TikTok for Business
Guest : Kyle Kaplanis
june 6, 2022
Steve Washuta
Welcome to Trulyfit. Welcome to the Trulyfit podcast where we interview experts in fitness and health to expand our wisdom and wealth. I am your host, Steve Washuta, co founder of Trulyfit and author of Fitness Business 101. For our new listeners, this podcast is about helping fitness professionals, health professionals, anybody in the health and wellness realm, even if you're just a health and wellness go or a gym, go or somebody who focuses on their body and their mental and physical health, maybe you're a physician, maybe you're a nurse, maybe you're a life coach of personal trainer, anybody inside of that health and wellness frame, or somebody's thinking about getting into health and wellness. That's who this podcast is for, for our new listeners.
Steve Washuta
So you can be general population just interested in health and wellness and fitness. Or you can be somebody who's working in there currently, ultimately, majority of these podcasts are trying to help people who are working in these fields. I give both business advice and medical advice and health advice by interviewing people who are absolute experts in their subjects. And they pass the information on to us onto me and onto you, the audience so that we can better ourselves personally and better ourselves in our career in our health and wellness career.
Steve Washuta
So we have a bunch of new listeners on it just wanted to reintroduce the podcast and who we are. Today I'm going to be speaking with Kyle cook Planus. This is about tick tock for business. Now. Obviously, I ask him questions specific to fitness businesses, because that's what a lot of this podcast is about health and wellness and fitness businesses. But really, anybody who has a business or owns a business, or is thinking about using Tiktok for business, this podcast is for you today, Kyle Copeland is is a tick tock expert.
Steve Washuta
He represents some of the biggest digital creators in the world. He has a wealth of information concerning tick tock, you can find everything about him through his links on Instagram. So Kyle underscore KAPLANIS. I'll list all of his links below. He also has a great podcast, speaking specifically about business and tick tock, he's the host of BizTalk for Tiktok podcast, Kyle was so nice and so accommodating and really explain things from the bottom level, right, he went what we consider high level explanation. For those of you don't know what that means.
Steve Washuta
That just means explaining the generalities of Tiktok. And then he gets into specifics about how you can use it from an advertising perspective, how you can beat the businesses, maybe in your particular realm by doing things differently, how you can use it in an authentic way. That's what I struggled with. I reached out to Kyle and said, you know, how do I not just copy everybody else? How do I use it? And make sure that I'm still authentic to my messaging and who I am. With no further ado, here is Kyle Copeland is about using Tiktok for business. Kyle, thank you so much for joining the Trulyfit podcast, why don't you give my listeners in the audience a little background on you and what it is that you do?
Kyle Kaplanis
Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate being on the Trulyfit podcast, it's such an honor to be here. A little bit about me, my name is Kyle Kaplanis. I am one of the founders of a talent management agency called PROJECT Z talent, and also a tick tock expert. So I've been in the Tick Tock space ever since it launched back in August 2018. And have been researching and developing and figuring out ways on how not only creators but also businesses can best use the platform and how they can do that.
Kyle Kaplanis
So we work with our talent management agency, we actually house some of the top creative talents in the world, including Spencer X, Mike Lee, Alex stem, these creators, some of them have over 50 million followers a piece. So through their experience, and through me helping develop their businesses has led me to be you know, one of the top, I'd say definitely top tick tock experts in the space, where it's well rounded on low and knowing what's really working with, you know how to work with brands, but also like from a business perspective of what's going to work for them and drive more business sales, things like that.
Kyle Kaplanis
So that's that's kind of a just a quick synopsis about me. But as this interview goes, I'm sure you'll learn a little bit more of who I am and how we kind of work. So yeah, and
Steve Washuta
I have so many questions to ask you. And we're gonna we're gonna get down to the nitty gritty of the TIC tock stuff. But first, I have more of like a macro question just about social media in general. And I feel like if I'm having this pain point, for lack of a better term that other people are probably also having this pain point. And my biggest issue, Kyle, and if I'm being selfish, and it's only my issue, I don't care. I have you here.
Steve Washuta
So I'm going to use you absolutely right for I don't know if you're my psychiatrist at this point, or if you're figuring out my business problems, but I can't not be all like authentic, like, it's so difficult for me to try to just copy everyone else. And that seems to be and correct me if I'm wrong. That seems to be the way that people are succeeding.
Steve Washuta
They see something that's working, they just copy it, they do it word they do whatever they're doing, okay, there's a dance going on. I'm going to do that dance, put that song in the background, do whatever I have to do. It's not it's not in my blood. I can't do it. Can I still be successful? Or are you just going to tell me Steve, stop it, put your ego away and just copy what other people are doing.
Kyle Kaplanis
Really, really, really good question and I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions I think when people are like looking at They see very similar trends, right? People doing the same things over and over. And they're like, that's not me. And how do I fit in this space? When I just see the same thing? Like, that's not I don't feel like that's a good fit. And I totally get that.
Kyle Kaplanis
And I think in terms of of that, like, I do believe people should take their ego and put it aside because it's so fresh and new that they might think this isn't good for them. But really, it is. And you said, you have a hard time maybe being authentic in that space. But I think we have to take a look and look at it as more of okay, who's Steve? And what, what value can you bring, because that's the ultimate key to the success. So you don't have to copy people at all.
Kyle Kaplanis
You really just need to share your voice, your passion and who you are. Storytelling is one of the top things on tick tock like it's actually moving more from Trend base, which is still going to be a thing. Absolutely always. But the storytellers of the app are really coming forward, and sharing their authenticity in their own unique way. And I think there's room for everybody in that aspect. So no matter how you feel, because I do get that a lot, especially from brands and businesses are like, I don't know how to do those things that TIG talkers are doing. Like you don't have to just do your thing. Like, that's as easy as that, for sure.
