How To Plan Your 2024 TikTok Content Calendar

You may be one of the more than 1 billion people who use TikTok, but have you considered creating a TikTok content calendar for your business’s marketing strategy? 

While TikTok’s content is often bite-sized (there are always exceptions!), the impact it has had on social media and, more specifically, digital marketing has been massive. While the platform is great for discovering new dance moves or immersing yourself in cultural deep dives, it also acts as an incredible marketing tool for brands of all sizes.

The key to marketing success on TikTok boils down to a careful balance of planning and spontaneity. To help you prepare an effective strategy, here are some best practices to keep in mind while you create your 2024 TikTok content calendar. 

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10 Best Practices for Creating Your TikTok Content Calendar 

Creating a content calendar for TikTok entails understanding the who, what, and why behind your marketing strategy. 

1. Understand Your Audience

Getting to understand the audience following your TikTok account will ensure you share relevant content. The more interest they have, the more likely users are to engage with your brand online. 

Overall, TikTok has more users under the age of 29 than any other platform, so make sure you include this demographic within your content. But don’t count out other age groups! While 44.1% of TikTok users are within the Gen Z age bracket, you’ll miss out on connecting with other groups if you only target the younger demographic. 

The key first step, then, is understanding the interests of TikTok users, which you can discover by watching viral videos on the app. Next, think about the typical user: what are their pain points? What are their biggest fears and desires? What’s stopping them from reaching their goals — and how can your company help them? 

Don’t be afraid to get specific. The more granular you get, the more you’re likely to find your ideal target audiences. 

Related: TikTok Video Ad Specs & Placements Guide

2. Create Fresh Content

In addition to advertising on TikTok, you’ll want to create an organic presence for your brand. Thankfully, TikTok encourages creativity and is home to millions of creative users, so you’ll always have plenty of inspiration.

An organic profile gives you a chance to create fresh content that does away with purely informational marketing and allows for some entertainment, too. 

TikTok offers many visual effects and filters, which you can add to your videos to give them the pizzazz viewers are looking for. You’ll also want to rely on audio effects, narration, or music to breathe even more life into your video clips. 

3. Check Out Your Competitors

Just like you check on competitors to see how well their products and services are selling, you want to check out your competition on TikTok to see what type of marketing is currently working. 

Scope out other brands’ TikTok profiles and take some notes on engagement. What’s getting the most views and shares? What kind of comments are users making? Which effects are standing out? 

4. Focus on Authenticity 

Gen Z has a large presence on TikTok, and these users value authenticity above all else. In a world of generic advertising campaigns, it’s important to showcase your genuine identity to stand out. 

A big part of marketing on TikTok is showcasing what makes your brand unique while also remaining relatable. One idea is to create user-generated content (UGC), which is content generated by your customers. 

Some of the most popular types of UGC include product testimonials, explainer videos, and demonstrations. These videos help establish authority and trust in your brand by providing educational or entertaining content. 

5. Keep Your Goals in Mind 

Unfortunately, it’s easy to put so much focus into idea generation that you lose track of your marketing goals. To make sure they stay front-of-mind, a big part of your content calendar for TikTok should be listing goals and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help track your performance.

Some common goals for social media marketing include:

• More video views
• More engagement through shares and comments
• More followers and a wider reach
• More new customers
• Better lead generation through clicks, app downloads, or conversions

Once you understand your goals, decide on the timeframe you’ll use to measure them — make sure you give yourself a realistic amount of time to meet your goals. For instance, if your goal is to grow your following, you might want to aim to add 100 more followers in one month. At the end of the month (and periodically within the month), you’ll want to measure how well you did. Based on that information, you can reconfigure your goals and move forward with the changes.

When writing a creative brief, be sure to include your goals so they’re kept top of mind throughout the entire video production process. 

6. Find Relevant Hashtags and Audio

If there is one best practice you need to follow on TikTok, it’s this: find the right hashtags and audio for your business. 

Using the right hashtags and sounds on the app will increase your chances of reaching a wider audience. Hashtags and audio represent what’s trending on the platform and, on a broader scale, help tell a story about what users are interested in. Hashtags and trending sounds allow users to contribute to a bigger conversation and develop a deeper sense of community. 

To see what’s trending, hit the Discover tab on TikTok. You’ll see what kinds of videos are trending and, more importantly, what hashtags and sounds these viral TikTok videos are using. 

7. Highlight Key Dates and Seasons

Including special occasions on your TikTok planning calendar means more than just picking out a few holidays. It also means thinking about your brand and its core values. 

For instance, women-owned companies may want to develop special content for Women’s History Month in March, and Black-owned businesses may want to do the same for Black History Month in February. Think about what makes your brand unique, including its history and team members. 

8. Keep an Eye on Trends 

Trends have always been the ocean that keeps social media platforms afloat, and TikTok is no different. However, understanding trends means more than having a general overview of what’s going viral — it also means thinking about what trends are relevant to your business. After all, trying to just cash in on what’s popular means you risk losing your authenticity and brand voice. 

Instead, consider the why behind any popular content that you personally enjoy. What about the video captures your attention? And most importantly, how can you work that into your own content? 

9. Leave Room for Spontaneity 

We’ve discussed the importance of taking time to research what’s popular on TikTok, but you don’t want to get into a pattern of simply planning and churning out content without taking a look around. 

Leave room for your spontaneous side! After all, some of the best (and most authentic) TikTok videos were created on the spot. Leave space open on your TikTok content calendar so you can immerse yourself in creative freedom. 

10. Update Your Calendar as Needed

Don’t feel the need to keep your TikTok content calendar set in stone from the first draft. 

You can update it over time as you discover what’s working with your marketing strategy and what hasn’t been as powerful as you initially thought it would be. Additionally, you can rework your goals and establish new ones as you move along your TikTok marketing journey.

Use TikTok Videos To Connect With Your Audience 

TikTok has incredible power with social media audiences all around the world, so use this opportunity to build your brand and connect with potential customers. Leveraging video marketing best practices will put you far ahead of the competition — plus, you get to connect with members of your target audience in a way they already love, on a platform they’re already using. 

But we know it can be hard to keep up with the amount of content you need. Between organic videos and ads, it’s a lot to handle on your own. The good news? We’re here to help! 

At QuickFrame, we use our end-to-end video creation platform to connect you with the perfect team for your project. Our global network of makers and production teams is ready to help you make the custom video content you need, from TikToks to CTV ads (and beyond). Contact us today to learn more!