PR AGENCY DIARIES: IS TIKTOK A TIME BOMB?
TikTok is undeniably defining our world’s zeitgeist. The platform has changed social discourse, turned songs into number one hits and given every Tom, Dick and Fatu their 15 minutes of fame. It’s even spawned a new term, “TikTokization.”
Like Miranda Priestley’s iconic rundown on the cerulean sweater suggests, TikTok is so ingrained in society that we don’t even know we’ve been influenced. Even for those who staunchly maintain they are untouched by TikTok’s omnipotence - the 58 billion views behind the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt would suggest otherwise.
In other words, your blue sweater was selected for you by the trends of TikTok.
Selling out milk frothers, caviar, celebrity makeup lines and squatty potties, it’s TikTok’s world and we’re just living in it.
However, the eruption of ethical debates surrounding the app beg the question: are TikTok's days numbered? With allegations of threats to user data privacy and bills rolling out to ban the app in the United States, the controversy surrounding TikTok is reaching a tipping point.
As PR professionals, we’ve been closely monitoring the situation (and our own For You Pages/FYPs) to explore the flow-on effect of this TikToking time bomb.
In order to understand the risks of TikTok, let’s unpack a few of the ways TikTok has revolutionised our social media landscape.
1) TikTok birthed niche interests
The app’s personalised algorithm and UGC feed fosters creativity and originality to engineer brain-candy for each and every user. This hyper-personal algorithm has allowed a stage for micro-communities such as BookTok, TheatreKid and GoblinCore. From TV show conspiracy theories to guilty pleasure pimple-popping, niche interests have infiltrated into mainstream conversation with the app claiming it’s cool to be niche.
2) TikTok redefined fame
By its very nature, TikTok spreads stories like wildfire. The platform has taken word-of-mouth to an unprecedented level of reach and speed. Overnight fame is attainable for any user who strikes global popularity with a single video, à la Alix Earle, or Sofia Ritchie's incredible rebrand from nepo baby to stealth wealth icon. TikTokers are invited to the Met Gala and are the face of major brands, reshaping the concept of influence and celebrities.
3) TikTok disrupted social media marketing
Unlike other platforms, in-app lingo, lightning speed memes and strangers dominate the FYPs. TikTok has flipped brands’ marketing strategies on their heads. Feeds centre around organic UGC and viral trends and engagement thrives on early adoption and in-jokes. Long-term content calendars and laying out the Insta-feed are goners in favour of in-the-moment engagement. The TikTok golden tickets are those first-in and best-dressed to trends. Brands are forced to understand what customers consume on the app to compete for prime FYP real estate. And being late to the party is not it (cc anyone who doctored Kourtney Kardashian’s pregnancy announcement).
So what’s the problem you ask?
A lot. In a nutshell, concerns have been raised that the app could compromise data security and privacy, and fears of a biased algorithm pushing propaganda from the Chinese government…. oh boy.
The algorithm is already under scrutiny for its ability to create an echo chamber where micro-communities regurgitate similar opinions, potentially distorting users perception of collective thoughts on social, political, and cultural issues.
Like most of the world, New Zealand parliament employees are already banned from using the app. But a nationwide ban would strike up some radical change.
The United States are currently contemplating a ban to this scale with Montana already signed, sealed and delivered. The app’s future is looking dangerously hazy.
What would a TikTok dominated world look like without TikTok?
For some fans, the questions are endless. Where would we go to debrief on Love Island? How would we watch celebrity feuds unfold? How could we possibly buy any product without the validation of it being a TikTok trend available on an Amazon storefront?
TikTok’s imprint on Gen Z and alpha has cemented in more ways than the app itself. It's highly likely the app will serve as a blueprint for the future of social media. Twitter’s recent update allowing paying subscribers to upload two-hour videos is undoubtedly an attempt to emulate success (although it’s giving 2023’s version of LimeWire with the number one use so far being pirated movies).
We can’t claim psychic abilities, but we do have a few predictions of how the unthinkable may roll out…
Undertow’s predictions on a TikTok collapse era
· Goldfish snackable video content will remain the core of social media. Apps left, right and centre will come knocking dressed as TikTok 2.0 with competitors scrambling to cut a piece of the cake
· No doubt Meta will TikTok-ify Instagram Reels yet again to snatch up the lost & deprived Gen Z. Likely resulting in a breakdown of the Insta aesthetic and uplift in usage of the Explore page
· BeReal will attempt to fill the void by allowing users to upload video content
· Adopting the wandering TikTokers, YouTube and Twitch will revise their platforms for creators to regurgitate their TikTok styled content. Resulting in shorter videos and streams
· Spotify has an opportunity to jump on TikTok’s influence on the music industry and may integrate an interactive element to the app that can dictate viral songs
· TikTok will work out a way to bypass filtering sales off-site, and clip the ticket along the way
While the fate of TikTok is up in the air, one thing is clear: you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.
A brand or influencer’s omnichannel presence will be the difference between those that survive the social media Hunger Games and those that do not. Holding visibility across multiple platforms will allow followers to stay connected to you during any downfalls. And no, this doesn’t mean posting your IG Stories on TikTok or your Twitch streams on Pinterest.
Planning platform specific strategies that best meet the algorithm and content consumed will be your best bet.
Want to understand more about your social strategy? Have a chat with us.
