How to TikTok for Artists in 2024 according to the Internet

Two weeks ago, I knew nothing about how to market my art on TikTok. Since then, I have watched numerous Skillshare classes and Youtube videos, and have read dozens of articles. Now, I decided to put all the info I collected in a short go-to guide so that you don’t have to do all this research on your own.

TikTok is such a fast-paced and ever-changing platform. Trends constantly come and go, video length keeps on increasing, and new accounts pop up every day. So what can you and I do to make our accounts grow, besides just posting some videos?

Length matters

According to multiple articles I read, the length of the video matters a lot. In 2024, the ideal length of a TikTok is either 5-7 seconds, or 60 seconds and above, according to Robert Benjamin. According to him, at 5-7 sec., the content gives the viewers a quick dopamine boost, making them stay on the platform longer as they seek out more content. Contrarily, 60-second videos make the viewers stay on the platform longer as they watch it.

Who you’re talking to matters

If you’ve done any research on marketing ever, you’ve probably heard this one before: define your target audience. Now I have never seen it explained properly before, but here’s my favorite way of seeing it: you answer the phone one way if your mum calls, and another way if your boss calls. You probably talk to them differently as well. That’s exactly how it works when posting on TikTok - you need to know if you’re trying to reach the mums, or the bosses, or the crocheters, or anybody else. Andre Oentoro on Story Chief explains that you need to understand your target audience’s motivations, challenges, and preferences. This way, you’ll be able to tailor your social media strategy goals directly to what your ideal audience would be likely to engage with.

What your competitors do matters

It matters not only for the reasons you may think. Normally, we want to analyze our competitors to see what works, and what doesn’t, and to find strategic gaps in their performance that we might fill and use to our advantage. However, I strongly suggest looking through your competitors’ accounts for one more reason: to find relevant trends and sounds. For example, I’m in the process of building a TikTok, where I share videos about my process of entrepreneurship; so I want to share both videos about making art, and about building my business. Hence, I find it very handy to look at accounts of both other artists and owners of small businesses. This way I can find and save the trending sounds in each of these areas separately.

More stuff matters

All in all, I would say that these are the main three strategies that I am employing when just starting TikTok in 2024. There, of course, are multiple other tips and tricks that can be followed, such as making a content plan, having filming days when you do all your filming for the week or a month in advance et cetera. However, I do believe that these 3 are the most important, and I promise to you to test them and to write about how it went in a while.

If you’re still here, thank you for reading, and good luck on your TikTok journey!

Best,

Hue Grey