How TikTok changed the way we communicate

The way brands communicate with an audience is different for every brand. It depends on who their target audience is, their age, interests, and preferred channel of communication.

In most cases, communication with your target audience is, to a certain degree, formal. TikTok changed that.

Through TikTok and official brand accounts, Generation Z brought a whole new way of communicating your brand message and values to the audience.

RyanAir — the first funny business account

It’s easier to explain using an example, so let’s look at RyanAir first.

What would you expect from a TikTok account of an airplane company? Perhaps informational content, beautiful views through the plane window, or dull content about planes. Lily Rafferty, RyanAir’s former social media manager, had a different idea.

Using viral trends, Rafferty made RyanAir one of the most popular accounts on TikTok. What made these videos so different? Simply put, they were “completely out of pocket”.

Rafferty wasn’t holding back, she was using every TikTok trend, drama, and event happening to create content of it. You could see RyanAir in the comment section of almost every video. Her special way of communicating got the RyanAir official TikTok account over a million followers.

Soon enough, everybody was doing it. Every brand out there was hopping on trends, comment sections were full of verified accounts, and everybody wanted to be the next famous brand account.

Duolingo — the unhinged era

Soon after RyanAir piloted a new way of communicating, Duolingo joined the game in what could be described as one of the best brand revivals ever.

While RyanAir’s humor was considered unexpected and brutally honest, Duolingo took it to the next level. Using their mascot, the owl Duo, Zaria Parvez managed to take over TikTok while winning awards for her work.

When a Duolingo TikTok appears on your For You Page, you have no idea what’s about to happen. The content rarely speaks about learning new languages, mentioning it here and there. They are focusing on making entertaining content instead of promotional and informational. Consumers nowadays love a good brand personality, and Duo the owl is a great representation of Duolingo’s values. One of the long-running jokes is Duo’s infatuation with Dua Lipa (who sadly hasn’t noticed him yet).

Duolingo’s TikTok account is thriving with 5.5M followers, creating content so insane that people simply cannot stop talking about it.

What kind of content do people want on TikTok?

For a long time, brands were scared to test the waters of TikTok. Now, it’s normal, if not mandatory, for a brand to have a TikTok account.

By switching the focus from the app, product, or service and putting the spotlight on entertaining, these brands made a breakthrough on social media.

They are giving users on TikTok exactly what they want — authentic, original, and entertaining content.

Generation Z is taking the social media marketing industry by storm, and who better to do it than those who use it the most?

A tip for brands — try TikTok, get out of your comfort zone and it just might pay off.