A Guide To Doing Tik Tok For People Who Think They're Too Legit For Tik Tok
For all the millennials (and up) who built a career before this app, you can do this if you want to.
Part I: Acceptance
When I started working on Crown Affair four and a half years ago, I had about 2,500 followers (aka friends/colleagues I knew) on Instagram. I had never downloaded the popular lip-syncing app called Musical.ly, which would eventually become TikTok, aka one of the most critical top-of-funnel marketing channels today.
I never spoke to the camera before the pandemic. I was a classic millennial posting static vacation pics and work accomplishments (still guilty) and rarely uploaded videos outside of the occasional story. I never thought about “my audience.”
The way that I think about learning social media today always brings me back to a piece of advice I received in 2013. I was working at the now-defunct mobile shopping app Spring (IYKYK), and one of the co-founders hosted a fireside chat with Josh Kushner. Josh randomly said something that has stuck with me to this day.
“Nostalgia will kill you.”
What did he mean? I understood it as: keep it moving. Don’t think about how you used to do things and be upset that it’s not ‘that way’ anymore. If you’re building something, you need to keep evolving.
I know that change is challenging. But even more challenging? Putting your face on the internet if you’re not used to it. I can confirm when you begin this journey that the cringe feelings will come over your body and you will wince as you press post.
But here’s the thing that applies to everyone in 2024 (except for the top coolest tastemakers and artists, you can keep doing what you’re doing — or not doing— online), but for everyone else: if you’re not cringing, you’re not doing it right.
Ugh, it hurts my soul to type that. I love beautiful, elevated, well-produced content — but being on TikTok doesn’t mean you can’t still hire incredible talent and publish stunning campaigns.
What I’m talking about here is video and, specifically, TikTok content. It’s different.
Acceptance is the first step. If you’re ready, read on.
Part II: Quantity Over Quality….Until It’s Quality Over Quantity
Yes, you read that right. When you start, it’s a quantity game, sadly. It’s evened out a bit— just a year ago it was all about posting a minimum of 3 times a day, now it’s better to post once a day and offer something of value/education.
But for you, when you start creating and talking to the camera (or voiceover, aka VO, the secret weapon for those who are camera-shy), you need to just put things into the world to see what sticks.
The algorithm will tell you what’s working. Once it tells you, do more of that.
For me, I started with art content. This video about working with Sho Shibuya was the first to go viral. Sometimes it’s something completely random like this video I made about my Brallie Playboy from 1977.
In time, though, it became clear: the people want hair content.
Know that if you’re not Gen-Z or Gen Alpha (or a super young-minded millennial) this is a Malcolm Gladwell 10,000-hours situation. Just post and post and post and don’t take any of it personally.
Don’t look at the likes, ignore the savage comments (they’ll inevitably happen). Somewhere along the way, you’ll feel the magic of TikTok in action in a way that feels so much more in alignment than Instagram.
I have some personal rules: no lip-syncing. No dancing. FYI those are content strategies that work very well on the app, but boundaries are important. Do whatever feels right to you. Dance like someone is watching!
Someone in my Artist Way group said something profound the other day in our weekly Monday night meeting:
“Of the people you reach, how many do you move?”
That’s what I’m working towards these days. Making content that inspires.
As you go on, you get to see and know the people you’re moving, and somewhere along the way, you move each other. That’s the beauty of social.
Part III: Some Tips and Tricks To Start
If you’re thinking about getting on TikTok but don’t know where to start, here are a few quick tips from a token millennial:
POV / Relatable Text Overlay: 15 - 30-second videos are great. Keep it simple, pull something from your camera roll and put “POV” text over it with copy that feels relatable to you. Someone out there will likely relate too.
Fitchecks. If you’re a fashion girlie or have great taste in any category (eg. home, food, etc), post a quick ‘fit check’ or video of your aesthetic with a tending sound. The right people will find it and the comment section will ask what you’re wearing / where did you get that great thing.
Green screen. If you have something to educate on, the Green Screen tool will be your BFF. My friend Emma started posting videos less than a year ago and she’s taken off with her green screen takes.
Photo Swipe. One thing you can do right now if you’re inspired to get started asap is create a carousel of images with text overlay. Simply open up your TikTok app, clip the ‘+’ to create a post, select the ‘photo’ option, select ‘upload’ and select your photos. If you want to, you can add text overlay for each image to give context (simple example here).
As a friendly reminder, you don’t have to post anything on social or TikTok if it doesn’t feel right to you. It’s a choice to transcend it all and if you’re lucky enough to do that, I salute you.
Take care, and take your time, always.
Dianna
Ps. You guys were into the outro last newsletter, so I present to you, again:
3 Things I’m Into and 1 Haircare Tip
This Leatherology croc Embossed Journal. ($95) September will be four years since I started consistently journaling and I’ve never treated myself to a nice journal. In fact, I started journaling on printer paper so I could be less precious about the process, but I ordered this journal as a treat to myself when I started The Artist Way again earlier this. It feels like a little indulgent ceremony every time I do my Morning Pages. I love that the pages are refillable so I’m committed to the cover and can simply refresh the inside journals once I hit the last page.
AUVON supplement case. ($10) This is a wild rec for someone who only started their supplement journey six months ago, but guys, this case is IT. I started working with a functional nutritionist last year (she’s transformed the health of my gut), and part of that process is I take 20+ supplements a day. At my peak protocol I was taking 45 supplements a day (woof, but it worked!). This case managed to carry them all and it’s the same size as the journal to the left, which makes this the Mary Poppins bag of pill cases.
TONEOF 60” Tripod. ($30) This ‘things I’m into list’ has slowly turned into a ‘functional things I use every day’ list— but this specific recommendation feels helpful given the topic of the newsletter. If you aren’t ready to dive into an ‘all caps influencer’ filming setup, then this tripod is travel-friendly and comes with a remote. It’s not as sturdy as my ring-light tripod I use at home, but it’s a good starter option and easy to hide away.
Haircare Tip: Frizz 101
It’s not your fault if you feel like you’re in a battle with your frizz. For decades the hair industry has used such aggressive language:
Fight frizz! Tame flyaways! Fix damage!
What if we spoke to our hair (and ourselves) with love and simply cared for it in the first place? Frizz is really simple: when your hair is dry it’s reaching up to the sky for more moisture. Prior to formulating the Crown Affair Leave-In Conditioner, my hair would get frizzy, and all the products I had would make my hair look greasy and weighed down. This is the only leave-in I can apply on dry hair to help manage those little guys reaching to the sky. So go ahead, give your hair a drink.
This is the kind of step-by-step breakdown an elder millennial needs
As I’ve been exploring new content this is so what I need. Thank you!! I just love the content you put on substack. And I love how you’ve differentiated the content you post in various places (maybe another great piece to share.)