Foreword
People are literally running in place, students are becoming absolute academic weapons, users are finding our for the first time that their noses aren’t that big. This week many things have happened on TikTok and we’re here to keep you updated. 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!
Case Study - Academic Weapon
College culture today has shifted largely towards romanticizing and encouraging excess in the realms of substances and partying. As a college student myself I can tell you this with certainty that keeping up with the Jone’s socially is a crucial factor for most college students. Yet this week, one man on TikTok has fought back. One man has looked to change the tides, and this man’s name is Brad. Now Brad initially went viral last week with a video where he remarked to his following of a few hundred friends that he was sick of doing poorly, and was ready to take on the classroom by being an academic weapon. He decided to sit up front and filmed himself participating during class, getting answers right and more importantly getting absolutely stoked when he was achieving in class. This video became a series, where everyday, and then almost every hour he would encourage users to be academic weapons, taking on class with the same bravato that they take on partying. He continued posting at a high rate and put up probably over a hundred videos during this short period. Within the week, the videos kept going viral and at one point Brad gained over 100k followers in under 8 hours. His tagline of becoming an academic weapon has become a meme, but one that college and high school kids alike are actually taking seriously. The comedic undertones combined with the hype Brad brings to the table is actually unbelievably motivating, so if teachers are seeing more kids in their class show up and show out this week, we can look to Brad to thank.
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.
Feelings of inferiority
40.4k videos on the sound
TikTok is a place of blunt reality, where users will call each other out and be very open with their emotions. This trend stems along the more serious of the two, with users depicting things that have been emotionally troubling them. The song is one that outlines the struggles of looking oneself in the mirror when you have a poor self image. It is powerfully emotional and as such users have applied to their lived experiences of insecurities they face. Often they’ll show imagery of the time they faced their flaws but in general this is one of the more real trends we’ve seen on the platform in a while.
Brand application: Brands will want to likely stay out of this trend due to how serious it is, unless they are a brand that is targeted towards the marginalized individuals. If so they will want to come from a single user perspective from the brand about their own experience facing issues.
Examples:
So much energy
120.8k videos on the sound
The sound for this trend depicts a slowing down of music and then on the drop a voice goes “I’ve got so much energy” followed with an upbeat sound. The idea here is to give a vibe that one was about to crash but is now ready to take on the world. With this, creators have applied the audio to times in their own lives when they are about to hit a wall, but instead randomly find the energy to do anything. Videos under the sound are mostly sarcastic in nature and really rely on lived experiences.
Brand application: Brands will want to use this trend to joke about how customers can be slowing down but their brand will provide them an instant amount of joy, energy, or mental sustenance to be brought back to life.
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.
Pick up and run
171.4k videos on the sound
It feels like every other week we have a new trend for couples to try on the platform and this week is no different with the pickup and run. If you’ve ever seen those cartoons where characters start running so fast that they don’t move immediately, this is a TikTok representation. Users are picking up their counterpart and the lifted individual is moving their legs as if they were running as fast as they can. The effect is that of a sprinter in place. Not only does it look hilarious in the outcome of the videos, but the activity is entertaining so many people are hopping on this one.
Brand application: Brands will want to replicate the motion with brand reps or mascots. This can be made better with captions like “me running away to my desk as soon as my boss comes back from lunch” that imply a funny situation in the workplace.
Examples:
Maybe I’m in love
48.3k videos on the sound
The audio in this trend is from the song Counting Crows in which the artist sings, “What’s the problem baby.. well maybe I’m in love!” The sound is a cute dialog between a couple and as such pairings on the platform have created a cute rendition where they lipsync to the audio side by side while acting out the emotion. It’s a very simple scene recreation but it’s capturing the hearts of many users so we expect to see more of it soon.
Brand application: Brands will want to associate elements of being in love to their brand in a rendition of this trend similar to the examples.
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.
Elite living
199.8k videos on the sound
Have you ever gotten that feeling of being on top of the world from a little thing you like to do? Like if you’re making food shirtless or you’re driving down your favorite road. Little things like that make us feel as if we are living an elite lifestyle. This trend centers around these small pleasures in life and as such users are displaying to the world what things they do in their live to feel like they are living the life.
Brand application: Brands will want to associate elements of elite living to their brand in a dance rendition of this trend similar to the examples.
Examples:
Big nose
186.5k videos on the sound
For the longest time, the front facing camera on our phones have been doing us dirty, as the wide angle makes our noses look way bigger than they actually are. While in a mirror we may look one way, when looking at our phone, our noses can look absurdly large comparatively. We use our phones so often that we regularly forget how we actually look, and as such users on TikTok have turned this experience into a trend. Creators will start a video with the camera super close to their face, and then slowly pull the camera away to get a more realistic representation of how they look. It’s very simple but a fun way to gain a new perspective on how we look so many users are jumping onto this one.
Brand application: Brands will want to replicate the trend using a recognizable brand representative or mascot.
Examples:
Time Capsule - Prior Week Trends Still Growing
Broke up with them before the…
19.1k videos on the sound
Heartbreaks are often considered the motivation for greatness. The hurt can lead to a new form of energy and resilience to adversity and as such, TikTok users are locking in. With this trend, users are depicting a friend or themselves sitting down mentally preparing for a game or activity with the premise that they have just been broken up with, or cheated on. The idea is to make it look like that person is about to have the game/moment of their lifetime from this preparation. The trend originally started as a more serious thing but has evolved to be extremely sarcastic, with users joking about getting locked in to complete mundane tasks after being heartbroken.
Brand application: Brands will want to have an employee or brand mascot replicate this trend under the premise of them preparing to go to work.
Examples:
You wanna dance baby
309.6k videos on the sound
I think we’ve all caught ourselves dancing around the house while doing mundane activities as long as a good song is playing. This vibe of dancing alone while getting things done can honestly be one of the most fun times to move and users on TikTok have turned it into a trend. With this song, users will dance as they are completing daily activities, thus making the actions more fun and bringing great energy to the environment despite nobody else being around.
Brand application: Dance trends are very simple in the sense that a brand only has to utilize a popular employee or mascot to replicate the moves.
Examples: