Nearly 500k Followers & $100k Generated from TikTok in 6 months with Alisha Cohen of LISH Creative
Episode 551: Show Notes
Today on the podcast, we are joined by Alisha Cohen, Founder and Creative Director of LISH Creative. For the last five years, the company has produced photo and video content for some of the world’s largest brands, including Dunkin’, Nickelodeon, Burt’s Bees, Nestlé, Microsoft, and Cannon, among others. In 2020, Alisha launched her signature photography course, Slay the Flatlay, and currently shares photo tips and tricks with her Instagram and her TikTok audience, which has grown to nearly 500,000 followers!
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That is what we are talking about today; we are making this episode all about TikTok! It’s one of those totally mysterious social media platforms to us, and we love to hear the perspectives of other creatives. In today’s episode, Alisha shares so many amazing tips on how she thinks about TikTok, what made her sign up, even though she was a year “late” to the fad, how she has made it work for her business and, most importantly, how much money it has made her in this year alone.
If you have ever considered using TikTok or Instagram Reels in your marketing strategy, this is the episode for you! Tuning in, you’ll learn some actionable and tangible ways that you can start thinking about these platforms and how to use them in order to actually make money, so make sure not to miss this informative and practical guide to help you make TikTok work for your business!
Leaning into the Growth Potential TikTok Offers
You might be avoiding TikTok for a number of reasons. Maybe you feel like it is only for fashion-forward Gen Z’s or that you’re too late to the trend. Well, Alisha felt exactly the same way, and she now has nearly half a million followers! When she got started, she only had limited success, racking up maybe 10 views per video if she was lucky. Then, she discovered the TikTok Creator Fund, an initiative that promised to pay eligible TikTokers for their videos, which was the spark that inspired her to dedicate more time to this mysterious platform. She committed herself to creating one or two videos a day for six weeks and, although it was a lot of work and required a consistent process of trial and error, it was totally worth it! Alisha’s first almost-viral video garnered 700,000 views and earned her 100,000 followers and her now viral pancake styling video has received six million views to date. It is for this reason that TikTok can be a valuable tool for your business, offering growth potential unlike any other social media platform.
Creating Viral Content While Still Running Your Business
Batching, outsourcing certain aspects of her videos, and keeping a running list of ideas on Asana has been key to Alisha’s success as a viral TikToker and a busy business owner. She also highlights the effectiveness of voiceovers in her videos, which is why she dedicates a chunk of time to writing scripts once a week. She recommends writing the script first and then breaking it down into a shot list, matching the voiceover with an appropriate shot, line-by-line. That way, you can shoot all the clips at once and edit them all at the same time too! By streamlining your content creation, it leaves you with more time to devote to the day-to-day operations of your business, which is the reason you’re doing all of this in the first place!
Mastering the Mysterious TikTok Algorithm
Watching Alisha’s videos, you’ll notice that she often repurposes clips. This serves a dual function, maximizing her efficiency while also creating a consistent message that contributes toward building her visual brand. Thanks to the TikTok algorithm, which prioritizes growth and discovering new content over content from the accounts you interact with the most, being recognizable is crucial. It is important to understand that most of the people watching your videos on TikTok have never followed you before. Alisha suggests introducing yourself at the beginning of every video, just a quick one-liner to let your audience know who you are, and including a call to action at the end. These two simple steps can help you convert viewers from the For You Page into followers.
If you want to go viral for something that is true to you and your brand, and not some random trend, Alisha also advises sticking to your niche, keeping your captions short and sweet, and picking trending hashtags that are relevant to your content, rather than throwing them all in there and hoping one will stick!
Repurposing Your Content Across Multiple Marketing Platforms
Let’s say Alisha creates a TikTok video titled ‘How to Create a Photo Studio in Any Room’. By adding the requisite SEO fluff and links to any products mentioned in the video, that also becomes the basis for her copywriter to create a blog post on the same topic. Her Pinterest manager then creates Pinterest pins using the same material, which means that they also have everything they need to make an Instagram post, plus a Reel, and so on and so forth. There’s no shame in milking a piece of content for everything it is worth! In fact, it is a smart business strategy for making the most out of every potentially viral idea you have. Follow Alisha’s example of a sustainable content creation strategy by using TikTok as the platform where any concept starts and drives content down the line.
Whether or Not TikTok is Right for Your Business
Perhaps you are wondering whether or not TikTok is right for your business. Well, Alisha believes that any time you are educating people, it doesn’t matter what your content looks like; you will have an audience to educate. Even though it might seem intimidating, she also believes that having a presence on TikTok is an achievable task for any business. For anyone just starting out, simple is best. You don’t need an expensive camera or fancy equipment! You can record on your phone and use free editing apps to create punchy, 10 to 20-second-long videos. Look at the content you produce elsewhere and think about how it can be translated into a TikTok video. Or think about a project you are working on. Is there a piece of that project you can make into a TikTok? It’s about finding those moments in your current workflow that make it easy and sustainable to incorporate TikTok into your marketing strategy.
The Viral Video Must-Haves Checklist
Millions of views and boosted follower numbers may not translate exactly into dollars, but they can introduce you and your brand to people who may not have found you otherwise. Better brand visibility means more chances to connect with and sell to your target audience. All you need is a little guidance on making high-performing content. Luckily, Alisha has created an essential and practical guide for creating attention-grabbing viral videos! The hook is the first thing on the viral video must-haves checklist, something that will draw viewers in. Next is keeping it 10 to 20 seconds in length, having a voiceover, creating on screen text, and giving people an incentive to keep watching, as well as choosing a topic within your niche. Don’t be afraid to use trending songs and make sure that your videos are well-lit too. For bonus points, include an element of surprise or controversy and, for many more tangible tips, download Alisha’s free guide to creating viral videos on her website!
Quote This
You want to go viral for something that is true to you, not some random trend.
—Alisha Cohen
Highlights
Leaning into the Growth Potential TikTok Offers. [0:04:23]
Creating Viral Content While Still Running Your Business. [0:08:15]
Mastering the Mysterious TikTok Algorithm. [0:11:32]
Repurposing Your Content Across Multiple Marketing Platforms. [0:19:13]
Whether or Not TikTok is Right for Your Business. [0:26:47]
The Viral Video Must-Haves Checklist. [0:35:50]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:42:17]
Write your voiceovers.
Be consistent.
Keep it short and sweet.
Aim to create three to five videos per week.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Alisha Cohen
LISH Creative
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Before starting LISH Creative, Alisha Cohen studied marketing at Virginia Tech and became a creative strategist for global brands in the advertising industry. On nights and weekends, she would work as a freelancer and used Instagram as a way to showcase her clean and colorful aesthetic. She launched LISH Creative in 2016 and, in the years since, she has helped to produce content for some of the world’s most distinguished brands. Alisha is also a photography educator and the creator of the ‘Slay the Flatlay’ online course, as well as a social media content creator and influencer for a community of vibrant, millennial women, with over 60,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 on TikTok.
KEY TOPICS
Social Media Marketing, Content Creation, TikTok, Reels, Growth Potential, Conversions
