Guest Post from MSI Press Author, Joshua Shea: TikTok?

 


Have you ever found yourself learning a different way of doing something and then regretting all the inefficient time and effort you spent initially doing things the wrong way? I always feel like that when I'm trying to change a tire or work on a project around the house. How many hours have I lost in my life prior to buying an electric screwdriver?


Writing books is just one of the ways that I conduct my outreach to the pornography addiction and betrayal trauma communities. I also coach, but I have a fairly large presence on social media and have appeared on more podcasts talking about these subjects than anybody else in the last five years. I thought I had all of my bases covered. Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram were perfect for hitting the communities I most thought needed my message. Facebook is political opinion I don't want to get into, Snapchat appears like it's mainly to trade naked pictures and TikTok just seemed like my kids' friends acting their age and I do not understand youth culture.

Since the pandemic is evolving, the world of presentations and public speaking is returning and in the two years it's been shut down, I've been lucky enough to expand my platform, due in large part to MSI Press. An organization interested in representing me for speaking engagements has been offering advice on how to further expand my platform. They said it was absolutely necessary I get on TikTok. When they said that, I grimaced, sucked it up, and opened an account.

I don't say this often, but I was wrong. Very wrong.

I've been on TikTok for five weeks now. I'm not going to claim it's helping book sales, because I have no idea, but I can tell you that I've created a small group of videos that now has over 11 million combined views, reaching around 7 million people, mostly in the demographics of young adults who will be the next generation to change the world. In 14 months on Instagram, I cultivated 1600 followers. Two years on LinkedIn has meant 3500 followers. In five weeks on TikTok, 34,000 are actively following. Since I passed the 10K follower line quickly, I can now monetize my views. From what I've gathered, around 11 million is worth $300. It's not retirement money, but it's also my first month. When I hit 100K followers, there are additional income streams available.

I don't know if Tik Tok is right for you. It's been a lot of trial and error, talking to younger friends for advice and help, and still wondering why something succeeds or fails without full understanding. I'm getting referrals for information about my coaching like never before and in reading the comments on some of the videos, young people are having discussions about the health of pornography; many admitting they're talking about it for the very first time. I haven't felt like I've made this kind of a difference with my message before. The information certainly isn't as detailed as a blog post or 3-minute Instagram video, but if I we're looking for the downside of TikTok, I can't find it yet. Sure, there are Internet trolls, but they are everywhere now.

My best advice is to try it out. There are a few more bells and whistles than Instagram, but it's mostly the same. Look at your niche and figure out how it applies to the 15- to 30-year-old culture and modern society. These are your readers of not just now, but also the future. They are your potential future clients, patients or customers. For as much as older generations seem to enjoy complaining about younger ones, this is the best means by which to reach and deliver a message. My most popular video has over 7 million views. That's more than an average TV show gets for viewers these days. Sure, it's clout and attention to get on CNN or the Today Show, but if you're trying to reach an audience of young adults, you'll do better simply producing your own 20-second video, or at least I'm proving to myself I will.

The problems I'm trying to educate and inform about will be around long after I'm gone. That mantle will need to be picked up by the next generation. For the first time, I'm optimistic they will.

If you'd like to follow me on TikTok, or any other social media, my screen name is always @paddictrecovery  

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You can read more about Joshua's TikTok posts HERE.

You can read more MSI Press posts by and about Joshua Shea and his books HERE.





Available online in paperback, hard copy, and e-book, retail, and, in paperback for 25% discount (use code FF25) @ msipress.com/shop.






Available online in paperback and e-book, retail, and, in paperback for 25% discount (use code FF25) @ msipress.com/shop.






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