Foreword
It’s been a very slow week for viral trends on the platform, even most accounts on TikTok that pride themselves on finding trends have struggled. We here at LINK however do the digging, and as per usual we have at least six new relevant trends that you should take notice of. They range all over the place from having real life outro music to pledging allegiance to attractive people. As a brand these ongoings may seem odd, if not completely incomprehensible, so join us as we explore how brands can integrate, and gain a grasp about the culture, content, and trends going on in the world of TikTok this week!
Audio Based Trends
Most trends are based around sounds. What we mean specifically by audio based trends are trends that pertain to specific lyrics or wording within sound. This is when the action or meaning behind the trend is correlated with the lines spoken. These are usually the most prolific of trends on TikTok so let’s dive in.
Boba Fett is better than Mando
X videos on the sound
The audio behind this trend reads, “Uh I need to feel something, Harry can you tell me something that will piss me off… Boba Fett is better than Mando.” With this users have the opportunity to apply their own versions of statements that would piss them off. Often this is a representation of things people have done to wrong them or disrespect them, but it’s from a sarcastic point of view.
Brand application: Brands will want to joke about things that are said either internally or from customers that are frustrating to some extent.
Examples:
I pledge allegiance
X videos on the sound
This one is pretty simple from the title, users are pledging allegiance to people who they find unbelievably attractive on TikTok. The idea here is comedy through being sarcastically (but not really that sarcastically) thirsty. Users will display a photo or series of photos of a celebrity or TikToker that they really like or think looks attractive, with the pledge allegiance sound playing in the background.
Brand application: Brands will want to pledge allegiance to recognizable figures in their community in addition to popular TikTok figures.
Examples:
80% of my time
X videos on the sound
We all have our passions and things we like to talk about a little too much, and seemingly so do most TikTok users. Many creators who focus around a specific topic will create videos under this audio which describes them talking about their favorite thing 80% of the time, and then trying to convince others to ask them about their favorite thing the other 20% of the time. It’s a pretty simple format and users with specified interests are flocking to it.
Brand application: Brands will want to apply the same format to whatever sector or topic they are related to. It would be even funnier however if they applied it to something that is quite randomly unrelated to their company, drawing hilarity from being unrelated.
Examples:
Interactive Trends
This should be somewhat self explanatory but interactive trends are trends that involve users interacting with others to create videos. Often the hilarity or interest generated by working with loved ones or peers creates incredible laughs or simply fun times. Most importantly though, authenticity shows through with interactive trends as most often they are truly authentic.
Intro/outro music
Not trackable
In UFC fights and even sometimes in baseball games, athletes have a walk up song to hype up their intro to an event, at bat, or more. Basically the idea is to bring some energy to the moment of their arrival, and TikTok users have hijacked the practice for their own sarcastic uses. Many users are pulling up to hanging out with friends and playing a hype intro track, or even turning a song on the leave perfectly on beat when the group is heading their separate ways. Regardless, the interactions are hilarious and the extremely unnecessary music for boring scenarios makes the dichotomy very funny.
Brand application: Brands will want to have employees recreate the trend having intro music for them walking into work, or even just meetings.
Examples:
Simple Format Trends
This section is a little bit of a catch all for trends that are somewhat nonspecific. They happen on a weekly basis, but with these one generally finds that the trend has a simple audio behind it and creators will utilize a text format on screen to showcase a message. Often these trends tend to be based upon a relatability factor where users will talk about an experience from their own life with extremely relatable undertones that other users can get a good self deprecating laugh at.
Today the dog gets to commit crime
not trackable but upwards of 12k videos
Before you even try to read this trend description, go watch one of the examples because it will make a lot more sense. Effectively users are taking videos of their pets, mostly dogs, looking cute and innocent while playing a quite contrasting audio over the clips. The text on screen talks about the animals favorite crime they like to commit, and users have the monotone TikTok voice read the text to make it seem as if something like their dog committing tax fraud is nonchalant. It’s overall just crazy funny due to the idea that dogs would have a favorite crime to commit on a certain day of the week.
Brand application: If brands have animals or mascots they will want to replicate the trend with a random sarcastic crime but if not this one will be taken a little too literally.
Examples:
Let me tell you something
78.1k videos on the sound
Have you ever stepped too far with someone and immediately realized you needed to backtrack to save yourself, well this trend represents those times. The audio depicts a scenario of a person speaking louder and louder to try to reason with another individual who is seemingly coming after them. As such, users have applied the hilarity of the sound to situations in their own life where they have accidentally started something they didn’t mean too, or pissed off a fellow peer.
Brand application:
Examples:
Case Study
If you were on TikTok last year at this time of year, you will remember the absolute phenomenon of Alabama Rush that took place on TikTok. For those unaware of sorority rush culture, it is an absolute bloodbath of vying for the top sororities and getting bids. Especially so at Alabama. Girls will have to be perfectly outfitted with hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of hair, clothes, and makeup to present themselves for a sorority there. The rush events are seemingly better orchestrated than the superbowl, it’s truly a sight to behold. As far as TikTok goes, it has become the girls main form of promotion and showing off what they have to offer. Last year some girls went viral for documenting and dramatizing their rush experience, taking watchers along for the journey with them and this year many rushees are doing the same. More than this, brands are also getting involved with companies like Kendra Scott and Princess Polly interacting and engaging heavily with posts regarding the occasion. It is all a spectacle to say the least and as the week proceeds we expect to see more drama and storylines to follow.
Time Capsule - Prior Week Trends Still Growing
The hoes gone love this
65.8k videos on the sound
We all have our ways of feeling like we are looking good, but not everyone may agree that we look great. This trend takes the audio of a guy saying, “the hoes gon love this” which infers that the person in the video is doing something that they think will make them look or seem cool, when really the video is a sarcastic representation of how cringey the thing is. For example someone could make a video representing a guy trying to take a photo showing off his muscles in the gym, but the video actually means that action is extremely cringey.
Brand application: Brands will want to highlight deals they have or special brand moments they have with the sound underneath. It is best if a photo of the occasion is taken during the video to align with the camera shutter sound.
Examples:
Showing people
17.3k videos on the sound
TikTok over the past few months has become more and more social, mostly through users creating videos of interactions between themselves and peers. These clips are interesting social dynamics, funny skits, and drama which will often turn into trends. This week users have aired on the drama side, with a trend that highlights personal takes on rousing interpersonal topics. Users are pairing up with a best friend or significant other, and showing people who fit a certain category to them. For example best friends might show each other someone that they think is attractive, or maybe even someone they regret hooking up with. Significant others might show each other different couples that they think should break up. Regardless, these videos are filled with dramatic topics and the reactions users portray are what drive the hilarity of the trend.
Brand application: Brands will want to “show” between employees, other brands that they think do a poor job with X. Basically using the questions to guide users into thinking about another brand being looked down upon, but not actually saying the other brand. For example Chick Fil A could show on screen, “A company who has trash chicken” with funny reactions around it.
Examples: