By Adam Thompson, Owner, magichollow

Founder of the Auckland based 90’s Americana vintage clothing brand magichollow, Adam Thompson has experienced huge success on TikTok – and has been part of the Beta testing for the TikTok SMB self-serve platform in NZ. Adam gives his top tips for how to create engaging TikTok ads that cut through and deliver results.

1. Storytelling before product

Tell a story to grab your audience’s attention. Look to offer value, rather than just shoving a new product down their throat. Be playful with your content and show the fun side of your brand or business. Think like the audience rather than the marketer.

2. Get creative

Try music and voice overs and use text overlays to get your point across. Be inspired by the trends on the platform and the world around you. Even if you’re a plumber – there must be some pretty funny situations that could be utilised for pretty engaging content!

3. Be purpose built for the platform
Explore and take advantage of the tools within the app to help you create content. And remember this is a video-first platform which is much of its appeal to this diverse audience!Make content full screen and vertical.

4. Speed not polish

Don’t worry about making your content perfect or polished – just be authentic to your brand and be quick. Jump on trends and create in the moment. If you take three weeks to get something perfect, you may miss the boat!

5. Leverage your uniqueness
Remember TikTok is a great platform to engage harder to reach digital native audience – but they often see through traditional advertising. So, when it comes to creating content, where possible – be authentic and lean into the trends happening on TikTok. It’s also a good idea to ask colleagues, friends and family for their ideas and support.