Top Sounds 

Our curated picks of the top sounds on TikTok

1. Hot New Bombshell Taken right from Love Island, use this sound to put yourself or your brand center stage.
2. Wake Up! There are a lot of people who are asleep in times of crisis, so use this sound to wake them up and remind them of what’s real. Or use this sound when you really don’t like this.
3. In Happiness? Make good use of the disco effect with this sound and celebrate what makes you different (not to sound like a middle school classroom poster) or throw shade on your detractors (people can have some really shoddy questions).
4. Oh My Goodness Use this sound for things in life that don’t seem that bad, but in turn, are potentially very bad and problematic. Pairs well with the data mosh effect!
5. Level Up When the beat drops, scratch your upgraded chin, use your Big Brain™ , and tell the people what’s up.
6. Choose Violence Sometimes peace isn’t the option, so for today’s special, try violence. Now in a can! 

 Our Sound Highlight 

See It Clearly

Mood: 

Folks are using this sound while pulling off their glasses and then holding the glasses lens to the camera to get the viewer to see things a little more clearly. Use this to correct bad takes and show the truth.

 Video Highlight 

The Supreme Court is now wreaking havoc on a global scale. A 6-3 decision now plans to ravage the climate further as the conservative court weakened the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to fight climate change, giving power to corporations who continue to increase greenhouse gas emissions. This Tiktoker is reminding us the importance of sustainability, and she’s talking that talk along with a beat that goes hard. We must unite as a people and turn up our anthem, for the final battle is before us.

 The Moment 

Uplifting and centering the most marginalized is always an option. More than an option, it is a prerogative. At this moment, in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson, people are angry, frightened, and in need of assistance.

It is no surprise, then, that an email or a text asking for a donation to a national party or organization is going to be met with disdain and resistance. In the words of one protestor, “my rights shouldn’t be a fundraising point for the Democrats.”

Conversely, we’ve seen some Democrats and organizations have taken this moment to direct their followers and mailing lists to abortion funds. These messages have arguably landed much better with audiences who feel disempowered, particularly in the wake of losing a fundamental right.

This has been a good reminder that there is no binary in how you communicate about abortion rights. To direct focus to marginalized groups or local funds in the wake of a decision that disproportionately affects marginalized groups does not spell out GOP victory. Listening and focusing on what people materially need, can be powerful in a rapid response moment.

 The Zeitgeist 

Hot topics from across the internet

• Obi-Wan-Kenobi is out on Disney+. If you said you find a certain character annoying, I will fight you.
• You look like you snuck onto Earth is the most devastating insult thrown at someone online in a hot minute and I just think we need to reflect on it.
• Rudy Giuliani has some sandals he wants you to buy. Yes, really.
• The new biopic Elvis is out, sparking conversations of cultural appropriation, as it’s no secret the ‘King of Rock n’ Roll’ built his career off the musical talents of Black people.
• Instagram is doing some ‘unique’ testing with select users by removing the standard video posts and formatting all posted videos into reels. The days of Instagram being an app for posting pictures feels like ancient history as it races to keep up with TikTok.

 The Takeaway 

We do this work every day and we see the changes to trends on TikTok in real-time. With all that said, here’s what we’ve learned this week: Pick your moment.

If there’s anything we’ve seen in the past two weeks, it is a fundamental failure to act right. Vox put up a piece that aims to answer the questions everyone on the internet seemed to have: “Why is your only answer to this that I need to vote?”There were lots of questions in the wake of the Roe decision. Questions like “Am I really going to have to tell my manager at DICK’s Sporting Goods that I need an abortion?” and “why did that online publication think ‘Seven TikTok dances you can do to save Roe v. Wade’ was an appropriate article?”

This leads us to our most evergreen takeaway yet— pick your moment. There is a time for everything (ok, maybe not the dance article). Don’t make your audience feel like you’re shirking responsibility or trying to scapegoat. Don’t make them assume you misunderstand the gravity of current events. Instead, pay close attention to what people are saying online. It may help you realize that there’s an expiration date on that tweet you’re typing about Susan Sarandon or that The Handmaid’s Tale might be a good book but it also might make you look glaringly unaware of the centuries of the real history of reproductive control of Black women. What you need to do is think critically about the content you put out. You need to consider what your content does, at this moment, for your audience— not what it might do in November. By consistently building support and power, and seeing who needs help most, you’re likely to be a lot more successful.