VANTAGE BRAND COMPANY (vantagebrandco.com), based out of Fremont, Ohio, has recently discovered the world of potential that TikTok has to offer. In less than two months of consistently posting content, Vantage Brand Company has gained more than 2000 followers and amassed over 103,000 views of their content.
“Within the first week, we had a video go from 100 views to 10,000 views, which isn’t too crazy for TikTok virality in general, but just off of that one video hitting 10K, we got two leads,” says Bailey Mezinger, social media manager, Vantage Brand Company. “Now, periodically, those videos are still getting hits and we’re getting leads from it on a consistent basis. At least one a week.”
While it may not seem like it, there’s more to TikTok than simply uploading a video and hoping it does well. TikTok’s algorithm is widely regarded as the most intuitive and effective in the current social media realm, and Mezinger has discovered that it can be utilized to cater to screen printers. If you use your shop’s TikTok account to interact with other screen printing content, and use hashtags like #streetwear, #screenprinting, #winterfashion, and #clothingbrand, among other terms, the app will reward you for your effort.
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“TikTok has an algorithm that feels like it pushes you content that you actually want to see, as opposed to Facebook and Instagram, which are just pushing out what’s popular. That gets really oversaturated, really quick,” he says. “On TikTok, if you interact with one video involving screen printing content, chances are you’re going to see another screen printing video pop up on your feed. The more you engage, the more you’ll get screen printing content thrown at you.”
So, what’s the best type of content to post to TikTok? The answer may surprise you. Many content creators have realized that standard professional video editing and formatting – like you may be familiar with seeing on YouTube or Instagram – doesn’t perform as well as raw, behind-the-scenes footage does on TikTok.
“One thing I’ve really noticed is we’re getting more traction on our DIY stuff, where it’s the heat presses and the manual presses and stuff like that. What we’re seeing is a lot of people are actually gravitating toward that,” says Mezinger. “I went to school for videography and photography, so I have the background for doing high-production video shoots. Surprisingly, the videos that I’ve essentially put no time or editing into are the ones that get 10,000 to 20,000 views.”
Tik Tok users prefer tangible, educational content. On Instagram, the goal is to make your posts aesthetically pleasing and impressively edited, which is great. However, when a potential client or customer is able to see how your shop truly works on TikTok, they can get a sense of your quality of work and it establishes an element of trust.
“It’s just really about giving back to the community and the people who support us. It’s like, if you order from us, you could potentially get featured on our TikTok, which gives you more exposure. I think, really, creating the community and being engaged in your community that you’ve created is important. That’s where you get the repeat customers,” says Mezinger.
Mezinger takes this strategy a step further for Vantage Brand Company by doubling down on the behind-the-scenes idea and creating videos that show how the shop produces merchandise for customers who were attained through TikTok. So, not only did the client discover Vantage on the app, they now get to see how their product was made. It’s a relatively groundbreaking strategy that has paid off for the shop.
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“That TikTok customer I created the video for has come back for four different orders,” he says. “He just trusts that he’s getting a quality product; he gets some insight on how it’s made; and he can repost that content and repurpose it himself to say ‘Look, it was made by these guys.’ Now, if our brand grows, he can sell his product for that much more.”
Since he decided to start consistently posting on Vantage Brand Company’s TikTok early this year, Mezinger has received instant gratification from the platform. It would be extremely difficult to surpass six-figure views on YouTube or Instagram in just two months, but with TikTok, it’s very possible. It will take some trial and error to discover how to make the best videos for you shop, but starting your TikTok account now will get you ahead of the curve and bring in some new leads, all while broadening your marketing scope and impressing customers.
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