What TikTok Marketers Should Learn From the TikTok 2023 Trend Report

The 2023 Trend Report from TikTok came out in late 2022 and offers numerous insights every marketer should be aware of. We encourage you to read the report, but in the meantime, we’ve gathered the most important highlights to know about.

About the Report

The TikTok What’s Next 2023 Trend Report is the platform’s third annual trend forecast. TikTok started issuing these reports to help marketers understand changing consumer wants and needs. The platform encourages marketers to use it to plan strategies for the year ahead.

When gathering information for the report, TikTok paid attention to moments, signals, and forces.

• Moments: These last days to weeks and are creative prompts that gain traction and become popular. They include hashtags, formats, and sounds.
• Signals: These last a few months to a few years. They are new content patterns that show emerging interests and behaviors. Examples include shifting behaviors within a vertical or category like celebrating smaller luxuries.
• Forces: These can last several years and are enduring, large-scale transformations in behavior. They include major cultural shifts, like where people find new products and how communities form.

To create the report, TikTok analyzed changes in cultural and social sentiments. The team figured out what they would mean for user behavior on the platform and then looked at case studies and research to back up its findings.

Looking Back at 2022

Part of the report touches on the major trends that took place in 2022, which involved changes to how people were thinking. This includes not worrying as much about traditional life milestones. It also included a shift from hustle culture to #SlowLiving and a shift from working in the office to digital nomads.

Three Major Trend Forces

The What’s Next Report from TikTok highlighted three major trend forces:

• Actionable Entertainment
• Making Space for Joy
• Community-Built Ideals

We’ll cover some highlights in each of these “trend forces.” You can find even more details in the 2023 TikTok Trend Report.

Actionable Entertainment

Put simply, this driving force on TikTok refers to how content shared on TikTok inspires people to take action. These actions range from developing new ways of thinking to trying out new products.

Some figures in the report highlight the influence that TikTok creators have on their audience and the actions their audiences consequently take. The following figures are percentages of the people who took action off the platform because of TikTok:

• 92% felt a positive emotion that led to the action off the platform.
• 72% said they used reviews from TikTok creators more than those on other platforms.

• What This Means for Marketers

  The trend report suggests that creators and marketers use this trend as an example of why showing instead of selling is the right approach. You should make tutorials with personal stories and engagement or entertainment rather than direct selling.

  You can also use this force to build credibility while uncovering truths and debunking myths. For example, consider a TikTok series debunking myths in your industry or niche.

  The TikTok report also suggests paying attention to user-generated content in the customer-to-creator pipeline. They encourage brands to form relationships with these creators.

Making Space for Joy

This trend force focuses on the way people are looking for advice on TikTok about self-care. People aren’t as concerned as they used to be about traditional milestones like having kids or getting married. Instead, they want to have joy in life and use TikTok to discover ways to attain that.

The following are some relevant statistics highlighted in the report:

• 40% of TikTok users say that feeling a lift in their spirits is a crucial part of being motivated to buy something.
• 50% of users say that the platform boosts their mood and makes them feel positive or happy.

• What This Means for Marketers

  The TikTok report encourages marketers and creators to use memes and humor to create a community. Memes on the platform typically involve using popular sounds.

  Another suggested signal is “Wellbeing Your Way.” This refers to how users share their “lifehacks” to make space for themselves as needed. This type of content can vary greatly, from content about the joys of being a digital nomad to offering skincare advice.

  “Little Luxe” is another takeaway from this trend force. It focuses on rewarding yourself and enjoying small luxuries in life across budget levels. It includes hashtags like #UnwindWithme and #TreatYourself. Use this trend to show how your products or services will bring joy and relaxation to your followers’ lives.

Community-built Ideals

This final trend force focuses on the supportive, relatable nature of TikTok’s communities and how those communities inspire users to change their lives. TikTok communities are highly specific. For example, instead of just gathering gamers, hashtags like #CozyGamers get more specific. TikTok users look at their communities to gather ideas of things to try.

Consider that:

• TikTok has 1.8 times the chance of showing users topics they didn’t know they would enjoy.

This culture of discovery makes the platform a safe space for starting conversations and asking questions.

• What This Means for Marketers

  The report suggests embracing the fact that people look to the community on TikTok to start conversations and find unique answers. Share interesting content that people may not be aware of and use hashtags like #EduTok.

  This trend also incorporates the way that people use TikTok communities for self-growth. They gain additional perspectives and discover numerous possibilities. Some relevant hashtags include #Advice and #GrowthMindset.

  You should also focus on making relatable, accessible content that lets you develop a friendship with your followers. Hashtags like #ComeWithMe let you take your followers with you on your daily activities, making you feel more connected and part of their community.

Conclusion

The latest trend report from TikTok gives a brief recap of 2022 and provides three major trends for brands to follow in 2023. The report includes specific examples and takeaways, which we conveniently summarized for you, so you don’t have to read the entire report unless you want to.