As you avid readers will know, I decided to mix things up a bit over the last couple of weeks, and that meant looking at some short form ways of sharing content.
TikTok to me just sounded like another social media channel aimed at kids (or people younger than me anyway). At least that’s what I thought…But after watching Peter McKinnon’s video on short form, I thought I better check it out.
And I’ll be honest, I was pleasantly surprised!
But what is it??
Now, I’m not saying I completely understand what it is all about, but it looks like a great way to be able to share short form or more relaxed videos with an audience. There’s also a lot less pressure around it, and more fun orientated. Although obviously it can still be a great way to share information.
So, I finally decided to take the plunge and hit record. I was probably a lot a more relaxed then I have been with some of my other videos, and let myself have a bit more fun with he final video. But, I still made sure I got a message across (it was about Grace Beverley’s book Working Hard, Hardly Working).
It’s then really easy to add gifs or stickers to it, and they have a catalogue of music that you can add to it right there. That said, I need to get used to recording in portrait mode…
Now, editing a video on your phone is not the easiest when you’re used to using a laptop with mouse and keyboard. But, I’m sure it is something I’ll get used to.
All in all, it probably took me 15-20 minutes to record, edit and share a video that was about 1 minute long. And to be fair, I think that’s ok. But, I’m sure a lot of people could get it done much quicker than me and my clumsy thumbs!
Captions are short, and you can add a few hashtags as normal. Again, then whole thing is about keeping it quick and relaxed, so no researching ten different titles. Just type and hit share!
It’s very easy to share your video to instagram, and you can download and share on other platforms if you wish. I do have an IFTT applet set up so that anything posted to instagram will also be shared to Twitter and this is much quicker and easier way to automate the process.
Is it worth the effort?
I then sat back, waiting to see what happened. Would people see it, and would they engage with it?
And so far, the numbers have pretty decent (I know, I know, ignore the metrics!!). People are seeing it and reacting positively which is great.
However, the big thing for me is how easy and how much fun it is. Now, I can’t see myself doing silly dances or voiceovers, but as a quick and relaxed way of sharing information it is pretty good! There’s still a fair bit to be learnt, however the main thing about this channel is to share some quick information and have fun.
So you know what, that’s what I’m going to do!!
Check out my first video below, and give me a follow on TikTok
