Connecting & Growing On TikTok

TikTok is the perfect place for construction brands since there’s minimal competition on the platform; there’s a need and an opportunity for your business to publish content on the platform.

Research also shows that more TikTok users are searching for construction-based content; The construction hashtag has 10.1bn views and the Tradie hashtag has 1.1bn views. So, it’s also the perfect time for construction brands to be using the platform.

The algorithm is consistently and successfully learning what individuals want to watch based on their own specific interests, meaning that it’s easy to get people’s eyes on your content. The majority of content on the platform is viewed through the ‘For You Page’ or the View page. Content that is displayed on this page is mainly discovery-based. This means that you don’t have to be following a particular creator to be seeing their content.

This means that if your content is relevant or engaging then it is easy to grow a follower base here, since it has a higher organic reach than Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For example, On The Tools achieved 34 times more growth on TikTok than on Instagram in May 2021. In an ideal scenario, you could upload one video and get millions of views- despite having few followers.

The tag #construction has 10.1 billion views to date on the platform; #tradie has 1.1 billion views. It’s clear to see that these users want to watch construction-based content. TikTok allows your business to target a specific demographic, like people who follow design-inspired channels, or people in your zip code. Remember to keep an eye out for what’s trending and keep up with TikTok’s business learning center for tips on new video features to use in your posts.

Connecting with existing contacts

If you want to add friends you know personally on TikTok without having to look for their accounts, you can use your contacts from within the app to easily add people you know. By connecting with someone on TikTok and following each other, you’re able to easily send messages to each other and view their content on your feed.

Accessing your contacts through TikTok is a simple process and could make your life a lot easier in the long run if you want to add people you know. Before starting, make sure TikTok has been given access to your contacts in your phone settings.

After that, follow the steps below to find your real-life contacts on TikTok:

1. Launch TikTok.
2. Go to the ‘Profile’ tab.
3. Click on the icon of a person with a plus sign next to them in the top-left corner.
4. Here, you will be given three options. You can invite friends, find friends via Facebook, or find people in your contacts. Click ‘Find’ next to contacts.
5. Scroll through your contacts and select who you want to connect on TikTok with.

Once you’ve found your friends, you’ll be able to send them your favourite videos and keep up to date with each other’s content.

Connecting through TikTok Features and Algorithms

TikTok’s encourages interaction and engagement through several features and algorithmic choices. In fact the fastest way to grow connections on the platform is through:

• Comments and reactions: Allowing you to share your content and engage with other viewers.

• Duets and Stitch:  Collaborate by incorporating elements of other users’ videos into your own.

• Personalised content curation: Showing you content that resonates with your interests via the ‘For You’ section.

• Hashtags and challenges: Participate in viral challenges and trends by using hashtags, which help categorise and organise content.

• Emphasis on user-generated content: Prioritising user-generated content over celebrity or influencer content, promoting a sense of authenticity and relatability.

Engage your audience and grow your following

Ultimately, creating great content is the #1 way to get views and follows. To keep those followers interested and engaged once they’re on board, the same rules of thumb apply as to any other social media platform:

• Try out interactive live streams.

• Experiment with polls and questions.

• Respond to comments and questions.

• Comment and like content on other TikTok accounts.

• Practice social listening to make sure you’re on top of trending topics in your TikTok community.

Invite Your Connections in Other Apps

TikTok’s has a feature designed to help creators grow their following by inviting their connections on other apps to both view their clips and follow their TikTok profile in one fell swoop. When your recipients in these other apps tap on the link to view your shared video, they’ll also automatically follow your TikTok account, helping to boost both views and followers.

Scoping Out the Competition

Is your competition on TikTok? If yes, what are they doing? What types of content are they creating and are their followers engaged? 

Looking at your main competitors and seeing what works/doesn’t work for them is a great way to build out your TikTok strategy. Since they’ve already given the platform a try, they could serve as a valuable source of insight for your business.

Make sure you keep a close eye on the types of content that seem to get the most engagement. And see if there are any creative approaches you could replicate or get inspiration from.

To see what others are doing you can check out the following accounts:

• @krugerconstruction runs you through some of the most innovative tools on the market. 
• @homerepairtutor might seem like a DIY channel at first, but you’ll find useful tips that you could possibly replicate.
• @carpentry_bysam channel gives you all sorts of carpentry hacks
• @thebuildsters provides construction-related content for industry professionals
• @TheDrywallGuy is a combination of helpful information and a little fun.
• @constructiontips is chock full of decking videos along with other handy videos
• @thattilechick has great tips and is an advocate people to enter the trades
• @awesomeframers channel is awesome
• @american.contractor.show is one of the most-watched channels for builders 
• @rrbuildings spans a great variety of topics.

Using TikTok Advertising to Maximise Reach and Impact

Another excellent way to give your business TikTok an instant boost is by paying for TikTok advertising. Since this requires some financial investment, it’s important to carefully set up and manage your TikTok ads to attain good ROI. This starts with a clear and realistic goal and a defined target audience.

You can then design your ad keeping these two factors in mind. Create a powerful TikTok ad strategy that will help you get your business in front of the right people and leave an impact on them.

TikTok’s commercial influence is huge. TikTok reports that 67% of users have been inspired to shop by the app, while 66% say that TikTok helped them decide what to buy. And if that’s not enough to convince you, there’s always the #tiktokmademebuyit hashtag.

On TikTok, you can promote your posts (spend some money to boost content you’ve made) or find creators to partner with via TikTok’s Branded Content portal. Those are just the more organic ad options. There are also traditional ad placement formats accessible via the TikTok ad manager: place your ads in-stream, on the For You Page, invest in a paid branded hashtag challenge, and more. 

Next Lesson: Measuring What Matters on TikTok