Tiktok Crash Course

A TIKTOK
CRASH COURSE:
DON’T JUST
FOLLOW TRENDS
1
BY: JT BARNETT
00 / About JT 3
01 / Algorithm 4
02 / What Content Works Best 5
03 / Shadowban 6
04 / Niche 7
05 / Trends 8
06 / Trend Discovery 9
07 / Series 10
08 / Cast 11
09 / Output Cadence 12
10 / Filming: Hook + Title 13
11 / Filming: Lighting + Camera + Audio 14
12 / Posting 15
13 / Things To Consider: Live 16
14 / Things To Consider: Duet + Stitch 17
15 / Conclusion 18
2
00 / About
A TikTok Crash Course:
Don’t Just Follow Trends
JT Barnett
HEY, IM JT!
My entire life I have been creating content. Even as a professional
hockey player, I was always one of the few guys on my team
creating posts for social media. With the rise of creators and
in uencers, once my career was coming to an end I knew my
“long term” career was just beginning.
Today, I’m a digital creator and social strategist. I create

educational content around the business and creator landscape,
and I get to help some of the top brands in the U.S. navigate their
organic content.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people want to be on TikTok. They just

just don’t know how to get started. That’s how this deck came to
be. I hope this is the rst step to you enjoying this creation game
as much as I have this last decade.
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01 /
Algorithm
TikTok ≠ Instagram Algorithm’s Order of Priority
WATCH TIME
SHARES
Based on your interactions
with content
Based on the interactions of
those in your network
SAVES
Algorithm shows what you’ve
told it you like
Algorithm shows what your
friends or others like you have
COMMENTS
liked
LIKES
4
02 / What Content
Works Best
HOW TO CREATE IT WHY IT MATTERS
AUTHENTIC Create what feels good and comes

natural to you.
TikTok has thrived because of this trait.
RAW Be relatable and unedited.

This di ers from Instagram, where
edited and glori ed content reigns.
UNIQUE Show what makes you/your brand

di erent from anything else.
As a society, we want to see the unique
traits of people/brands more than ever.
VALUABLE Whether it’s entertainment, education,

or inspiration, provide value to viewers.
Content that adds to people’s lives is
crucial to TikTok success.
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03 /
Shadowban
Does TikTok Shadowban? What Really Happens
TikTok is based o an algorithm that is constantly changing.
NO, BUT… Content goes through initial tests of random audiences (mix of
followers and non-followers).
If the content gets shown to a group of initial people who don’t

resonate with it, it may not get the initial views other content has.
You could get agged and reviewed internally if you post anything In turn, it won’t get shown at the same levels in the For You page,
that goes against the community guidelines. which re ects back to the views listed for your video.
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04 /
Niche
ALGORITHM NEEDS YOUR INTERACTIONS TO UNDERSTAND YOU
Each account you interact with outside

Every account starts with a blank slate Your interactions & posts need to
of your niche… less likely the algorithm
with the TikTok algorithm. re ect what you want to be known for.
will place you in that niche.
THIS IS HOW YOU CAN GROW YOUR ACCOUNT THE QUICKEST
For example, if you start an art account… you should only engage Especially when trying to build within a niche, be speci c with the
with other art accounts, only post within the art niche, and only accounts you follow, like, comment on, and interact with. Ensure
use hashtags/text overlays/captions that relate to art at the that the content you post is within your niche. This is how you
beginning. This helps the algorithm to know where to place you. grow an account as quickly as possible.
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05 /
Trends
TikTok has given non-creators the tools
TRUE Trends have allowed TikTok to have
mainstream success.
& ideas to become creators (features,
sounds, discovery page, etc).
FALSE Doing trends is the only way to grow

and get popular on TikTok.
People only follow the accounts that
do trends.
TRENDS SERIES
25% 75%
IDEAL CONTENT
BREAKDOWN
8
06 / Trend
Discovery
IMPORTANT TO KNOW
The trends on TikTok’s Discover page show up there once a sound has at least 1 MILLION videos made from it.
MY FAVORITE TIKTOK HACK
There comes a point when trends get so popular that doing them does not bene t you. To discover new trends that are on the rise, do this:
It will show how many times that sound

When scrolling through the For You has been used. If it’s between If the majority of the videos have dates
page, click the sound icon in the 10k-250k videos, then click on the rst that have posted within the last week,
bottom right of the post. video listed & scroll through about 10 that sound is about to become a trend.
videos.
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07 /
Series
A SERIES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY TO BUILD A FOLLOWING
A series is a recurring, unique, piece of content that people can get to know you for.
EXAMPLES REQUIREMENTS WHY IT MATTERS
For tness accounts… “What I Eat In A Needs to be original to you

