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6 TikTok Accounts: 6 TikTok Tactics

Jacob Cardwell
Jacob Cardwell

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What do Sylvanian Families, hot juicers, angry owls and global geopolitics all have in common? They are all totally viable and successful TikTok tactics that we can learn a whole lot from (duh!).

Here is a quick listicle of 6 TikTok accounts that are killing the game:

Tactic #1: Self Deprecate, the Internet will hate you anyway.

As we move towards a social media landscape governed by Gen Z, careful brand curation is thrown out the window in favour of creative chaos. A key pillar of this chaos is the ability to enact some form of brand self-deprecation and awareness. Yes, it’s scary – but the payoff can be more than worth it: see Ryanair.

With 1.6 million followers, Ryanair is not afraid to play with the public’s general conception of the brand and its services. From TikToks about the lack of TV screens on seats to lofi content poking fun at their garish blue and yellow colour scheme; Ryanair has cracked the code when achieving just the right balance between self-deprecation and showing off.

TikTok has repeatedly pushed the rhetoric of making TikTok’s and not adverts, and so many ‘average user’s’ TikTok profiles spend a majority of their space utilising a consistent undertone of making fun of themselves. Re-telling date horror stories, reenacting school-time embarrassments and even pointing out their visual flaws in a comedic manner – these are all common forms for content found on the app. This should be no different for brands – turn your ‘weak points’ or common complaints into jokes to develop a humanised voice that increases relatability, and ultimately engagement. But a word of warning – do be careful as the Internet can be a very harsh place as Im sure you all already know. But seriously, people are mean.

Tactic #2: If you’ve got it, Flaunt It.

Look, we are just going to say it – there’s a lot of hot people out there. Whatever your type, it’s a universal experience to be scrolling and then suddenly stop in your tracks when a drop-dead gorgeous content creator appears on your feed (don’t try to deny it). In the world of social, we always talk about thumb-stopping visuals, and sometimes you have that right under your very own roof.

A brand that understands this better than anyone is Joe and the Juice, who utilise their ‘juicers’ in a very clever way. Don’t be afraid to make your TikTok a tiny bit of a thirst trap – it’s what the app is for.

They have a recurring ‘cast’ of employees who bring in the numbers from their sheer charisma 😉. Showing off the team also put humans front and centre of the account – which is great as users enjoy knowing that your branded content is made by humans and not corporate monsters. It’s a chance to humanise your brand and make people feel extreme FOMO.

Tactic #3: Chaos is a Ladder

If social media proves anything, it is that sense is out the window in favour of the fantastic and strange. Chaos is so hot right now. It’s worth noting that this isn’t just the case on TikTok – from those weird Gen Z memes to the short 3 second videos on ‘stan twitter’, nothing makes sense anymore and that’s okay. Embrace the chaos.

It’s fairly obvious who we are going to use as an example here: the famous Duolingo. Found at the top of every ‘best TikTok’s’ list last year and universally enamoured due to its wacky output, Duolingo shows how embracing the fast-paced and non-sensical nature of social media has the potential to skyrocket brands into TikTok stardom.

We are not sure there is much point in dissecting these TikToks, they kind of speak for themselves:

#Tactic #4: Find the micro-trends, make them your own.

Remember Sylvanian families? Those cute mice, and other rodents, in frilly dresses and victorian dollhouses? Well, TikTok did its usual magic and created a micro-trend around the toys having all kinds of Kardashian-esque drama. It was strange, to say the least.

Not many brands jumped onto this trend – because it was niche, short and snappy and ultimately – very very strange. However, it can be rewarding to hop onto these niche smaller trends. Companies like Duolingo and Ryanair are often very quick (and successful) to utilise globally trending sounds/topics. So searching for smaller microtrends can be a very useful tactic.

Being part of a smaller number of brands that utilise smaller user driven trends for themselves will sometimes increase your engagement a bit more than being the 10,000 brands to post a ‘things that just make sense’ TikTok – although there are pros and cons to both. In fact, the best bet is to try a bit of both. This is something British streetwear brand Lazy Oaf do well – for example utilising the Sylvanian Families trend to mirror work party drama (produced by the user who started the trend):

Tactic #5: Teach something new!

Yes, our Mums always used to say if we spent too long staring at the screen our eyes would turn square and our brains would rot. And sure, staring at TikTok for hours can lead you into some sort of weird dissociative state, but there is also more to TikTok than watching dolls beef or someone prancing around in a giant bird costume.

People (and brands) often forget that social media is the perfect platform for knowledge sharing – and this can hook people in on a timeline saturated to the brim with memes and trend-driven content.

Sometimes it is worth taking a step back and thinking about what specialist knowledge you have to offer such a space. For example, it’s worth taking inspiration from The Washington Post’s TikTok which very cleverly breaks down complex things such as geopolitical conflict or the findings of the coveted Sue Gray report.

