THREE ELEMENTS FOR TIKTOK SUCCESS: REVIEW

Songfluencer has worked with hundreds of artists on their TikTok campaigns. While it is impossible to know exactly what works vs. what does not work, there are some common themes present with most successful TikTok songs/campaigns.

1. A TikTok friendly song 

2. A Strong Creative Concept 

3. Artist/Marketing Participation 

When these 3 elements are unique, creative, and aligned - we tend to see great results for artists on TikTok. 

TAKEAWAYS

1. Viral songs on TikTok experience a wave of UGC during 1 or more phases of the song's velocity lifespan. There are plenty of times Songfluencer conducts an influencer campaign where the most impact isn't realized until weeks following the end of the influencer campaign. Does this mean you need to start a campaign knowing exactly what "concept/trend" you want to launch with? No! Many trends occur weeks/months after a song has been experiencing Velocity on the platform. Do not try to force ideas/concepts on the TikTok platform because you feel that you want to be "intentional" or because you think launching without a concept lacks strategy. TikTok doesn't work this way. 

2. With any marketing activity, having a great song (a hit!) can be the difference between an extremely successful promotional campaign and a mediocre one. TikTok is no different. If users feel compelled by the song, they will use the song in their content. 

3. This isn't a one-size fits all approach - everything is different. Songfluencer has worked influencer campaigns with songs that we did not think were super TikTok-friendly, but because they were paired with a great Creative Concept and Artist Involvement - they produced amazing results. We have worked with songs that were very TikTok-friendly and launched with no Creative Concept that performed exceptionally well, too! Don’t get too tied up in having everything perfect. It’s ALL about putting your best foot forward. Do you have a song that works? Do you have a concept that is unique? Do you have a rabid fanbase that can help generate Velocity? Use 1 or many of these elements to your advantage to create wins on TikTok! 

4. If you haven't gathered by now, the TikTok platform is dynamic and complex. It is important to lean on experts like Songfluencer to help you understand the different nuances. 

5. A successful Songfluencer TikTok campaign works well as part of a holistic marketing effort. Consider how other marketing drivers can help support your efforts on TikTok. If you're simply relying on influencers to make your viral dreams come true, it won't happen. 

Stay tuned to hear our next segment: "TikTok Influencers ARE NOT a Marketing Plan". Have a great week!

THREE ELEMENTS FOR TIKTOK SUCCESS: PART III

Songfluencer has worked with hundreds of artists on their TikTok campaigns. While it is impossible to know exactly what works vs. what does not work, there are some common themes present with most successful TikTok songs/campaigns.

1. A TikTok friendly song 

2. A Strong Creative Concept 

3. Artist/Marketing Participation 

When these 3 elements are unique, creative, and aligned - we tend to see great results for artists on TikTok. For part three we dive into the third element - artist/marketing participation.

ELEMENT #3: THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTIST/MARKETING PARTICIPATION

Artist participation/involvement in the campaign can help support growth and be a primary ingredient to overall performance. The same way it's difficult for a publicist to build a story around an artist that has nothing going on, it's difficult to generate a viral hit from nothing. An artist can do so many things to support their music on this platform. Regardless if you're hiring influencers or not to promote your music, having intentionality on the TikTok platform, using yourself (the artist) as an influencer, running adjacent marketing activities, and evangelizing current fans could be the catalyst for success. Consider the following:

• The Artist could create content and/or participate in the creative concept (this is what we call "artist as an influencer")

  • Current/potential fans will be encouraged when they see the artist involved. They will feel a part of the project/growth and that can only help your campaign move in a positive direction. Especially when thinking through ROI, results, and performance of a TikTok campaign, evangelizing cannot be overstated.

  • Release Tip: When you are launching a campaign (given the artist is willing), the artist should create 10-15 TikTok videos using the song. You can save them in the “drafts” folder and post them whenever you want.

• Evangelizing current fans (and friends/family). If pushing your current fans to create TikToks is not part of your current marketing strategy, then you're missing the point. As part of your release, use your other social media platforms to encourage/motivate your fans to create TikToks using your music. Hopefully, this will inspire THEIR friends/followers to use your music as well. 

• Engage with users/fans/influencers on TikTok that use your music. React/duet features, comments, likes, messages, etc.

• Run official TikTok ads as part of further audience awareness on-platform. 

EXAMPLE:

Kidd Kenn "U 2 Funny"

If you scroll through the videos created using this sound you will see that Kidd Kenn himself did roughly 10+ videos to support his efforts on TikTok. Each video he did was relatively different from the other ones he posted, but still used a similar structure and segment of the song. His efforts resulted in almost 1,000 people using his song on TikTok.

TikTok is a platform that allows content, once in motion, to go super viral. We must believe that this same ecosystem suppresses content that has very little or no motion. At Songfluencer, we always refer to a concept called "velocity" when considering the impact influencers will have on a song. Velocity refers to the speed of UGC (or lack thereof) a song is experiencing on the TikTok platform. Low velocity songs tend to need more time, effort, and resources (money) to grow. High velocity songs tend to need less. 

