Be Gen Z in the TikTok Comment Section to Put Your Brand In Front
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Unified by the experience of viewing the same video, users on TikTok can comment their opinion; other users can adorn them with likes, and the video’s creator can pin it at the top of the comment section. Brands can harness the power of the comment section to increase their visibility, evoking the language of Gen Z to win over their favour. However, do brands look like mutton dressed as lamb when they throw in their two cents? Or have they figured out the best way to connect with Gen Z on TikTok?
Gen Z make new languages on Tiktok and it’s time for brands to get literate!
The TikTok comment section is a space where Gen Z has created a totally new language. Hypothetically, If you were to ever walk up to a group of Gen Z’ers and say, “no cap but OOMFie looking like a snack today”, they might laugh at you with snorts of derision, but they’ll understand exactly what you mean. Here’s a translation for that phrase for anyone wondering: I’m not lying when I say that my friend looks really good today.
Whether you’re a ‘pick me’, a ‘Heather’ or ‘cheugy’, TikTok users adopt many phrases to articulate their feelings. For brands, speaking their language is key to reaching them authentically.
Brands like RyanAir, Duolingo and Chipotle were the original juggernauts in reaching Gen Z on TikTok, emerging as prominent shitposters in an era where the younger generation was chronically online (the P*nd*m*c). Nowadays, many large brands have figured out the Gen Z language, finding themselves pinned as top comments on a user’s video and ultimately crowning them as Gen Z-approved.
For brands, getting literate and understanding language and trends is about exposure therapy—using and getting comfortable with the app. Also, having Urban Dictionary by your side can help you interpret the bizarreness. However, with these brands that have nailed the Gen Z tone of voice, you can only assume that they’ve employed a Gen Z to run the account, someone who grew up on the internet and would be TikTok users themselves.
So, what’s the benefit of being on the comment section frontlines?
The Mega Commenter and the power of brand interaction on TikTok
The Mega Commenter, a term coined by this New York Times article, is defined as a user who writes a popular comment underneath a post—a comment so popular that it perpetuates the post’s virality. The Mega Comment is a comment that concisely condenses audience thought and emerges as more popular or just as popular as the post it comments beneath.
On TikTok, being in on the joke is more powerful than reach and engagement. Piggybacking off a popular video by commenting on a viral quip can propel your brand’s visibility with little effort. It’s not that hard—the contradiction of a brand with a blue tick using Gen Z language is enough of a joke to get users chuckling.
Malala Fund, the international non-profit organisation, is a good example of switching up your brand voice and becoming a mega commenter on Social Media to get in front.
Even though Malala Fund’s comments and interactions are only loosely tied to their brand messaging, winning the favour of Gen Z has allowed their social media following to grow exponentially. At least this puts their brand name and Malala’s ethos in people’s mouths.
Is there a point, however, where brands are too edgy and their endeavours to become TikTok meme lords backfire?
Brand backfire and the arrival of trolls
In May last year, language learning app Duolingo took to TikTok to comment on the famed Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial. They commented, “ya’ll think amber watches tiktok” underneath a clip of Heard’s testimony in the defamation trial. Whatever that comment means, we’re not exactly sure, but staying away from political and/or very serious issues has been a firm rule for brands since the dawn of time. Duolingo perhaps got too comfortable with their tone of voice and allegiance with Gen Z on the app, and users were not happy.
Like many other social media apps, when users aren’t happy, they get nasty, and hiding behind a keyboard to express hatred will never go out of style. TikTok, like many other social platforms, is struggling to eliminate the trolls. However, when looking at the Duolingo debacle, keeping brands in check isn’t always bad.
If you’re worried about opening the floodgates to nasty Gen Z users on your TikTok social media presence, the app has some tools creators can utilise to cut through the rubbish. In their Bullying Prevention Policy, TikTok admits that bullying “can cause severe distress to people, and we do not tolerate it on our platform.” However, they say that “[they] have various app settings that allow individuals to control their TikTok experience”. These preventions include disabling stitches and duets and creating filters for comment sections.
Meanness isn’t always bad for brands; listening to users can help improve your products, messaging and Social Media presence and keep Gen Z on your side.
In conclusion, it’s no secret that TikTok is one of the biggest social media apps, with brands vying for the younger generation’s attention. However, The TikTok comment section can prove to be as powerful as the video content it comments under, and brands can utilise this to their benefit.
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