TikTok Is the Influencer’s Next Frontier
Tags: Tiktok App, Dads, Social Media Marketing, Fatherhood, Influencer Marketing

TikTok Is the Influencer’s Next Frontier

Fatherhood on Friday: That dancing app your kids like has 800 million active users. It’s time to consider its massive influence potential. Dad 2.0 May 15, 2020·4 min read

Lunchbox Dad on TikTok

You know TikTok, right? That dumb app thing your kid dances on, and it’s had some problems with concerns over privacy and security? It is all those things, but its massive popularity — TikTok just reached two billion downloads, and its galaxy of 800 million active users has probably increased by 10,000 since you started reading this — has it positioned as the next big thing among influencers looking for an alternative to Instagram.

So says our friend and frequent Summit contributor Beau Coffron, who has blazed a lot of trails over his nine-year career as Lunchbox Dad. He established his second vertical long before it became imperative, and as a social media professional, he’s built up formidable followings everywhere he’s tried. And now, he’s directing his attention to adding a TikTok presence to his burgeoning media empire.

There are a lot of reasons to consider following his lead. TikTok is another opportunity to innovate with video, which makes the cornerstone of most influencer campaigns more appealingly bite-sized (and fills that Vine-shaped hole in our hearts). You can amass followers in no time (Beau has 50K in just five months), but more importantly, you don’t even need them to get a lot of views. That’s because TikTok’s algorithm circulates your videos to similar “For You” feeds without a date stamp, conferring a much longer shelf life onto your work. Since there aren’t a lot of dads on it yet, intrepid content makers can venture forth and plant their flags in a whole new territory.

As of now, TikTok isn’t readily monetizable, so Beau tends to package its videos as part of larger contracts with brand partners. It’s a matter of time, though, until TikTok’s power becomes more widely known, and brands, Beau conjectures, will be on board with it “by the end of the year.”

So if you’re using this time to reassess your influence and demographics and think TikTok could work for you, do your research and dive into some of the most engaging content online. And be prepared for a little snarky scrutiny (which, as dads, we’re already pretty used to).

ON THE PODCAST: Our First Guest Mom!

Episode 30 is a freewheeling four-way, as we celebrate Mother’s Day with our first guest mom, Deborah Christy Moebes (Whipstitch), and her husband Michael Moebes (Dadcation), one of the few online power couples who’ve both spoken at a Dad 2.0 Summit.

They discuss motives for the work they do, keeping their cool in a quarantined household with three kids and a dog, and what Deborah and Lin-Manuel Miranda have in common.

IN THE NEWS

As companies like Twitter allow most workers to stay working from home forever, work schedules will become more flexible and paid leave will get closer to reality.

Given the family’s stressful health problems, this dad went above and beyond the call to see his daughter’s face light up.

Being home for her dad’s final days is proof, she says, that “it’s the people that matter — not the perfectly planned ceremony.”

Will Smith and Kenan Thompson are two of many familiar faces you’ll see when the new DADS documentary drops on June 19.

“Before the lockdown, men’s home and family roles were out of sight and out of mind. But now, we’re seeing them first-hand.“

On Saturday, May 16: Join 21st Century Fathers for an online conference for dads of kids with special needs.

If you’re the type of husband who completely checks out of homeschooling, “That’s a jerk move, dude.”

After his daughter’s graduation was canceled, he took matters into his own hands. “After all those years, you’re going to walk across somebody’s stage if I have to build you one myself.”

While the nursing home is on lockdown, he stays connected with his 92-year-old dad by serenading him with trombone music outside his window.

PORCHLIGHT POSTS

“He showed more warmth toward his dog, Otis, than any of his seven children or 21 grandchildren. But he was also the most generous person I’ve ever known.” — Jeff McLane, The Sports World Stopped, and Unironically So Did My Father’s Life

“You look like Elmer Fudd and Lindsay Lohan’s love child.” — Charlie Berens, Taylor Calmus, Penn Holderness, and Myles Montplaisir, Neighbors In Quarantine

“He is just a kid. It is up to me to teach him that getting angry and yelling does not get you anywhere in life.” — Brandon Billinger, “I’m Sorry” Teaches Your Kids You Promise to Do Better By Them

“When I clean up after you, I relive all of the recent moments of this half life together.” — Scott Lacey, The Memories of Cleaning

“I’m such a believer in asking for help when needed, but it still feels like a muscle I don’t stretch enough.” — Ryan Walton, Instagram post

‘GRAM OF THE WEEK

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