Foreword
Summer is kicking off right on TikTok with Lizzo bringing a new dance to the platform, filters continuing to provide users hilarious ways to depict their life situations, and the themes of self deprecation and sarcasm remaining strong. There’s so much going on with the platform but with TikTok’s new Pulse feature shortly around the corner, understanding how to create content that speaks to the audiences of TikTok is more important than ever and advertisers everywhere have a lot to learn. Join us as we explore through the trends and popular culture that surround the app every week, and how you can utilize it to best engage with your audience.
The Trends
#1 It’s about d*mn time
104.7k videos on the sound
Lizzo, also referred to as the queen of TikTok, has spoken once again with her new song snippet that has blown up on the platform this week. The short clip originated as a section of her new song which she released early to TikTok, and ever since it hit the platform users quickly developed a dance for it. As with most dance trends there isn’t a ton of rhyme of reason behind it, other than the audio being catchy and fun with easy to learn but cool movements for users to participate with. Check out some examples down below for a better idea of the movements in this one.
Applicability:
Brands will want to simply have brand reps or mascots participate in the dance trend. The wackier the environment they do it in, the better.
#2 Driving filter
165.6k videos on the sound
The prominence of filters on TikTok is no joke and as we’ve been seeing in recent weeks this one has developed it’s way into a viral trend. The filter depicts the user in a car window driving late at night. Users have taken this and aligned it Future and Drake’s new song where Future sings “I’ve been traveling around the world.” Essentially the vibe gives off a late night emotion filled drive, whether devious or sad, and users are aligning their own late night ride experiences with the it. Some videos range from talking about leaving late to meetup with their sneaky link, all the way to trynna to grab McDonalds after a session.
Applicability:
Brands can associate late night cravings for their product to users in the ride.
Brands can also allude to their own menial dilemmas with products or service challenges they face (low scale).
#3 Good Morning sunshine
50.5k videos on the sound
The audio is from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Willy in a quite an irritating manner says, “Good morning sunshine, the sun rises today!” Users are applying the line to situations where they are either awakened by something or hit with significant news. Videos can range from annoying one’s significant other to remembering one has a major test that day but regardless they are hilarious and we suggest you check out examples below to understand the energy users are going for.
Applicability:
Brands can joke about being always ready early for customers trying to acquire their product.
Employees from the brand can make videos joking about having to get up early (or even sarcastically late) to go to work for the brand.
#4 We like, we are
50.1k videos on the sound
Self deprecation always has been a prominent feature of TikTok and every week we are reminded that it probably isn’t leaving, at least anytime soon. with this trend users are categorizing themselves in a funny way, whether they are the slow friend or even just someone that is allergic to nuts, users will begin the video describing traits of that category. The format goes, “we like ___, we like ___, we like ___, we are X category”. The blanks are used as self deprecating actions or likings that are stereotypical, but accurate to that category. With this one users are having a field day and the deep integration of self deprecation will likely lead to this trend continuing on nicely.
Applicability:
Brands can use facets of their product or brand character to represent themselves in this format. This works much better if done in a self deprecating manner and will likely perform poorly if not.
#5 When I die
23.1k videos on the sound
In the realm of old-form meme content on TikTok, this small trend is close to the peak of what we’ve seen in a while with this trend. Users are asking that when they die, instead of their family poorly photoshopping some wings or a halo on them for a poster, that they would photoshop them as they show. From this users will show a photoshopped image of them in heaven with things they love around them. Usually the added characters are attractive people of their preferred sex in addition to other little memorabilia like Hennessy. The results are hilarious and we believe more users are going to buy into this trend over the next week.
Applicability:
Brand will want to replicate the same format but place their product/store/etc with funny brand imagery and more salacious resources around it (if brand guidelines allow lol).
#6 I’m back out my coma
Fractured sounds but prominent
Kanye lines will forever be popular on TikTok but recently his eloquent words “B*tch I’m back out my coma” have formed into a trend on the platform. In the trend users are acting as if they are asleep in a coma. During this they put in text that their friends are participating in an activity they either legitimately or sarcastically love doing, which wakes them up out of the coma. They act as if they awake as soon as the beat hit and Kanye says this. Some of the reasons users are waking up are absolutely hilarious so definitely check out examples below.
Applicability:
Brands will want to act as if they are coming out of their coma for either new product launches or just remembering that their brand still exists.
Trends from last week that keep climbing
#7 You’re bleeding what’s your type
172.2k videos on the sound
Trends have been getting more and more creative with wording and puns recently and this one is a great example. Users will setup the video with the premise that they are bleeding out, and somebody is asking for their blood type for medical assistance. The trick is that instead they associate “type” with a user’s preferences for people they want to have a relationship with, not the blood type. When the beat drops in the audio creators cut to pictures of people that are their type. It’s a pretty simple format but the fun twist and ease of creation has meant tons of users have hopped on this one extremely quickly.
Applicability:
Brands will want to replicate the trend but insert the brand as the persons type. Will be even better if there is a brand rep or mascot to pose like instagram photos for it.
#8 No one can stop me
46.5k videos on the sound
As with recent weeks this week we saw some popular filters making their way around the for you page and this one takes the cake for the week. The filter depicts an augmented bee flying frantically forward and users have associated an audio of Dr. Evil from Austin Powers to it. The audio reads, “the best part of this plan is… no one can stop me” and from this users have applied their own sarcastically diabolical plans to it. Whether it’s stealing the last cookie from the cookie jar, or commenting an out of pocket roast on your friends instagram, the possibilities are endless making this trend one that everyone can jump on.
Applicability:
Brands will want to think of creative scenarios where they are gaining a distinct benefit or advantage due to their actions. For example Wendy’s could joke about tricking people into buying their food with the cool name “four for four.”
#9 My money don’t jiggle jiggle
584.5k videos on the sound
I’m going to give readers a far warning with this trend: if you listen to this sound more than once it will be stuck in your head for the next 5-7 business days, so please be careful. It’s no wonder the audio is blowing up as it is almost addicting to listen to. This virality has all originated from a user on TikTok about a week and a half ago putting together this funny song remix which immediately hooked viewers. Since then users have put together videos with multitudes of formats where they dance to the sound or utilize it in some funny way. There’s no one specific direction to take this audio, yet utilizing it in content has been seen platform wide this week.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to have representatives or mascots replicate the popular dance that has appeared under the audio (first link).
Bonus
One of the biggest issues advertisers face on TikTok is that the content style is so wildly different from other platforms that if one puts traditional media on it, generally speaking it performs poorly and doesn’t stick well. Media on TikTok needs to stay true and cool to TikTok otherwise users tend to not engage with it as one would want. This brings us to today’s bonus, which isn’t actually a brand, but rather a really great example about how content styles are adapted to the platform. Lynja is a regular mom who loves to cook but her account has absolutely blown up on TikTok due to her wacky style and utilization of TikTok culture. She essentially “meme-ifies” every video, adding funny food associations, random graphic elements, and green screen features in addition to odd camera angles and wild storytelling. Just like her recipes, it all mixes together to be one amazing dish which TikTok users who are as harsh as Gordon Ramsey would rate as great content. Lynja was able to take this very boring methodical cooking format and turn it into something that lives and breathes on TikTok, and with that she has been rewarded with millions of views on every video and over 10 million followers already. The tale tells itself that you need to be integrating into the culture of the platform.