What does TikTok virality mean for us?

It also brought back word-of-mouth trends, with TikTok virality making and breaking brands and products. It proved that ‘normal’ people – not influencers and editors, or advertising and PR – are often the best sources for recommendations. Indeed, those behind the Chanel advent calendar mockery, or the Clinique Black Honey lipstick ‘fandemonium’, were no industry insiders – neither did they have prior ‘followings’. But their influence proved huge.

Given that our business is to tell stories and set trends, it means that journalists and PRs in publishing and publicity need to work harder to be heard. And to be trusted.

TikTok’s audience has the sharpest bullshit detector out there and can see through the relationship between brands and those promoting them. Now, buzzy social media ‘moments’ around big brand reveals can risk looking super-manufactured, whether viewed from a position within our industries or not.

Authenticity may have become the biggest cliché in the world of content creation, but what I’m getting from readers is that it’s more important than ever in 2022. Hopefully we’re all getting on the same page.