Do programmers need to be on TikTok? If you want to attract a new audience to grow your freelance business, become a social influencer, or increase Instagram or YouTube traffic, signing up for Tik Tok is worth it.
One of the big misconceptions about TikTok is that it’s a Generation Z app, meaning it is mostly used by people born from 1997 to 2012. The truth is there are over 800 million TikTok users to date, all from different age groups and professional backgrounds.
What Does This Mean for You?
There are countless programmers on TikTok that support each other's videos.
Many TikTokers promote their brand every day in fun and creative ways that help them to also get new YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers. TikTokers are able to bring more eyes to projects they are working on and services they offer.
Programmers can use TikTok as free promotion for their latest project, show off their current skill level with demonstrations of code, or even build a name for themselves as experts in their field by positioning their brand as one of absolute knowledge and expertise.
With all these great benefits, I’m sure you’re wondering why there aren’t more programmers rushing to the app to build up their careers. The reason for that is that, while they may be experts when it comes to code, they are absolute beginners when it comes to gaining traction on TikTok.
To be successful on TikTok, there are different strategies you can use. Through my research, I’ve found that involving your family can be one of the most beneficial practices that can help you rise to the top. Plus, Gen Zers feel happy when they see young people in a professional’s TikTok video. It is a good way to inspire a younger audience to follow your content on other apps.
If you love to spend time with family and want an excuse to spend more time with them, then this is a great way to incorporate them into your work life!
Let us take a look at how family can help you use TikTok to build your brand.
Show How You Work From Home With Family
With the current world situation, a lot of people are working from home. This has resulted in meetings happening over video chat services such as Zoom.
TikTok is being flooded with videos of Zoom calls where it’s either a parody or something has gone wrong. Sometimes, the thing that’s gone wrong is a child accidentally walking in during a meeting. Some creators are using trending voices of people on webinars (like Cardi B) to make sure their children are quiet before starting a meeting.
Most of us feel as if our heart is melting when we see children while in a Zoom meeting. So, it’s no surprise why these types of videos are gaining so much traction. Videos that include children allow our viewers to see us in a more personal light as opposed to the usual professional state we try our best to present when working.
It truly depends on your audience, but showing a personal side of you can help you win on social media.
These videos don’t always have to be accidental. You can show videos of you sharing your work or latest project with your kids or young nieces and nephews. Really, as long as they’re young, anyone in your family can do the trick.
The truth about creating a brand is people are motivated to follow or buy from people they understand and trust. The more you show yourself interacting with the children in your family, the more likely you are to build this trust with your viewers.
Not every video has to have children running around, however. Remember, this is still about building your brand and promoting your programming services. You can pick and choose how often you want to include your child, nephew, or grandchild, and remember to keep the focus on the product or service being sold.
Ask Your Spouse to Participate
I've seen funny videos of programmers showing what they do after work hours. Remember that TikTok has hourly and 24-hour trends that expire.
One example is a programmer that needs help because the code is broken. The spouse acted as the advanced programmer, answering that a symbol was missing to fix the code.
Pay attention to the Discovery page and do a trend by applying it to your skills while incorporating family into your videos. Show complex programming tutorials or skills, and use metaphors to help people fully understand what you are explaining in your videos.
Here are some helpful ideas you can start doing today:
- Cooking-style programming tutorial — Ask your spouse or partner to do a funny video that is personal but goes back to coding and debugging. For example, use food to describe something that is complex for Generation Z or beginner coders to understand.
- Date night — Show a 15-second “day in the life of a programmer” video. After you’re done working, get dressed and share your indoor date night with your loved one if you are under lockdown or a curfew.
- Metaphors — Use activities such as cooking or home repairs to explain how to maintain a database system as your significant other tries to follow along.
The more creative you are on TikTok, the more successful you will become. Make sure to have fun, show personality, and find inspiration by doing daily challenges.
Teaching Code to Gen Z
Now is the time to teach the youth of today how to become a programmer. If you ask a young family member to be part of a tutorial, it can increase your views and reach a younger crowd on TikTok.
For example, as you do quick tutorials to show people how to use Python to make graphical user interfaces, ask the younger members of your family to get involved. Show them as they try to learn the advanced material, or even have them explain it if they can. Even if they can’t, their confused expression is something most non-programmers could relate to, which will get the video more traction.
A good marketing or branding book can help you with creative ideas to communicate information in a way that connects with your audience. The best thing to do on TikTok is to know what to post, when to post, and how often to post.
If your goal is to build a brand for a lifetime, study the top athletes like Michael Jordan to find out what they do to stand out from the competition. You can become TikTok famous with temporary success or a brand that people want to follow and companies want to follow for a lifetime.
TikTok and Blended Families
If you have a blended family, use this as a topic to attract other coders or Generation Z users with a similar family dynamic. The truth about social media is the more you share your truth, people that think like you or admire you will follow. The concept here is to build an online community of people that see that you are proud to share your blended family with the world.
A current trend invading the platform involves young kids doing Fortnite dances and making challenge videos with them. You could ask your young family members to participate in a creative dance challenge that in some way explains necessary coding practices. How, you may ask? Well, that’s for you and them to discover together!
Vlog a Before-and-After Story Related to Your Career
Most people love rags-to-riches or before-and-after stories on social media.
People on TikTok want to see your personal life journey, awkward moments, or things that you appreciate about your family. Teenagers that follow older TikTokers also want to see their family situation represented by content creators they admire.
Here are some ideas you can start doing today:
- Share a video series of you and your family from where you moved from to your new city.
- Show what you thought your new job or business would be like and how it truly is today.
- Do a series of photos and videos to tell the full story and voice-record yourself as a narrator.
- Morph your videos by using the effects on TikTok to show how you looked before you started your career and how you look today.
- Share a series showing how much your startup or work desk has changed as your programming career evolved.
The intention of this is to show more about you and how the decisions you make are improving you in business or at work.
It will create a deeper connection with you and your online community. As a result, people will be more inclined to purchase products or follow your page.
Extra TikTok Tips
TikTok now has a learning feed with educational information from people in all industries. It is no longer an app for musicians and dancers to market their talent.
Besides focusing on what you post and who you include in your videos, you have an opportunity to consistently post between four and 10 times per day to stand out. Always remember to make each post specific to what you do best.
Here are a few other ways to stand out:
- Use humor to shed light on something in your industry.
- Use trending songs to make sure people watch your videos.
- Use hashtags in your posts so you can be found by other users.
- Convert to a Pro Account to see data about followers and trending posts.
You can add your YouTube and Instagram page to increase visits and followers to other apps. If you used these strategies, you could set yourself apart from the other programmers on TikTok.
Take Your Brand to a More Personal Level
TikTok is an effective platform to build your brand as a programmer. You can include personal moments of your life to connect with followers. If you are creative, educate, and entertain, you can create a page people will appreciate.
The idea is to catch people's attention by including family in your videos to connect with younger and older users. If you are an entrepreneur or want your project to get noticed, make sure to upload videos several times a day.