There comes a point where the stats become so compelling the argument for using a channel is easier than against.
That’s certainly the case for TikTok in the UK which has broken out from being a hot platform for young people to a hot platform for more demographics.
Ofcom data show that 23.3 million people in the UK are using the platform.
But for me, it’s the demographics that are most interesting.
For under 24s, 75 per cent are using TikTok in the UK. That’s a huge chunk of people.
For 25 to 34-year-olds, there’s a majority of people using it.
The buy-in falls to just over a third for 35 to 44-year-olds and a quarter of 45 to 54-year-olds.
It’s only when over 55s come into the equation that the user numbers fall.
TikTok is a channel that has become a real contender to reach people but it’s a channel that’s unique.
The advice ‘Don’t make a video, make a TikTok is good.’ You need to make something for the channel rather than shoehorning stuff to tick a box.
You can find out more about the ESSENTIAL TIKTOK & REELS workshop and sign-up here.
TikTok is surging in importance as a comms channel and a new study shows journalism as an unlikely hothouse for developing how to use it.
According to the UK Press Gazette data news brands have been experimenting with the platform and the clear trailblazer? The BBC.
It may feel counter-intuitive but it’s entirely in keeping with the corporation’s pioneering use of new technology.
The BBC leads the field in the survey with a 2,000 per cent increase in follower numbers in the eight months to January 2023.
Interestingly, the top 10 leading news TikTok embracers include a mix of traditional broadcasters and new media – such as LadBible, Huffpost, CNN and ITV News.
There’s no representation for UK local media companies such as Reach or LocalWorld in the top 30 list. Combined, such companies pack a fierce punch on Facebook and with their websites. A lack of resource, a focus on e-mail newsletters and the scattered nature of their audience may explain their position.
But, still.
What can public sector comms people learn from this list?
A fair amount.
What you can learn from the BBC on TikTok
National content is vertical as well as landscape
Firstly, people looking to pitch to national media now have the additional route of vertical video. With the BBC’s main account @bbc they have 3.8 million followers and 2,170 videos. Their main focus is to refocus and tease their iplayer content. However, @bbcnews has a news focus with almost 800,000 followers and 442 videos.
The BBC is a big organisation with lots of content. It’s quite right that it has a number of accounts as well as identifiable journalist accounts. This gives an additional route to the audience.
The BBC TikTok style book need offers tips
Often, people are nervous of TikTok for its dances, memes, trends and creativity. I get that. But there’s a very strong argument to embrace that approach to fully embrace the platform. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue do this brilliantly.
But what BBC News does offer is storytelling that’s with more of a straight bat.
Here’s a few things you can learn.
Branding
In training, I often talk about the need to park-up traditional branding approaches when dealing with social media. That’s true of TikTok too. But what BBC News have is a translucent BBC logo in the top left of the screen along with a translucent red strip down the side. Scrolling through their timeline, it’s immediately clear to the viewer that this is from the same place.
A logo jpg added in the edit before uploading to TikTok can do this for you.
No bongs
The BBC News content doesn’t start with BBC News Titles or theme tune. Nor should it. That works on terrestrial TV. It doesn’t work on social media where the scrolling subscriber is met with the same five or 10 seconds of intro they already saw twice that morning.
A title
Each clip starts with a clear title with black text on a white background with red and black edging. You have a headline summary, literally.
This looks as though its been added in the edit well before the upload. You could alternatively add a cover in the TikTok editing tool itself. This is certainly helpful if you’re scrolling through old video.
A strong opening three seconds
The law of social video is to startly boldly with either eye catching footage or an eye catching quote from an interview. BBC News manage this quite happily.
Cutaways are king
Cutaways or B-roll is the footage which helps paint a picture. It’s shots of the picket line or cars sounding their horns passing the picket line. Over this you can add a voiceover or text to tell the story.
Like this clip of Thor the walrus:
And voiceovers are fine
Much of the BBC News TikTok content is fairly anonymously presented. There is content with a reporter asking the questions and reacting but for the most part there is no recognisable news anchor. Authority comes from the branding and the blue tick not the sight of the newsreader.
