'Creative bravery'
TikTok has released its 2024 'What's Next Trends Report,' marking the fourth year of its publication.
The report is designed to provide businesses with crucial insights into emerging trends and in 2024 the key emphasis is on the concept of 'creative bravery'.
2023 saw TikTok's platform thrive with over a billion regular users, showcasing a diversity of content and creativity that often goes against traditional storytelling norms.
This trend is set to evolve further in 2024, with TikTok expecting its community to demonstrate a unique blend of curiosity, imagination, vulnerability, and courage, which they collectively call 'Creative Bravery.'
Three main trends
The report identifies three major trend categories that TikTok believes will be instrumental for brands aiming to connect more deeply with their audience:
1. Curiosity peaked
This trend focuses on the brand or creator's ability to introduce users to new topics and interests, sparking a desire for discovery and exploration.
For instance, beauty brand Clinique leveraged TikTok's dynamic search feature in a campaign that significantly boosted their product engagement and sales. This demonstrates the platform's influence in driving curiosity and action from consumers.
2. Unhinged storytelling
Reflecting a departure from the way in which stories are usually told, this trend highlights the platform's unique storytelling approach, where the end of a story might start first, or multiple arcs can unfold simultaneously. This has been termed as '#delulu' (delusional comfort).
3. Bridging the Trust Gap
This trend underscores the growing need for brands to be authentic and transparent. The focus needs to be on building trust and establishing your brand's values.
A case in point is the Indonesian childcare brand MAKUKU, which successfully increased its sales and brand awareness through strategic partnerships with TikTok creators in relevant communities.
How the report is compiled
TikTok's report is underpinned by comprehensive data from various studies conducted by the Global TikTok Marketing Science team.
These studies, including online surveys and analytics, have been central in identifying and validating the trends for 2024.
Sofia Hernandez, Global Head of Business Marketing for TikTok, highlights that the platform's storytelling and usage dynamics in 2023 have set the stage for an even more exciting 2024 where brand will "create engaging and meaningful content that resonates with the audience".
If you're a business owner or marketer, understanding and integrating these trends into your content strategies will help you achieve success on TikTok in 2024 in a more impactful way.
Here's the link to the full report again. And if you're keen to learn more, check out our TikTok marketing mistakes you don't want to make.
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