Ever since TikTok came into the existence, I knew my life would never be the same anymore, said my fellow digital campaigner working for environmental causes, back then in Indonesia. We often made fun of TikTok for being the main source of cringe kinds of stuff. Little did we discover that it became a thing that would lead to the trend of short videos these days. Each social media platform has established its story features (even Twitter once did that!). Instagram and Facebook changed their algorithm to prioritize their reels (short videos).
This trend of course changed the conventional tradition of the environmental campaign on social media that tend to use a lot of unfamiliar scientific and political terms with all those heavy-length texts. It is a bit more challenging to wrap these issues more concisely without being distorted. It has involved a lot of trials and errors for me to this date, but I am happy to share my tips on working on an environmental campaign on TikTok for you!
Always remember that TikTok is good to reach the Gen Z
A recent study from Reach3 Insights shows that TikTok has helped Gen Z learn about social and political causes. It is quite understandable because 41% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24. Followed by millennials who also consume content on the app. This opportunity could be optimized if you want to begin raising awareness of environmental issues.
We can start picking up issues that relate to the public. In my case, I began campaigning the individual act to mitigate the climate crisis, followed by why and how we should call the responsibilities of several big companies that contribute to climate change. During the distribution, we can conduct some a/b testing(s) to know what type of content suit our audiences. So go grab the chance!
Understand the attention span
TikTok might capture the attention of millions of users, but do you know that most of them have a short attention span? Due to its swiping nature, users will only see at least the first 20 seconds of our content. Therefore, it is needed for us to easily grab their interest in that critical moment. Play with their curiosity and offer value. Ask yourself before developing the content: what they will get from it and what it matters. Additionally, you can also offer fun or bombastic facts that (surely must be accountable) to the audiences.
Be concise and detailed at the same time
I think the challenge in campaigning for environmental causes comes from the way we craft very scientific or sometimes political things into something easy to understand. Practice making concise jargon and texts. Always ask for a lot of opinions, especially from those who aren’t familiar with the issues, regarding their understanding of your content. So that, all our struggles doing digital campaigns will not be in vain.
Optimize TikTok features
TikTok does indeed prioritize content that uses its built-in feature like effects and text treatments. Another important thing is to pay attention to the hashtag trend and your audience’s peak time. You can integrate the trending hashtag into the title of your content and post it at the right time. If your TikTok account is set to be seen by the public, you can access the Business or Creator account analytics and see all the insights that comprise your audience demographic, geography, and activity. Please always rely on the data to decide what’s the best thing to do for your campaign!
Anggita would love more insights and discussion related to the current social media trend for social and environmental campaigns. Hit her up by email to anggita.indari@atlascorps.org
Thumbnail image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