Steve Washuta
I'm glad to hear that. So that's, that makes me feel a little bit better as we go down these questions to know that it's not all for naught, I'm not going to ask you all these things and go, I can't use Tiktok anyway, because I don't feel like copying everybody. It's exactly that we could put our own personalities into this 100%. Absolutely. So if I were at a dinner table, and my grandmother asked me what is tick tock, I would say a very general vague, easy, layman's definition of what tick tock is, so social media,
Kyle Kaplanis
perfect. So luckily, most people even grandmas know what social media is. So it's kind of like, you know, if you were to kind of compare it to a Facebook, think of like, a place that you get quicker information, where you don't even have to go searching for it. So like, the app has an algorithm or like, it's kind of like your friend, as it gets to know you, it's going to show you content that you enjoy on a daily basis and getting quicker information.
Kyle Kaplanis
So instead of going through your Facebook feed, and maybe seeing, you know, information from other people that you really necessarily don't care about seeing, you know, it's just your friends and stuff. And they're sharing family photos, and you're like cool, but it's more like the app is actually geared to you. That's why it's called the for you page, which is totally different than other platforms. So it does not take who you follow in account.
Kyle Kaplanis
And what they're doing, it only is geared to you. So it's kind of it's like a if your grandma, you know, it's kind of like, whatever your grandma was interested, I would tell my grandma, hey, if you're interested in knitting, guess what the for you page is going to know you like knitting and show you knitting videos. And be fun. So same with like fitness. If you're a fitness user or a friend or like you love doing fitness or your business, as you interact with the app, it's going to show you only that content, which is really exciting.
Kyle Kaplanis
But also it's just a place that everybody has an equal playing level field. Equal playing level field. Yeah. Did I say the right? You don't level playing field? Sorry. I had it backwards. But okay, so what I mean by that is on other platforms like Instagram, or Facebook, right? We have this Tinder or even YouTube, you have a tendency to kind of judge others what they're doing and seeing what successful there. And a lot of times, you feel like you're not worthy enough, you're not going to be good enough.
Kyle Kaplanis
Because there's, you know, maybe people that are like really attractive or are really doing good in their business. And they seem to have a huge team behind them. And you're like, I'm a small guy. I'm a one man team, how am I supposed to compete. The cool thing about tick tock is everybody has a chance, no matter who you are, or where you are, or what maybe you have disabilities, how you look, everybody gets a chance to be seen. And I think that's what's fun. So even grandma's out there, you know, you actually have a chance to build an audience and connect with new people. And I think that's what's really important.
Steve Washuta
So, I guess you've sort of answered my next question in that my, it's, it's so targeted when I turn on tick tock, all I see is, let's say humor and half naked people and like fitness, right? So like, they're obviously targeting me because I've looked at humor, and I'm always looking at fitness stuff, right? So they're showing me that same sort of stuff. So it's difficult for me to get an idea of how one uses this for business. Can you give me just a maybe an anecdotal thing, how you use it for business or how somebody that you work with uses it for business?
Kyle Kaplanis
Sure. And and I'll give you I'll give you also a tip for your, for anybody listening on how you can maybe gear for you pages that's more geared to seeing content like that. So I'll give you a tip on both. So for people using business wise, they're really just being authentic. So I'll give you an example. Like I have a I had a lady and I run a podcast as well and we talk about business and tick tock that's literally what my podcast is about.
Kyle Kaplanis
But I had a lady on there and how she's doing it. She rents a baby product, right? This is totally different than fitness but it's something you can at least kind of comprehend on what she does. She has a baby product and she doesn't sell her product. She doesn't try to sell it. She does shows what it is and how it can bring value to the community. And that's really the key thing there is like, she's using it more on how to bring value.
Kyle Kaplanis
And so businesses that are doing that on bringing value, where, you know, they're not trying to sell a product, they're just talking about it and how it can benefit the community that they're trying to target is where she's seeing success. So for instance, like before, through Facebook, activations, and Instagram, she was only getting about eight sales a month, not a lot at all, like she had to continue to do her job. On tick tock she just shared, you know, what the product looks like, and how to put it on your baby. And then people went crazy. And she went from eight sales a month to, you know, over 800 to 1000 per month and quit her job hired employees all within one month, which is kind of crazy. But I've seen that a lot in businesses right now.
Kyle Kaplanis
And especially small businesses, that communities have tick tock, when you're communicating with them. And you're having, it's almost like you're having a conversation with people versus just add, like, you know, selling to them, you're just having communication, you're they're getting to know you as a person, that's where they're seeing success. And I think for you know, fitness owners or, or people who are like maybe fitness trainers or own gyms, it's a really good opportunity for them to be able to use businesses bringing value, maybe sharing some of the tips that they know, especially if you're a fitness trainer, what are some exercises that are working well for you, maybe you're a nutritionist, sharing some food tips, and you know, you're, yes, you have a business and you want to bring sales or new customers in.
Kyle Kaplanis
But providing that value, people are going to want to go and search that out and actually book in with you. And that's what we're seeing is that authenticity is now like the game changer for where sales are going versus just kind of, you know, the old method of like cold calling, and like really kind of hounding that. So I hope I hope that we can, you know, delve in if you have further questions about it. Another thing I want to give for people who are looking on there for you page, we tend, we tend to follow things that we're really excited about, right, and it might be totally separate from our business.
Kyle Kaplanis
So therefore our four year pages, is not really giving us inspiration on how we can use it. So a tip I tell you can have up to four accounts on your Tiktok, where you can you can click between each different account. So what I always suggest is you have your personal one for your average everyday scrolling. And then you have a secondary account that is only following and targeting things that are business related to you to get inspiration. So searching up hashtags only in there and try not to get confused when you're on the to. So you don't miss like your for you page doesn't start shifting, I had that mistake, I just set up a whole new one because I was like,
Kyle Kaplanis
Oh, great. But it really does work. So when you do that, therefore you can get inspiration, see what you're like maybe look up competitors, see what they're doing. Because you've mentioned copying. And I do like to mention this too, because some people feel like, well, that person's strategy is working really well. I kind of want to take it but I always tell people, if mean, you Steve were in a room and we had the exact same script like word for word, and we're on the same stage with the same audience, half the audience would resonate with you.