This is a good example for comms people not seeking the limelight.
About a minute or less
Timing is also key. BBC News don’t have space for lengthy content. The days of hour long interviews between Robin Day and Margaret Thatcher couldn’t be further away. About a minute is the length of most of their video.
Understand the complex and tell with simplicity
This is not new. The journalist has always had to get their heads around the complicated and then explain the story clearly to their audience. It’s jargon free. This chimes with public sector comms’ need to do the same.
9. Avoid copyright issues
I’ve written about this before, but having a standard account as an organisation is dangerous. You need a business account. This limits the sounds you can use but means those available to you are safe to use. BBC News do this, too.
In summary
So, in summary, there’s lots to learn from BBC News for public sector comms. It’s not the only approach open. But it is a good template to see how to cover news and sensitive topics when you need to avoid a trend.
I’ve lost count of the number of people asking about TikTok.
If middle managers are suggesting TikTok something is clearly happening.
First things first. Cards on the table. I’m slightly sceptical of emerging platforms.
Until they become used by a decent number of people I keep an eye on them. This way, I’ve avoided the hype around Google Buzz, Google Wave and Google Plus.
Just because people suggest it doesn’t always make it a good idea.
But several things make TikTok a real proposition in the public sector.
Here’s your break-down…
The numbers say take TikTok seriously
There are npw 12 million TikTok users in the UK.
Not only that, but they’ve surged to a particular demographic. Ofcom data says almost half UK 16 to 24s use the platform. So, if you need to reach this particular demographic then TikTok is a strong way to do it.
But it’s not just under 24s
While the platform is big with this group it would be wrong to dismiss it as a ghetto for Generation Z.
TikTok are trying really hard to make the platform reach older groups of people too. Watch a Euro 2020 game and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll see TikTok ads around the perimeter as one of the event sponsors.
They’ve also taken out shirt sponsorship of Wrexham FC who are owned by high profile Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Again, these football matches are places where older demographics see the brand name.
Take also the ease to download a TikTok video. If you’ve been scrolling through Facebook or Twitter over the last 12-months the cute dog video you may have seen may well have had the tell-tale TikTok branding.
While other platforms like YouTube guard their content and make it hard to rip them TikTok serves it up on a plate to make it sharable. They really want you to share it in WhatsApp or Facebook.
Me? In the 12-months I’ve been dabbling I’ve ended up following a number of people who don’t do your typical stuff aimed at younger people.
Get over yourself
Firstly, there’s things to be appalled about. There’s a lot of females dancing. Some of them I’m not entirely sure how old they are and I’m entirely sure their parents would have a view of their clothing choice.
I’ve also heard communicators in their 40s be appalled at the rapid edits and K-Pop backing music that can be found on the platform. Wise up, Grandma. Get over yourself. Those videos aren’t aimed at you. The fast edits work on the platform best.
I’ve also heard communicators be appalled at the site of dancing nurses at the start of the pandemic. They may have as point. But I’d argue that setting a tone and direction is important rather than refusing to work with it. There is much more to TikTok than dancing staff if you try.
Then there’s the Information Commissioner’s Office’s questions over the data privacy of children and impending legal action over the topic. Those are things to be aware of.
TikTok is bending over for advertisers
Another factor to take into account is TikTok are making a big push with advertising agencies and businesses. A string of companies are advertising with the platform in the UK and there’s resources to make the process easier.
The big flaw for the public sector however is that advertising can only be localised to the ‘UK’ rather than to say, Dudley in the West Midlands. Or more specifically brass band enthusiasts who are engaged support Stoke City and who live in Dudley. In that department, Facebook platforms still have the edge.
But in the US TikTok are trialling TikTok city-by-city ads.
Broadly, it shows a direction of travel.
The TikTok for Business platform is a good place to have a look at. You’ll find a lot of resources and some data to help you understand the platform.
How to create content?
And this is the $64,000 dollar question.