Whilst we are not advocating for your brand’s TikTok to become a space to talk about topics such as these, the style of content produced could easily be remixed and fit snugly into your brand’s expertise – whether that be cars, chocolate or cereal. Everyone has some sort of knowledge to share that the TikTok userbase will find interesting.

Tactic #6: All of the above.

You have caught us – we have saved the best TikTok account until last so you read the whole blog post. We are serious about TikTok, and with our team of in house experts, we make sure we practice what we preach (no hypocrites here).

By utilising our amazing (and charismatic 😉) team, advocating for creative chaos and teaching easy/accessible TikTok tricks – Spin’s TikTok account truly is our magnum opus. Don’t be afraid – go have a look.

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Eligible creators will be able to search for relevant Ticketmaster events through the “add link” function before posting a video. They will then have the option to “add to video” which will display the Ticketmaster link to the event towards the bottom of the video once posted. Users will then be able to click on the link and, in a similar fashion to the Tiktok shop, will be taken to the Ticketmaster website in-app to continue browsing.

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Instagram in The Age of Video

Things are changing… again (and again, and again).

Instagram has, rather ironically, faced widespread backlash from a static asset created by photographer @illumitati and shared by thousands, including the queen of lip kits (and chickens) Kylie Jenner. We all know the famous phrase ‘a picture can say 1000 words, but here we are seeing the defiant power of a picture when put in the hands of everyday users

Here’s a quick Spin-centric rundown of why this happened, what happened next and what this means for brands.

Why Now?

It’s simple really:

When we think of TikTok we think of short video clips.

When we think of YouTube we think of lengthy videos.

When we think of Twitter we think of sassy snippets.

When we think of Facebook we think of our mums.

And, when we think of Instagram we think of a feed of static images.

Not so fast! Early this year, Instagram began testing a brand new version of its app’s home feed that featured full-screen photographs and videos, similar to TikTok, and the response was very very loud. Users said the feed was cluttered, ugly and pushing for the primacy of video far too hard. This was no accident; this feed re-jig came hand in hand with other recent changes which include an increasingly algorithmic main feed, a push for TikTok-style “reels” videos, and the increasing presence of a remix function.

These changes have led to everyday users struggling to interact with their friends and family’s posts which get sucked down the bottom of the algorithm in favour of ads and (poorly) recommended posts, hand-curated by the algorithm.

Soon, the post by @illumitati began to spread like wildfire, with a whole app seemingly uniting behind a shared hatred for the new update. The post, overall, gained 2.2 million likes and 43k comments. And, eventually, the spreading of this post led to collective action – with a petition being signed over 300k times.

What may seem like a funny or playful post, could be disastrous for Instagram. Let’s not forget that when Kylie Jenner last talked smack about a social media app, the tweet reduced its market price by $1.3 BILLION (🪦 RIP Snapchat).

What’s Going on Now?

Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO (aka the cause of many SMMs’ stress and anxiety), quickly responded to the widespread criticism with a video (lol) carefully doubling down on the controversial changes. He told his audience that Instagram would “continue to promote photographs,” but made sure to reiterate that: “over time, more and more of Instagram will become video.”

The reaction to this? Similar to this brilliant slack from a client:

What does this mean for brands?

It may seem like a lose-lose scenario, but fear not, here are some quick tips on how to ride this wave for social success:

Push for authenticity 🔥

Audiences are sick of their feeds appearing manufactured, ad-centric and controlled by the algorithm. Now, more than ever, producing authentic and engaging content is key. Show a little humanness with friendly faces or relatability. Gone are the days of a polished Instagram (whether that be in video or static format), so act like the best friend and not like the big brand.

Use (real) reel content 📹

Look, video isn’t going anywhere. So, it’s a perfect time to experiment with reel content and see what sticks. The likelihood is your reach will Skyrocket. Again, just keep it as authentic as possible.

Keep in mind what people want 🪧

Maybe it’s wouldn’t be a bad idea to play around with statics and see if you can hit the sweet spot of engagement: people are hungry for the return of pictures. Yes, your reach might drop, due to the ever-changing algorithm, but your audience will appreciate a feed made up of a variety of content. Don’t be a one-trick pony: have a content plan based on statics, Carousels, Reels AND Stories.

Virality is still a thing 🦠

It’s kind of crude, but the mass spreading of this post shows us that ‘things’ can still go viral. Don’t give up hope! Here is our go-to guide for all things viral.

Play it by ear 👂

Things are changing every day. New trends rise, and old social media sites fall. Algorithms change, but sometimes the users do not. A great social media presence requires A LOT of social listening, reading and knowledge. Keep up to date on everything social.

Or, what if we told you that there is a dream team of social media experts waiting to help you out with this confusing digital landscape? Experts in the algorithm AND the everyday user. We are here to help. Spin is an award-winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists.

For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

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