The worldwide TikTok community has evolved over the past year, rejecting many of the preconceived notions of its Gen Z predecessors.

It has spawned entirely new forms of entertainment, spread genuine narratives that have united groups of people, and even led others to the discovery of previously unknown concepts.

This has prompted businesses of all sizes all over the world to either produce original content on TikTok specifically aimed at these communities, or to sponsor TikTokers who already produce such content.

The social video platform TikTok has released its third annual trend forecast, titled What’s Next 2023.

It’s a tool for anticipating shifts in consumer preferences for the coming year, which can be useful for businesses using digital and social media advertising.

That means they need to modify their digital marketing approaches beyond just TikTok.

The latest report not only deconstructs several long-term cultural forces unique to TikTok, from playful to practical, but it also illustrates the underpinning signals that demonstrate how each of these has shaped trend lines that provide a road – map for brands to follow on the platform.

Our culture is evolving as a result of three major trends.

The cultural effects of TikTok, as described in the trend report, can be broken down into three main categories.

TikTok, a social video platform, has identified the following forces as predictive of emerging behaviours and interests across vertical sectors based on its research and user data:

• Delivering fun that you can actually do.
• Create a room for happiness.
• Forming shared values as a group.

Offering Lively Entertainment

Marketcast’s TikTok Natural Marketing Global Intriguing Ads Study 2022 found that 80% of users found the platform to be either very or extremely entertaining.

If brands’ content or advertising can deliver messages that are as watched and loved as other forms of entertainment, the business results can be phenomenal.

The social video platform also suggests that companies increase the entertainment value of their videos by using editing techniques such as text overlays and synced soundtracks during transitions.

Opening Up Room For Pleasure

Despite the prevalence of resources aimed at preventing burnout, social media marketers and digital advertisers agree that more needs to be done.

As a result, it would appear that the TikTok community is actively looking for ways to practise meaningful self-care in the face of public health crises, The Great Resignation, and individual burnout.

And among TikTok users who took an action “off” the social video platform as a result of what they saw “on” TikTok, 90% said the platform “makes me happy” and “never gets boring,” according to TikTok Marketing Science US TikTok Made Me “Blank” It Research 2022, conducted by MarketCast.

Insights like this will be crucial for brands in 2023 as they seek to forge deeper relationships with their target demographics.

They should tailor their messages to the TikTok audience’s need for laughter and encourage user to find ways to lighten up.

Whether or not this is a short- or long-term trend, it is currently motivating:

• The spread of internet memes, which bring people together through shared humour.
• The rising popularity of tips and techniques for improving one’s health and reclaiming personal time.
• The fundamental reason why TikTok users are making room in their lives for happiness in whatever form that may take.

The world’s largest automaker collaborated with K-Pop artist and TikTok founder Henry to produce a song that features real sounds recorded inside a BMW eDRIVE, such as tapping on the hood and the electric charger being plugged in.

TikTok users were inspired to let loose and have some hilarity while using Henry’s original music in their own videos by this inventive framework.

The TikTok community, inspired by the combination of a catchy tune and a blank canvas, went wild.

Institutionalizing Shared Values

TikTok communities are hyper-specialized, making them “a cut above the rest” of social video platforms, according to the report, which, paradoxically, contributes to their widespread success.

What this means is that sharing videos that are more narrowly focused, as opposed to more broadly focused, helps people connect. There, they are able to expand each other’s horizons.

People watch videos on TikTok because it facilitates the creation of a global community of people who share common interests and values, and because it provides them with the motivation that comes from seeing people who are similar to themselves in action.