WHAT TIKTOK MUSIC AND TRENDS BRANDS SHOULD KNOW

 WHAT TIKTOK MUSIC AND TRENDS BRANDS SHOULD KNOW

The social platform presented new insights on user behavior and brand appreciation at the app's For You Summit.

Brands planning TikTok campaigns should think about how they'll use music beforehand. When advertisers include songs in their TikTok advertising, music creates a powerful association for consumers, according to a new analysis issued by the short-form video app on Tuesday.

Approximately 68 percent of users think the brand is easier to remember; 58 percent feel a strong connection to the brand; 58 percent are more likely to talk about the ad; and 62 percent are more curious to learn more about the brand.

Music and noises are particularly important to the platform's appeal among users and how brands use it to communicate with and entertain them. While musicians like Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo have built entire careers around their music on the app, brands have gained followers and seen virality by creating unique songs or tapping into hot music. Chevrolet, for example, made its TikTok debut in February by teaming together with musician Breland, whose track "My Truck" had acquired traction on Instagram. Chevy subsequently made a TikTok video called "My Chevy Truck," which had 76.2 million views and 686,000 likes.

TikTok commissioned MRC Data and Flamingo, two independent research and analytics businesses, to poll 1,479 TikTok users in two separate studies looking at brand usage of music and app trends.

TikTok has always pushed brands to use music and sounds in their TikTok posts and commercials, and now it's pointing to fresh insights to entice marketers to try it out and bring on new brands. According to MRC Data's November 2020 poll, 67 percent of TikTok users like to view videos from businesses that feature popular or trending songs, while 65 percent prefer unique brand content.

Users associate certain songs with TikTok in general, with 72 percent saying they associate certain songs with the app; 67 percent saying they are likely to seek out a song they heard on TikTok on a music streaming platform; 75 percent saying they discover new artists on the app; and 63 percent saying they discover new music.

TikTok also hired Flamingo to investigate how phenomena such as "cleaning TikTok," "staycation," and "TikTokMadeMeBuyIt" influence culture and how users perceive brand participation. Gap, L'Oréal, and Goldfish Crackers are among the brands that have participated in popular topics on TikTok.