TikTok Highlights 2021 Trends

TikTok Released Their Key Brand Campaign And Product Trends This Year

As 2021 draws to an end, TikTok has shared an overview of their year in relation to how the platform has operated as a commerce and promotional channel. 

The impact of TikTok on audiences is substantial and fast growing; according to App Annie, the channel will reach 1.5 billion users next year, which will make it the second biggest social media platform in the world behind Facebook. Due to this growth, it is close to essential that brands tap into this audience to grow. 

[Image Creds: WARC]

TikTok touched upon relevant hashtags, which have encouraged sales of specific products. The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag, for example, has gained over 7 Billion views, with TikTok commenting that “the movement clearing shelves across the nation, extends far beyond the platform – to bookstores, coffee shops, TV commercials, and everywhere else.” The TikTok-inspired love for these products has created a cult-like following surrounding them.

Among those which have benefited from this trend are: Clinique’s ‘Almost Lipstick’, Bissell’s ‘Little Green Machine’ and Cerave Skincare products. 

[Image Creds: DigitalMomBlog]

The opportunities that this trend creates allow for brands to grow in fame, and therefore profits, very easily – if picked up by the algorithm, that is.

Another example of a product that “blew up” because of TikTok was the Isle of Paradise ‘Self Tanning Water’. TikTok explained: 

“The [Isle of Paradise] trend caught on so quickly, it caused the Self-Tanning Water Refills to sell out at Sephora within 24hrs. Immediately picking up on the trend, Isle of Paradise developed their own branded Pro Glow Spray Tan Kit, launching it within 3 months of the first viral video. It’s the brand’s very first crowdsourced product and a successful one at that, with the Kit already a best-seller at Sephora.”

TikTok has also highlighted that trends allow brands to promote themselves in a fun way. For example, the #JifRapChallenge saw Jif partner with Ludacris, encouraging users to share a TikTok of themselves rapping with a spoonful of peanut butter in their mouth. This trend utilised TikTok’s popular Duet feature, which is known to boost engagement. Videos using the hashtag have been viewed more than 7.2 billion times so far.

[Image Creds: TikTok]

Lastly, it has become popular for brands to participate in organic trends. For example, user Emily Zugay put her design skills to the test to create comedically bad logos for major corporations. Many brands jumped on the bandwagon, setting her logo versions as their profile pictures. This trend has proved that, on TikTok, having a sense of humour as a brand is appreciated and encouraged by audiences. 

Overall, there is a lot to learn from successful brands on TikTok – keeping up with the approach they are taking can be helpful for brands that are keen to grow.

Finally, for our previous #SocialShort, click here.