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šø How to use TikTok Stories
Spoilers... not sure anyone knows how?
Iām riding an electric skateboard to work again. Itās summer, itās the same speed as the subway, it gets me some sunshine, and I get great stares as people watch a 6ā7ā skater magically move uphill without lifting my feet.
Goofiness aside, letās talk about social things like
How no one knows how to TikTok Story
Why TikTokers are suddenly becoming newsletterists
A bunch of brand TikTok examples
How To Use TikTok Storiesā¦ exceptā¦ no one kind of knowsā¦
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/fdfd0b7c-9d2e-436b-ba60-934a0869d54c/image.png?t=1720619441)
Instagram Stories, Snapchat Stories, Twitter Stories (err, Fleets) (RIP), LinkedIn Stories (LOL) (also RIP)āevery platform under the sun has at one point offered users the ability to post casual, day-in-the-life content. While several versions have failed to have the impact of IG Stories, TikTokās Story feature is still alive and kickingā¦ even though there still doesnāt seem to be clear strategies as to how a brand or creator should use āem.
Take a look at these tweets from Dave Jorgenson, the brilliant mind behind the Washington Postās award-winning TikTok accountš
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/f0b8c32e-afc9-4633-a7de-467368189522/image.png?t=1720618694)
Note that these tweets are from 2022, but againā¦ it feels like much hasnāt changed. And I googled a bit, and the how-to-use-TikTok-Stories articles areā¦ rough. One said to use AI, which, no.
Confusion aside, I actually do think TikTok Stories could play an important role in turning lurkers into casual creators.
Letās get back to basics.
First off, weāll do the good olā āwhat even are TikTok Stories?ā refresher.
Content-wise: The creation process looks a whole lot like Instagram. Vertical, up to 15 seconds.
Consumption-wise: Again, similar to Instagram, when someoneās posted a Story, a blue ring appears around their avatar both on the content stream and their profile. Stories also surface within the For You page now, a recent change.
Hereās TikTokās official explanation of Stories.
Should your brand make TikTok Stories?
Probably. The unofficial rule of social network features: Platforms give preference to accounts that use the multiple features. Instagramās especially guilty of this, between Reels and Carousels. Good luck getting any engagement nowadays with a regular olā photo or video. So, yeah, brands should probably all give TikTok Stories a go.
What kinda TikTok Stories should your brand make?
Good question. For creators, itās worth mimicking your Instagram Stories strategy. Use Stories as a way to be more candid with your audience away from your primary content.
For brands, itās a little trickier. As the Washington Postās Jorgenson established, no true best practice has emerged. Not one of the first-page Google results for āTikTok Stories strategyā returns anything helpful. Welcome to the most fun part of Future Social: when we go full Joan Callamezzo and speculate wildly.
The most common consumption journey seems to be:
User sees your TikTok in their FYP or Following feed.
User notices that pretty blue ring around your picture.
User clicks that pretty blue ring to see your most recent Story.
That supports Jorgensonās āmaking ofā strategy: You watch a Washington Post TikTok, then click through to see bloopers of the same TikTok. Thatās a natural flow that makes sense, especially for their audience.
Stories do seem to reach the For You page, but it feels pretty rare, and mostly directed toward an accountās followers instead of the wider TikTok world. Thinking back to the above consumption journey, TikTok Stories do present an interesting opportunity for you to keep your viewers interested in you before they thumb to the next TikTok.
Hereās a few ways in:
Post-credits scene: In the same manner that Marvel tosses in reveals after movies end, what Story could you post thatās an intriguing āpost-credits sceneā to your most recent TikTok?
On the next episode: Use TikTok Stories to share whatās coming up in your TikTok calendar, Arrested Development style.
Develop a brand personality: Want to dive into creating a parasocial personality for your brand? You could soft launch by introducing a real face via Stories, be it your community manager or star talent.
A Stories-only series: If you want to go all in, build a content series thatās only on Stories. Give people a reason to keep coming back, be it a narrative or a specific style of content.
Stories-exclusive promos: Lightning deals expire soon. What better place to feature them than in expiring content streams.
As always, thereās no one answer to social, we should all experiment. And, if youāre experimenting, reply to this email with what youāre trying. Iād love to feature some successful examples here in Future Social.
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You may know Iām an elder emo, but I love me some pop music. These 25-slide show of social data on Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, & Chappell Roan is a fun read.
The creator-to-newsletter pipeline becomes stronger every day as influencers worry about whether they own their audiences. I tend to think people underestimate what it takes to write a great newsletter, but more writing is always better.
Best way to learn socialās to consume social. Hereās a bunch of new content!
Iām always looking for new partners for the newsletter, whether thatās a creative execution, branded content, or anything else!
You can reply directly to this emailāwould love to chat.
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