Archive for the ‘Social Marketing’ Category

How to Become a TikTok Influencer: Inside the College Class … – Cosmopolitan

The GRWM storytimes are getting better, my professor texted me one Friday night this past semester.

For the past few months, this late-night academic feedback has been the reality of my TikTok class at Duke. Yes, thats right. Officially called Building Global Audiences, the class, housed within the Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, is supposed to teach students to hack the all-knowing algorithm and grow their followings, in hopes of mastering (and eventually monetizing) the art of content creation. Every week, we construct game plans for TikTok content, engage in Socratic seminars about the addictive magnetism of Alix Earles storytime videos, and come up with buzzy openers and hot takes in hopes of breaking through the chaos of the For You page. Its kind of like a diet version of Kris Jenners MasterClass, except our Kris is Aaron Dinin, a social marketing professor with a PhD in English who has accrued 30,000 TikTok followers based on what I can only call robust white-middle-aged-professor content.

I enrolled in the class because (1) I wanted an easy A and (2) Im a Leo and I love attention. I had already dabbled in exploring my inner Charli DAmelio when I made a satirical TikTok series last year hinting at a (totally fabricated) love story between me and my gay roommate. About 800,000 Likes and 12,000 followers later, I wanted to see what would happen if I actually applied some semblance of strategy and consistency to my TikToks. Maybe this could spiral into something real, like money or a lavish trip to Dubai.

Since its debut in 2022, the class has garnered a notorious, somewhat derogatory reputation on campus as the influencer classleave it to a bunch of burned-out, soon-to-be investment bankers and software engineers to sneer at it. But to Professor Dinin, influencing is just another medium of artistic expression. Similar to a creative writing workshop, were just creating, sharing, and critiquing our work, only that work lives on social media, a relatively new and constantly evolving medium, he says. Much like the way English students dissect Sylvia Plath line by line, we dissect TikToks, second by second. This classand similar programs at the University of Southern California, East Carolina University, and the University of Virginiaalso seems to validate content creation not just as a marketable skill but also a viable career path.

The existence of an influencer class begs some intriguing questions though: Is there really a formula for TikTok fame? What underlies the apps mysterious, mathematical algorithm? In the same way that I learned Javascript through grueling group work and hour-long lectures, could I learn how to be a good TikToker? As a prerequisite to enroll, every student in the class had to show a demonstrated interest in social media and content creation. So what more was there to learn if we already had more than 2 million combined followers before the class even started? Was this just an 185-year-old universitys attempt to fit in with the cool kids and maybe grab some headlines along the way?

Khadija Horton/Getty/Derek Deng

On the first day, Dinin projected our TikToks onto a whiteboard and challenged us to answer the ultimate questionwhy did any of these videos go viral? Students in the class represented a diverse cross section of fellow attention-seekers at Duke: D1 basketball players, dancers turned sorority girls, vegan lifestyle vloggers, even MBA students. We speculated that some videos did well because they were effortlessly engineered thirst traps; others because TikTok cant get enough of Duke basketball. But they all involved some sort of strategy. Underneath their flippant facade was an intuitive understanding of consumer psychology. We were just trying to distill that into hard formulas: head-turning hooks that caught the viewers attention in 2 seconds, hot takes that begged users to argue in the comments section (there is no such thing as bad publicity, Dinin often reminds us), and captivating cliffhangers. Were graded according to our participation, and our weekly content plans and video conceptsso not necessarily how many Likes and follows we get, but the effort and time and strategy spent getting those Likes and follows.

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Midway through the semester, I walked into class to find my own TikTok projected on the whiteboard, ready for public dissection. It was part one of a Types of Gays Youll Meet in College series I developed the week before that had gained traction. The hook is quick and easy. I like it, one classmate remarked. Whats going on in the videothe walkingis kind of distracting, another classmate chimed in. My professor nodded in agreement, adding, He sets this up as a series, which means the people want to see a part two, which means, he said, pausing dramatically, More followers!

This new content was a stark contrast from my previous storytelling TikToks: The audio was squeaked clean of awkward silences, the script was irresistibly immersive, and the hook was as clickbait-y as could be. Instead of being off the cuff, this was meticulously strategic and hyper-personalized, focused on my audiences interests rather than my own. In large part because of the TikTok rules we devised as a class, I had reworked my content to appease the algorithm and my niche, adding 4,000 new followers to my account by the end of the semester. Based on further feedback, I eventually turned this concept into an eight-part series, chronicling the frat gay, the tote bag twink, the granola gay, and so on.

