Valentine's day is on the horizon, the only love interest brands should have this loving season is the love for TikTok trends. Let’s talk about it. For a brand, going viral on TikTok is the gateway to some mega sales - that’s a nice thing to hear, right? It gets better because going viral on TikTok or Instagram is possible for anyone these days. Don’t even get me started on the London Shard and what that’s turned into. 

Kids today will go to London, see the Shard and say “That’s the building from TikTok'' Back to loving trends, sure they’re temporary (no one does the Harlem shake anymore that was 10 years ago) but it’s about what happens in their short window spans. These trends go mega-viral and if you can source them out before they go to the moon then your brand is on track to lead the tidal wave.

“But George (George or "GG" is Favoured's inhouse TikTok content creator)… I run a startup, I run a business with employees. How can I keep on top of trends? I don’t have time to make TikToks” Okay calm down Syndy let me help you, I see this as having 2 options: Take on a Gen Z intern, brief them in on the brand, and let them have free reign on posting branded/organic content to your specific TikTok account. 

They understand the assignment (that was a TikTok reference) as well as live and breath social media, especially TikTok. As TikTok is the leading social media app and has been for a long while now Gen Z is fully in the loop of how the platform operates. 

Alternatively, you can simply just make time. But that can be difficult. So having someone on board who’s a lot younger than however old you may be will know the Tiktok trends, they’ll know the viral songs, the popular terms, and even how the algorithm works. Gen Z is smart up-and-coming kids. When they were locked down for months due to the pandemic, TikTok was their main source of entertainment. They’ve evolved heavily with social media pulling the strings. 

However, if you’re still unsure then come to Favoured. A group of unique and creative individuals that understand exactly what you need to excel. Hell, the guy writing this fantastic newsletter is the guy behind all this TikTok knowledge. Favoured, we see your vision. Enough of the plug.

I believe it is vital to implement your brand onto TikTok this year. TikTok is making it easier for brands to sell on TikTok thanks to the recent launch of TikTok shopping as well as the simple formula on using organic videos as spark ads to help reach new audiences and the easy access brands have to influencers to help promote their brand. From this, these are all things you do within TikTok, there is no third-party control and that’s what makes TikTok a standout, easy-to-use platform. 

According to data studies, TikTok had 651 million downloads in 2021 and has 1.9 Billion downloads globally throughout its life cycle so far. With so many users using TikTok on a daily basis there is a niche community for pretty much every niche to exist. Whether you’re a startup drinks brand, a paper company, or a sports app there is something for everyone and that’s the beauty of TikTok. Convey your message with organic style content and push the boundary.

This week in TikTok news the algorithm has once again changed. This happens frequently so let me fill you in on the latest TikTok Trends and TikTok algorithm updates. Starting with the best time to post, as of January 25th and according to many sources I found online, the best times to post on TikTok are: 10:30am-12pm, 3-5pm, 7-11pm. These will be the best generic times to post your creative TikToks. Alternatively, you can look at what has worked well on your personal TikTok account, check out in the analytics when you posted previous content, and from that, replicate the times you posted that video. This works well because that will show you your unique audience and when they are most active.

And now to what I like to call... The Trending Hashtag strategy: Using my knowledge of how trends have succumbed to the eyes of viewers across social media I’ve put together a strategy on how I think a brand can create its own viral hashtag. It starts with a rough organic video shot on your phone of somebody pulling off a really cool trick-shot… or a challenge with something in your kitchen. It can literally be anything. 

From that video, you create multiple versions of other people attempting the same challenge, which can then can lead to a hashtag (Example of a hashtag: #Kitchendrawchallenge) - You can get creative with whatever the hell that could be. As more videos get made then this is where you, the brand, come into fruition. You jump in with claiming the hashtag challenge and whoever can pull off the best attempt at said challenge wins a prize of up to £100. Chipotle did this best with their #Chipotlelidflip challenge. 

With the help of influencers, this challenge drew the eyes of millions of users on TikTok. A simple hashtag can form so much attraction that it ends up being free advertising for your brand. Keep it simple yet creative.

Besides that, you go little Rockstar, get creative and take over the internet with what you can create! I’ll see you on the FYP ;)

Note from Favoured's co-founder (Also George or "Big George")

If some or none of this makes no sense to you, that's ok.  You can reach out to us and we can show you amazing TikTok can be for your brand.

Say hello@favoured.co.uk