The week started well, the first two videos had 451 and 333 views with two likes each. This boosted my total views significantly to 1606, a rise of 45% on the week before. My audience per video showed even better growth, up by 75% to 216. My followers rose a reassuringly high 70%, from its very low base, to 17. Since my total playtime remained at the same level of 140 minutes, it meant that my average viewer only stayed for 6 seconds… This is disastrous! Here is the summary:
| Week | 1 | 2 |
| Videos | 8 | 7 |
| Likes | 21 | 20 |
| Comments | 22 | 2 |
| Followers | 10 | 17 |
| Total Play Time (mins) | 142 | 144 |
| Total Views | 1105 | 1606 |
| Average Watch Time (Secs) | 9 | 6 |
| Audience Reached (ave) | 123 | 216 |
Are there any clues for me? Well, the first two videos were very much about sales; the first on selling your business and the second on focusing too much on sales. Six seconds is almost exactly the time I take to say the title! So, sales may be a clue, but I do think I need to do something more about my style. Is the gap too big though for this late twenties/thirties audience? Any ideas?
There are hundreds of filters, effects and templates. Many more than I know what to do with but, at least, I know where they are! As for the beauty one, I think I broke it… Size is a problem and it would be a lot easier on a proper computer. Not only am I straining my eyes but also I am getting frustrated at prodding at some fiddly slide bar or text control.
My trajectory is downhill at the moment, but I have lots of petty victories each day. These range from a complimentary comment to getting acknowledgement for one I made on someone else’s post. There are some very talented people there who often brings a brief smile and the occasional guffaw! I have also had my first troll comment. This stung, and as it was neither constructive nor witty, I blocked it with relish.
I have to remind myself that it is early days and that I am learning not only about the platform but also exploring what I have to say and what they want to read. Hopefully the two will get closer! What I am learning is that TikTok is all about engagement and that’s what it is encouraging us to do. Watching and liking is great, commenting is good but the thing they want is, so I am told, sharing. Now I have not got many people to share with so this and commenting is something that I intend to do a lot more.
Let’s see how next week goes. I must admit that I am looking forward to it and that I will enjoy the journey. Hopefully, I will have more progress to report.
