PURE 3600 — Trending on TikTok

Public relations focus on maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and their publics. Trends can form within social media platforms to help accomplish this goal and assist in developing a brand. TikTok is one of these new social media platforms that organizations have started using to increase awareness for their brand. Individuals also use this platform for personal growth or entertainment.

This newest trend is interesting to me and grabs my attention because the app was created just four years ago and is already so popular. To put this into perspective, as of August 2020 there were 100 million monthly active users on TikTok just in the United States. When this app was released in 2018, this number was significantly lower, being at about 11 million monthly active users.

I have mixed emotions on TikTok and feel this app is almost solely used for entertainment purposes. Whenever I am scrolling through my for you page, I rarely come across anything from a business. Almost all the content I come across are videos of people doing the newest dances or challenges. TikTok stands out in my mind because it reaches a unique, younger audience than other social media platforms. It is a new and emerging target audience that has grown up in a time so filled with technology.

Although this is the current state of the app, I feel that there is so much potential for growth within organizations through this platform. Chipotle is an example of a company who is ahead of the game and already reaching users through TikTok. The content Chipotle is creating is musical, silly, and embraces pop culture while promoting their own products at the same time. It is no secret that it is challenging to go viral on this platform, but it is a unique way to experiment with reaching your audience. Other organizations and companies should consider implementing similar strategies into their marketing plans to increase brand awareness and engage with fans.