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned as next week we do an overview of the three elements.

THREE ELEMENTS FOR TIKTOK SUCCESS: PART II

Songfluencer has worked with hundreds of artists on their TikTok campaigns. While it is impossible to know exactly what works vs. what does not work, there are some common themes present with most successful TikTok songs/campaigns.

1. A TikTok friendly song 

2. A Strong Creative Concept 

3. Artist/Marketing Participation 

When these 3 elements are unique, creative, and aligned - we tend to see great results for artists on TikTok. For part two we dive into element two - a strong creative concept.

ELEMENT #2: HOW TO DEVELOP A STRONG CREATIVE CONCEPT

TikTok is changing music consumption as we know it. We primarily attribute this to the fact that songs are now uniquely aligned with a visual component as well as the audio component. Artists/songs become popular when influencers and users on TikTok use songs in their videos. Typically, songs don't become popular because one or two big influencers posted a TikTok using a song. They become popular because thousands of users posted a TikTok using a song that had a similar and unique visual concept. Most viral songs on TikTok have a theme, trend, challenge, or concept that occurs during the lifespan of the song's velocity on TikTok. When ideating a creative concept for your song, here are some factors we consider: 

• Is the creative concept unique enough that it would catch the attention of even the most passive users?

• Is the creative concept too high or not replicable by the masses? 

  • If something is difficult to film or the subject is too difficult to locate, it could discourage users from replicating.

  • Furthermore, consider if "the masses" can replicate this idea of yours. 

  • This is what we call "UGC friction" at Songfluencer. Most influencers will follow creative guidelines that you send to them (at least, the ones that Songfluencer works with do!). 

  • Are you wanting them to do something that you think would make great content *OR* or are you wanting them to do something that you think would inspire other creators to use your song. BIG, BIG difference here. 

• Is the creative concept too vague? Will users understand that this is a “thing”? 

We often we receive instruction from the most experienced marketers that make these types of suggestions for TikTok influencer campaigns:

• "Can we get first responders to something?"

• "Can we have dog accounts use this song?"

• "We just want wholesome/family/cute content. Can you do that?"

• "We want influencers to do this at amusement parks with 10 of their best friends."

This ideology lacks alignment with proper promotional tactics on the platform. Remember, TikTok songs work because thousands of people use the song in their TikToks (UGC). The goal is to create UGC. Limiting the approach to specific users, making the creative content too vague, and/or making the concept not easily replicable by the masses creates inherent promotional friction. 

EXAMPLES:

Charlie Puth - "Girlfriend"

The brilliance of this concept/creative is that the exact way the users use the line "just stop....but I think i'll do it anyway" is different user to user, but you can see how this still falls in line thematically across all users. When someone sees this developing on TikTok (even if they are not a Charlie Puth fan), they will be inclined to do this trend because it feels like "a thing" and they can put their own unique twist on it. 

• Influencer A

• Influencer B

• Influencer C

Apollo Fresh -  "JoJo Pose"

The concept here is that users must act like they are posing for pictures or reenacting photos/footage *that aligns with* the song lyrics "Pose! Pose! Pose!". Fashion influencers, sports enthusiasts, and many other users can use this song and put their own unique spin on the concept.

• Influencer A 

• Influencer B

• Influencer C  

OTHER NOTES:

Having a Creative Concept is important, but sometimes we might recommend launching your campaign without a Creative Concept – especially if your song is experiencing little or no velocity on the TikTok platform. Reach out to Songfluencer directly to discuss ideation and best practices. 

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for as next week we cover the 3rd element - Artist/Marketing Participation.

THREE ELEMENTS FOR TIKTOK SUCCESS: PART I

Songfluencer has worked with hundreds of artists on their TikTok campaigns. While it is impossible to know exactly what works vs. what does not work, there are some common themes present with most successful TikTok songs/campaigns.

1. A TikTok friendly song 

2. A Strong Creative Concept 

3. Artist/Marketing Participation 

When these 3 elements are unique, creative, and aligned - we tend to see great results for artists on TikTok.  In part one we explore element one - a TikTok friendly song.

ELEMENT #1: “WHAT MAKES A TIKTOK FRIENDLY SONG?”

A “TikTok-Friendly” song - Songfluencer considers many variables to navigate how “friendly” a song is for the TikTok platform. A few questions we ask when determining this are:

• Is there any lyrical (a phrase or a line) content that could inspire a visual?

• Does the instrumentation contain elements (something fun or unique) that could compel a user to create a video? This could mean a drop, transition, key change moment, breaks, and/or tempo changes. We have also seen that this could include unique or interesting instruments being involved and prevalent in the mix. 

• Is there any cultural relevance or references in the song that could inspire a visual? Is there something timely about a specific lyric? Is there a phrase that points to something trending? 