Kyle Kaplanis
And halfword resonate with me based off of our personalities, even though we said the same thing. So I do I always like to mention that too. Don't feel like you're copying people, you have your own voice and the way you say it is going to be, you know, taken differently, too. So I always like to throw that out there that that was a good spot to put that.
Steve Washuta
Those are those are fantastic tips. I appreciate it. And I want to go back to something you said about the level playing field. You know, I've seen it happen amongst one of my friends sort of a secondary friend that I had known in a past life. She's an artist who makes wooden, I guess you would call them like 3d pictures of stadiums.
Steve Washuta
So she she carves out pictures of football, baseball, basketball stadiums, in sort of this like very 3d way where there's all the intricacies of the stadium you can see from above, and it's beautiful. It's magnificent. And I could always tell that on Facebook and on Instagram, she probably wasn't doing that well. And maybe even you would say struggling. She got on Tik Tok. And before you know it, like you said, because people weren't looking at her like, Oh, if she already popular, they were just looking at the art itself and going this is amazing.
Steve Washuta
And they judged her off of the art. She instantly had like 40,000 followers, and we're selling you know, hundreds of these things. And it really does speak to exactly what you said it's about, it's about providing value and being authentic and starting. It's almost starting fresh, so to speak, like people aren't judging you off of your formal social platforms
Kyle Kaplanis
know for sure. So like, I think the reason why that is a thing is when you are scrolling on the for you page and you come across a video, it doesn't give you the metrics of that person.
Kyle Kaplanis
So meaning like it doesn't display, hey, they have 2 million followers, so therefore you're like more interested like I'm gonna listen what they say it does not show that so therefore you're really engaging with that piece of content, and then deciding as a person, is this going to bring value to me do I want to continue to learn more about this piece or, or dive in and then you can go to their page and see but typically, at that point, you're Excited about the content or the value they brought, who cares about the followers, you're choosing to follow them because they brought value into your life for that moment.
Kyle Kaplanis
And I think that's the difference. Like, you know, on Instagram, I guess you can scroll through and see people like that. But because it's so video based, and it's so curated to things that you like it, you, you're gonna find a lot more interest. And then, because of the episode curated, like I keep saying, your audience, therefore, it's like a sales funnel, right? Like, the TIC tock algorithm is actually like a built in sales funnel for you to find the right targeted people, which is even cooler.
Kyle Kaplanis
So if you do put out a fitness piece of content and giving value, based off the best workouts, people who are looking for that, the app is going to show them that piece. So therefore, that's why people are having such big successes is because, you know, like I said, on Instagram, Facebook, it doesn't really curate your content to the right people, it's going to give you a mix, and maybe 90% of them are not even interested in fitness, but they just like you as a person, or they may be following you or whatever, or whatnot, or you're a friend of a friend who it's just a waste of time.
Kyle Kaplanis
So like, that's why I love tick tock is it's not geared based off of who you follow or what like it's based off of what you enjoy. So if you like fitness, you're going to the people who are making fitness content will be displayed on those for you pages. So that's what's I think people are having so much success there. And that's why it's Yeah, equal level playing field.
Steve Washuta
So I think also another part of this, you could speak to this, I'm just sort of spitballing here is, you know, on Instagram, you may see a post by someone which has a picture of some words, and then what's the next step, you click on their profile, and then from that, then you start to, I don't know, potentially judge them based on whatever else you have going on, right. Whereas in with tick tock, the video pops up, you see the video, you already get a glimpse into the person right away, right.
Steve Washuta
So you know nothing else about them, you know, either about their products, or you know about them personally, if you see them, or whatever it is, even if it's down, like you know, sort of like mousing over some lyrics or something you get like you get a vibe, at least exactly who that person is. And then you're working, you're working already from that as opposed to clicking in and then judging them based upon like, whatever they have on their Instagram.
Kyle Kaplanis
Totally know exactly. So like, that's like I said, that's just that piece of connection, it's that connection, that first connection piece to where then you go on their page, and you almost have like a, a clear minded like your, your your judgment levels are a lot more open minded to seeing your other content or learning more about them, regardless of like the vanity metrics, maybe they only had 200 followers, who cares, but you, that piece really spoke to you. So you're gonna give them a follow and want to learn more.
Kyle Kaplanis
That's the difference. Like and exactly. It's so true. Like you said, you're not going on there. And just like Who are they are, and that sometimes on Instagram, you go and you judge based off of what you see on the feed, but you're not even diving into read any of the posts or watching a video just because you have that instantaneously and you click off and you're gone. So this way, it gives it to you straight, right there on the app, and people can have that clear indication of what you're doing, and want to learn more. So that's why there's just so much success in that space.
Steve Washuta
Can you explain the difference between Instagram reels and tick tock? And sort of a secondary question to this? If you're really hyper successful, let's say on Instagram rules, can you simply just post that reel to tick tock? Or is there a lot more going on and tick tock where you're gonna have to update that real?
Kyle Kaplanis
Good question. So yes, it tick tock really, really dominated this space and really was disruptive, disruptive in this space. So we see that because Instagram quickly developed the real YouTube quickly added on YouTube shorts. And so we're seeing that a lot of these apps are now developing this short form vertical style video, because why it works. The difference is, I think, between reels and YouTube shorts versus tick tock is the algorithm piece is a huge differentiator.
Kyle Kaplanis
Kyle Kaplanis
So if you go on reels and you scroll through, you're not going to be as like, almost like addicted, or it's not going to be as sticky because it doesn't, it still gives you kind of random content, which you're just like, I know I'm on rails, I can almost like have them both open. And I'll be like, Oh, I'm on rails, because like nothing's really standing out to me. And I'll go and take stock. And I'm like, Oh, great. And I have to like setting the alarm because you can easily get consumed into it. And same with YouTube shorts right now they just don't have that piece to kind of navigate what's working.
