What kind of content trends on TikTok?
By: Nurhidayah Ekbal
Tags: Videos, Tiktok, Social Media, Influencer Marketing, Trends

Photo by Harry Cunningham on Unsplash

With #StayHome happening almost everywhere in the world, people are consuming online content more than usual. TikTok is one of the platforms people turn to due to its bite-sized entertaining content. Even brands are now putting up ads on TikTok after realising that more and more people are on it. TikTok make content creation so much easier. Almost anyone with a smartphone can be putting up content on their platform. I have identified 8 content themes that usually trends on TikTok with 3 accompanying videos each. Here are the classifications in no particular order:

1. Challenges

Every other day you’ll see a #<insert song/stunt/name>challenge trending on TikTok. The challenges are usually initiated by celebrities or influencers and users replicate or even improvise creatively. Tom Holland challenged Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal to a #handstandchallenge which then elaborated to the one you see below. People are so talented on TikTok! A challenge can have varying themes; from fitness to dance moves and even challenging your photography skills.

Brands have also started jumping the bandwagon of having their own “challenge”. In fact, there are a lot of covid19 content going around to get people to #StayHome.

2. Sentiments

Another content that usually trends is one that taps on users’ sentiments. During this pandemic, there’s a rise in content creation with family members. There’s a lot of “aww” and “so cuteeee” content. From getting parents to dance to also being part of a band. Users are easily moved by sentiments about family bonding. One that receives a strong reaction is the #imjustakid content. What started from children who have grown up re-enacting their old photos with their parents became a moving one when a couple of users started sharing their video re-enacting the pose with an urn in place of a family member who have passed on. Watch the video below for yourself. I probably shouldn’t have given that spoiler.

3. Vanity

Seen a lot of beautiful photos on Instagram? Good looking people at beautiful places? TikTok has its own version too. Vanity sells on this platform. From people flexing their editing skills to their looks as well as their cuteness. Well, I’ll let the videos below speak for themselves.

4. Skills

Another content that trends on TikTok is always reflecting how skillful users are. It could be one sharp coordination to emulate a list of emojis or a dance cover of your own. Below are some of the talented videos on TikTok in varying themes. It was quite hard to shortlist three as there were so many good ones!

5. Tutorials

When you have skillful people, you have ones who are sharing too. These users share tutorials for others to learn and try it out themselves. These tutorials are also what you would call “hacks” today. Step by step guide so other users could also be TikTok worthy. The photography hacks are very tempting. For a noob like me, watching what Khan Tariq did made me feel I could also take beautiful photos.

6. Audio-focused

Another content that attracts attention is slightly different from others. This content reminds me of the Dubsmash days where users lip-sync to the audio. I found some good ones below. My personal favourite is people dubbing hot coffee video to MJ.

7. Games

TikTok also has interactive elements on their platform. Powered by AI, there are games on TikTok that use facial recognition. From blinking to moving your head, you might just be the ‘winner’ to the game or even the most liked. Another type of game involves users to react to pre-recorded audio. Users will either compete with one another or respond to the questions accordingly. I kind of wished my parents had seen the last video when I was a kid. It’ll be quite fun to play with three of us siblings.

8. Humour

Last but not least is humour-centric content. People are always in for a good laugh. Guess this is TikTok’s version of ‘Just for Laughs’ (I actually just searched if they have a TikTok account!).

This sums up all 8 content themes for trending videos on #TikTok. In case you’re one of those starting or just started a TikTok account during this lockdown period, you can use these themes as a guide to get yourselves noticed. If you’re a brand, it would be a great platform to jump onto. TikTok gives a personable vibe making users more comfortable to relate with. For all you know, you might just be ‘cool’ for being on TikTok itself.