TikTok Newsletter 29
TikTok & TV. Super Bowl & Miley Cyrus. Embracing Emojis. Stitch Please
Hi subscriber,
this is Understanding TikTok your weekly infusion 💉 of TikTok related news. My name is Marcus.
Did you know that businesses that figure out how to leverage TikTok will have an advantage in building brand awareness, cultivating user trust, and efficiently acquiring customers? In case you were wondering i recommend you to read Li Jin’s take on best uses of TikTok for startups here.
This week we talk about:
☕ TikTok & TV
🏈 Super Bowl & Miley Cyrus
✨ Embracing Emojis
🧷 Stitch Please
☕ TikTok & TV
“In this study, we explore—for the first time—the presence of television channels and programmes on TikTok and an analysis of the main strategies shown in the 133 found profiles.” I read a new study that was published in Journalism and Media (ISSN 2673-5172) a peer-reviewed, open access journal for communication scholars.
The spanish scholars observe that “most general channels do not have a clear strategy to link their activity on TikTok with their television offer...in most cases, outstanding fragments of the programmes are broadcast without being integrated into the logic of TikTok.”
Young people are not hooked to the traditional model of television, they write and conclude: the strategies of TV channels and programmes on TikTok are still weak.
Vázquez-Herrero, Jorge, María-Cruz Negreira-Rey, and Ana-Isabel Rodríguez-Vázquez. 2021. Intersections between TikTok and TV: Channels and Programmes Thinking Outside the Box. Journalism and Media 2: 1–13.
It is interesting to compare these findings with the learnings from a recent Poynter initiative to bring local news to younger audiences. Quote: “In each [TikTok] video, we considered how to include the personality and humor that feels authentic to the platform while also providing tangible takeaways for viewers.”
🏈 Super Bowl LV + Miley Cyrus = TikTok
Miley Cyrus has been quiet on TikTok after a busy december. She will be back
on February 7 latest headlining a tailgate experience ahead of Super Bowl LV. The event will be broadcast live through a two-hour TikTok stream featuring exclusive video content. Marketing Dive has some insights: “Shifting pregame festivities to TikTok demonstrates how the organization is targeting younger users who have flocked to the video-sharing app.
In September 2019, the NFL inked a two-year content partnership with TikTok as part of its bid to reach younger audiences. It is a tie-up that's paid off during the pandemic, as social media becomes a more important way for people to stay connected and entertained. The NFL commands 5.7 million followers on TikTok, while Cyrus has 8.5 million.”
The Super Bowl / TikTok event will most likely pave the way for even more mainstream penetration of the app in the US. The days of a TikTok ban in the US seem over?!
✨ Embracing Emojis ✨
The comments section of TikTok is a special place. I wrote that two weeks ago (newsletter 27). A couple of days ago Jeremy Burge, Emojipedia's Chief Emoji Officer, published an insightful text including a “rundown of the 'emoji comment memes' (for want of a better phrase) that you'll find on TikTok today, and likely on a social media platform of your choice tomorrow.”
Why is this important. If you want to be successful on TikTok (or any other place) you should make sure to “speak the language”. Given the facts that “like words, emoji meanings can change over time, and in different communities here are some random emojis and meanings as of today:
✨ Sparkles as emphasis ✨Sparkles can be combined with SpOnGEbOb teXt for even more emphasis or use both 💀 Skull: figurative 'I'm dead' (I found this very funny, like 😂 but for a new generation) Attention: 🍒 Cherries: breasts 🥜 Peanuts:'to 'nut' (ejaculate) 🧠 Brain: to give 'head' (oral sex) And: There are a whole series of custom emoticons available on TikTok to expand your range. These are often seen as less cringey. Perhaps because they aren't seen as over-used due to their platform exclusivity.
🧷 Stitch Please
TikTok’s video editing feature Stitch was introduced in September 2020. It allows users to clip and integrate scenes from another user's video into their own. Like Duet, Stitch is a way to reinterpret and add to another user's content, building on their stories.
In the last week two videos have been shared widely making use of the Stitch feature. They demonstrate a way on how Stitch might work best right now: Ask a simple question that leaves enough room for interesting, individual answers. Sit back and wait. Here is more on Jess Marciante who talks about living rent free on your for you page. And here is a simple How to.
🔚 This is the end. If you want more. Why not check out TikTok’s new creator portal. Or read an interview with Nat and Elasia on How TikTok Room Gained 1 Million Followers in Six Months. Or read about Jordan getting the first TikTok house in the region. Here is Unbothered Kev for you. I found him on TKAAR. Ciao. 🍋