Kyle Kaplanis
So that's kind of the difference. But as far as repurposing content, absolutely. They're all the same style of short form. So if you create a piece on reels or tick tock or YouTube shorts via either one, my suggestion is always create camera rule. So like basically off the app, even though the all of the apps want you to create within the app, I would create off the app and then input them on each platform, and then you can add kind of their features on top. So tick tock, I always I don't add text on screen. Like through an editing program.
Kyle Kaplanis
I always use the Tick Tock text on screen and why do I do that because it looks more native to the platform that's really important you want to stick to like the Nativity of each platform. But also within their text feature, it kind of has some back end keywords that help pull and push to the right audience as well. That's something that a lot of people don't know. So if you mentioned fitness in your title on the screen with the text, it will actually do some kind of backend, kind of keyword metrics to help putting into the right audience.
Kyle Kaplanis
And then so on reels, I do the same thing. So that's where it can be a little bit tricky is like you take the video, and then you have to keep on each platform, you have to add the own text. And all that takes a little bit more time. But I find that it looks more native to the platform. And that's such a key indicator to say he's creating content base of that, but it's so true. There's a, excuse me, there's a couple features. So another tip to remind people is, if you do make a tick tock content, when it saves a video, it has the watermark.
Kyle Kaplanis
If you were to repurpose that onto reels or YouTube shorts, they will purposely not push that piece of content because they're a competitor, right, and you're basically promoting their competitor. So there's apps that you can Google you can google remove Tiktok watermark, and then you basically upload the video and then and then it's receives it with no watermark. So always make sure that every platform doesn't have a watermark. If you're going to repurpose that's just a tip for that, but people repurpose all day long I do it. I only make one video and just put them on all three.
Steve Washuta
That's great information. I have another question that came to mind when you were speaking. Is it better? And this could be not just from like an algorithmic standpoint, this could be from like, Kyle's just enjoys this more. So however you want to answer this. But is it better to have one particular type of video and just keep doing it over and over and over?
Steve Washuta
Like, let's go ahead and say, hypothetically, I started Tiktok for Trulyfit. And all the videos are me clipping in. They're all about 14 seconds long. And they're all just me and my podcast guests talking? And then whatever something pops across the screen, this is truly? Or is it better to have a bunch of random videos that are always different to keep your audience engaged?
Kyle Kaplanis
Really, really good question there, for sure. So what I call those videos that work are blueprints. So when you develop in the beginning, you don't know what your blueprints gonna be right, you have to create a bunch of different styles of content to see what works. And then typically, you'll see this with creators, when they kind of get that rhythm or like, wow, that's still working, and they try it again, and it works.
Kyle Kaplanis
Again, I would definitely recommend that sticking with a blueprint, but it's kind of the 8020 rule. Gary Vee mentioned this all the time. 8020 80% Stick to the content, you know, is working, always keep room for opportunities and trying different things for 20% of the time. So with tick tock, which is so great is that your videos are constantly being seen by different audiences versus the other platforms are just like in your feed, if you follow you just keep seeing like if you post 10 times, that's why Instagram is like,
Kyle Kaplanis
Don't post more than once a day, because or like two times a day, because you don't want to like saturate people's feed with your stuff and be annoying and get followers on Tiktok it does not work like that you can make 300 videos in one day. And you're not going to know your audience because those videos will be pushed to different audiences at different times over period. So and I might be going on a tangent right here, but it's like good information to know. So that the Tick Tock for you page is actually based off of a 90 day window. So there's going to be videos within a 90 day period that come up. So meaning like you might be scrolling and three those videos could be from two months ago, one of them could be from the same day.
Kyle Kaplanis
So the reason why they do that is so they don't overwhelm your audience with the same content like from you. They might be like Steve, dang, why did you post 10 times today, this is annoying, like, you ruined my like feed. So they do that. So that way, you don't overwhelm your audience. So therefore, there's so much room to test, because you're not going to be annoying. So that's what so that's why I also love about as you can, you could keep doing your blueprint stuff. But in between, you could do a ton of tests without being annoying or overwhelming. Anybody? So there's so much room to like, do kind of crazy stuff if you want.
Steve Washuta
Yeah, and like anything else, sometimes your secondary stuff has a completely different audience, right? So you might be somebody who is all about fitness and just showing the particular movements you do. And then you do a secondary thing on maybe some like heart to heart like conversations you had with clients that were really tough. And that's a totally different audience. And so it is it's always good at any platform, I would imagine to not just pigeonhole yourself to one particular thing.
Kyle Kaplanis
for sure, and like, that's a great point is, let's say, because I always tell people share a little bit more about who you are versus just your business. Because, for instance, let's say you're a huge like, I don't know you have a cat, right? And you're just like your cats really like it's just something special to you. So a lot of people will do this, you'll see they'll do like business stuff, but in between, they'll just share something special within their life. And they're like, Hey, this is my cat. You know, Bob, and he's so cute when we like this is how I met Bob.
Kyle Kaplanis
Well, some cat lovers might come and enjoy that piece and want to learn and maybe they're looking to learn more about fitness, right? They do perfect timing. They're like, Oh, you also do fitness content like I'm Looking, now there may be a customer or they want to learn more about you, but they share that connection. That's something that brought them in, that's totally irrelevant to your business. But it gets people due to a friend that they had a conversation with, because they feel like they trust that little piece of connection with the cat. And that's why we're seeing that too. That's why I always let people know share a little piece about you that's outside of your business because it attracts new people who then share or they want to learn now, like they never even knew they wanted to be in fitness, or there's maybe it's a local community.
Kyle Kaplanis
Because that's another good point. A lot of people do ask is, is this algorithm targeted to my local area? Yes, it does. It pushes to your local spaces first before going global. So therefore, you might get a lot of followers actually in your town that they didn't know you even your gym existed, and maybe now they're gonna go sign up or come in for a visit and maybe want to see who's that person that I just learned about their cat and I love them. So yeah.
