If you’re focusing on Reels, you’re behind.
Left to right: Lucy Camryn Films, Grit & Grace Events Co, Roselite Events
For the past few years, I’ve been telling everyone in the wedding industry to start using TikTok for their businesses. Some people listened and have found success. Some pushed back and said it was just for tweens. Some created accounts and then did nothing with them (I include myself in this group because, hey, the cobbler’s children have no shoes). Some tried to treat it like Instagram and gave up when that didn’t work.
When it comes to TikTok, too many people think of it as just another social media app. In reality, the cultural shift from Instagram to TikTok is a lot like the cultural shift from MySpace to Facebook.
And yes, Instagram is MySpace in this analogy.
People said the same things back in the day that they’re saying now:
“MySpace has a billion dollar valuation, it’s not going anywhere.”
“Facebook is just for college kids.”
“I already get clients from MySpace, I don’t need another social media site.”
TikTok will be the most popular social media app in 12-18 months and everyone will be on it.
This is intentional on TikTok’s part. Their strategy is very much focused on being the trendsetter, not the follower. Their tagline and branded hashtag is even #itstartsontiktok. They want to be the platform that people are creating on and that customers and clients find their new favorite brands on.
And they are. Every fashion, beauty, and wellness brand that has had a product go viral on TikTok has sold out. Every single one.
On the other hand, Facebook’s MO has always been to copy and outspend. And as we all know: when you’re the one copying, you’re not the trendsetter.
This method served Facebook well until the pandemic. Suddenly people were working from home and craving connection. They were already tired of the politics on Facebook and of the overly curated ‘highlight reel’ that Instagram has become.
Seeing people pretend life and business was perfect during a pandemic was the final straw for a lot of people. Many turned to TikTok, much to the chagrin of their kids. And then much to their surprise, the growth of the accounts belonging to adults outpaced those of the high school and college students.
Yes, TikTok started as an app for Gen Z, but it has become an app for people of all ages and the spending power of its user base is enormous.
More importantly for our industry, the number of engaged couples (including those in the luxury market) who are finding and booking their wedding vendors exclusively through TikTok has grown exponentially. They are not looking on Instagram as much as they used to and they’re certainly not looking on Facebook.
There are wedding professionals on TikTok that you’ve never heard of with 500k-1 million+ followers who stayed booked and busy this past year, either with Covid-safe events or their “pandemic pivot” services.
Did you?
So let’s talk about how to make TikTok work for your business. To simplify things, I’m going to cover the different aspects in Q&A format.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media app that features short-form videos. The videos can currently be up to 60 seconds long and TikTok shared last week that they are now testing 3 minute videos.
Instagram’s Reels feature is a knockoff of TikTok, but they are very different, which we’ll get to further down this post.
TikTok can also be an ego check and I’m convinced it’s why more of the “big names” in the industry aren’t active on it.
People on TikTok do not care who you are or what you have accomplished. You have to prove yourself all over again. In a way, this is refreshing. I’m not going to lie – at times it is also super annoying.
It’s definitely easier to just stick to Instagram and pretend TikTok is irrelevant so you don’t have to deal with any ego embarrassment of having to be a beginner with a low follower count again.
That said, I am a firm believer that we have to work smarter AND harder, and that applies here as well. As Malcolm Gladwell says, “People at the top don’t work harder than you; they work much, much harder.”
Set your ego on the shelf and just start. Yes, you have been doing this for a minute and have the side part to prove it. But this audience doesn't care. You have to show why you are credible. You have to prove your relevancy all over again. You have to be willing to look like a beginner.
How hard is TikTok to learn and keep up with? It feels like a lot of work.
TikTok can take a lot of work, but it is not difficult. That said, Instagram is now much more work than it used to be.
The optimal posting for TikTok is 1-3 times per day which comes out to 7-21 pieces of content per week.
Now let’s look at what Instagram has recently said it wants in order for you to see a boost in your engagement. Yes, these numbers are real:
4-5 feed posts per day.
3-4 full carousel feed posts per week (a full carousel is 10 images).
10 stories per day.
3 reels per day.
3-4 IGTV posts per week.
1 live per day.
This adds up to 159-177 unique pieces of content per week just for Instagram alone!
