THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
TikTok – the search engine of choice for Gen Z and Millennials alike – is a thriving social media platform full of informative videos, comical shorts, and witty memes. TikTok’s popularity shot to new heights during the pandemic as users around the world stuck at home turned to the platform for a quick laugh, to learn a new skill, and to connect with other users over shared interests.
Now, with over 1 billion active users, TikTok’s algorithm works overtime to segment users into niched-down TikTok communities that function as a rallying point for common hobbies, pop culture trends, and more.
Here are a few popular niche communities that brands need to be paying attention to:
Gen Z is known as a generation dedicated to enacting environmental change in the world, and the growing sustainability community on TikTok is creating educational content to help drive this mission. Thrifting and secondhand content, sharing sustainable and eco-friendly brands, and holding major brands accountable for their unethical practices are popular topics discussed in this niche community.
Brands looking to connect with the Sustainability Tok community can start by familiarizing themselves with some of their most frequently used hashtags including #Sustainability (21.7M views), #ecofriendly (2B views), #sustainablefashion (1.4B views), and #thrifting (2.7B views).
This community is creating waves in the world of commerce with their narrative storytelling, as evidenced by a recent ThredUp report: Nearly two in five thrifters say they are replacing fast fashion purchases with secondhand clothing and 45 percent of millennials and Gen Z say they refuse to buy from “non-sustainable” brands and retailers.
Sustainability content is on the rise, and content creators in this community are picky about the brand partners they choose. They are hungry to work with brands that align with their values, bring positive content to their audience, and add to the betterment of the world.
With the rising cost of living, more and more people are turning to Money Tok to teach them how to effectively manage their finances. Gen Z has also shown increasing interest in entrepreneurship which requires a great deal of financial knowledge and responsibility so they’ve turned to “TikTok university” to earn their financial education.
Top hashtags including #MoneyTok and #PersonalFinance have generated 9.2 billion and 4.8 billion views respectively.
Covering topics like credit cards, cryptocurrency, taxes, personal budgeting, savings tactics, investing, and more, this burgeoning community is a perfect match for fintech brand partnerships looking to educate and equip the younger demographic on TikTok with the financial knowledge they need to set themselves up for success.
As with many of the niche communities on this list, mental health tok saw a massive rise in participation during the pandemic when many found themselves struggling with mental health and turned to TikTok for help.
This community provided a reprieve as TikTok users realized they weren’t alone in their struggle. Mental health providers took to the platform to further rally around this community, offering free advice and insights to those who lacked access to private therapy sessions.
Brands offering affordable online therapy or are otherwise promoting mental health in younger populations should pay special attention to the needs of this community which are often clearly voiced by community members throughout the comment sections.
The younger generations aren’t afraid to dive into once “taboo” topics like spirituality. In the past year alone google searches related to manifestation increased by 15,492%, and TikTok was inundated with manifestation or subliminal affirmation videos with #manifestation generating over 10.8 billion views on the app.
Within the spirituality community, you can also find content related to astrology, energy healing, crystals, and the occult. One sub-group that has been rapidly gaining popularity is #WitchTok which has generated 20.6 billion views and consists of chanting spells, performing tarot card readings, sharing crystal reviews, and ‘communicating’ with spirits. But this community isn’t all witches. The more mainstream side of this community puts a heavy emphasis on self-actualization, personal development, mindfulness, manifestation, and creativity.
The TikTok creators who make up this community are great brand partners for meditation apps, crystal manufacturers, wellness products, and self-help platforms.
One niche community that has seen major growth this year is BookTok, a community of book lovers who have taken up residence on the platform and are sharing their love of literature with the masses.
With over 25.6 billion views, #BookTok is one of the more popular communities on the platform. Within this community, you’ll find content related to book recommendations, favorite authors, publishing news, book reviews, and book purchase “hauls”.
The community has had a major impact, helping to revive a once-struggling print industry, selling out books for weeks on end, and even influencing Barnes and Noble to display BookTok tables in the middle of their stores. The power of this unassuming community is undeniable and should be closely followed by brands looking to partner with influencers in the community.
Publishers, authors, bookstores, and book-related brands can benefit from following trends and building relationships with popular micro influencers in this niche.
This industrious community of crafters and home renovation enthusiasts largely features tutorials for do-it-yourself projects as well as before and after reveals. DIY tok has grown in popularity since the pandemic with people looking for a change of scenery in their homes as well as Pinterest regaining steam.
Motivated do-it-yourselfers have driven #diytok straight to the top with 690 million views, demonstrating a high level of interest and engagement from this community.
This community of DIYers is a perfect fit for home improvement brands, construction material distributors, and crafting companies looking to reach their target audience.
The ASMR community, once thriving on Youtube, has carved out a space for their relaxing videos on TikTok. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and it refers to that calm, tingly feeling you get while listening to or watching someone whisper or tap on a microphone. ASMR content continues to grow in popularity as research suggests it can help with depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
#ASRM has over 201.5 billion views on the platform, proving just how popular this type of content is with TikTok users. Within the ASMR community, you can find a wide variety of content, from cooking videos to organizing and cleaning to students flipping through pages on the silent floor of their school libraries. The similarity is in the auditory aspects of the videos designed to ignite that autonomous sensory meridian response.
The great thing about ASMR content is that it can be adapted to almost any product, industry, or brand. As the number of ASMR creators continues to grow, brands should consider building influencer marketing campaigns within this niche. While the content is wildly popular online and ripe with opportunities for brand partnerships, the community is underrepresented in influencer marketing as a whole.
This list is far from exhaustive, but these are some examples of the specific “tok” communities we see brands partnering with on a daily basis to reach a new, younger demographic of consumers
The Social Standard is a full-service influencer marketing agency driven by setting the standard for the industry and then reaching even higher. Our team is obsessed with finding the right influencers for our partners. But we are way more than just matchmakers. We are strategists that develop effective campaigns to delight, inspire, entertain and hit business goals. From concept to seamless execution, we work with clients such as Adobe, FiatChrysler, L’Oreal, Motorola, and others, positioning them as pioneers in innovative influencer marketing and helping talent thrive in the creator economy. Want to learn more about our agency’s work? Shoot us an email at partner@sostandard.com. We’d love to collaborate!