Steve Washuta
If I'm a fitness and health brand, what are some musts to be successful? And I'll give you a few potential things that you could either say, yea, or nay or shut down completely? Do I need to put my face on each video? Because I find that that seems to be the case. But like, the bigger businesses would never do that. Right. So it's like, you know, Walmart's not showing a face of Walmart, they're just showing random stuff because they don't have a face necessarily, as opposed to an individual business owner.
Steve Washuta
And do I need to do impromptu videos that have like these like small cut offs? Because I always see people basically like every four seconds, there's a cut in a different direction. What are your thoughts on those things?
Kyle Kaplanis
Okay, that's a good question. So my thing is, this face is so important. So a lot of people do get overwhelmed. But if you look, and you see the way traditional media was, like, like you said, with Walmart, or these big brands, and they have no face, those brands are going to need a face at some point.
Kyle Kaplanis
That's why they do a lot of influencer marketing. So they, they have a face associated to show the product, because just straight old school methods are not working anymore. So they call it the fourth wall, breaking the fourth wall. And that's making eye contact with your customer and talking to them. So I do, there's people who have a lot of success, still not doing that. But it's a little bit more tricky, because you have to bring additional value.
Kyle Kaplanis
So you could in the fitness space, you could just show different things like about what your maybe like your gym looks like, or maybe showing like a client's perspective, interviewing them, asking them to be like the face of the thing. I had a lady on my podcast, and she just showed her product, she made a food container, especially, she makes a product that is for like convenience store.
Kyle Kaplanis
So you can put like nachos in it and then attach it to the top of the cup. So then you can walk out holding it and have all your stuff in there. But she was just showing the product and how it worked. And the views were doing great. Like, literally, she would have like 10 million views 20 million views on some of these videos. But her follower count was only about 8000, after like 100 videos of having viral success, because people just thought the product was super cool.
Kyle Kaplanis
But therefore they didn't really want to follow because there was nothing to like, grasp that connection to, if that makes sense. So like, I'll just wait for the next one to come up on my four year page. Then I told her you have to like start showing who you are. When she did that. And immediately the success went higher. She started getting more followers, people started asking questions because they had a face to talk to. And so I think that's really important. And there's gonna be a lot of people listening to this, like Tim, I was hoping that there was a better solution. So I didn't have to be face to face. But it's one of those things that tic toc is also like so not judgmental.
Kyle Kaplanis
Everybody has a spacer regardless of like I said, disabilities are where you look, you could be like a like a really like let's say a bigger person getting into the fitness journey people are so hyped up, they love just seeing people like succeed and are and are there for them. So yes, it's gonna take a little bit of encouragement and confidence building, but it takes time. And once you kind of do it, you realize, okay, it's not so scary. So you just have to kind of find the confidence and do it. But face is so important. Absolutely.
Steve Washuta
And I would imagine to, you know, as you were describing, that that lady that you were working with, what came to mind is, you know, on a sort of a secondary thing outside of just showing yourself as there was no call to action, right? So there needs to be something to say like, hey, subscribe, or like or let me know what you think in the comments below. Right? If you're if you're just showing a video and leaving, of course, no one's going to do anything. Yeah,
Kyle Kaplanis
no, it's so true. call to actions are really huge. There's a lot of videos that don't really have like a like a call to action, but there's a immense value that wants people to learn more, right? So if you have a really good value, you don't really necessarily have to say hey, like this video for more or whatever, because some people don't do that in the they do well, but I think definitely using the caption space to ask a question and the comments because people tick tock is very engaging like people love to be engaged in the comment section is actually a place so many Do people clicked to see what's going on?
Kyle Kaplanis
Because there's additional value there or like funny stuff happening in there. Maybe people are participating in ways. So take a look actually even recommend this. As soon as you make a video, make a couple comments in there asking like a question or like asking your audience like, hey, what else would you like to learn? Or what was valuable from this video? And then people might because they see a question, they feel like they want to take part or they have something to do for them. Like there's something for them to do.
Kyle Kaplanis
And people like that, like, Oh, you're giving me a challenge. Let me make something. And from there, and I just this might go over people's head if they haven't used Tik Tok. But there's a feature within the app that's called a reply to comment. So people use this a lot for maybe somebody asks a question, like, let's say you answer the question, and then they're like, I actually have a question, what's the best way to target triceps? Right? Like, let's say you're, you're a fitness person, and you're doing fitness contests. And you're like, Great that married, they just give you a content idea. But you can reply to that comment in a video. So that comment is displayed in the video. So when people see it, they see Ooh, you're you're responding to your audience, therefore, you're you're listening to us?
Kyle Kaplanis
And that's a great question, I actually want to know how to target my triceps as well. So there's so many features in there that gives you tools to really be successful, but your audience, and most people I talked to that are growing, their content ideas actually stem from their audience, because they're so engaging and asking questions, and then they use that feature. More people want to be involved, more people want to be replied to, and it goes from there. And then all of a sudden, they're like, holy, I didn't even realize that there is like, so much content. And Craig just goes crazy.
Steve Washuta
Well, I'm very happy to hear all of this because, you know, in our industry, the whole purpose is to help people like That's right, we sign up to help people. So knowing that we can simply just provide value by helping people and do it in our own way, is really a lot of weight off of my shoulder and I hope other people's shoulders because really the again, the my pain point was,
Steve Washuta
Do I have to do it like everyone else is doing it does there have to be some sort of like cut up music in the background or me just sort of, you know, mousing over a famous movie line or something, and then putting some sort of meme up? Can I actually just give answers and questions and it sounds like you can,
Kyle Kaplanis
you can absolutely. A lot of people like the trend. So what you're describing is like almost mousing over some of the memes and or like some of the words, those are really like trend based, which is if, and I tell people to try him out. But trends. So that same, okay, so you can try them, right. And there's a couple tools that you can even Google like trend talk is one and it gives you like, what are the top trends right now?
