Hey readers! Here’s our hot take: following trends isn’t enough. You need to be aware of trends, obviously, but you have to do more than use trends to succeed on TikTok. You need to make trends. Good content creation means creativity. Copying pre-existing trends isn’t making something new and isn’t going to last much longer than the original trend. Nine times out of ten it’s also painfully inorganic. In this social media ecosystem trends go by quickly. You need to give your audience a reason to keep coming back to your content.
🎵 Top Sounds 🎵
Our curated picks of the top sounds on TikTok
Maybe I’ll… 🤭
Use this sound on a photo slide post. The first slide is what you resolve to do and the next slide is what you’ll actually do.You can use this sound to be earnest about what you shouldn’t feel shame for trying at or you could put your follow count on blast in the hopes of gaining some new followers.
Do You Ever Wish You Were Not Famous? 💁♀️
It’s hard to be iconic but that doesn’t mean you just stop.
Is it 2003? I mean this song is trending, low-rise jeans are in, and everyone is cracking jokes about going to war so it’s hard to say.
That Was The Devil 🫡
This sound is especially popular among pet owners but works great for anyone who has experienced betrayal due to a switch-up in attitude.So much potential here. I see this going well with silly content (ranting to your dog) and more serious/dramatic videos with block text over.
🔉Sound Highlight 🔉
Some Of You Don’t Belong In The Category…
Mood: 😏
I do love some well-timed shade. This sound is for exactly that.
🌟Trend Highlight 🌟
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These aren’t trending filters or effects but they’re definitely part of the same trend on the platform. I’m seeing more and more original comedy songs on TikTok. For an app that started out driven by music, it makes perfect sense.
💫 Post Highlight 💫
Betches are pretty good on TikTok but there’s something so fun about this video in particular. 16.3 million views and 2.2 million likes say TikTok agrees. Never underestimate the power of a character and a bit of charisma on social media!
☕ The Zeitgeist ☕
Hot topics and discourse from across the internet
Goodbye to every UMG song on TikTok! This doesn't bode well for the relationship between TikTok and the music industry writ large, despite their previous interdependency. Get ready for the new trending sounds, I guess.
British influencer, Ayamé, made a podcast about hating LA and is being eaten UP on TikTok for it. If there’s one thing I have learned in this life it’s that you don’t ever EVER come for New York or LA as a visitor or transplant.
Twitter is talking about the phrase “abortion on demand” and reproductive rights. The phrase is, in fact, a slogan from the abortion rights movement of the 70’s used alongside the slogan “no forced sterilization.” If you know anything about the history of Black, Indigenous, and Latine people you know why that latter phrase is especially key.
Taylor Swift haters have been having quite the week as the star has received criticism for her private jet use, her interaction with boygenius, and her upcoming album title.
🥡 The Takeaway 🥡
What marketers are taking away from trends
Is unhinged marketing all that?
Many social media managers and digital marketers have sat down with clients aiming to mimic brands (*cough* Duolingo *cough*) making ‘unhinged’ content. But maybe we don’t all need to replicate the Grimace Shake or devise giant bird mascots that get BBLs.
We’ve talked about ‘unhinged’ marketing and using mascots on social media before in this newsletter, but I came across a great bit of dialogue from two social media marketers that got me thinking about the topic again.
It’s an interesting discussion because I think unhinged marketing has the potential to be truly successful… if your goal is virality. Viral marketing is its own beast, and often means taking on a significant amount of risk for a brand. It’s incredibly easy to be cringe or, worse, offensive. As it is, far too many brands think co-opting AAVE and Black cultural references is the same thing as absurd humor. The risk of this kind of marketing strategy might not be worth it for your brand. Besides, should virality even be the goal?
A high number of likes or comments doesn’t necessarily mean significant conversions. Plus, who wants unhinged content from every brand? I already find the Charmin bears uncouth. Do you think people want that from their 401K provider?
Duolingo is successfully unhinged. That’s not to say the account doesn’t get into controversy, but at the end of the day, Duolingo is just trying to get a young audience to use their (free) language app. Their competitor Babbel, in contrast, invests pretty heavily in podcast advertisements and focuses on persuasion. Their ad copy is essentially “Hey, grown adult listening to a Slate podcast, do you want a serious language-learning platform? We have that. Also, pay us.”
I think marketing is best when we’re doing more than following trends. In its ideal form, it is storytelling. A good ad conveys a message, with a clear throughline between the campaign design and the ultimate goal. Yes, there’s name recognition, but what do you want to be recognized as?
So before you ask your marketer to order that felt costume, think a little bit more about what you want to say about yourselves.