If a small indie brand goes viral, there’s a good chance it got started on TikTok. Despite being around for less than a decade, the platform has launched countless businesses and brands into seemingly overnight stardom thanks to the strength of its algorithm and organic interaction. But those are just the success stories–is it really that easy to make your own clothing brand go viral on TikTok?
It’s a ‘yes and no’ kind of question. TikTok’s algorithm does something unthinkable to social media giants like Instagram or Twitter: it gives every account, no matter the following or history, a near-equal chance to go viral. Your potential isn’t decided by your historical reach but by how relevant and engaging the content you produce is.
So on paper, it’s a great start. In practice, there’s a lot of competition in the TikTok clothing brand space; so you have to keep a few things in mind before diving in.
- How TikTok’s Algorithm Works
TikTok’s algorithm is sorted through the scroller’s side–what videos they linger on, how fast they scroll past, what they like or comment on, etc. It’s how the platform gained its reputation for being eerily psychic to its users’ tastes. This also makes it great to show off your brand to your target audience.
Generally, TikTok’s algorithm is decided by two things:
- User Engagement
The bread and butter of TikTok is its user engagement with the content on its For You page. This is measured by a few metrics, namely retention, interaction, and previous content history.
For retention, TikTok notes whether or not users watch a video to the end or scroll past quickly. This gives an advantage to short, punchy but useful content that can be consumed in a few minutes or less.
TikTok also takes note of users’ interactions. Liking, commenting, and saving to favorites are basic metrics, but the platform also knows how often its users privately share or repost a video. Content that incites an emotional reaction or conversation benefits from this the most.
Most importantly, TikTok tries its best to provide content relevant to its users’ previous interests. For example, if a user consistently interacts with and follows various streetwear brands, chances are they’ll find even more streetwear brands and trends (even from accounts they don’t follow!) on their For You page.
This leads us to the creator’s side of the TikTok algorithm–
- Video Content & Information
Tagging, labeling, and making your videos digestible to the TikTok algorithm is essential to success on the platform.
This is why captioning and accessibility options are so popular on the platform. Not only does it give more people the chance to read and understand your words, but it also lets the algorithm process what you’re talking about and sort your video’s content accordingly.
In other words, before posting any kind of content on TikTok, consider:
- Does your video have tags that your target market usually searches for?
- Is the content you’re posting relevant and useful for your market?
- Are the other elements of your video or carousel (i.e. sounds, music, effects) popular with your target audience?
- Are your captions accurate and clear?
- Do you include easily executable Calls to Action? (i.e. “Share this to a friend who…” “Save for your next project…” “Comment your thoughts on…”)
- Think like your audience. What makes your content compelling enough to be shared or engaged with?
- Content Ideas
With all that in mind, the kind of content you’ll make ultimately goes back to your branding concept and target market’s style. Some trends and content formats may work better than others for your brand, so there’s not one set formula to take.
That being said, here’s a few handy ideas to get you started:
- Make short and simple guides
A good guide becomes a reference worth sharing with all sorts of people–friends, students, colleagues, what have you. What kind of guide depends on what problems your audience usually encounters, and how you can help solve them.
If you’re selling your own line of clothes directly to consumers, for example, your audience would love quick fashion tips on how to style outfits for different occasions or seasons. Meanwhile, guides on branding, marketing, or production would suit you better if you’re selling to fellow retailers or small businesses.
No matter what content you make, don’t forget to add a call to action at the end of it. Engagement is essential!
- Hop onto new trends
TikTok’s algorithm spreads music and hashtags like wildfire. You can find the newest hashtags and trending sound bytes easily on their Creative Center website and decide which would be great for your brand.
Since users can browse through different music and hashtag trends easily, this is a great way to engage users outside of your usual circles. A funny dancing video or short edit can end up opening entirely new avenues for your brand’s marketing–so don’t be afraid to try out new things.
- Post relatable content
An interesting aspect of the platform is how popular talking-to-the-camera style videos are. Honest and authentic discussions draw in thousands of views per video, whether they’re about vulnerable and personal topics or just funny, relatable observations about the world.
If you’re a small business with solid branding, having a face and voice worth connecting to will mean a lot to your audience. This can mean posting your own face and thoughts as an owner, or hiring an experienced social media manager to create funny and insightful content relevant to your audience.
The key is acknowledging that your target market aren’t just numbers or sales–they’re humans, just like you.
- Share day-in-the-life videos
It’s easy for people to forget that there’s hardwork and dedication behind every brand, no matter how big–including yours! Day-in-the-life videos do a great job of showcasing this, giving people the opportunity to find out what life is like behind the scenes of your productions.
They’re also a great way to show how much care you put in your clothing line while also subtly selling your products. Lukas Zvikas’ “Day in the Life of a Streetwear Brand Owner” video gives a good look at how much thought is put in designing and selling a pair of simple cargo shorts, which gives his brand an endearing and underdog-like character.
These videos also show how hard it is to be an apparel brand owner. On top of designing and producing new collections, you need to get on top of your branding and social media marketing strategies as well. Shirtual’s one-stop services makes producing, distributing and sharing your products straightforward and easy. Focus on your branding and identity–let us take care of the rest.