Kyle Kaplanis
So that way you you're not looking for them? You can find them and see, okay, how can I do this? And you can see how can you fit it within your business. So you'll see people there. It's the same song and the same lyrics that they're like mousing over, but on screen, they're like putting in something that's relatable to them, right? Yeah. So do you have to do that? No, absolutely. So a good example, that same lady, actually that with the baby product, she tried trends, and those views were just nothing. And then she realized, okay, my audience isn't here to see me do trends, they don't care.
Kyle Kaplanis
So therefore, she like moved away and only sticks to like talking. And they only they just want to hear talking and then her success went up. So again, within that 20%, or even in the beginning, try different things. And you might have fun with them, a lot of people actually continue to do them, because they're just like, they can be fun, or it shares a little bit of insight to them, and try them and then a music aspect as well. People do like sounds, they'd like songs.
Kyle Kaplanis
So a good tool of of trade is if you are talking, you can still have music in the background, and you can adjust, there's an option to add the audio, and then you can adjust the sound. So therefore you can make it like 3%. So it's nice and quiet in the background, but they can still hear you but they can still kind of enjoy the song. People use that quite a bit, actually.
Kyle Kaplanis
And sometimes they even have the volume all the way down if it's a trending song, because people who are using that song and if it's trending, they does kind of get pushed. So that's another kind of trick that people tend to use is they attach in and turn the volume all the way down. And then therefore it's still categorized within that sound that white get featured.
Kyle Kaplanis
But there's a lot of tips and tricks you can kind of try but in the beginning, it's all about trial and error really, because there's no I can't even like there's no set answer. I've I've talked to hundreds of people and everybody has they have similarities. But then they have so many ways it just worked so different for everybody.
Steve Washuta
So there's no set answer but if Kyle is making a Tiktok video right after this is ending, give me like five things that you're always looking at like sort of a very easy checklist. Maybe there isn't five maybe there's three that but a checklist that you yourself are saying okay, I have to have this going on with the sound or I have to have this vision what are the things you're looking at? Sure.
Kyle Kaplanis
I actually have like it's just nine so nine tips on how to make your content stand out on tick tock right. And they're they're very simple but I want to share those with with you here. Um, I'm just pulling it up here so I can take a look. But okay, so for one, leveraging the sound is really important. So like I mentioned, is, you know, you could use the sound in the background or just turn the volume down, that helps kind of kickstart it.
Kyle Kaplanis
And the app that I that I recommend to talk as well, it also finds the top trending sound. So you can look and see, oh, that sounds trending. I'm going to use that. And then just turn the volume down kind of to help leverage that doesn't work all the time. No, but it's kind of a little, a little boost that maybe helps trickle it in. So sound is really important. Or if you're speaking as well, like speaking is great. Get your key message out early.
Kyle Kaplanis
This is really, really important. The statistics show to you have two seconds to grasp but your audience are they're going to scroll. And in fact, I think that number is even going lower. I think the last time I looked it up, it might be even 1.6 seconds, which is like insane, are like you know, our attention raise just shortening and shortening and shortening that you have a second so like the reason, the call to action, the beginning. How to like how to target your triceps bow?
Kyle Kaplanis
Like somebody's like, Oh, heck yeah. Like, or, you know, what's the best equipment at the gym? Like quickly so that way, they're like, yes, I want to learn that. And then now they're going to continue listening to the thing, if you kind of just go in and are like,
Steve Washuta
hey, this Hi, my name is Steve. Tell you about my triceps done,
Kyle Kaplanis
gone? lost. You lost them right away. They don't care who you are Steve yet, right? Like, what's the value you can bring in then now they're gonna care about see. So that's what's so important is, and I interviewed on my podcast, his name is law by Mike. He's a lawyer. He's the number one most followed lawyer. People have seen him all the time.
Kyle Kaplanis
He's got over 5 million followers on Tiktok. But he's recommendation for me when I asked him what made him successful. He said, Cut the fat, get all the crap out there. That's just not useful. Just cut it out. Like don't ramble on like, nobody cares, unless you're like you're talking about a story or who you are. But just like, if it's going like you're talking about tricep skills, get to the point. Don't put any BS in there, because people you lose them. All right. Another thing is, you know, right, like, Okay, this is right on the latest trends. So you can be implementing on how they work for your business.
Kyle Kaplanis
So changing the dialogue of it, and how it can fit within you. So it's a good starting method, you don't always have to stick to the trends. But it's a good way to kind of get an audience started, because your video is going to be kind of pushed or seen more, because you're taking part of tick tock in their their thing. But if you don't want to start that way, don't worry. Like it's not something you need. Keep your story real and entertaining, that's like really important as well, just keeping real with your audience keeping authentic.
Kyle Kaplanis
And like you said, the jump cuts and stuff. Not necessary. Unless you're really good at that stuff. It does help kind of keep people's attention. But it's not necessary. There's so many videos, I've watched the person just sitting in one spot, they can be just like here, like there's nothing even exciting, but you're telling something really engaging, and you want to listen, shoot natively for tick tock, this is so important. So a lot of people will, especially businesses, right, and I was working with a lady who runs a podcast, and she was using tick tock, she was basically just repurposing her like LinkedIn kind of content, and then changing it to like vertical video style.
Kyle Kaplanis
And I'm like, that doesn't look native to the app, it doesn't look like you made this video for the app. And so it's really important to kind of curate your content. So I was like, hey, look, just the content you made is great on the LinkedIn, but just refilm it kind of that's more like personal more to the camera on your phone. And then it'll fit great because the content was actually great she was doing it just you could tell was repurpose from either Facebook, or LinkedIn. And that doesn't work. So stick native to the TIC tock app. And then I've mentioned this before breaking the fourth wall, always try to contact always try to make contact with the camera. Because as soon as somebody, you're they feel like you're talking to them, they almost feel like when they make eye contact with you to the phone, even though you're not face to face, they feel that connection. And that is really, really important.
