As podcasts continue to surge in popularity, the podcasting landscape has become increasingly competitive. With thousands of new shows debuting regularly, standing out in a crowded market is more crucial than ever.
Enter TikTok, a dynamic and rapidly evolving platform that has revolutionized content consumption with its bite-sized videos and a vast, engaged community. Leveraging TikTok for your podcast promotion isn't just trendy; it's strategic. Its unique format and expansive reach provide an unparalleled opportunity to showcase your podcast's personality, highlights, and value propositions in a way that's both engaging and accessible.
In this blog post, we'll guide you through the essentials of promoting your podcast on TikTok to boost your show's visibility and appeal.
We’ll cover:
- What makes TikTok great for promoting your podcast?
- How to promote your podcast on TikTok with 9 best practices
What Makes TikTok Great for Promoting Your Podcast?
You might be wondering if TikTok is worth your time when it comes to promoting your podcast. And the answer is a resounding yes!
TikTok is a great way to connect with Gen Z, a demographic that's notoriously hard to reach. Almost 70% of their users are between the ages of 18 and 34, and it is expected to reach 1.8 billion active users by the end of 2024.
What's more, TikTok has the highest social media engagement rates per post. The algorithm determines what videos to display on users' For You pages based on their individual interests. Hence, it offers a highly personalized experience.
Even if you don’t have any followers, as soon as you start your TikTok account, your content will find its way to those who may be interested in it. In other words, it's a great platform to reach new listeners. And if your content is valuable and appealing, you stand a chance of going viral.
How to promote your podcast on TikTok: 9 Best Practices
When it comes to promoting your podcast on TikTok, we recommend you:
- Match your TikTok account with your podcast’s branding
- Track and analyze performance
- Choose the right time to post
- Be mindful of hashtags
- Engage with your audience
- Collaborate with other creators
- Utilize TikTok Ads
- Post the right clips
- Keep up with the trends
Match Your TikTok Account with Your Podcast’s Branding
To make it easier for your listeners to find you, use the same username as your other social media accounts. The same applies to your profile picture. Additionally, don’t forget to add the same graphic elements that you use across all your platforms to your posts. The thing here is to build consistency and become recognizable; that’s what your show’s branding is all about.
Besides, you should also add your show’s website to your bio. This way, your TikTok audience can be easily directed straight to your podcast. Having your website’s URL in your bio will make a big difference when you begin to get discovered by potential listeners through TikTok.
Track and Analyze Performance
Tracking and analyzing your performance on TikTok allows you to understand your audience better and refine your content strategy. By regularly reviewing your TikTok analytics, you can gain insights into:
- Which types of content resonate most with your audience
- What times they are most active
- How they engage with your posts
Choose the Right Time to Post
Posting whenever it’s convenient for you is more than tempting. However, TikTok’s algorithm may not respond well to this approach. As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to post when most of your followers are online.
Inevitably, posting times will vary depending on your audience's habits. TikTok analytics can help you on this front. In your analytics section, you can see which times your followers are most likely to watch videos. Bear in mind that this trend might vary throughout the week.
To find out what time is best for you to post, you should:
- Click on the menu icon in the top right corner of our profile page
- Go to Creator tools
- Navigate to Analytics
- Click the third category on the top Followers
- Scroll down to Follower activity
- Check your followers' activity by switching between days and hours.
Yet, if you’re still gaining followers, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, the best times (ET) to post on TikTok throughout the week in the US are usually:
- Monday: 12 PM, 4 PM
- Tuesday: 4 AM, 8 AM, 10 AM, 3 PM
- Wednesday: 1 PM, 2 PM
- Thursday: 5 AM, 3 PM, 6 PM
- Friday: 1 AM, 11 AM, 7 PM, 9 PM
- Saturday: 5 PM
- Sunday: 1 AM, 2 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM, 10 PM
Moreover, in the Analytics section, you’ll also find the Content category, which is full of valuable stats for each of your videos.
Be Mindful of Hashtags
As well as being a content platform, TikTok is also a search engine. In fact, half of Gen Z users prefer TikTok over Google for searching. Regardless of whether you are targeting Gen Z, this fact illustrates a significant change in how users interact with online platforms, and you shouldn’t overlook it.
