TikTok was probably the most downloaded app of 2021. It now has multiple billion customers.
Did any of us at Buffer predict such a fast rise when TikTok first landed on our radar?
For enjoyable, I did a fast search of our Slack archives to see if I might discover out. The primary point out of TikTok was by Ash Read, our former Head of Content material, in August of 2018. TikTok had simply acquired Musical.ly as an entry level into the U.S. market.
The subsequent point out was in November 2018, when one other former teammate of mine, Alfred Lua, was engaged on a weblog publish in regards to the 21 Prime Social Media Websites to Think about for Your Model. At that time, TikTok was quantity ten on the listing with 500 million month-to-month energetic customers, simply behind Tumblr and simply forward of Twitter.
Quick ahead again to at present and TikTok is nipping on the heels of incumbent platforms like Fb and Instagram and has grown in a approach that I might by no means have imagined. It’s additionally now probably the most visited area on the web, ending Google’s fifteen-year reign.
It doesn’t appear to be slowing down both. With the rise of short-form movies, highly effective creator instruments, and options that drive virality inside and outdoors of the platform, TikTok achieved greater than forty p.c development final 12 months.
It’s not solely content material creators and influencers which are sharing TikToks daily. Companies of every kind are making the most of TikTok’s capability to ship an unlimited quantity of natural attain in a brief house of time. With the fitting plan and artistic execution, there are alternatives abound to construct an enormous viewers (with out the necessity for an enormous price range).
I’ve been studying this primary hand from Buffer prospects, because of a gradual stream of characteristic requests, asking for an integration with TikTok. And, in fact, it is sensible. Like each different social platform, you get the perfect outcomes when you plan your content material forward of time and publish persistently.
Folks have been so eager for us to combine with TikTok, they even began sharing product mockups to encourage our designers.
So, we began pondering. What’s the quickest and most respected approach that we may help entrepreneurs plan and schedule their TikTok movies, at present?
Utilizing reminders to assist with TikTok planning
Two of our product rules are to maintain issues easy and so as to add worth incrementally (we don’t wait so as to add all the pieces directly).
With that in thoughts, we checked out how we at present assist Instagram Tales scheduling. Maybe we might replicate an identical workflow.
The way in which it really works is:
- You add your video content material to Buffer.
- Then select a date and time you’d prefer to publish the publish.
- When that point comes, Buffer sends a reminder notification to your cellphone, with all the pieces prepared so that you can end the publish within the app.
This “reminder” workflow is already very acquainted for social media entrepreneurs and within the graph beneath you possibly can see the way it has grown in recognition amongst our prospects. About 19,000 Instagram Story reminders are created and scheduled by Buffer each month.
Given the success of Instagram Story reminders, creating one thing related appeared like a pure first foray into the world of TikTok.
Transferring quick with cell
TikTok is a mobile-first platform, with the overwhelming majority of content material coming straight from the creator’s cellphone. So relating to scheduling, we determined to construct TikTok Reminders into our cell apps, to start with. We thought-about including to our net platform too, however within the spirit of constructing shortly and including worth incrementally, we’re excited to launch it on cell after which add it to net as soon as we’ve extra suggestions and recommendation from our prospects.
Andy, certainly one of our iOS engineers, was capable of whip up the primary prototype in lower than two hours.
From there, we fleshed out the prototype over the course of a couple of month, examined the completed product internally, and submitted it to the Apple app retailer and Google Play retailer for evaluate.
How TikTok Reminders work
With Buffer’s cell app you possibly can plan and schedule your TikTok movies upfront, alongside the remainder of your social content material. It’s fairly easy; add your video, add a caption, and schedule a posting time. When the time comes, we’ll ship you a notification to publish the video on TikTok.
Step 1: Load your TikTok content material into Buffer.
Choose TikTok below the Reminders part of the navigation panel. From there you possibly can create your TikTok publish by including media and a caption.
Step 2: Schedule a time to publish to TikTok.
Select the date and time to obtain a reminder to publish.
Step 3: End the publish in TikTok.
When it’s time to publish your TikTok, Buffer will ship you a push notification that may information you to the TikTok app to publish your content material.
Getting began with TikTok
TikTok could be a little daunting when you’re not acquainted with the platform. However don’t fear, you don’t should be an incredible dancer or video genius to kickstart your TikTok presence. I’ve compiled a few of my favourite TikTok advertising assets beneath. I hope you discover them helpful!
- TikTok Artistic Playbook for Small Companies [PDF] – TikTok
- Small Wins: How small companies are unlocking the magic of TikTok – TikTok
- 41 TikTok Video Concepts For Small Companies – Lightricks
- Tips on how to Use TikTok Advertising to Make Your Enterprise Go Viral [Youtube Video] – Shopify
- A Information to TikTok for Ecommerce Companies – ReferralCandy
We’d love your suggestions
TikTok is a brand new space for Buffer and we’d love to know extra about how we may help you save time and develop your TikTok presence. Would you prefer to schedule reminders by our net dashboard, too? Are we lacking something from our cell app? What kind of recommendation and assets would you prefer to see from us?
Tell us by sending us a tweet @buffer or by dropping us a observe (or mockup!) utilizing our characteristic request kind.