The only reason Instagram has made these changes is because Facebook is trying to prove to advertisers that Instagram is still a valuable place for them to spend their ad dollars. The amount of time people spend on Instagram has dropped significantly because they are on TikTok instead and now IG is implementing these ridiculous numbers to get people to create enough content to prove they are still relevant.
TikTok is not necessarily harder than Instagram, it is just different. It’s a different culture, it’s a different pace, and it’s something new to learn.
Why can’t I just focus on Reels vs TikTok?
First the obvious: TikTok is the original, Reels is the knockoff. As I mentioned earlier, TikTok’s focus on creativity and being the trendsetter is what sets them apart and what will make them win.
If you see something trending on Reels, it started on TikTok. In fact, by the time it trends on Reels, it’s usually several months old.
If you pride yourself on being the wedding professional or the artist that sets the trends and not the one knocking them off, if you claim you are worth a high-end price point, then you are actively branding yourself as out of touch and behind if you are focusing on Reels first.
Why are brides and grooms using TikTok more than Instagram to plan their weddings?
Brides and grooms use TikTok for wedding planning because it is easier to find community and have that “face to face” interaction that message boards, forums, and Facebook groups do not provide. It is a much more interactive and collaborative community than Instagram is which is why couples have been using it more to plan their wedding.
They’re finding not only their wedding vendors there (with many not going on Instagram to source wedding pros at all) but also finding other “besties” (a word Gen Z has adopted as a term of endearment) who are in this same stage of life as them.
When no one else in their offline life is getting married, TikTok gives a bride or groom an entire community they can verbally talk to, not just “write to.”
How is TikTok different than Instagram?
First, take everything you know about Instagram’s algorithm and toss it out. TikTok works very differently — on purpose. Trying to apply strategies and tactics that work for Instagram to TIkTok is where most digital marketers and social media managers fail.
TikTok is not an American-made app so there are cultural differences between how it and other apps we use for marketing were designed. It is community focused first, rather than individual focused.
The “duets” and “stitch” features are meant to build community and as such get rewarded by the algorithm when used. This is why marketers or social media “gurus” who turn them off show they don’t understand the nature of the app itself.
The genre of riffing and “borrowing” of content (with credit in the caption, not the comments) is a feature of TikTok – not a bug.
Another area that TikTok is different is speed. Trends on TikTok move lightning fast.
With Instagram, it’s not uncommon to plan content out a month or more in advance. I see a lot of very successful Instagramers post a video on TikTok with a trend that is a month old. Which makes sense — they saw it a month ago, planned for it, and then posted it based on their schedule. By the time it is posted though, TIkTok users have moved on and you just look behind and out of touch.
This isn’t to say you can’t plan some things or batch create videos in advance, but you probably don’t want to do this more than a week prior if you’re creating original content and not sharing a video from a real wedding.
What do you mean when you say TikTok’s culture is different?
TikTok’s culture very much ties into the fact that they are first and foremost a community-oriented app.
If you spend time on there, you’ll notice that it feels different than Instagram and the other social media apps. It is more conversational, more collaborative, more authentic, and more fun.
Instagram started as an app to showcase what you were doing — in an aspirational way. It was a “wish you were here” digital postcard of sorts, showcasing the places you were traveling to, the outfits you were wearing, the meals you were eating in a way that would cause others to want to be in your shoes.
TikTok is very much about being part of the group, being a team player, and hyping each other up. You’ll notice the Gen Z phrase “hey bestie” used in videos and comments all the time. There is a sense of “togetherness” and inclusivity on TikTok that Instagram just plain lacks.
In addition, the TikTok algorithm pays attention to whether or not you’re participating in the larger community or if you’re just “posting and ghosting” and only paying attention to your own followers and the comments you personally receive. It rewards people who comment, like, and engage with posts in the broader community and who don’t just focus on themselves.
Why do most TikTok videos have music?
Part of the way TikTok makes money is through record labels paying them to promote their artists (remember, TikTok originally started as Musical.ly).
Because of this, using a trending song as the attached “sound” on your video is important for the TikTok algorithm because the algorithm is going to reward what makes them money.
