The TikTok Trends Digest: Storytelling Unhinged
What if we told you that millions of people on TikTok are tuning into a video series that amounts to eight full hours of content? Consisting of 50 ten-minute-long videos, the popularity of Reesa Teesa's 'Who TF Did I Marry' series shows that when it comes to TikTok, there are no rules, except one: be entertaining.
TikTok is a place where diverse voices, authentic lived experiences and unique perspectives, combined with the platform's unique format, have flipped everything we know about traditional storytelling and entertainment on its head. That's why, in this month's TikTok Trends Digest, we'll be diving into the 'Storytelling Unhinged' Trend Force, and walking you through how to join in.
Trend Force: Storytelling Unhinged
As we explained in our previous Trends Digest, TikTok trends are made up of Forces, Signals and Moments. Numerous small Trend Moments make up a larger Trend Signal, and Trend Signals sit under a broader Trend Force. The 'Storytelling Unhinged' Trend Force exemplifies TikTok's potential for unrestricted storytelling and showcases how leveraging unpredictable characters, structures and formats resonates with the TikTok community.
Trend Signal Spotlight: 'Serialised Stories' meets 'Gossip Entertainment'
Within the larger 'Storytelling Unhinged' Trend Force sits the 'Serialised Stories' Trend Signal, which sees users cultivate sustained interest with a collection of related videos. A fantastic example of a brand leveraging this trend is Samsung's award-winning [LOCK] campaign, a TikTok-first horror saga filmed entirely on Samsung devices that showcased the quality of their Galaxy devices and generated purchase consideration.
We've also seen the 'Serialised Stories' Trend Signal combine with the 'Gossip Entertainment' Trend Signal, which typically involves the use of intriguing, confessional content that elicits curiosity from audiences. This is part of what made Reesa Teesa's series so successful. Read on for a deeper dive into these two Trend Signals.
How Reesa Teesa engaged users with 8 hours worth of content
Reesa Teesa captivated TikTok audiences by sharing a gripping story in a series of videos that almost resemble confessional interviews, feeding into our audience's desire for authentic and entertaining content. Here's how she kept her audience engaged over 50 videos:
Created a sense of intimacy by sharing a personal story in relatable settings (her videos were filmed in her car and home).
Embraced vulnerability and the popular idea of being "delulu", making her content authentic and compelling.
Went TikTok-first, with a lo-fi, conversational and direct-to-camera approach.
Utilised foundational narrative techniques to tell a captivating story filled with suspense, heartbreak, betrayal and, finally, resolution.
Brand take: See how Weekday leveraged TikTok trends
Weekday launched its spring 2024 campaign SATURDAY with a movie trailer that aimed to "elevate the essence of everyday life". To connect with audiences and really make a splash with this campaign, the brand hired creator @debadebadd to star in the trailer and share behind-the-scenes content with her followers.
The campaign took a turn when @debadebadd discovered, live on camera, that she'd been cut from the film. She then released a video "calling out" the brand. Weekday responded by releasing clips from her less-than-perfect audition tapes as the reason she didn't make the cut. The creator then revealed all in a confessional video on her page.
See below for a breakdown of the key elements of this Trend Signal.
Why it works: Weekday adopted a different approach to gossip storytelling, aiming to engage audiences by sparking surprise, confusion and resolution within its campaign narrative. Working with a creator and telling this story in a series of videos meant the brand was able to sustain interest and maximise engagement, resulting in more than 60 million views and 400,000 likes, comments and shares.
Make TikTok trends your own
Join in with the 'Storytelling Unhinged' Trend Force with this content template:
Game-changing creative tools are just a click away
Browse our Commercial Music Library for trending songs you can use in your videos. Tap into Storytelling Unhinged with The Future Is Fading by Tech Difficulties. For inspiration, see how @DrMartens used the sound.
Dive into our Creative Centre or the TikTok Creative Exchange to learn how to take your content further. And for more on how you can use TikTok trends to service full-funnel marketing objectives, sign up for our newsletter.
Our next Trends Digest is all about 'Throwbacks & Comebacks' – read it here!