When youre mindlessly scrolling, its easy to miss the hundreds of behind-the-scenes decisions that ultimately determine whether a TikTok blows up or not. What Ive learned is that there is a logic to Alix Earles (singular, so far) insane success while similar creators struggle to reach Alix Earle levels of clout. I dont believe in luck, Natalia Hauser, a style influencer and the classs undergrad teaching assistant, tells me. If its meant to go viral, the algorithm will do its due diligence and let it go viral. But as much as I want to believe in algorithmic destiny, Im still skeptical: If there is an absolute formula for internet fame, wouldnt we all be influencers already? There may be strategies to hack the algo, but ultimately, part of it has to be a little luck. Allison Chen, one of my classmates and a self-described chaotic cooking creator with more than 450,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, agrees that its 60 percent formula and 40 percent luck.

But what comes after virality? Chen started at Duke on the premed track. After taking a gap semester to attend French pastry school and focus on content creation, she hasnt ruled out becoming a full-time influencer. Im basically running my own business, she says. Its an exciting risk that Im willing to take. Hauser, on the other hand, sees influencing not as a full-time hustle but as a supplement to her career in marketing: Its such an asset professionally.In behavioral interviews, my answer to the challenges Ive overcome, lessons Ive learned, its always TikTok. In the meantime, she made just under $30,000 last year from brand collaborations and partnerships.

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We each went into the class with our own set of expectations, many of which we met or exceeded. The athletes learned how to commercialize their name, image, and likeness, the lifestyle vloggers mastered the art of the Get Ready With Me storytime, and Im writing for Cosmo and getting paid to make TikTok content for another media company this summer. Last week, I realized the extent to which I had built my brand when a freshman came up to me at a party and innocently asked, Arent you that twink from TikTok?

Despite that, I dont think full-time influencing is for me. Im immensely grateful to have had the power of the platform, and as a journalist who covers trends, having this grasp on the creator economy is invaluable (the PR packages that companies send me arent bad either). But what Hauser describes as the psychological warfare of TikTok can be really damn draining. When my content performs well, I feel a flicker of contentmenttheres an intoxicating validation that comes from the buzz of notifications. But that algorithmic erection fades in a matter of days, and when it does, I take it as a personal attack. What did I do wrong? Is my content boringor worse, am I boring?

It is reassuring to know that Im not alone in this state of simultaneous dread and fatigue. After spring break, several students in the class said they were burned out. When TikToking became our homework, it mutated into a tediousalbeit sporadically rewardingchore, alongside research papers and internship applications. I found myself losing touch with the initial enjoyment that TikToking gave me, the adrenaline rush of shooting the shit online and learning silly little dances. After all, isnt that easy, breezy, authentic enthusiasm supposed to be the appeal of influencers? By boiling it down to a science, are we losing what drew us to social media in the first place?

Still, I recently added Content Creator to my rsum. I am nowhere near becoming the twink version of Alix Earle, but give me 30 minutes, a trending audio, and a ring light, and Im confident I can concoct something that has a good chance of blowing up. Even if I never parlay that into lasting fame and riches, its something to be proud of. And if anyone out there is reading this and wants to send me on a vacation to Dubaiwell, lets just say Im available.

Derek Deng is a freelance beauty writer and content creator. His work has appeared in NYLON Magazine, Popsugar, The LA Times, Madhappy, and The Duke Chronicle. When he's not making a TikTok or testing out sunscreens, you can probably find him attacking his friends for not wearing enough sunscreen, making avocado toast, or curating his next Instagram photodump. Keep up with his photodumps here.

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How to Become a TikTok Influencer: Inside the College Class ... - Cosmopolitan

Benefits outweigh the harm: Worried about their livelihood, small business owners push back on potential TikTok ban – CNBC

A potential TikTok ban has raised concerns among small business owners on TikTok, who have found success and built sizable audiences without having to pay for marketing.

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When Aparna Singh first heard about a potential TikTok ban, she "immediately went into panic mode."

"With the majority of my sales coming through TikTok, I definitely was thinking, 'Is this going to be the end of my business?'"

Singh is the owner of a small business called Indian Goddess Boutique, which sells Indian-inspired jewelry and accessories. The social media app has been an "integral part" of her business, said the 33-year-old.

"I get 90% of my sales through TikTok. Everyday I try to post at least one video about my business. Days I do not post, I see a decline in website traffic and sales."

That is the same worry on the minds of some small business owners on TikTok, who have found success and built sizable audiences without having to pay for marketing.

Their concerns come after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers on the app's addictive features and whether data from U.S. users could end up in the hands of the Chinese government through its China-based owner, ByteDance.

Politicians have also threatened a nationwide TikTok ban unless ByteDance sells its stake in the app, a move China said it "strongly" opposed. The app is already banned on government-owned devices in countries like the U.S., Australia and the U.K.

Concerned about a potential ban of TikTok, small business owners told CNBC Make It why they think the short-video app should stay.

Like many other content creators, Singh started a TikTok account during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and began advertising her business on it.

"I previously was focusing on Instagram to grow my business. Unfortunately the Instagram algorithm has changed so much over the years, I was barely getting any engagement," she explained.

