Businesses… STOP what you’re doing and listen up!
Did you know that TikTok doesn’t see itself as a social media channel?
Instead, the platform positions itself in the realm of entertainment, and believes its biggest competitor is none other than the streaming giant itself… Netflix. Now, if that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about how much it desires the attention spans of us mere mortals, then nothing will.
But knowing this gives you an opportunity. The opportunity to cut through the noise on TikTok and create something that aligns with the entire business model. If you want TikTok to work for your business, it’s time to step up and start entertaining your audience!
The Algorithm Shift: Traditional Socials vs TikTok
Traditional social platforms use something called a ‘social graph’. This means they show you content primarily from people you follow or are connected to (although this is now evolving on platforms like Instagram).
TikTok, however, uses a content graph.
This revolutionary approach shifts audience behaviour from an active search (like going to a profile) to a more passive, personalised feed curation.
What do we mean? Here’s the breakdown:
- How it Works: The algorithm recommends videos based on what it’s learned about your interaction patterns (what you watch, share, and comment on), not on your friend or follower relationships. It categorises users by similar video engagement, not social ties.
- The Watch Time Metric: The recommendation engine prioritises watch time as the single most critical signal for ranking videos. Unlike other platforms, this metric outweighs comments, shares, and even likes.
- Virality is Democratic: Every video, regardless of whether it was posted by a global brand or a new creator, gets an initial test audience of around 300 viewers. This model allows content from any user to potentially go viral, focusing entirely on video quality and the interest of the audience.
What this means for you: The exciting part – especially for smaller businesses – is that you don’t actually need millions of followers on TikTok to succeed. All you need to do is make great content that people genuinely want to watch all the way through.
So, how do we do this…?
Creativity, Branding, and Consistency in your TikTok videos
Despite all the algorithmic innovation, it’s important to remember that the fundamental laws of advertising remain key.
Your content must ‘earn’ its attention by following these two core necessities:
- Creative Quality: Your videos must be entertaining first, and promotional second. TikTok users tend to lean more towards, authentic, human-centred content, so making this a core part of your strategy is key.
- Mental Availability: This is how easily a brand is remembered when a buying decision is made – and so positioning yourself as a brand worth keeping front of mind is also important.
To achieve this fusion on an entertainment platform, you’ll need to combine distinctive brand assets with creative trends.
As best practice, branding should be:
- Instantly Recognisable: Distinctive assets – like uniforms, logos, specific colours, or a unique character – help your brand stand out. For example, Currys leverages branded colours consistently while participating in viral trends, effectively blending branding with entertainment.
- Early and Consistent: Research shows that integrating early and consistent branding into videos does not reduce content likability but significantly strengthens brand recall. But remember, subtle branding integrated into the background or on uniforms can be more effective than an overt logo in maintaining engagement.
The Rise of TikTok SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
If you’ve come across any of our content before, you’ll know that one of the most significant strategic shifts in the online world is that TikTok is increasingly becoming a search engine.
In fact, user behaviour data shows that TikTok is now a preferred search tool for 40% of Gen Z, and users frequently search within the app.
The good news? This shift presents a massive opportunity to capture high-intent traffic by ranking well in TikTok search.
If you’re unsure about what this entails, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! Essentially, to master TikTok SEO, you need to identify relevant keywords and integrate them naturally across six key content areas:
- The text on screen
- Your spoken hooks
- Any subtitles
- Your video descriptions
- The hashtags (capped at five)
- Your profile fields (username, profile name, and bio)
(A quick note on hashtags: Irrelevant or generic hashtags like #FYP are ineffective. Your focus should be on targeted, niche-specific hashtags that improve visibility to the right audience. If you’re not sure what they are, do some research and see what similar brands – or your competitors – are using.)
How SEO works with engagement
While improving your SEO does a powerful job, it’s really important to be aware that TikTok’s search ranking still depends heavily on watch time and engagement.
When you post a video, it’s shown to niche audiences interested in that topic, using your keywords and hashtags as a guide. If the content maintains high watch-through and repeat views, the algorithm amplifies its distribution and improves its search ranking.
One case study even revealed that 39% of a video’s 1.1 million views came directly from search traffic – showing just how powerful getting it right can be.
Strategic Action Items for Your Marketing Teams
Ultimately, your content strategy must now balance authentic, human-centred storytelling with technical keyword optimisation.
To make this easier, we’ve put together some suggested action items for marketing teams:
| Team | Action | Goal |
| Marketing Teams | Optimise TikTok channels by incorporating distinctive brand assets (logos, colours, characters) consistently across videos. | Build mental availability and instant recognition. |
| Content Creators | Focus content on strong hooks (text and spoken) within the first 5 seconds and maintain high video quality. | Maximise watch time, the most critical success metric. |
| Social Media Managers | Avoid generic hashtags like #FYP. Use targeted, relevant hashtags aligned with your audience niche. | Improve search visibility to the right audience. |
| Content Strategy Teams | Leverage tools like Creative Search Insights to identify popular search terms and produce content that answers audience questions (e.g., reviews, how-tos, local guides). | Create a search-optimised content calendar for evergreen visibility. |
| Brand Profiles | Audit and update TikTok profiles to include important keywords in your username, profile name, and bio. | Enhance overall brand discoverability via search. |
Not yet sure on your overall marketing strategy or need help figuring out your online strengths to start turning followers into paying customers?
If you need a little guidance identifying how you can best show up online, complete with tailored, actionable tips to start getting results, take our FREE Social Media Persona quiz now.
Getting it right on TikTok
TikTok is a dynamic platform blending entertainment, search, and social elements.
While it may seem overwhelming at first, our best advice is to just get posting and learn as you go.
After all, you won’t be discovered at all if you’re not even on the platform to begin with!
Your ability to get stuck in and embrace TikTok’s entertainment-first positioning – focusing as best you can on high-quality, memorable content – is likely to give you the marketing edge in this new social media age.
And if you really aren’t sure where to start, or need support to nail your TikTok strategy, we can help!
Get in touch with Piece of Cake Marketing today by dropping Emma an email at emma@pieceofcakemarketing.co.uk .