What’s the news?

TikTok has sifted through gazillions of hashtags, videos and comments to come up with some clever, cultural insights for brands and marketers. Published as a series of regional-specific reports What’s Next: Insight into culture drivers on TikTok looks at the cultural trends defining food, fashion, travel and tech.

Each report is roughly 35-pages with case studies, tips, and advice for those looking to cash in on the platform. Sadly, there’s no word yet as to whether these tomes will be turned into snappy 90 second videos.

Who’s behind it?

TikTok For Business, the monetisation team behind everyone’s favourite purveyor of beauty tips, cat videos and viral dances.

What are the key trends on TikTok?

Commerce is now at the heart of TikTok. In 2022 TikTok is rapidly moving from a social media site to an ecommerce platform, with trends like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt racking up over 7 billion views last year. 67% of users say that TikTok videos have inspired them to shop even when they “weren’t planning to do so”, highlighting the power of the platform to drive impulse purchases.

…But entertainment is still king. Despite the move towards ecommerce, TikTok is quick to emphasise that brands must focus on turning videos into ‘shoppable entertainment’. According to the data, three quarters (75%) of TikTok users want to be entertained, meaning content has to be “joyful” and “fun”. If it’s not, forget it.

TikTok is a community-driven platform. Users feel a deeper connection with brands on TikTok than on similar social media platforms, partially because so many (70%) feel like they’re part of a real, meaningful community. This is particularly true in the tech industry, with TikTok’s report highlighting that, as trust in tech brands declines, people are turning to more authentic creators to provide recommendations.

What should marketers take away from this?

There’s no denying that TikTok’s Culture Drivers reports have a clear sales message at their heart. TikTok wants marketers to adopt its new range of audience targeting tools — some of which are genuinely quite useful. In particular, the Creator Marketplace is a great way to find and meet new influencer talent.

TikTok’s self-promotion aside, the Culture Drivers report does a great job of emphasising what TikTok is most useful for — accessing a community of highly engaged, creative and influential people across a huge range of different consumer niches.

From Roblox gamers to sustainable stylists, right through to anime #weebs (currently the platform’s most popular creators), TikTok is keen to promote the fact that it has something for everyone… and their all open to brands and open for business.

Where do I go next?

You can check out TikTok’s full library of What’s Next reports here.

Or, to find out how your tech brand can start a recruitment strategy with TikTok, check out our latest blog from Wildfire’s Hadley Menk.