What is TikTok, how does it actually work, and how can you get the best out of the content you make for the platform? The newest, most unique break-out social video platform has huge potential, but to many it's still uncharted territory.

Seen by many as a spiritual successor to the long-lost, much-lamented Vine, the short-form video platform is rapidly transcending its lip-synching, homemade music video origins to become a unique part of the creative landscape. As such, it’s becoming a fertile ground for branded content solutions. But at the same time, its rapid explosion onto a scene traditionally dominated by YouTube and Twitch has left many flailing to catch up and understand how TikTok really works and how best to use it, particularly when it comes to working with TikTok influencers.

At Fourth Floor Creative, we’re thoroughly dedicated to really understanding the systems and inner workings of every platform we design content for. That’s what makes our campaign planning such a well-optimised combination of creativity and data-driven insight. So we’ve been digging in to TikTok rather a lot lately, working to get to the bottom of how it serves content, and the kind of formats and treatments that are most rewarded by the algorithm. And to save you the time in doing that, we’ve broken it all down in video, in under two minutes. Enjoy.