When you’re starting out on TikTok, it’s important to learn from those who are doing well in your niche. Begin by finding accounts that are similar to yours or in the same category. We’ll talk all about how to do that. Look closely at what they post, how often they post, and who likes their content. This will show you what works and what doesn’t. In this article we’re going to break it all down further.
Who Are Your Competitors?
When you follow your competitors don’t just pay attention to their wins. Pay attention to what doesn’t work too. Notice which posts get lots of likes and comments. Study how they interact with their followers.
Learning from both their successes and their mistakes will help you plan your own content strategy.
Also, here’s a top tip: engage with their content—like, comment, and even collaborate. This boosts your visibility and helps you connect with new potential followers.
However, some people are hesitant to do this. They worry that getting too friendly with the competition could be detrimental. Trust us, it’s not true. Remember, they’re probably looking at you too.
Defining Your Industry Niche and Target Audience on TikTok
From the get-go, it’s crucial to figure out your industry niche. This helps you narrow your focus, understand your target audience on a deeper level and it sets the stage for everything else you do on social media.
But what exactly is a niche? It’s the specific area or theme you focus on in your content. Like second-hand thrift flips or gluten-free living. Both of these examples are heavily focused, but you can also dive into broader niches like fashion, gaming or cooking.
That said, we recommend that our clients narrow down as much as possible in order to carve out a unique space within a larger category. THis is the ultimate recipe for social media success in 2024. Choosing the right niche helps you create content that stands out.
Defining Your Niche
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help identify your niche:
- What are you passionate about?
- Are you already selling something? If yes, who would absolutely love what you’re selling?
- What type of content performs well on your page already?
- What kind of people have always been drawn to you?
- What friend group are you part of?
- What role do you play in your relationships?
If you’re already selling something, it’s straightforward—what are you selling, and who is your audience? If you’re starting from scratch, explore what kind of content performs well within your potential niche on TikTok.
Look for gaps where you can offer something different or cater to an audience that isn’t fully served yet. Go for a niche that’s specific enough to be of interest to people but broad enough to attract a good number of viewers. If your niche is very, very concentrated it may be hard to find enough people to sell to.
Defining Your Target Audience
After identifying your niche, the next step is to define your target audience. These are the people you believe will enjoy and engage with your content.
Create a document where you identify their interests, behaviors, age, and other defining characteristics. Think of this document as the “persona of your ideal viewer”.
Keeping track of this information will help you understand what interests your audience and how they use TikTok. Use this information to create content that appeals directly to them. Over time, you’ll see that the persona you’ve developed pays off with a loyal following.
Finding Relevant Competitors: Searching for Similar Accounts
Did you know that you can build your entire social media strategy based on what your competitors are doing? It’s true.
That’s why competitive research is crucial when you’re starting out on social media.
What’s important to learn from your competitors?
- What content people are watching
- What content people aren’t watching
- What people comment on
- What type of content people request in the comment section
- What works overall
- What doesn’t work
How do you find your competitors?
First, think of the content you want to create and the audience you want to reach. Then, start searching for the competition.
Type in keywords related to your niche, like “second-hand fashion” or “gluten-free cooking,” to find similar accounts.
Once you’ve identified some accounts in your niche, take a look at:
- Themes
- Posting frequency
- Engagement level (likes, comments, shares)
- How the account engages with the audience. Do they write back?
- Do they entertain requests?
- Audience demographics
- Videos that get the most interaction
Remember to Like and Share:
Your competitors can be your friends. They’re certainly not your enemies—there’s enough likes, shares, and comments to go around on social media.
Instead of shunning the competition, network with them and make them your closest allies. For some niches this works, in others it doesn’t.
How close you get to your competition depends on what niche you fall within. At the very least, engage with their content by liking, commenting, or sharing their videos. Maybe collaborate with them in the future.
Building a Competitor List: Documenting Your Key Rivals on TikTok
Building a competitor list is simpler than it sounds. Now, let’s discuss where to look for competitors and what details to document about them.
To begin, here’s how you can build your list:
- Search Keywords: Take a look at the keywords related to your niche and follow the accounts that come up in search.
- Check Recommended Videos: Look for competitors within your recommended videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Ask for Recommendations: Pay attention to your fellow creators and friends when it comes to who they watch and recommend.
- Utilize Internet Searches: Search online for social media personalities within your niche.
Now, let’s review what to focus on when documenting your key rivals:
- Content Themes: What are the recurring topics and themes that show up in their videos? Identify popular styles and formats that generate high engagement.
- Posting Frequency: How often do they post new content? How often do they recycle old content?
- Engagement Levels: Take a deep dive into their likes, comments and shares. Figure out the content that gets the most interaction with their audience. When the competition writes back, what are they writing?
- Audience Demographics: There’s only so much research you can do. Figure out demographic information with what you have, e.g., follower count, profile information. This will help you understand the age range, location, and interests of the competition’s followers.
Establishing a Criteria for Comparison: Content, Engagement, and Growth Metrics
Establishing a criteria for comparison means looking into the key metrics of your competitor and using that information to refine your overall strategy. Let’s get into it.
Content Metrics
When it comes to content metrics, concentrate on the following:
- The style and theme of the content
- How their videos are performing as far as likes, shares, and views
Engagement Metrics
When it comes to engagement metrics, keep on eye on the following:
- The likes, comments, and shares compared to the total views, subscriber conversion, and etc
- Divide the total overall engagements by the total number of followers, multiplied by 100. This lets you know about the effectiveness of the content.
- Monitor audience behavior, including click-through rates (on linktree links, profile visits, etc) if and when that information is available to you
Growth Metrics
When it comes to the growth of your competitors, focus on:
- Overall follower growth
- Their total reach and impressions
Understand Your Competition Better with Socialty Pro
If you want to succeed on social media, you need to unveil the secrets of your competition. This is going to make your life easier and your content more effective.
So, what are the steps to understanding your competition?
First, understand who you are within your niche. Define your identity and use this knowledge to make content that speaks to your audience.
Next, start making a list of your competitors. You can find them through some research, but as you grow, they may also start to notice you.
Don’t hesitate to engage with your competitors by liking and following their content. These days, it’s all about learning from each other’s successes and mistakes. Trust us, they’re looking at you too. There’s no need to be shy and act like the other doesn’t exist.
Unsure about where to really begin? Start with Socialty Pro—a social media marketing agency that will truly help you understand your competition.
Socialty Pro is a master of the social media game and truly knows how to hack the social media world for anyone in any niche.
There are many ways Socialty Pro can assist you on your social media journey, offering mentorship and a variety of services.
So, what exactly is Socialty Pro? We’re the world’s top “Done for You” organic TikTok marketing agency, helping businesses like yours thrive online.
Our approach is simple yet effective. We use proven strategies that focus on trends, engagement, and viral growth.
We specialize in;
- Making your account from 0 to 100,000 – 1 million or more!
- Making content go viral on every platform
- Having creators become leaders in their niche
- Hacking the entire social media game
If you’re ready to hit the ground running, reach out to Socialty Pro today. Learn more about us by visiting the link.
