Here’s how Hartun Weiss, TikTok’s Global Head of Agencies and Accounts, described the world’s most downloaded app at The Gathering, an annual business and marketing summit that takes place in Banff, Canada.
What is the difference?
People don’t “check”Tiktok. They are watching it. And, as Weiss says, “that little twist in behavior is everything.”
So what does this mean for marketers?
In this post, we will share the key takeaways from Weiss’ performance on stage. But that’s not all!
Weiss shared more details in one of The Gathering’s intimate “inner sanctums”. And we have a scoop for you below.
Accept the transition from Me to We
TikTok is not a platform for YOLO, FOMO and selfies. Instead, it is familial and inclusive.
You peek into someone else’s living room. And they see in yours.
It’s a collaborative space that encourages optimism. “Micro-communities”crystallize around hashtags like #crafttok, #planttok and #DIYtok.
Experts in these communities share “complex information kept to a minimum”. This, in turn, creates even more experts and more knowledge to share.
@housetohomediy #learnontiktok #diytiktok #diytok #painterstape #oddlysatisfying #painting
As a brand, this means you need to focus on providing entertainment or education.
Find your place in these existing communities and make your own unique contribution. Turn your assets into multiple TikTok and find out what works for your brand.
And leave comments on your content open – the community will tell you what they think. Use their insights to guide your current TikTok strategy.
Be real, not retouched
Do you know who is not very popular on TIkTok? Kardashian. “We keep things real on TikTok,” Weiss said. “They are not accepted at Jessie’s scale.”
So who is Jessie? Vancouver singer who went from this:
@jessiamusic TikTok is too beautiful 😂 #Welcome2021 #RareAesthetic #belly #🍑 #pretty #fun #fyp #neverseentwoprettybestfriends #wtf #bop #trash #newyear #new
To that:
@jessiamusic Tour with @OneRepublic was a dream 💙 #nexttime #onerepublic #tour #pov #tour #tourlife #fyp
After her song became a body positivity anthem that spawned countless duets on TikTok.
TikTok is about “the next generation language and new behavior of digital media”.
“It’s hard if you want it to be good, but the community has no problem accepting what you want to post,”Weiss said.
And that community recognition is critical. The TikTok algorithm focuses on the content graph, not the social graph. This means that what you see in your feed is what the community brings to the surface, not who you follow.
On this front , #smallbusinesstiktok is leading the way. How? You guessed it: by telling real behind-the-scenes and product-building stories.
“Small businesses have taken their creativity and turned it into content, and now it’s automatically commerce,”Weiss said.
@frolic_creations Guess what scent they will be? 😋 #smallbusiness #ZFlipClackdown #halloween #spooktember #spookyseason #slimemonster #cute #newproductalert #cutesoaps #foryou #froliccreations
Real, authentic stories create that visibility on the content graph. And the best people to tell those authentic stories about your brand may not (yet) work for or with you.
Understand the power of creators
“We redefined what celebrity means,” Weiss said. “And we are driving the transition from an attention economy to a creator economy.”
Key example? Like Jessia, 7 out of 10 2022 Grammy nominees in the Best New Artist category got at least some of their momentum from TikTok.
Creators fuel discovery. And discovery creates demand.
“We consume things and become a product because it represents the communities and people we want to emulate,” Weiss said.
For marketers, this means empowering and learning from creators who understand the platform.
@andrea.animates #ad made a new level on @candycrushsaga 🍬
“Forget everything you’ve learned,”Weiss said in her inner sanctuary. “This is not what the next generation says. Agencies have always consulted with you – why don’t you let the creators? Creators will help you discover your brand and think about ways to connect with your audience.”
View the opening as the bottom of the funnel (or #tiktokmademebuyit)
“When every touch point becomes a buying opportunity, every strategy becomes a commercial strategy,” Weiss said. “This is a brave new world where media and entertainment have found their way to content, creators and commerce.”
Instead of social commerce, TikTok prefers to think of it as “community commerce.”
“Thousands of creators are jumping in and they are ensuring product effectiveness and product protection,” Weiss said.
Look at the case of 54-year-old Trinidad Sandoval:
She created a nearly 3 minute TikTok showing her eye cream in action. Trinidad thought only her 70 followers would see it. Nope.
It went viral and resulted in a 10-year-old product being sold out pretty much everywhere within a week.
@trinidad1967
It wasn’t a paid partnership – it was brand loyalty and advocacy in action.
One important lesson for brands follows from all this: TikTok is not like other platforms, and it is impossible to cheat your way to success.
Above all: be authentic and put the community first. Create a great product. Build that loyalty. And the community will help discover your brand.