On Instagram, she was "barely making any sales" maybe five to 10 orders a month, she said.

"Hashtags weren't helping. It just wasn't helping me reach the broader audience I needed."

But everything changed for Singh when she started using TikTok one video of her wearing a nose ring she sold went viral and sales "skyrocketed overnight."

In 2020 the year she started using the app she made $20,000 in sales. One year later, Singh said she made $350,000, while "spending $0 in advertising."

"That video showed me what product I should be focusing more on and what my customers really like," she added.

That's the beauty of TikTok, according to small business owners that CNBC Make It spoke to it has helped them find their customer and community "faster than any other platform."

"I love how the TikTok algorithm boosts your videos to more people even if you have a small following, as long as the content is relatable to who you are trying to reach," said Teena Ho, who sells stickers with original designs via @kawaiiflavor.

"When I created my TikTok page, my very first video reached thousands of views whereas on other social media apps, it would only be under 200 views."

Renee Powers, who runs Feminist Book Club, an online community and book subscription company, agreed. She said TikTok has been "brilliant" for identifying a niche audience and a foundation for growth.

How does a small brand like ours reach them without investing thousands of dollars in traditional media advertising? That's what TikTok helps us do.

Renee Powers

Entrepreneur, Feminist Book Club

"For small businesses, it is the overwhelming leader in discovering the perfect audience for your brand how does a small brand like ours reach them without investing thousands of dollars in traditional media advertising? That's what TikTok helps us do."

She said each time a TikTok video gains over 50,000 views, her business sees a "30% to 50% influx in traffic" on the company's website and followers on other social media platforms.

"It got to the point last summer that we had to upgrade our website host because our traffic was consistently much higher."

TikTok has raised fears over privacy and security concerns including claims that U.S. user data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government.

In April, TikTok was fined $16 million in the U.K. for misusing children's' data, after it allowed 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to use the app in 2020.

Despite the security concerns, small business owners have expressed frustration over the possibilities of a complete ban. Those that CNBC Make It spoke to said a ban is not the "appropriate measure" to safeguard the privacy of users.

"As a former National Science Foundation fellow in Electronic Security and Privacy, the privacy concerns are not lost on me That's not to say I don't have concerns about TikTok, but I do think the benefits outweigh the harm," said Powers.

"A ban on TikTok is not the answer to this issue. Rather, TikTok has become a scapegoat for data privacy concerns. Bytedance is not the first, nor will it be the last, company that misuses our personal data."

She added that if the government "throws the book at TikTok," it needs to do the same for all social media platforms.

Back in 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned over the social network's role in the 2016 presidential elections and how it handles data though no ban was proposed.

"What truly needs to happen is not a ban, but a nationwide user data protection policy that is platform agnostic and enforced by a dedicated independent organization," Powers said.

Bytedance is not the first, nor will it be the last, company that misuses our personal data.

Renee Powers

Entrepreneur, Feminist Book Club

Singh added: "If I was this concerned about this [privacy] issue, I would not have any social media apps or [use] technology."

TikTok is "helping millions of Americans be able to provide for their families in such a hard time in our economy. Why take that away?"

Without TikTok, small business owners say they will be at risk of losing growth momentum and that their company's income will be "taking a hit."

"We have a team of content creators that contribute TikTok videos, podcast segments, and blog posts," said Powers.

"Obviously, without TikTok, we would have to let go of our TikTok creators. Without the organic brand awareness that TikTok brings, we would have to sink money into more traditional marketing strategies."

Singh added: "I currently have one employee, my sister, so this ban will take a toll on my family. If the TikTok ban takes place and I will have to pivot my marketing in another direction."

For now, Ho and Powers are looking to Google-owned YouTube shorts a short video rival to TikTok as an option.

"Start making contingency plans now. Grow your email list. Let your followers know where they can find you if the ban is approved," Powers advised other small business owners on TikTok.

As for Ho, "building a strong community" online will be all the more essential.

"If TikTok were to be gone one day, your community will follow you to the next platform," said Ho."It's important not to put all your eggs in one basket."

The business owners also stressed the importance of not solely relying on TikTok for sales but all other platforms as well. That includes optimizing email marketing, ads on Google, Instagram and Facebook, Singh said.

"TikTok is not the only place to support small businesses. We're on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Yelp, Google, Etsy," Powers added.

"TikTok may make it easy to discover new-to-you small businesses, but if you're passionate about shopping small, please put in the extra effort to find us."

Don't miss:Here are the top skills you will need for an A.I.-powered future, according to new Microsoft dataLike this story?Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube!

