You will not be able to call yourself social media savvy nowadays without having used TikTok even once in recent months. This social media platform from China has even caught the attention of the existing giants in the social media space through its soaring popularity among the younger generation.

And, unlike Snapchat, it doesn't seem like the trend is stopping soon.

Even for someone who has not taken up any professional photography course before, one can easily create interesting content on the platform through the inbuilt tools available.

For one that just downloaded the app and about to give it a shot, this social media platform will come off as a senseless platform that shows young kids doing random dances in short videos. But as you continue to engage with the platform and start to give a simple "like" to the videos you prefer to watch in the future, you will find that it will slowly start feeding you content that resonates and provides value to you.

It will slowly transform from young girls dancing to informative cooking classes that you can learn how to whip a delicious meal within minutes.

To have a normal TikTok account to create random content is fun. But what if you want to create a special #fyp page that can gain followers?

Standing out from the millions of videos

But with thousands of similar content being generated by the second, how are you going to make sure your content stands out and get the eyeballs your effort deserves?

One of the most straightforward strategies is definitely to carve out a niche.

Think about what kind of angle or direction that you will want to create your video in and stick to that for at least the next few weeks to test its effectiveness. Monitor the result of the videos to see if they are bringing you the results you yearn for; more followers, more shares, or even more comments.

So what kind of video direction will make you stand out from all that noise? Here are some ideas you can explore for your next video.

1. Beauty to the Beast

With all the tools available that can easily turn a man on the street into the next Tom Cruise, why not reverse the trend and show your audience the other side of you instead?

Instead of using a tool like Meitu to make oneself look better, you can actually do the opposite and post ugly photos of yourself in the most random situation or capture someone's reaction when you suddenly "turn ugly".

You can also challenge your friends, colleagues, or teachers to see how fast they can turn from cute to looking criminal within seconds. Let others see that it is ok to not look ok on social media too!

2. Open Secrets

These days, everyone is either confessing to the guy they met at the club yesterday or sharing with the public the first time they ever did something. It seems like doing or saying things you will never dare to say in real life on TikTok is something that is in vogue.

In that case, why not create videos that start to spill secrets on a regular basis?

Invite friends to your video and ask them the most interesting and daring questions, making them give answers that will most probably shock even their parents. You can even “mask” them to make it more discreet, letting people guess who they may be.

3. Colorful Smoke Bombs

If you have seen these smoke bombs before, you will know they can add vibrant shades to videos and photos when done correctly. Professional photographers use them to add depth to their images and smoke bombs have become one of the hottest photography trends in 2021. They are great for adding surrealism to images to make them look more colorful.

Why not use it to create something that belongs to you by always have smoke bombs in all videos that you create? In that way, you may create a certain kind of branding for yourself that people can relate you to.

However, always use these smoke bombs outdoors and stay away from flammable objects when you are using them since they can be dangerous. Also, make sure to avoid shooting on windy days as the smoke won’t last long enough for you to take a second shot.

4. Finding Nemo

If you have been randomly browsing through the videos of (young) strangers on TikTok through the #fyp tag, you would have realized that there is an increasing trend of people “looking” for people they have met at the train station, at the library, etc. and hating themselves for not making the first move when they had the chance to.

How about putting all these videos together, location-based, and make a page for people who are looking for that special someone?

Without even the need to create original content, you can just start sharing these videos and have a unique “lost & found” page that people will start turning to.

5. Minimalism

Less noise means more focus and attention on the main subject of a photo. This is the same for video.

Too many videos have many details in the background like nice scenery, messy room, etc. so that an already simple video will look less dull and more fun. Most are just lazy video taking at any location that is private enough to take a quick shot.

Consider taking a video with nothing in the background. Let the video be focused on the subject with only one color in the background like a green screen. It could be a unique trait of yours that will start to grow in your followers.

6. Social Distancing

The spread of COVID-19 has affected people’s lifestyles widely all over the world. It has affected the fashion world, business world, and even how photography evolves.

Many restrictions have been put in place and one of them is social distancing.

Looking at how a video is being created for TikTok, having a good distance and still being inside the frame is almost impossible.

You can still have someone else in your videos, but with the video split into half and one person in each half. It could be question and answer by talking to one another or exchanging sides while dancing. The downside of this is that you need to always have another person doing it with you.

Although there are many ways you can work on your videos with all those functionalities and filters TikTok has and is always improving on, your videos still have to say something about you. You have to enjoy doing it or it will come to a point where you will grow tired of shooting those videos day in day out and give up on it totally.

Try the different kinds of video directions and see what suits your style the most. If you are thinking of using Tik Tok for business, consider taking up a digital marketing course in Singapore that helps you learn from practitioner-trainers and be a competent digital marketer.