Open Hooks
Open loops pull you in and make you say, "What? That can't be right. Did I see that correctly? He married his wife for money?". As curiosity marketing can feel a lot like clickbait (which can feel like bait and switch), it is essential to know that curiosity marketing can only work long-term if you back it up.
So if you use thumbnails with a suspense face (e.g., heads over your face), make sure you make justice to that thumbnail and back it up with as much value as possible.
Strategy 12 - Create social proof
There are specific ways that you can use to create social proof. One way to do this is to run video ads in emerging economies (it's cheaper). India, Malaysia, South Africa, Nigeria, and the Philippines are countries where the US dollars go further. You spend 5 dollars and get several hundred/thousand likes.
Some argue that these followers are "fake." It is never fake to run ads and allow real people to enjoy your content (e.g., if you want to increase your following, you can run ads that serve content to people and give them the option to follow). However, at times it is out of alignment and this strategy is not recommended if you don't know how to serve content to these emerging economies.
Strategy 13 - Hooks and hashtags
As we know that the most critical thing is to grab attention (and then back it up with value), it is vital to understand what to do to grab attention.
Hooks
There are three spots where you can put hooks in every TikTok (you don't have to use all three):
- The audio, the words you say (e.g. "you guys are never gonna believe what just happened").
- The text on the screen.
- The caption (the text before the hashtags).
Hashtags
There are outliers, people who crush it with no hashtags, but this most likely happens because their content is fantastic, and they either have a content team or many incredible things going on on their profile.
Rachel's advice is not to skip hashtags and use the space provided by Tiktok for this specific function.
You have between 150-500 characters to fit your caption and your hashtags. The rules are to use the maximum number of hashtags and for the hashtags to be relevant. Tip: Hashtags do not count if they are put in the comments on TikTok (Instagram has said the same thing).
This was the overview of Rachel's 12 advanced strategies to crush it on TikTok. I am very soon publishing the TikTok tactics that she shared in that workshop, and trust me they are incredibly valuable. So, if you don't want to miss that, make sure you subscribe to our Newsletter below! 🙌
👉 Up next: FREE eBook on How to Become a Pro At TikTok Marketing 🚀