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Benefits outweigh the harm: Worried about their livelihood, small business owners push back on potential TikTok ban - CNBC

These social media strategies will help businesses take a flight to … – Dazeinfo

Social media platforms have become an integral part of peoples lives. Over 4.48 billion people worldwide are estimated to stay glued to social media regularly, making it a highly effective channel to reach and engage with a large audience. By leveraging social media, businesses can tap into this vast user base and increase their brand visibility.

Trends come and go, but in social media marketing, its important to stay on top of trends. What will make it a lot easier is our guide to social media trends. By being aware of these trends, you can create a more effective marketing campaign.

Take a look at our picks for the best and longest-lasting 2023 social media strategies and trends to use in your marketing campaign.

If marketers want to keep on their users good side, they should avoid a lot of controversial opinions. But one issue that is pretty much universally accepted is climate change. No one wants the world to die, so if you can show your users that you are taking steps to do your part, youre going to get a lot of fanfare.

Modern users are always on social media, either researching or supporting their favourite brands. And they will research you. They will look into your business practices and look at the ingredients on your items to make sure that they dont see any immediate red flags. So, save them the hassle and put it all over their socials.

Its becoming more and more accepted to make your websites, apps, and social media posts as accessible as possible. The differently abled need to use the internet too, and likely they might want to buy your products too, so why would you exclude them? Simple moves like high-contrast text, alt text for images, captions on videos, audio descriptions, etc., will all make your content more accessible to a wider range of people. This is particularly important in B2B social media strategies, which have a narrower audience pool.

Its the buzzword of the social marketing industry: authentic. Everything has to be authentic. And its true, users are tired of the polished look that was touted by Instagram (so much so that they protested it), but there is more to the authentic idea than putting a grainy filter over your photos. It does allow you to bring the quality of your camera down, but not your content. As long as its truthful and offers something human to it, youll have hit authentic.

Short-form video content has taken off, and it is everywhere now. Its on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. But in order to cut through the noise of these platforms, you need to remember one rule: make it entertaining.

Entertaining is a broad term, so you dont have to put on a skit or make a full production for a 30-second video. Instead, make sure you hit something like laughter, satisfaction, learning, etc. All those pool cleaning TikTok videos go viral because its satisfying to see something clean. Recipes you will never make are watched because youre learning something. Reddit stories are currently going viral because theyre juicy gossip about someone youll (hopefully) never know. If you make your content entertaining, youre making it engaging.

So, whats not entertaining? Being marketed to. No one on TikTok or Insta wants an advert explaining all the buzzwords youve come up with for your super-duper product.

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These social media strategies will help businesses take a flight to ... - Dazeinfo

GoodFirms Lists Out the Most Significant Marketing Automation Software for the Second Quarter of the Year 2023 – EIN News

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GoodFirms Lists Out the Most Significant Marketing Automation Software for the Second Quarter of the Year 2023 - EIN News

Visit Finland’s Happiness Masterclass Drives 150,000 Entries – Adweek

For six years in a row, Finland has been named as the worlds happiest country. Now, as part of an initiative to drive tourism, the countrys tourism bureau has been offering people the chance to be trained in being happyand has received more than 150,000 responses through social media.

The initiative, led by Visit Finland and developed by agency SEK, will offer a select group the opportunity to participate in a four-day masterclass in Finnish Lakeland to help Find Your Inner Finn.

Featured in the masterclass are four key themes: nature and lifestyle; health and balance; design and everyday; and food and wellbeing. Helping participants to connect with nature, the masterclass takes place at the Kuru Resort in the Finnish Lakeland, a luxurious destination surrounded by fragrant pine forests.It will also be made available as an online resource in the fall.

We believe Finnish happiness is a skill that can be learned: Anyone can connect with nature, learn about a more balanced approach to life, and discover their inner Finn. With this masterclass, we want to give more people the keys to happiness, explained VirvaKatajala,head of marketing at VisitFinland.

A 45-second campaign film outlining the opportunity to win a place in the masterclass was also released across social media platforms, showcasing the natural landscapes of the country.

To get involved, social media users on Instagram and TikTok were encouraged to share the first thing that came to mind when thinking about Finland to win the chance to attend the masterclass. Influencers around the world were tasked with joining in to drive awareness of the initiative, too.

We encouraged people to create Reels on Instagram and Duets on TikTok. This allowed us to experiment with the strengths of the two channels; at the same time, participants could have a lot of creative freedom and fun, said EnomaEdevbaro, socialmedia and influencer marketing lead at SEK.

We gained lots of organic traffic, and the message of Finnish happiness reached diverse communities from all over the world, she added.

Having begun in March, the social campaign led by Accenture Song using the hashtag #FindYourInnerFinn drove around 150,000 video entries from more than 190 countries, and more than 20,000 social media challenges were received. It was supported by PR outreach which has, so far, generated coverage across 900 media outlets including CNBS and CBS News.

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Visit Finland's Happiness Masterclass Drives 150,000 Entries - Adweek