6 Reasons Why Bloggers Should Be Using TikTok

When I first heard about TikTok I was not an immediate fan. 

As a blogger, I had no interest or time to devote to learning another social media platform. 

As an adult, I had no interest in doing what all the kids were doing these days. 

I held out for pretty long but then I did it.

I downloaded the app and uploaded my first video. 

Then I uploaded my second video. And my third. And my fourth. 

And I was hooked.

I spent hours browsing through the For You Page. 

Too many hours. 

@odinthenewfSound got deleted on the original so we redid it!🙃 ##heystop ##fyp ##dogchallenge ##viral ##dogsoftiktok ##trending♬ STOP！ – Official Sound Studio

Then I had my first viral video which had nothing to do with me and everything to do with how awesome Odin is. 

After a few months of playing around with the platform, I decided that I needed to think of a way that I could use TikTok as part of my brand. 

I’m still playing around with it and finding my way but the more I use it, the more I like it. 

It’s been fun to watch the platform evolve over the last couple of months too. 

If you think that TikTok is just about dancing, you are greatly mistaken.

TikTok can be a great asset to bloggers that are looking to expand their brand and here’s why:

Increase Your Reach

I am going to be honest here. I do not see many click-throughs to my blog from TikTok but you have to look at the bigger picture. 

Getting people to click off of TikTok is hard because TikTok is a fast-moving social media platform. 

People don’t want to leave it and go read a long blog post, they want to keep moving and absorbing videos fast. 

That’s o.k. 

You are still getting new eyes to see your content. 

@odinthenewfCommonly asked questions about the Newfoundland. Joining @thenewfcrew in the fun. ##musthaves ##fyp ##dogsotiktok ##newfoundlanddog ##smirk♬ original sound – dufourtiktok

Any blogger with a niche can easily take advantage of this platform and the more narrow that your niche is, the better!

Repurpose Your Content

The beauty of TikTok is that you can use your videos on other social media platforms and since videos are hot right now this is a great opportunity!

You can share your TikTok videos easily on Instagram, IG stories, Facebook, your blog, and Pinterest. 

Yes, I said Pinterest and I’ll share more about that below!

It takes a very small amount of time to repurpose blog posts into 15-60 second videos on TikTok!

I’ve done a few and they did better than I expected. 

Convert TikTok Videos To Pinterest Pins

If you’re a blogger than Pinterest is most likely one of the social media platforms that drives views to your website. 

Pinterest is also finicky and when the algorithm changes it can become a painful experience. 

Right now Pinterest seems to be favoring videos and to me, it doesn’t seem to matter where those videos are coming from, they just want more of them circulating. 

You can easily save your TikTok videos and upload them to Pinterest. 

I’ve been doing this for about a week now and I have seen some nice increases. 

To do this on an iOS you’ll need to save your TikTok video as a live photo, go to your camera roll, click on the photo, save as video and then upload to Pinterest. 

When you’re uploading to Pinterest all you have to enter is your description, add a title, and a destination link.

Your link can be to your TikTok video or you can link it to a relevant blog post. 

Attract New Readers

TikTok’s biggest age group in the US is 18-24-year-olds, which accounts for 42%  of users but don’t worry, the 30, 40, 50 and 60-year-olds are making their presence known too!

I don’t know about you but that is exactly the age I need to be reaching these days! 

Gen Z is the future of our breed and they love their pets so if I can tap into their audience now, that is awesome!

This is going to really depend on your niche but if you are in the pet blogger niche and write about pet nutrition, specific breeds, or DIY you are missing out on a great opportunity to attract new readers! 

@odinthenewf♬ I love your dog – Dog lovers

I can think of a handful of pet bloggers that would be killing it on TikTok right now if they gave it a chance! 

Don’t think your type of readers are on TikTok? 

They are. You just have to find them!

Creator Awareness

A blog writer is a creator and TikTok likes creators.

Over the last few months, they have been building ways to increase value to creators.

They have a Creator Marketplace for creators with over 100K followers and they are just about to roll out a HUGE fund for creators.

Don’t have 100K followers? Don’t worry about it. 

TikTok just launched a Creator Fund where they are projected to give $1 BILLION dollars to help support creators on their app.

I was invited to apply yesterday and will report back if I’m accepted. 

You need 10K followers to be eligible to apply to the fund. 

Brands are finding it hard to resist being on TikTok and I have seen an increase in brand campaigns with smaller creators. 

I have my first paid collaboration coming up soon and I’m below the 100K threshold. 

A Global Web Index report showed that 68% of TikTok users are watching other creators’ content.

Only 55% of TikTok users are actually sharing their own content.

What does that mean for bloggers?

Well, you’re targeting an audience that WANTS to watch and learn something. You are creating content for an audience that WANTS it. 

TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide.

When it comes to the daily time spent on TikTok, users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app.

Wow. 

What About The TikTok Ban?

I know that some of you might be thinking about the news that TikTok might be getting banned in the next month or so and I hear ‘ya. 

I have second-guessed myself using the platform too but then I realized that is even more of a reason to use it.

Look, if people connect with you and like your content on TikTok they are going to make sure that they follow you on other social media sites. 

Now is the perfect time to convert your TikTok followers over! 

@odinthenewfGrooming tip for your Newfoundland or double coated dog🌬 ##learnfromme ##howto ##doggrooming ##dogtips ##newfoundlanddog ##happyathome♬ Fire – Official Sound Studio

No doubt that you will lose some followers if TikTok goes away but you will gain the ones that value you. 

In the last month, I have gained a little over 1,100 followers on Instagram from TikTok. 

That is a fraction of my followers but it’s still 1,100 people that I may have never reached without TikTok. 

TikTok Is Fun.

That’s it. It’s a fun app that millions of users and creators enjoy and spend hours on.

After being on TikTok I’ve found that posting 80% fun videos and 20% blogging-related videos is a good formula for me.

It keeps me on trend with relevant pet content and increases my followers and reach.

@odinthenewfWhen you hear a dog puking in the other room 🤮 ##trending ##dogsoftiktok ##truestory♬ Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

Oh, and if you’re thinking TikTok is too saturated with content creators right now, you are wrong. 

One of the amazing things about TikTok is that there are so many unique communities and content niches within the platform itself that you’re not competing against other niches! 

TikTok’s algorithm is different than other social media platforms too. 

On TikTok, the For You feed reflects preferences unique to each user.

“The system recommends content by ranking videos based on a combination of factors – starting from interests you express as a new user and adjusting for things you indicate you’re not interested in, too – to form your personalized For You feed. ”

It takes time to get used and to learn but in my honest blogger opinion, it is worth it!