Kyle Kaplanis
So try to really make contact with the camera. And then you know, another thing, the last thing I can mention is we mentioned this before, but call to action. So just adding something even in the captions or in the comment section, or you can in the beginning, say hey, if you liked this video, follow for more, or share with me your creative like what's your favorite workout and leave it in the comments. So something like that are really good key tips to do within your content. But especially in the beginning.
Steve Washuta
That is an awesome nine and if you have less than nine because I skipped a couple but yeah, if you have a particular video in which you talk about those nine or a post or a blog or whatever, send it to me so I can put it in the comments at the end so that people can find that directly but we're not done yet. Sure. I still have more questions for your face. So the I came upon this I know nothing about it. But apparently tick tock also has ads. Can you explain the difference between tick tock ads? And if they're good? Do you use them? Why do you recommend them? How do they work?
Kyle Kaplanis
Yeah, for sure. There's different types of ads within tick tock as well. So there's like, in this might go into further thing, but if a business wants to use them, you have to there's like, an ad spend platform that you have to apply for, to do that. But within there, there's there's a couple of different ones, there's like hashtag challenges you can do. There's different types of ads, and when you're scrolling, they try to make it as authentic as possible.
Kyle Kaplanis
But there's basically like an extra call to action button that's like a clickable link that takes you to wherever, so those those ads are like that. But what I want to mention too, is this because a lot of people might say okay, I'm gonna I'm going to make some content or whatever. But Tik Tok, their their logo, their slogan for their ads program is don't make ads make tic TOCs. So therefore, still try not to be ad based still bring value to your ad. And we're seeing that a lot like through influencer marketing.
Kyle Kaplanis
So for instance, like I work with creators all day who brands want to work with them. So like Walmart, for instance, actually partnered with one of my creators who's a photography guy, and he went around and took photos of the customers and stuff. So Walmart needs the face. But you so if you don't feel comfortable working with creators, even and they don't have to be big either. They can be smaller ones that they can be you can even hire people who are really good at tick tock to bring them in. But the ads so there's a thing called spark ads, which is super cool. If a there's a there's actually a feature within your settings on tick tock, and it says you can toggle it on or off is always toggled on, a lot of people don't even know it exists.
Kyle Kaplanis
But in there, it mentioned, your content can be used at any time for paid promotions. So spark ads are, if you Steve created a video talking about your favorite protein powder. And it was really good and it got success, that protein powder company can actually put boost ad spend behind that video without your permission, because you have that toggled on. But then it gets pushed to the for you page organically though, like it gets boosted even more so that way more people see it and they can target it for different areas. And those are called spark ads.
Kyle Kaplanis
And those work really effectively because it was already a very authentic video that was resonating with an organic audience. And that's why the ads going to work well. Typically, like they usually contact you or whatnot. But but there is a feature in there. And a lot of people don't know that either. I let people know, if you don't want your stuff to be, you know, you just toggle it off and they can't.
Kyle Kaplanis
But technically, you know, when you make content on an app, the app technically kind of has rights to use stuff, but it's those apps are those ads are, are really effective because they they are looking to see how that works in a good example of that is one of our creators we work with, she did a video about Eos, which is a like a they do chapstick they make products for like your bathroom like soaps and stuff. And they made a shaving cream. And she talked about it in a very kind of using like bad language like she was throwing out the F bomb and all stuff. But it was like a fun like she was it was hyping up the product. saying like, Yo like and it was talking about shaving depth down there, right, which is kind of crazy, too. But she was like, Yo, you want to have it smooth or whatever.
Kyle Kaplanis
And she was talking about the product. Well, the thing is, it did like it got millions of views, like 10 million views or more. And people were just really resonating with it. So the brand actually was like, Okay, I think our audience likes this. And they created so they ran some ad spend on it. But they went a little bit further to and they actually partnered with her and created a product line based off of her common terminology and the product was a shaving cream and it said bless your effing kuj and it said it on the product, but they had it like bleeped out.
Kyle Kaplanis
And you would think whoa, that is like that is bold. Well, they sold it only online and it sold out 15 seconds. And it was such a success that they actually had to shut the product down temporarily because they could not keep up with the the factory warehouse couldn't keep up with the demand. So but that just showed like authenticity and being bold. Just sharing your knowledge and don't be like it's another tip to like if you do sometimes use you know, some bad language or whatnot like Gary Vee is a great example of that too.
Kyle Kaplanis
But you can be authentically you and you will you'll find the right audience and even brands are starting to realize, Okay, we have to be a little bit bold, and that's what audiences are liking and seeing but she was a really cool example of how they kind of ran a spark ad behind it. But then they ended up turning it into a larger campaign and working with her further. So there's ways to do that too. So if you're a fitness person or you do own a brand, that's a product you can actually search for that. See if people are making authentic content, ask them if you can use that video and run an ad spend behind it. Kind of cool.
Steve Washuta
Yeah. And it doesn't seem like it is deleterious to your personal business, if somebody uses you as a spark ad, if anything is going to help your business, right? So if I'm a nobody, and I have whatever, 150 followers and not a lot of views, and I just had to do a video with, like you said, a protein powder, and then it goes viral. Yeah, of course, if this company decides to make money off of me, by using as a spark ad, who cares, I'm also getting, you know, more views and more followers.
Steve Washuta
And I'm benefiting somewhat, and this is this is part of the deal. When you sign up for these apps, it's another whole conversation, but some people are like, I can't sign my life away. They're they're taking this from me and this data, and that's like, well, there are no solutions in life. There's only trade offs. If you want to use the app, this is what you have to do. Otherwise, don't use it.
Kyle Kaplanis
Exactly. That's, that's, that's really the ultimate truth is, you know, you could read all the limitations there. But every single app, no matter where they're located, or who they're based, or who they're run by, they all have some sort of ownership based off of like what you're doing and they can, they can kind of do some things, but they do give you the option to toggle that off. But, but it is cool. There is a lot of like, even my biggest craters, they ask brands, if Hey, we're gonna do this, is there any ad spend behind it?
