How Community Generated Entertainment connects communities, culture & brands

Community and discovery builds connection

TikTok has long been called the "last sunny corner of the internet" due to the way people can discover new content and communities that brings them joy. This ability to break free from conventional echo chambers allows TikTok Creators to make content that amplifies their authentic voices and curates communities that are as diverse and representative as they are.

Interrelation thrives on TikTok — if you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, a new mom, and interested in foraging, you'll find content that resonates with each of those groups individually, or overlaps. In fact, the TikTok audience said the platform is 1.48x more likely to help them explore new communities and content. And they're 52% more likely to agree the platform helps them hear different perspectives from what they normally hear, compared to other platforms.¹

A new era of entertainment brings a new class of content

Communities that form on TikTok span a diverse range of interests, affinities, locations, and lifestyles. We call these groups CommunityToks. These shared spaces are the perfect setting for Community Generated Entertainment, a new form of entertainment, powered by Creators and their communities on TikTok.

Community Generated Entertainment (CGE) is the language of TikTok. It's sound on, mobile-first video that's meant to entertain, built by and for the community. This Creator-led content resonates with communties of all types and sizes, and often finds the right audiences because TikTok's algorithm is based on a content graph as opposed to a social graph.

A social graph serves content based on your social connections and who you follow, whereas a content graph is able to serve extremely personalized content based on someone's likes, engagement, and interests. That allows TikTok to serve hyper-relevant content within the For You Page, encouraging high levels of interaction and co-creation.

User-generated content (UGC) has reigned over social media ever since cameras were added to mobile devices. And while there's still a place for UGC on the internet and social media platforms, TikTok audiences prefer content that relies more heavily on shared entertainment value and audience engagement — enter CGE.

In a recent survey, we asked TikTok users from gaming, streaming, and music communities their thoughts on entertainment platforms and social media. Globally, respondents were 20% more likely to say TikTok is more entertaining than other entertainment platforms.²

CGE enables Creators to pull their audiences into their content through entertainment and collaboration, curating communities with a long-lasting relationship. That's why 71% of the TikTok audience said they feel a closer connection to the people they interact with on TikTok than on other platforms they use.³

Brands can create CGE as participants

The TikTok audience enjoys entertaining content from Creators and brands alike. That's why brands are welcomed on TikTok and are encouraged to act as community citizens, creating CGE as a participant, similar to other individual creators. Advertising on TikTok is more likely to be described by users as unique, fun, and authentic compared to ads on other platforms.⁴

When brands join communities, engage and interact with fans, and create content rooted in entertainment, they see a business impact. An independent study conducted by Neuro-Insight shows that TikTok is more consistently engaging compared to other leading platforms.⁵

Get started

As you saw from Creators @darendarendaren, @chrisbarnescomedy, @thejarr — there are unlimited formats and approaches for creating CGE. It all starts with finding communities that you can genuinely connect with, establishing credibility by partnering with Creators, and experimenting with various ways you show up and entertain. Get started making Community Generated Entertainment on TikTok and find your community.

(1) TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertainment Study (US Results) 2021 conducted by Material

(2) TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertainment Study 2021 conducted by Material

(3) TikTok Marketing Science Global Community and Self-Expression Study (US Results) 2021 conducted by Flamingo

(4) TikTok Marketing Science Global Authenticity Study (US Results) 2021, conducted by Nielsen

(5) Neuro Insight report "TikTok: Successfully Advertise on the World's Hottest Content Platform", June 2021