TikTok

Due to my own tastes as a consumer, I decided that TikTok, Instagram and YouTube would be the three best platforms to harness in order to market myself as an influencer. In particular, Instagram and TikTok as a starting point as I feel they are good platforms to build momentum, and a following and develop skills while creating content. Gaining confidence in myself as a creator will allow me to communicate more clearly and successfully and execute my ideas for content to the highest standard. Utilising features such as TikTok live will enable me to engage with followers and allow the app to push my profile to viewers that may be interested in my content. For example, ‘get ready with me’ live streams would fall into the Fashion and Beauty sector and therefore be pushed towards an audience that has shown interest in this category previously. Working with the algorithm will allow for the highest potential when it comes to organic growth. In addition to this, consistency is key, ‘going live’ or posting TikTok frequently and with consistency will allow the platform to recognise and push content creators to achieve a higher level of organic growth. This will allow my brand to develop faster and with a more loyal following than if I was to buy followers or get a large following from a one-off viral video.

TikTok will be the first platform I will tackle, as I feel it requires less planning and structure compared to social media outlets such as Instagram and YouTube. There is more freedom and room for experimentation to figure out what works, what is well received by an audience and what is not. This will enable me to find my feet as an influencer and my niche in terms of creating content. Also utilising the Livestream function will enable me to build a schedule so that viewers will know when I am going live. This will again, build a stronger connection between consumers and my brand, creating a place for escapism. In order to create a schedule, testing when to go live and post content is something I will have to do. TikTok is a global platform and therefore, in order for me to achieve maximum outreach it is important for me to research time zones so that I can plan when to go live. For example, the USA is roughly 5/6 hours behind the UK. This means that if I was to go live early in the morning, I would be likely to sacrifice connecting with the USA audiences. Testing out ‘going live’ at different times to find a time that suits me and fits in with different time zones will be something that I will need to do in order to gain maximum engagement. Utilising the hashtag features on TikTok will also allow me to be featured in a separate area of the app. So, if someone searches a specific hashtag that I have used on my video, I will gain views and interaction that way as well.