Short-form video is the most engaging type of social media content. It ranks ahead of images, live videos, as well as *pause* GIFs, and memes. If you want to attract users to your social media profiles and keep them there, short videos should be a major focus.
If only there were an enormous social network built around short-form video.
Enter TikTok.
Known for its viral trends and rapid-fire content, TikTok is one of the top platforms for short-form video. In particular, its stories feature has become an important tool for brands and influencers.
In this article, we discuss TikTok stories and their benefits, before breaking down how you can use them to benefit your business.
What are TikTok stories?
TikTok launched its stories feature in 2022. It was created as an answer to Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat stories. They are short video segments that last a maximum of 15 seconds and remain visible for 24 hours.
TikTok stories operate differently from those on other networks. Rather than having a sole private response option, they also have a built-in comments section.
Stories appear front and center on your feed, making them instantly visible when you open the app. You can stack multiple stories back to back, so once a user clicks your story, they’ll continue to view your content until they reach the end of the sequence, or they intentionally flick away.
How do TikTok stories work?
TikTok stories appear as live elements on your profile and are available to users at the top of the “Following” page. You can recognize stories immediately as round icons (containing your profile photo) with a blue ring around them.
Stories are influenced by the “For You” page (FYP) algorithm. If your regular TikTok content performs well, your story is more likely to pop up on other users’ feeds.
This is good news.
It means your stories could potentially reach large audiences beyond the accounts that follow you. Stories offer an excellent alternative for extending your reach and gaining new followers.
To view a TikTok story, all you have to do is hit the icon with the blue ring. You then sift through the user’s story content as though you were flicking through a photo album.
Alt: You can gauge how long a story is and how many stories an account has posted by paying attention to the bars at the top of the screen.
From a brand’s point of view, one of the best features of TikTok stories is the comment section. Users can privately react to your post or they can leave a public comment. Public comments stimulate engagement, which sets the algorithm in motion in your favor.
There are plenty of ways to maximize engagement. Aside from sharing great content, you can also add trending music, use effects, and edit with stickers and text. Personalize your posts to make your content unique and garner more engagement.
Once a story is live, you’ll have access to the analytics. This will allow you to determine how well it’s performing.
Benefits of posting TikTok stories
As one of the biggest and most popular social networks, TikTok has the potential to add significant value to your marketing strategy. To optimize social media performance, you should be using all available features.
Here are five ways your business can benefit from TikTok stories.
1. Engagement spikes
Since TikTok is already a short-form video-based app, there hasn’t been a seismic effort to push the stories feature. However, if you’re not prioritizing stories, you’re potentially leaving meaningful engagement on the table.
Originally, TikTok videos were capped at 15 seconds, creating quick-fire content consumption. Today, you can post 30-minute videos, which are longer than a standard episode of your favorite sitcom.
Even though TikTok videos are getting longer, consumer attention spans are not. Short and snappy content is king. Stories are tailor-made for your bite-size chunks of video, even if it’s supplemental to your regular content.
The fact that stories are only visible for 24 hours gives them a sense of urgency. If a user doesn’t hit your story, there’s a chance they’ll never see what you posted. It creates a FOMO (fear of missing out) moment. Stories are also a great way to promote sales or limited offers, for the very same reasons.
To boot, the temporary nature of stories means users can engage or leave comments knowing they won’t be there forever.
2. Increased reach
TikTok is known as the viral platform.
Stories help your content hit far-reaching audiences. This is primarily down to the interactive options. If a user decides to send you a direct message or a private reaction to your post, they can, which contributes to engagement.
However, the true benefit is the public comments section. This section can quickly become a hotbed for discussion among viewers. Furthermore, you can get involved, further stimulating the conversation.
The more you interact, the better the chance of your content reaching more users. Stories are an excellent method of attracting followers and nurturing relationships.
3. Building authentic personal relationships
Brands tend to use TikTok stories to diversify their content.
Since stories have a live element and only last 24 hours, they give you a perfect opportunity to be more authentic and spontaneous. While it’s good to be strategic with all social media posts, stories offer flexibility.
