The bCast Blog

Let us welcome our guest writer Elizabeth Hines!

When you’re growing your podcast audience, it’s important to use all the tools available - from Spotify to Facebook, there are many ways in which you can promote your podcast. However, there’s one platform that’s increasingly valuable for podcasters - and also strangely overlooked.

Because TikTok is popular amongst younger users, older content creators are missing out on its valuable reach. But as brands such as The North Face and Chipotle begin utilizing this powerful marketing research, the clock’s ticking: it’s time to tap into TikTok to promote your podcast.

The Next Generation

If you’re as old as me, you’ll remember when Bebo and My Space were storming social media. But in the digital world, something can only sparkle for so long before it loses its shine, and the inherent appeal of new technology in a fast-changing world means that social media cycles and popular platforms fall away to be replaced by something much the same, but curiously different.

Here we are with TiKTok - a particularly curious new platform that has quickly come to dominate the attention of a younger audience, particularly Generation Z. With its origins firmly planted in short videos and musical earworks, it has rapidly expanded across a Western market despite, uniquely amongst social media, having originated in China.

Before we take a deep dive into TikTok podcast promotion, it’s important that you understand the platform a little better. So let’s see how it functions and who sits as its primary audience.

A Platform

The secret to TikTok’s enormous success can be understood in two words: going viral. In today’s world of digital marketing mania, going viral is the holy grail and TikTok has offered the secret sauce to next-level reach. TikTok’s origins as a Chinese app called Musical.ly suggest the key to this success - music and dance, a combination that’s immediately attention-grabbing. The app grew by building a platform for users to self-create compelling videos and, combined with a powerful algorithm, spread them far and wide.

Although TikTok has evolved somewhat since then, music and user-generated content remain at the heart of its core appeal. Originally, a single TikTok was capped at 15 seconds - perfect in the app's growth-stage for capturing people’s attention, but since then their ormat has grown moreflexible and longer videos can be uploaded.

However, as a podcast brand, it’s important to adapt to TikTok’s platform before you can find success in promotion within its walls. Understanding the appeal of short, snappy videos and catchy music will enable your podcast to find success with the TikTok audience.

The Demographic

TikTok’s popularity alone isn’t the only thing that makes it appealing to podcasters - it also has a unique demographic that’s traditionally hard to reach. TikTok’s own data has shown that a whopping 80% of its users are between the ages of 16 and 34 - the majority of whom are under 25.  Given that over half of all podcast listeners fall into this demographic, the overlap is striking: for podcasters, TikTok is your target audience.

Tapping into Generation Z is hugely important to run a successful podcast. Gen Z are the trendsetter generation  - just look at how TikTok has grown from a niche platform into Instagram’s biggest challenger seemingly overnight. Reaching out to this audience on TikTok doesn’t just bring you more listeners -it also gives you snowballing momentum for expanding your audience into other demographics.

So now you know all about TikTok, it's time to look at some strategies. Here are the best ways to promote your podcast on TikTok.

7 Ways To Promote Your Podcast On TikTok

TikTok is a hugely influential platform - and it’s all about user-generated content. So how are you going to create the perfect content for TikTok’s audience? Let’s dive into some powerful podcast promotion strategies.

        1. Building A Buzz With Sneak Peeks

There’s no better way to get the hype building than by offering your audience a sneak peek at what’s coming up on your podcasting schedule, and TikTok’s short-form video format is a perfect platform for hinting at what the future holds without giving too much away. A sneak peek could include a snippet or soundbite of an upcoming episode, or even just teasing who the latest guest is going to be on your show.

And you don’t have to stop there - the user-generated content of TikTok is the perfect place to get creative. There’s always a new viral trend on TikTok, so tapping into these whilst promoting your podcast is a perfect way to engage TikTok’s audience - get stuck into a TikTok dance challenge with your podcast guests to go viral!

        2. Sharing Clips

Whilst taking part in the latest TikTok trends and crazes is fun, creative and can capture the attention of a wide audience, you also want to give your growing audience a strong sense of what makes your podcast unique. Sharing podcast clips is a fantastic way to let your audience get to know the bread and butter of your subject matter in a fast-paced and engaging way.

Whilst your podcast is, naturally, based on audio and a listening audience, you can tap into TikTok’s closed captioning features to turn your podcast’s speech into a compelling visual experience. Convert your podcast soundbites into animated waveforms and let the speech-to-text algorithm overlay text on top and voila!  A visual and audio experience that’s just waiting to go viral.

        3. Offer Up Your Experience

TikTok has expanded somewhat from its roots as an all-singing-all-dancing app, and now more and more people are going on TikTok to learn about everything from science to culinary kitchen tips. Sharing your tips and tricks on any given subject that your podcast is touching on is a great way to offer your audience some added value when they come to your channel.

“Whether your podcast is all about the world of American Football or personal finance, there’s always a unique angle that you can share with your audience,” says Nicholas Yuhas, a business writer at Elite assignment help and UK Writings. “Leveraging your personal experience and professional knowledge can help you connect with a wide range of people, and demonstrate that your podcast holds more of this valuable information.”

        4. Sharing Your Podcast Recommendations

There's one thing your followers all have in common: youlove podcasts! As a podcast producer there’s no doubt you’re invested in the world of podcasts and have a few recommendations to share, from block buster podcasts to hidden gems you’ve only just discovered.

The world of podcasts doesn’t have to be competitive -sharing your podcast recommendations builds a community around your podcast, and more often than not it gets you on the radar of other podcasts, who might share you with their audience. When you’re connecting with the wider community, it helps to find overlaps - for example, if you’re running a personal finance podcast, sharing podcasts that are about stocks and shares or cheap recipes is a great way to grow without prompting your direct competitors.

        5. A Glimpse Into The Behind-The-Scenes

“Your podcast listeners are familiar with the finished product, but a glimpse behind the scenes is always fascinating for big fans, ”says James Rourke, a marketing blogger at UK services reviews and Bestbritishessays,“ and for those who are just getting to know your work, these behind-the-scenes snippets can add character and personality to their understanding of your hosts, leading to greater emotional investment in your podcast.”

Take a bit of time out of your regular podcast production schedule to record some video giving your audience an insight into the process. You’ll generate engaging content for your TikTok audience and help to grow your reach across the platform.

        6. Keep Your Content Varied

TikTok has built a fast-paced platform, so it’s important that your content output keeps up. Try to vary your content from day to day, utilizing all the tips above to keep your content fresh. If your channel becomes exclusively about self-promotion your audience will start to switch off- that’s why podcast recommendations and a wide range of life hacks are so good at keeping that connection with your audience strong.

        7. Staying Engaged

TikTok, like Facebook and Instagram, is building a thriving and interconnected community - to hit your stride on TikTok you need to become a part of that. Don’t just share content - engage with your users in the comments section, reach out to other brands and get involved in the conversation. You can share anything you’ve seen and loved on TikTok even if it isn’t related to your podcast - you’re not just building a brand, you’re participating in a community.

Wrapping Up

TikTok is a popular platform and it’s still growing, so integrating its audience into your social media marketing can boost your ratings and expand your reach. Understanding TikTok’s platform and the emphasis on user-generated content will enable you to create powerful promotional material and connect with your audience.

What’s more, TikTok is a super fun platform to engage with - from dance challenges to creative videos, you’ll find a thriving community. TikTok don’t stop!