Just like any other social network, the first perception of TikTok was – “it’s just for kids”. The same mentality we encountered 8 years ago when trying to sell the then new Facebook Pages to brands, has continued until today (and it probably will continue further on).
Is it a fear of something new, genuine perception that the social network has no potential to grow, or just plain laziness when it comes to learning something new? I guess a bit of all, but just as this perception remains, the fact that these social networks grow incredibly fast and prove how they can bring great gains to brands also remains.
I’m sure that if you’ve searched a bit about TikTok you’ve found DuoLingo and Ryan Air as the fan favorites. They are quirky, fun, adapted to the social network’s tone of voice, but still you know that there is a brand in the background and most of the times it feels pretty organic.
Today, we have an example of a different approach to TikTok communication. Tesco’s launched a search for the next Tesco’s voice for Self Service Checkout, and they launched it – on TikTok. If you’ve used TikTok for a while I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of examples like these types of content posted by creators that work in animation or radio, but this is the first where a brand actually initiates a challenge that gives the audience an opportunity to get a lot more than just a small reward. They set out a call for the next Tesco’s voice and creators are asked to duet them with their best try.
Although they haven’t finished the challenge yet, their account has gaind a large number of followers and gained great traction online. Is it going to really work or is it just a fun PR stunt? We’re about to see 🙂 Either way, it’s really good to see brands actually taking a step towards doing something different on TikTok. I hope this becomes a good example of brands who understand and