Using relevant hashtags in your posts can be greatly useful to appear in your ideal audience's search results. However, hashtags with a high search volume may not always be the best ones to target, as there might be greater competition there. Your videos may benefit from smaller, more specific hashtags as well.
Engage with Your Audience
Actively engage with your followers by responding to comments on your videos. This interaction not only builds a community but also signals to the TikTok algorithm that your content is engaging, potentially increasing its reach.
You can also ask your viewers questions related to your podcast topics or seek their opinions to foster a two-way conversation. You could even feature some of their responses or suggestions in future podcast episodes or TikTok videos.
Last but not least, encourage your audience to create their own content related to your podcast, such as reactions, reviews, or discussions, and share these on your profile. This not only increases engagement but also creates a sense of belonging among listeners.
Collaborate with Other Creators
Collaborating with TikTok users who have a substantial following or are influential in your podcast's niche can introduce your content to a broader audience. Choose collaborators whose audiences overlap with your target listeners to maximize relevance and impact.
There are multiple collaboration formats, such as joint videos, cross-promotions, or even guest appearances on your podcast. These collaborations can offer fresh content to your audience while leveraging the guest's followers.
Utilize TikTok Ads
TikTok's advertising platform offers various targeting options, allowing you to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. This can help you promote your podcast to users who are more likely to be interested in your content.
There are various ad formats available on TikTok, such as:
- In-feed ads are accessible for creation via TikTok's Ad Manager, allowing you to produce them internally.
- Image ads appear within the News Feed apps associated with TikTok, namely Babe, BuzzVideo, and TopBuzz. These ads enable you to feature an image alongside text, your app or brand name.
- Carousel ads are available on the same News Feed apps and support up to ten images, each with its own caption, providing a multi-image storytelling opportunity.
- Video ads are placed in the users' For You feed and the News Feed apps, ranging from five seconds to a full minute in length. They incorporate video content, textual ad descriptions, a brand or app name, and a display image.
- Pangle ads get disseminated through the TikTok Audience Network, extending the reach of your advertising.
- Spark ads offer the unique capability to amplify organic posts from your or another user's account. According to TikTok, Spark ads achieve 142% more engagement compared to the standard in-feed ads.
We suggest you start with a small budget to test different ad creatives and targeting options. Monitor the performance closely using TikTok's analytics to understand which ads are most effective and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Post the Right Clips and Keep It Short and Sweet
When adapting your podcast content for TikTok, prioritize segments that can be effectively condensed into engaging and visually dynamic short clips. Identify parts of your podcast that feature:
- Captivating narratives
- Enlightening conversations
- Useful guidance
- Entertainig storytelling
Despite TikTok extending its video length limit to 10 minutes in March 2022, shorter clips still tend to garner the most views and have a higher viral potential. Short videos thrive because they cater to the brief attention spans of viewers, particularly those who are not already acquainted with your podcast or brand and might be hesitant to commit to longer content. It's not necessary to cram numerous topics from a single guest interview into one video. Instead, offering your audience a single, standout moment to enjoy at a time can be more effective and engaging.
Keep Up with the Trends
Because TikTok is a trend-driven platform, trendy songs and memes are subject to rapid change. Yet, if any trend suits your brand, you should definitely make use of it. Keep in mind that you'll need to be both creative and time-aware.
Now, let's explore some creative ways to create podcast TikTok content.
Audiograms: The Next Step in TikTok Podcast Promotion
TikTok is perfect for reaching a new audience and growing your listenership. Nevertheless, if you want to promote your podcast within TikTok's walls, you must adapt to the platform. With a good understanding of the appeal of short and snappy videos, TikTok can become an amazing growth engine.
You can create short videos that introduce your listeners to your show, talk about what's coming up in the next episode, or just give them a taste of what your podcast is all about. And Audiograms are ideal for that.
Despite being eye-catching, brands rarely use audiograms because they are resource intensive: You have to transcribe your recordings, then you have to edit the video. Audiotease does everything automatically, just upload your audio and customize your favorite template. No editing skills are required.
Give people a taste of what they're missing. Start creating some Audiograms today, for free.