LINK Chains: Week of June 14th (Premium)
Weekly TikTok Trend Identification and Analysis for Businesses
Foreword
In a world where everybody is connected, relatability is easier than ever and TikTok has taken that feeling of commonality to new heights. Whether it be the trends that users can see themselves in or the cultural tropes that they align with, there is always something on TikTok for users to relate to. Take a seat and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times as we explore through the trends that are taking over TikTok this week.
The Trends
#1 Nobody nobody nobody
109.1k videos on the sound
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. With experience, comes knowledge of the bad and after dealing with something once, people are gonna run from it the second time. This trend pictures users frantically running away from the camera in response to a person’s red flag. Creators are able to joke about character elements or auras surrounding a person that they see as worrisome. Essentially, they’re pointing out funny red flags and this storied theme continues to thrive on TikTok.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here can easily joke about customers who decide to go with competitors.
Brands can also joke about how a customer might decide to “not get the extra fries” or any funny sought after item.
#2 I guess we’ll never know
169.8K videos on the sound
In the continued push of outside culture making its way onto TikTok, Kanye’s famous Grammy acceptance speech was sampled and has started to be used heavily as an audio. In the speech Kanye says, “a bunch of people ask me what I would do if I didn’t win… I guess we’ll never know.” Users use it as a classic before and after transition video. While they lip sync the words from the audio, they generally look a little disheveled and then when the beat drops it cuts to them looking their best.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands can simply have brand reps lip sync to this audio and refer to the company as the object of the joke that never loses.
#3 Potatoes
88.8K videos on the sound
Yeah… there really is no deeper meaning behind this one. This audio of people singing “potatoes” has gone viral and users have started creating videos of themselves lip syncing to the video and then cutting to them belting out the chorus of the audio when it hits. You can listen for yourself but this really is just a song of the word “potatoes” being repeated over and over. There really is no underlying joke, it’s just simple fun that users on the platform are loving.
Examples:
Applicability:
A brand will just want to have a brand rep recreating the exact format from these current videos. To take it to the next level one might try to find hard to get to places to cut to when the subject is “belting the chorus” but otherwise a super simple application.
#4 The hardest in the game
60.0k videos on the sound
Have you ever seen Watch Mojo’s top ten series? If not, it’s a YouTube collection of videos talking about the top ten in almost any category, genre, collective, or container of any culture in the world. This trend takes this concept, and just makes fun of it… all in TikTok style of course. Users will take entirely random items such as a dishwasher and find images of a bunch of them and make a “best dishwashers in the game” video showing off all of the best dishwashers to a beat. These videos are entirely pointless to kids as the products are not something they are looking to buy anywhere in the near future and that’s what makes it funny for them. Once again the sheer stupidity of a video makes it funny on TikTok.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here will want to take a series of their products and services and put them as “The best ___ in the game” and simply sync those images to the beat being used here.
#5 Your not that guy pal
Difficult to track, 1.6k videos on this specific audio but estimated 20k+ video impact otherwise
The days of Vine seem to be ever reminiscent in this TikTok as a random video in a grocery store of a man telling a kid fooling around “you’re not that guy” has gone absolutely viral on TikTok due to it’s funny relatability. Users have taken the message of “not being that guy” and hilariously applied it to relatable or funny life scenarios they have been in where they weren’t that guy.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here can easily joke about competitors being “not that guy” in comparison to themselves.
Brands can also lean into TikToks wild world of self deprecation and make fun of themselves. For example Chick Fil A here might “not be that guy” for being open on Sundays
#6 What is he saying???
13.9K videos on the sound
Sometimes people respond to something you say in a really annoying way, and this trend is allowing people to complain about it. Alongside the category of relatability content, this trend has arisen as a way for people to make fun of tropes and sayings that stem from comments they make. Users will display their comment and then when the mumbling and incoherent audio begins, they will show disfigured faces with the annoying responses they hear displayed on screen.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here will want to make fun of people who like their competitors or make fun of their competitors directly. Essentially finding sayings that are non-justifiable responses to good claims about your brand and combatting them is what this trend aims for.
#7 Things I’ve been into recently
6.8k videos on the sound
This trend is one of the most easily understandable ones we see on the platform. Users have begun to assemble montages with a collection of different things, scenes, experiences, etc. from the world that they like, and are posting them for all to see. Essentially these videos have become short little art durations for viewers to see, and although the trend is not one of the incredibly catchy mega viral ones, it is still gaining nice traction and being loved on the platform
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here will want to aesthetically curate different fun elements of their company in a montage with simple music such as these.
#8 Time Variance Authority
2.4K videos on the sound
This trend has arisen in the wake of Disney’s release of the new Loki show. The show centers around Loki breaking off from the timeline for doing something that’s not supposed to happen and the Time Variance Authority (TVA) coming to set him back into place. Creators have taken the audio associated with entering the TVA in the show and applied it to funny situations in their own life. For example somebody may make a post with the scenario of “me the second I get my first girlfriend” then the audio will begin and it poses the scenario of that being a mistake on the timeline. The comedy lies in how funny it is that such a “good” event would actually be mistake on the timeline.
Examples:
Applicability:
A company might want to pose the scenario of “when somebody doesn’t use our product” with the audio following.
Trends from last week that keep climbing
#9 Adult swim
469.5k videos on the sound
If you’re already a fan of adult swim you may be familiar with the sound and format of this trend. On the network instead of commercials Adult Swim creates fun yet random visuals that act as intermediaries between shows and episodes. Each video usually includes a deep thought and they always find a way to hide the adult swim logo within the scene. Users on TikTok have taken this “commercial” format and brought it over to TikTok with aesthetically styled videos and deep thoughts to interact with. It’s super easy to make and in the world of crazy hyperbolized content, content consumers are loving the simplicity of the videos.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will likely want to include messages about their products or services within the “deep thought” section of the format. For example with a company like Chick Fil A, text on screen could display “Spicy or regular. It’s a decision you’ll have to make. Either way, it will be our pleasure.” then the adult swim logo would show.
#10 International Super Spy
457.6k videos on the sound
If there’s one thing you can expect, it’s the unexpected. This trend is once again pulling from the culture of the children’s show Backyardigans. A few weeks ago a song called Castaways from the same show blew up and users seemed to have jumped on the opportunity of culture surrounding this show. This audio is also from the show and users have gotten creative making a format around it. Creators will pose a stereotype of who they are including a list of personality traits and interests that fit into the stereotype, then contrast it with another character trait that doesn’t fit the stereotype at all.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands here can easily pose a similar contrast by first showing qualities of a product or service (i.e. cheap, tasty, fast) then contrast it with another good, yet unexpected trait (i.e. quality).
BONUS: I Bench 225
The way content and trends operate on TikTok is entirely different than any other social media platform we have ever seen. Humor is portrayed through layers and the cultural background needed to understand jokes is immense, but these high barriers to entry aren’t seeming to slow down this guy. Because, well, he benches 225. This account has taken off based on a singular joke being used over and over again. It plays into the sarcasm involved in the joke of this guy being annoying or arrogant for constantly posting that he benches 225. Yet, because he leans into this joke, it ends up becoming hilariously funny and has thus blown up over the past week or so.
Summary
While in the outside world we seem to be straying further and further apart, the realm of TikTok is providing a space for users to connect and relate together on levels that have not been seen before. Content taking into account ongoings in the outside world has taken over and we expect to see more of it in the upcoming weeks. These past seven days have been a fun one, but as with all culture right now, the landscape will be wildly different even just next week. Stick along for the ride and we’ll make sure to guide you through the tumultuous world that is culture on TikTok, and how to navigate it even further with your brand.