Rather than producing a promo or creating a time-consuming edited video, you can deliver more authentic content to demonstrate your brand’s personality.
Stand out among your competitors with personality-filled TikTok stories and build trust with consumers. This can be hugely beneficial in the long term.
4. Testing content
We’ve all been there. A piece of content you had high hopes for falls flat, or worse, it generates negativity. It’s impossible to get it right every time.
Now, consider that TikTok stories last just 24 hours. Is there a better way to test out what content best appeals to your audience? I think not.
Marketers often carry out A/B testing with paid social media advertising.
This is where you run two versions of an advert to see which performs best. Sometimes, the most subtle changes make all the difference.
While you can pay for ads on the platform, using TikTok stories is a cost-saving approach for testing. Upload a variety of content from your campaign to your stories on a schedule and determine performance based on the audience’s response.
5. Utilize TikTok’s full list of features
Brands must actively look for the best ways to communicate with their audience. They’ve got to engage in social listening and interact with their followers according to their preferences.
TikTok stories have become an important feature. They allow you and your followers to take part creatively through bite-sized content chunks. Neglecting this format would mean losing out on some of your TikTok account’s potential.
What’s more, as we’ll discuss a little later, stories aren’t just for fun. You can leverage them in ways that impact your bottom line.
How to post a TikTok story
Another reason to publish TikTok stories is that it’s so darn easy. If you’re ready to launch your first post, here’s how it’s done.
Step 1: Hit the “+” button (or the “Story” icon)
On your TikTok homepage, look for the “+” symbol, located in the center at the bottom of your screen.
Once you hit it, you’ll be prompted to select an option between “Camera”, “Story”, and “Templates”.
Push “Story”.
Or, go to the “Following” page and look for the “Story” button near the top.
(The precise layout of the story function can depend on your location or device type).
Step 2: Create or choose your content
Next, you can create your story by recording a video or taking a photo. If you choose this approach, your content will be published immediately.
You may also upload previously recorded files.
TikTok’s story capturing has a number of useful features, like a video time limiter and a countdown.
Step 3: Get creative
TikTok stories are equipped with the same filters, camera effects, stickers, and transitions as regular posts. You can even add voiceovers and edit the sound if you want to input extra production value.
However, you may not want to make your stories look the same as your FYP videos. Generally, stories are used to diversify content and show a different side to the brand.
Step 4: Hit publish
Once you’re satisfied with your content, hit “Next”.
The following page allows you to add captions, hashtags, mentions, locations, and other important details. Be sure to take your time with this part and input all the relevant information.
At this point, all that’s left to do is publish. Push “Your Story” and your content will soon be available to your TikTok audience.
Step 5: How to delete your story
As you know, your TikTok story is available for a maximum of 24 hours.
However, you may feel the need to take it down sooner.
To do so, click your story, hit the three-dot button on the sidebar or the arrow in the right-hand corner (depending if you’re an Apple or Android user), and scroll down until you see the delete button. Push delete, follow the prompts, and your story will be erased.
10 content tips for TikTok stories
There’s no one way to create great social media content. Depending on your brand, values, and target audience, certain TikTok story strategies may be more effective than others.
To help steer you in the right direction, we’ve put together 10 short tips. Let’s get into them.
1. Behind the scenes
One of the most popular TikTok story strategies is to show the audience what happens behind the scenes (BTS) with your business. For example, you could give a sneak peek at how a product is made.
BTS content gives your brand personality, makes it more relatable, and demonstrates authenticity.
2. Limited offers
As mentioned earlier, the temporary nature of TikTok stories creates a sense of urgency. The fact that the story is there for a limited time makes users want to click them.
Limited-time offers and TikTok stories align perfectly. If you run offers frequently on your stories, you’ll rack up significant views, engagement, and followers.
3. Showcase your personality
Engage with the audience through private messages and the public comments section. A response or dialogue can feel like a reward to your followers. By showing personality, you increase the chances of future interactions.