You’ll want to choose music from the “viral” list or the “new releases” lists on the sounds page when you’re editing your video. This is another reason that planning videos in advance doesn’t work well — the trending sounds change daily.
You can adjust the volume of the attached sound down to zero, but you should try to attach a trending song whenever possible.
How good do my videos need to be for TikTok?
You don’t need to be a video genius to use TikTok, because the in-app editor is very robust and comprehensive. You can film everything, including clip edits, right in their camera.
If, like me, you don’t love being on camera, it can be a little uncomfortable at first, but like anything the more you do it, the better you get. If you pretend you’re talking to one person, it makes it a little bit easier.
Other technical things to know for TikTok: if you are uploading a video that you created outside of the TikTok app, your videos need to be a vertical 9:16 ratio so that they fill the entire screen. Videos that are horizontal/widescreen and take up only the middle third of the vertical phone screen are penalized by the algorithm. There are apps and sites you can use that make it easy to resize the videos.
The TikTok algorithm penalizes videos with the Instagram Reels watermark or that have Instagram metadata embedded in the video code (meaning you made them in the Instagram app) and these will not perform as well.
Ideally you’ll want to create the video in your camera so you can upload to any app you choose. If you are creating the video in Reels, at the very least make sure you use an app that will remove the watermark before uploading. TikTok is not interested in being anyone’s second choice over Instagram and they do not want to promote free advertising for Reels on their own app.
Your videos need to be 60 seconds or less (though they are now testing 3 minute videos) and you want a mix of shorter videos (no shorter than 5 seconds) and longer videos. TikTok has recently switched to rewarding “longer form” videos (30+ seconds).
If you have the captions feature, make sure you enable it for each video before you post. This will increase your engagement tremendously because people will watch longer. Also, the algorithm rewards videos that use TikTok’s native captions over videos that use an app that adds captions in a different font.
What type of videos do best on TikTok?
The videos that perform best on TikTok are the ones that focus on making the audience better in some way, not on the individual making the video. TikTok as a company refers to this as making videos that “make someone’s day.”
The exceptions to this are sharing funny stories that may have happened to you, but that is still seen as community-focused because you are helping others have a better day by making them laugh.
For the “wedding side” of TikTok, the videos that do best are the ones that help people practically (sharing advice) or the ones that allow people to get inspired or daydream.
For videos from real weddings, the real moments — the vows, the dances, the bridesmaids laughing together — do best. The behind the scenes of production and videos of the pretty details also do well (but not as well as the real moments).
I’ve always said that detail shots from weddings get you published and people shots get you booked and that holds true for TikTok performance. TikTok couples want to see videos of people having a fun, “best day ever” experience, not just the pretty details.
In addition, while it’s okay to not always be in a positive mood and the TikTok community is very understanding of that reality, people who are consistently negative will find that their videos do not perform as well. Make sure you’re talking about what you enjoy more than what you dislike.
For example, if you’re going to do a video about how much you’re over a certain wedding trend, make sure you include alternatives people can consider in their wedding planning instead.
How do you go viral on TikTok?
First, the most important thing to know is that content on TikTok has a minimum 90 day lifespan.
This means it will show up in people’s feeds for 90 days after you post it.
It is not unusual for a video that didn’t seem to perform well to go viral two months after it was posted. This is why you do not want to delete or ‘private’ your videos if they don’t seem to be resonating at first.
Second, TikTok has two main feeds that users can easily switch between: “following” and “for you page.”
The “following” feed is made up solely of posts from people you are following and the “for you page” or “FYP” is made up of posts that the algorithm thinks you will like. The people you are following will also show up on your FYP feed, so most TikTok users just scroll their FYP.
Your goal is to have your videos “hit the FYP” of your target audience.
Like Instagram, neither of these feeds is chronological. Unlike Instagram, your videos do not necessarily show up in your followers’ feeds right after or even within a couple days of when you post them. They’ll see videos from the last 90 days, in non-chronological order. Because of this, you do not typically want to make time sensitive content for TikTok.
You frankly have little control over how a video is going to perform. This video of mine below went viral and honestly it was a low-effort video on my part: I simply sat down, turned the camera on, and said something that I’ve been saying for the past year.