Kyle Kaplanis
Because if so, that gives them more of incentive, because you want your video to do well. And you do want to be put into a bigger audience to get more people listening to your stuff. So yeah, typically, most people are like, Heck, yeah, this is dope. Like, you're gonna you're, you're basically gonna pay and I'm gonna get benefits of getting new audiences seem sweet. That's a good trade off. For sure. So like, yeah, absolutely.
Steve Washuta
If if I'm a fitness professional, and I'm very busy. I maybe work 40 hours a week, one on one personal training clients, I'm trying to build a gym on the side. And you know, this is typically fitness entrepreneurs, I'll call them always are doing three or four different things. And they might not have time to spend on the online sort of social games. It's especially like creating tiktoks. Do I go on something like a Fiverr? Or Upwork? Or another site to hire people? Is this what you do? What or and if not, what exactly do you do to help people? What is your what is a day in the life like, of Kyle working with creators?
Kyle Kaplanis
Yeah, no, that's a good, good, good question. One thing I do have to mention is, if you seem busy, what's really cool because there's lots like we're so mentally focused on the past of like Instagram, and YouTube, you feel like you have to have a lot of studio time, you have to have a team, you have to have anything, you're like, I don't have time.
Kyle Kaplanis
Tick tock does make it simple. You dip, you really do have time, you could be in the car on your way home, and you have a message to share. You could be in the gym working with a client, you're like, hey, look, I can make the 15 second video easy. So I want to let people know to like, don't think that it can be fit in with your stuff. But if you really just don't feel like it, or you feel like I'm not a good fit for my brand at all. Like I'm just, I'm not going to be a good fit, and you want to work with people Fiverr Upwork, I wouldn't like necessarily work with them at all, I feel like they really have to understand the app.
Kyle Kaplanis
So I would almost do like your own outreach. And see who knows, tic tock, there might be even a local person, or maybe somebody even at your gym, or one of your customers that would love to be the face of your brand. Or if you really just want to use an influencer to get reach, you know, you could just kind of search around and see who looks like they would be a good fit for your brand and work with them, and reach out to them and just say, hey, you know, I want to partner with you as like, maybe a brand ambassador.
Kyle Kaplanis
And then you could work out the logistics of like what that pricing looks like. But like I needed an intern for our business. And how I ran it is I actually didn't use LinkedIn. But the they had to submit a video to me on a tic toc video. That's how they had to like, kind of apply.
Steve Washuta
It was like a practical, basically, they had to make a video. Before we work we make we make people like I would make a train or train me and show me what they would do. And I would make up a scenario for them.
Kyle Kaplanis
Exactly. So they had to create a Tiktok video for me selling themselves basically to me, but showing you know that they know how to use the app, how to use the features. So like that's kind of a fun way that you could create an ad and just say, hey, look, I'm looking for somebody to help us run our tic tock, you know, show me some of your skills, show me assuming you take talks on and like maybe within the fitness aspect, and you'd probably be surprised there's probably a ton of people in your local area that would love a gig like that and would do a great job for your brand.
Kyle Kaplanis
So that's something that you could do as well, but nothing against Upwork or Fiverr. I think there's great stuff. But for I think for this particular thing, I think it's more important to make sure that they understand the app, and they're going to do a good job for you because technically, whoever you're using is a reflection of who you are and your brand. Right. So there has to be a good fit.
Steve Washuta
Yeah, no, that's, that's great. It's great information. I think that, you know, partnering is good for a multitude of other reasons, right? There's there's always that internet connection through the networking that you're going to get from that person anyway, right. So it's much better than just hiring somebody for one time to make these potential lifelong relationships. Through the partnerships. Absolutely. So this has been a wealth of information. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, especially because in almost all of my conversations,
Steve Washuta
Kyle on this podcast, I already know most of the answers or I have a background, whatever it is I've had on award winning doctors and PhDs and famous personal trainers, but I already have a background and and all of the answers they're gonna say here, I knew nothing about what the content was. So it was really great to just sort of like think off the cuff and respond, so I appreciate it. Let my audience know where they can find more about you. And anything that you do.
Kyle Kaplanis
Yeah, for sure. So more about me personally, I share kind of videos and tips and things across all my socials. You can find me actually just by my name, Kyle Planus, on length on LinkedIn, on Instagram, YouTube is so I run a podcast called biz talk for Tik Tok, and it's play on word bi Z to K 14 Tick tock, and we do exclusive interviews with creators, brands, agencies, and we talk about how to market and leverage it for your business in fun, unique way.
Kyle Kaplanis
So there's a lot of insights there for people who are like, hey, I want to learn more about the secret thing definitely dive in there. But I have a YouTube channel as well. My videos are always recorded, so they're on YouTube. So people who are needing more of a video thing you can find that on bass talk for Tiktok on YouTube, and our agency for anybody listening who might be looking for creatives or creators to work or partner with them.
Kyle Kaplanis
Definitely, you can look us up we're called PROJECT Z talent and PR J tz. You can look us up we have some of the biggest craters in the world and some smaller ones as well who might fit within your budgets or anything like that. But if you're looking or just even wanting to learn questions on how to partner with creators, I'm definitely a good person and you can DM me on Instagram is a great fast way or LinkedIn.
Steve Washuta
Awesome, pal, thank you so much for your time and I hope to have you on a future episode down the road to go round to have Tiktok here.
Kyle Kaplanis
Absolutely. Thanks, Steve. I appreciate you having me on and it's being on the Trulyfit podcast.
Steve Washuta
Thanks for joining us on The Trulyfit podcast. Please subscribe rate and review on your listening platform. And feel free to email us we'd love to hear from social@trulyfit.app. Thanks again
Kyle Kaplanis
https://beacons.page/biztok/
https://withkoji.com/@biztok
IG: @kylekaplanis