Here is an example of how milk makeup engages with their audience through the comment section:
4. Q&A or AMA
Questions and answers or ask me anything sessions are tailor-made for TikTok stories. You can gather questions and answer them quickly and easily on the app.
For example, a construction company or electrician could answer common questions, helping followers make smarter choices regarding home renovations.
This makes interaction seamless. There’s no need to spend time putting together questions and creating graphics with the answers. Plus, you’re adding genuine value by giving followers the information they ask for.
5. Campaign build-ups and countdowns
In the build-up to campaigns or sales, TikTok is the perfect medium to create anticipation. You can offer insights into what people can expect, promote special offers, or share QR codes for purchasing tickets. Furthermore, you can count down big events and send reminders.
6. User-generated content (UGC)
Reposting content from your followers is an effective way to drum up engagement. You could run a weekly segment where you post user-generated content. For example, a food brand could repost their followers using their products in home recipes.
Chipotle did this by challenging their audience to put their own spin on a creative prompt which encouraged tons of organic UGC content.
7. Announcements
For mini announcements, such as reaching a follower milestone, you may not want to create a dedicated post for your feed. However, stories are the perfect avenue. It’s also a good medium for announcing competition winners or giving shoutouts.
8. Polls
Ask for your audience’s opinion or simply seek out engagement by publishing a poll.
9. Quizzes
A fun way to use TikTok stories is to publish quizzes. These are a great way to subtly advertise too. For example, you can ask questions about your brand, products, or services. In addition to increasing engagement, quizzes also work for growing your email list and segmenting your audience to boost sales.
10. Promoting ongoing offers
Social media is a form of entertainment. Sure, it’s crucial for businesses. However, your feed shouldn’t be filled with special offers and sales-based content.
Otherwise, your account will look like a walking billboard.
With stories, you can repost ongoing offers daily without spamming your feed. Viewers can easily swipe past if they’re not interested.
Bringing all together
Once you have started putting some of these ideas into action, it is imperative to track your efforts and realize what is working for your brand.
Not everything is going to be a winner so relying on analytics, A/B testig and the right software is the way to go.
Keyhole helps users understand what posts are bringing in the most engagement, which influencers are bringing in the best return on your investment, and which hashtags are right for your brand.
The software will even give you personalized recommendations on what the optimal posting time is for your business based on when your audience is most active.
This data is incredibly valuable when you are in the process of developing a long-term TikTok strategy that works for your brand.
How can Keyhole help with your TikTok strategy
Since its worldwide launch in 2017, TikTok has been known as the original snack-size content app. The introduction of stories has solidified this reputation. Plus, stories tend to be used to share different style videos, allowing you to create a more diverse content portfolio.
If you plan on using TikTok stories as part of your marketing strategy, consider a management tool like Keyhole. We offer comprehensive social listening, analytics, publishing, and historical insight tools. Our products will help you become more efficient in optimizing all aspects of your TikTok content.
Author Bio:
Freya Laskowski is the founder and CEO of SERPManiac, an agency focused on helping brands scale their organic growth with content marketing and SEO services. She is a quoted contributor in online publications like Business Insider, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, and the Huffington Post. She also owns CollectingCents– a personal finance blog that she grew from the ground up.
Related Articles:
5 Ways To Improve Your TikTok Social Listening Strategy
How To Get More Views on TikTok – 11 Proven Tips & Tricks
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I create TikTok stories?
To create TikTok stories, open the TikTok app and tap on the "+" icon at the top left corner of your screen. From there, select the "Create a Story" option and you can start composing your story with text, stickers, effects, and more.
2. Can I add links to my blog or website in TikTok stories?
As of now, TikTok does not support adding clickable links to external websites in stories. However, you can still drive traffic to your blog or website by encouraging viewers to visit your profile for a direct link or utilizing the "link in bio" strategy where you can include a link in your profile bio.
3. Are TikTok stories more effective than regular posts for driving engagement?
TikTok stories are a great way to share more casual, behind-the-scenes content with your audience. While regular posts have a longer shelf life, stories can be effective for real-time updates and fostering a sense of connection with your followers. Experiment with both formats to see what resonates best with your audience.