Another one of my videos that went viral – with over 10 million views – was even played on the evening news in France. It was me giving my point of view (and bossy opinion) on a TikTok trending topic – it was authentic but not preplanned or high effort.
It is also important to know that because of how TikTok videos can go viral so quickly once they hit the FYP, it is not unusual to organically gain hundreds or thousands of new followers overnight.
How do hashtags on TikTok work?
Hashtags are very important in showing TikTok who your videos are for.
TikTok captions are limited to 100 characters, so you’ll only be able to use a few hashtags. Unlike Instagram, hashtags included in the comments do not count.
You’ll want to use a mix of hashtags: some with a lot of views and some with less.
In addition, the search feature on TikTok works incredibly well, unlike Instagram’s. It doesn’t require a hashtag to find something but the hashtag helps give context. TikTok will serve your video if it the hashtag you use makes them think the person’s search term might be related in some way, even if the same words aren’t used.
A hashtag with 100 million views is considered a “small” hashtag on TikTok. That number is not a typo.
How important is engagement for the TikTok algorithm?
TikTok is first and foremost a community-first focused app so engagement matters more than it does on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
That said, the TikTok engagement needs to be authentic. TikTok knows if you’re switching accounts (even on a different phone), so the old school social media manager trick of logging into a different account to leave a comment to boost engagement is NOT rewarded by the TikTok algorithm.
On TikTok, it is IS okay to leave the first comment on your video immediately after you post: either expanding on something you couldn’t get to in 60 seconds or asking a question for your viewers to answer.
The algorithm on TikTok will penalize you for saying things in your video such as, “Like and follow for part two" as they see this as a spammy way to boost engagement. They will also penalize you for saying (or writing) things like “link in bio” or other phrases that encourage people to leave the app.
In addition, TikTok has a feature where you can respond to comments with a video. This is great for answering questions that your followers may ask. The video below has an example of this: I’m responding to a comment about why wedding photographers are so expensive and where the commenter mentioned it being impossible to find a $500 wedding photographer.
What type of account should I have on TikTok?
You can choose between three types of accounts on TikTok: Personal, Creator, or Business. You will want to choose between Creator or Business. Here are their features to help you decide:
Creator Account
You can immediately link your Instagram and YouTube accounts in your profile.
You do NOT get a hyperlink feature to your website (or any other site) until you reach 1000 followers.
You have the ability to go live after 1000 followers.
You have full access to all trending songs and sounds.
Sponsored content must use special songs that are licensed for commercial use — there is a dedicated section for this on the Sounds page.
You have the ability to join the Creator Fund after you’ve reached 10,000 followers and 100,000 views within the past 30 days. The Creator Fund pays people for their video content based on views.
Business Account
You DO get a hyperlink to your website right away.
You have the ability to go live after 1000 followers.
You do NOT get full access to trending songs and sounds, only those that are cleared for commercial use.
You are limited in which videos you are allowed to Stitch or Duet in order to comply with the music licensing issue mentioned above.
You have the ability to run ads. Types of TikTok ads include sponsored hashtag challenges, in-feed ads, branded takeovers (the ad that pops up when you first log in), and branded TikTok filters. You also have access to the Influencer Grid, which helps you identify influencers you might want to do a sponsored collaboration with as a business.
This is important no matter which account you have: url links for TikTok are formatted WITH the @ symbol in them, which is different than every other social media site.
For example: tiktok.com/@thinksplendid instead of tiktok.com/thinksplendid
If you leave the @ out of the url, it will end up as a dead link.
I know this is a lot to take in.
Like a lot, a lot.
As I mentioned earlier though, this is where the culture is heading. TIkTok will be the app everyone is on in the next 12-18 months and your target clients are already there. You can start now or you can wait until everyone is already on it.
The good news for you is that a lot of wedding pros will read this, decide it’s too much or that I’m wrong (I’m not), and wait. Let that be your competitive advantage.
Written by
LIENE STEVENS
Liene Stevens, the founder and CEO of Think Splendid, is an author, speaker, and award-winning business strategist. Armed with $2000, a healthy work ethic, and an undeserved dose of privilege, Liene bootstrapped Think Splendid from a scribble in a notebook to a successful wedding business consulting firm with a client list spanning 94 countries