A load of people have looked at TikTok and scratched their heads. They see the argument and they struggle with exactly how to do it.
There are some filters to think of before going down this path.
More than 70 per cent of people come to TikTok for entertainment. So, if your content is not entertaining it won’t work. If that rules out swathes of what you do that’s fine. It’s worth knowing now.
How to videos work as do place marketing, tourist information, tips and tricks about a place and some good relevant knowledge.
I have to break it to you know that making dull content on a dull subject always fails.
The cunning line from TikTok is ‘Don’t make ads, make TikToks.’
It’s a clever one. They want you to create content that fits into the platform.
As I understand it, they’re lucky to have a full-time videographer on the payroll with an eye for a shot and a willingness to experiment.
This video from Liverpool, for example, has had 25,000 views and records the progress the city has made from April 2020 to the first dance night test night 12-months later.
Now, if you watch that it doesn’t look like a council product, does it?
That said, I’m not convinced that corporate channels are always the way to go. Good luck to innovators like Liverpool but a one-person comms team will never come near to them.
The NHS has a channel to their credit but this feels like more of a repurposing of existing content than a warm embrace of it. There are others too.
The working with creators idea
TikTok have been pointing large brands down the route of working with established TikTok creators. In other words the people who craft effective video on the platform can make your TikTok with you. You can potentially find them on creator marketplace.
What they mean by this route is to create something that works on the platform and has the spirit of the platform rather than cutting and pasting existing content.
This approach led to this cracking video for M&S Food whereby a singleton creator celebrated the food by making a slightly pastiche video that saw her tucking in alone to a M&S meal deal.
It has all the breathy ‘This isn’t food, this is M&S food’ schtick but the twist is it’s for one.
Take a look:
It’s a cracking video.
It’s clearly on brand but playing with it.
Of course, these formal routes probably aren’t open to most parts of the public sector. But it does raise the really important concept of encouraging others to create content for you either by approaching them or by setting a challenge that people can pile in on.
The joining in with a challenge or creating one idea
Making a video with a hashtag is a good way of getting it in front of people who are scrolling through loads of content with the hashtag.
For example, there’s the #accentchallenge hashtag.
This video by user @ceeceejax is a video in response to one poster by someone from Northern Ireland to say a list of words on your local accent, like ‘baby’, ‘water’ and ‘film’.
The end result shows a celebration of local dialect.
If you were looking to reach a Black Country audience on TikTok, this is one way to start doing that with the right hashtags added.
‘Baby’ ‘water’ ‘film’ and ‘got yer jab, bab?’ would go down a storm in the Black Country.
The venue account idea
For this, the venue is the thing.
Full props to the Black County Living Museum on this who have set a high bar with their fun and educational videos that both embrace the sprit of TikTok but also their mission to educate.
They also don’t shy a way from the fact this is work and takes time, planning, shooting and editing. But they get brilliant results with 1.2 million followers which they’ve seen translate into visits to the website.
Interestingly, their Facebook is different and more about celebrating nostalgia. Their TikTok isn’t because it’s a different audience. That’s such a big lesson.
The employee channel idea
The NHS is particularly good at this.
Here, Dr Karan Raj has an account where he gives basic medical tips that he think people will find useful. Why you should not take ibuprofen on an empty stomach, for example.
In this one, its what people need to know about the latest COVID-19 wave.
Other nurses, doctors and paramedics are also on TikTok making content.
That said, most of these NHS channels don’t feel as though they are official. Good, because that’s their strength.
But what makes TikTok different?
I’ve spoken at length about the numbers and the approaches. You may be wondering what that is.
TikTok is a portrait video platform that throws video at you. It starts on the For You screen where TikTok shows you things it thinks you’ll like based on previous viewing.
Click through to ‘Following’ and you’ll see people who you follow.
You can search with ‘discover’ and tap through on the hashtags added to videos you watch.
More than 90 per cent of TikTok users just watch rather than create but if you did want to make things there’s a stack of tools and functionality within the editing functionality.