This converts views from the For You
Day” or “3 Movements You Need To
page into people following you.
Know For ______” Need to be done on a consistent basis
People typically don’t follow if all they
For entrepreneurs… “How I Started/ Needs to be the main content of your
see you create are trends.
Built My Company” pro le
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08 /
Cast
TIKTOK ≠ INSTAGRAM
People resonate with seeing a recurring cast in the content on the page. This is particularly important for brands.
Using one consistent person (or a consistent team of people in the Using a variety of in uencers that are only on one (or a few) pieces
o ce) to run your account is the most e ective method of growth. of content is a popular and e ective method of growth.
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09 / Output
Cadence
TIKTOK IS ALL ABOUT AT-BATS
Every piece of content has the potential to be seen by millions of people.
The more content you throw into the algorithm, the higher your odds of one going viral (which leads to increasing views on the rest of your content).
PRIORITIZE DON’T PRIORITIZE
iPHONE-QUALITY CAMERA DSLR-QUALITY CAMERA
RAW, LOWER-BUDGET CONTENT POLISHED CONTENT
CONSISTENCY PERFECTION
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10 / Filming:
Hook+Title
THE TWO THINGS THAT MATTER MOST IN YOUR CONTENT
HOOK TITLE
FIRST 3 SECONDS; ATTENTION-GRABBER TELLS WHAT THE VIDEO WILL BE ABOUT
Use the word “you” in your hook (i.e. “3 Things You Didn’t Know
This is the text bubble that appears at the start of the video.
About Los Angeles”).
You can type what you say in the hook as your title.
This makes the video feel like it was created speci cally for them.
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11 / Filming:
Lighting+Camera+Audio
LONG STORY SHORT: THEY DON’T REALLY MATTER ON TIKTOK
You don’t need to worry about lighting, camera quality, audio, or special e ects as much on TikTok as you would for other mediums.
ALWAYS USE IF POSSIBLE ONLY USE IF NECESSARY
SPECIAL EFFECTS
iPhone > DSLR FILTERS (IF NEEDED FOR CONSISTENT LOOK)
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12 /
Posting
CAPTIONS HASHTAGS
Two main ways to use hashtags:

They don’t matter as much on TikTok as they do on other
1. Use hashtags within your niche to categorize your page
platforms. You don’t even really need to use them.
(people search for hashtags or click into them from the FYP)
2. Use hashtags for geolocation (use any hashtags related to your
Main goal with caption is to not distract from the video.
location & audience; this is underutilized + e ective)
COVER PHOTOS POSTING TIME
Do not worry about times.

They don’t matter for virality, nor are they required.
The algorithm is not chronological and will be showing to people
If you want to keep a consistent pro le, you can use them. There
all over the world (i.e. posting a breakfast video during breakfast in
are a variety on the platform you can pick from.
your time zone will still be shown to people in all time zones)
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13 / Things To
Consider: Live
Go Live As Often As You Can It Builds Your Following
BENEFITS
Interact directly with audience (they see you face-to-face and can ask questions in real time)
Builds a community around your pro le
Brings more viewers to your pro le
Lives can get shown on the For You page
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14 / Things To
Consider: Duet+Stitch
DUET STITCH
ALLOWS YOU TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE A CLIP
THE OTHER USER’S FOLLOWING FROM ANOTHER USERS’ POST
A Duet is when you reply/react to a video that’s already been Use Stitch as a “thought-starter” to create your own video from.
posted.
This is great to use when there’s a piece of content that you want
It’s a great feature to use, especially with recognizable users, to talk further about, because you use it at the start of your video
because it gets shown to their audiences. and then record yourself after.
When those audiences see a recognizable face, they’re more likely It also shows the user that you stitched it with, which is great to
to stay and watch your content. use their recognition with the audience.
THE ALGORITHM LOVES AND PRIORITIZES THE USE OF THESE FEATURES
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15 /
Conclusion
THAT’S IT! YOU GOT THIS!
I hope this provided you some tips & tools that you can use to execute your own TikTok strategy. I can’t wait to support you more.
PLEASE REACH OUT IF THERE’S ANYTHING ELSE I CAN HELP WITH
@jtbarnett @jtbarnett jt@barnettx.com
THANK YOU!
18
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A TIKTOK

Today, I’m a digital creator and social strategist. I create

I’ve noticed that a lot of people want to be on TikTok. They just

AUTHENTIC Create what feels good and comes

RAW Be relatable and unedited.

UNIQUE Show what makes you/your brand

VALUABLE Whether it’s entertainment, education,

TikTok is based o an algorithm that is constantly changing.

If the content gets shown to a group of initial people who don’t

Each account you interact with outside

THIS IS HOW YOU CAN GROW YOUR ACCOUNT THE QUICKEST

FALSE Doing trends is the only way to grow

MY FAVORITE TIKTOK HACK

It will show how many times that sound

EXAMPLES REQUIREMENTS WHY IT MATTERS

For tness accounts… “What I Eat In A Needs to be original to you

PRIORITIZE DON’T PRIORITIZE

iPHONE-QUALITY CAMERA DSLR-QUALITY CAMERA

RAW, LOWER-BUDGET CONTENT POLISHED CONTENT

FIRST 3 SECONDS; ATTENTION-GRABBER TELLS WHAT THE VIDEO WILL BE ABOUT

ALWAYS USE IF POSSIBLE ONLY USE IF NECESSARY

iPhone > DSLR FILTERS (IF NEEDED FOR CONSISTENT LOOK)

Two main ways to use hashtags:

COVER PHOTOS POSTING TIME

Do not worry about times.

Builds a community around your pro le

Brings more viewers to your pro le

Lives can get shown on the For You page

THE ALGORITHM LOVES AND PRIORITIZES THE USE OF THESE FEATURES

PLEASE REACH OUT IF THERE’S ANYTHING ELSE I CAN HELP WITH

@jtbarnett @jtbarnett jt@barnettx.com

SEE OUR SERVICES

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