Top Sounds 

Our curated picks of the top sounds on TikTok

• 1. Get Your F***ing A** Up And Work 
  • Whoo boy. Kim Kardashian, queen of working, orders us all to get to work. Kourtney concurs in the background, “it’s so true” that no one wants to work anymore. And who can possibly think of any reason? I mean, it’s not like there’s been a major disruptive event in the past two years…
• 2, Vine References 
• Before there was TikTok there was Vine (RIP, you beautiful fool). This sound is best paired with a Vine reference. This video is a perfect example.
• 3. Crazy 
• This sound is being used by people who have a story to tell about a time they had a realization. We can see plenty of possible uses.
• 4. Hello Hello 
• The uses for this sound have been pretty wholesome. A lot of people are using this sound to tell the story of how someone they met unexpectedly became their significant other. We see this sound expanding beyond this format into other ways folks have been surprised.
• 5. Another One, Thank You 
• Best used with the red eyes filter for evoking optimal despair, this sound is for when you’re absolutely not thankful for another one— whether that be another bill or another news notification.

Our Sound Highlight 

Zou Bisou Bisou

Mood: 

We’re cheating a little here. This is our sound highlight because of how it has been paired with the Meme Maker effect on TikTok. In essence, this fun little French bop plays over a diptych of a meme. You make the caption yourself, giving you ultimate control over the message and mood. Here’s a straightforward example.

ATTN: Trending Sound Opportunity

Looking to create a trending sound? As the period drama girlies all know Bridgerton is back for season 2. What does that have to do with potentially creating a trending sound on TikTok? Well, the first season yielded several trending sounds by having instrumental ‘classical’ pop-songs feature on the OST. Related sounds like this version of Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams have also taken off on TikTok. Maybe your account can capitalize on the trend.

 Video Highlight 

Look, I’m a Californian. Not only that, I’m a Californian who once spent way too long researching CEQA at a former job. So you could say this video hits a little differently for me. That said, State Senator Scott Wiener’s post hits the target audience by addressing a pressing issue by pairing it with a trending sound.

 Impact Account 

A non-profit, candidate, or organization getting content right
Indiana House Democrats

Indiana House Democrats are hopping on every trend- and they’re doing it early enough to see the results. What’s more, they’re speaking directly to their audience by asking what they want to see and then acting on it.

 Tactic Watch 

The tactic you might want to use in your advocacy content— TikTok LIVE

All of the main social media platforms have definitely taken a page out of each other’s playbooks—reels am I right?—but this time, Miss TikTok is stepping into the live culture and letting creators speak directly to their own followers. So should you use LIVE?

TikTok functions a little like its predecessor Vine, even if the maximum length is longer than six seconds. Short videos typically perform best. The short-form medium begs the question of whether audiences would be willing to tune in to this type of content when we’re used to videos that catch our eyes and are swiped away just as fast. While TikTok’s recent time length of 10 minutes videos has surely extended the versatility of use for creators and platforms, how effective is LIVE really?

Well, we’ve thought about it and we see the potential. For non-profits, businesses, and organizations alike, it could be a useful tool to host webinars (I know some of y’all are posting those Hustle trainings on Facebook Live). TikTok may serve as a strong alternative for reaching millennial and Gen Z volunteers and supporters. It’s also an opportunity for smaller creators to directly engage with their audience and foster a sense of community. A recent example? A singing Kermit that attracts thousands of views.

This 9×16 window of opportunity might bring new engagement by letting viewers sit with and watch events as they happen, something that we often miss due to the nature of the Pandemic. So are you ready to get on TikTok live and put your follower count on the rise?

 The Moment 

Issues that are at the forefront of online discourse

Kings, Queens, and Princesses belong in fairytales, NOT in Jamaica.
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge made a disastrous trip to the Caribbean. Related, I learned that what fuels me, in particular, is the anti-colonial response they’ve been getting. It probably doesn’t help that every photo-op looks straight out of a guidebook on “How to be a Colonizer.” As a result of this trip, protesters demanded reparations, the Prime Minister wants Jamaica to “move on” [from this colonial nonsense] and be independent, and the government is removing the Queen as Head of State ASAP. In TikTok parlance, it’s another satisfying racial moment.

 The Zeitgeist 

Hot topics from across the internet

• The White House briefed TikTok creators on Ukraine. Oh, and SNL spoofed that meeting in its cold open.
• Chris Rock got hit by Will Smith at the Oscars after making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. This moment has translated into some of the messiest online discourse in a minute (I recapped that here). Conversations have been sparked about Black women’s experiences of alopecia, understanding AAVE, ableism, nuances in understanding toxic masculinity from an intersectional versus a white-feminist lens, and even on violence writ large.
  • Now, not to have a Take™ but the NY Post (famously reliable) suggested the Academy may have Will Smith return his award for breaching conduct. Yet, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Harvey Weinstein, and more, continue to hold awards. Interesting.
• Abbott Elementary was renewed for a second season, long live Gregory’s side-eye
• The Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
• It seems like everyone is playing Elden Ring. The game was released in late February. Related: this Twitter account asks a key question— can you pet the dog in the game? For Elden Ring, the answer is no (but you probably don’t want to anyway).

 Takeaways 

We do this work every day and we see the changes to trends and the platform in real-time. We also undertake experimentation work and invest in trying new things. With all that said, here’s what we’ve learned from our campaigns this week:

Now, Who’s Fatigued?

Online allyship and performative activism remain the wildest part of the online impact space. This past week, conversations were sparked because of a yt woman wearing a t-shirt that read “stolen black breastmilk built this country.” Which… Phew.

Now, I’m not going to delve into the several deep issues with this tweet (the dehumanization! the performativity! the sheer weirdness!) but I wanted to highlight an element of this work that often goes unrecognized— understanding what it means to truly be a positive force in the digital impact space and how that is fundamentally connected to cultural competence.

Before you can create compelling content or design impactful digital campaigns you must operate on an understanding of privilege and power. A key part of the work we do relies on cultural competency skills. This manifests in so many ways. Sometimes it means understanding the difference between a wellness account and an account promoting pseudo-science, being able to flag accounts belonging to the “manosphere” or even ensuring campaign equity by designating time and funding to BIPOC creators versus performative accounts that take up disproportionate space.

This isn’t always easy work, and it can be tiring to explain the nuances of power and performativity when folks just don’t get it. But we believe this is essential to successfully navigating the digital impact space— and having an impact at all.