EXAMPLE:

One of our favorite examples is Chris Young's "Gettin' You Home". This song had a brief viral moment on TikTok in mid-May 2020 as we were slowly coming out of the COVID-19 quarantine. TikTokers took the line, "I don't need this menu...no I don't....I already know just what I want" as a storyline/meme concept in their videos to address their thoughts about restaurants re-opening. Some examples:

• Example 1

• Example 2 

The same way certain songs work for Radio or Playlists, certain songs simply work better than others for TikTok. We are beginning to see that marketing teams are launching an A/B single approach: 

• A) playlist/radio single

• B) TikTok single

What works for playlists and radio doesn't always work for TikTok. 

Thank you for reading! If you want to check out a sneak peak of the next part of this series head to the part two HERE.

Josh Epple and Songfluencer create viral hit for Hopeless Records artist Waterparks

One way to create a super successful TikTok hit is to have a unique, creative, and easily-replicable Creative Concept. A Creative Concept refers to the visual idea or artistic expression that connects a song with a common theme. For example, the most well-known Creative Concept on the TikTok platform is the “Old Town Road” Creative Concept, where users begin a video in normal clothing and, upon the drop to the verse, the user instantly appears in the same setting but in cowboy/western attire. 

As you continue to implement TikTok campaigns, ideating strong Creative Concepts is essential for success. Meme-able moments, dances, handshakes, story-line twists, pranks, and many more methods are used to create viral Creative Concepts. The Songfluencer team is happy to help create ideas for you and/or further develop existing ideas you have. 

Earlier this month we sat down with the Head of Promotions for Hopeless Records, Josh Epple, who spearheaded the Waterparks' “I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore” TikTok campaign. After working with an influencer who was a fan of the band and crafting a brilliant creative concept, Josh utilized Songfluencer to help continue the song’s momentum on TikTok. Here is the conversation between Josh and Songfluencer Co-Founder/CEO Johnny Cloherty: 

Name: Josh Epple

Company: Hopeless Records

Title: Head of Promotions 

Years in the music business: Six 

The concept: Josh Epple and team ideated an amazing concept for Hopeless Records artist Waterparks for their song “I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don't Wanna Die Anymore” . Josh ingested a song segment around the 0:33 mark. The segment included a brief part of the pre-chorus and the hook lyric of the chorus "I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don't Wanna Die Anymore". During the pre-chorus, creators were instructed to use a text bubble to include a statement about a circumstance or predicament they are in, ie; "How do you feel now that you're out of a toxic relationship?", "So you're in a long distance relationship? How is that going?", and many many more - you can check out all of them here . Eventually, the chorus comes in with, "I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don't Wanna Die Anymore" would follow the meme statement and the user would lipsynch the hook lyric. 

Songfluencer: Josh, thanks for joining us! I'm thrilled to put this specific project under a microscope. First off, tell us a little about Waterparks and what initially inspired integrating TikTok into your release plan? 

Josh: Waterparks is dope! They are next gen pop-rock band out of Houston who's singer Awsten is a perpetually viral weirdo genius. Awsten and the band have done a great job crafting a very unique social media presence that has gained a pretty sizeable cult following. Their last record FANDOM, which came out in Oct 2019, was our first record with them and we knew to get them bigger we had to introduce them to a new audience that would be attracted to what was already working on Twitter and Instagram. That audience was on TikTok.  

Songfluencer: When was the song released on October 11th, what was the reception like? Any pick up from official playlists? Press outlets? Anything notable?

Josh: The song actually wasn't a single on the record, so it came out when the record was released and was performing as most album tracks do. Fans seemed to like it because of the weird name and lyrics, but there wasn't anything that was pointing to it being a hit. 

Songfluencer: Did this TikTok concept occur organically or did you seed the idea with an influencer on your own? Can you help give us insight into the initial "take-off"? 

Josh: The story of how we got this song to work on TikTok is actually half hard work and half luck. I went through TikTok users who had used Waterparks and similar artist's songs in the past and made a list of users who had over a certain amount of followers and good engagement. I reached out to a bunch and eventually linked up with Tyler Myles, a kid from the midwest who has a great story and is a MASSIVE fan of the band. We hopped on the phone and discussed some ideas and came up with one for Waterpark's song "Dream Boy", which was our active radio single at the time. It worked OK. We had about 4000 video creations in a month or so, but only saw a slight uptick in streaming. When the record dropped Tyler really liked "I Miss Having Sex..." and said he was gonna try something with that and it took off. The majority of the credit goes to Tyler on this one. The meme was genius. We just amplified it. The song is now at 32,000 video creations, which is a modest viral song on TikTok, but the effect it had on fan building and streaming was one of the most substantial things to happen on the album campaign. 

Songfluencer: How did the song's success on TikTok impact streams and awareness on DSPs? Do you have any quantitative data you are willing to share? 

Josh: "I Miss Having Sex..." taking off on TikTok while it wasn't actively being worked as a single really showed us the power of what virality on the platform could do. It was a perfect case study. The song was not standing out on the record the first couple weeks it was out and suddenly it became the #1 track on the album, growing week over week for about eight weeks until it plateaued where it hasn't really fallen from since. The song hit Spotify viral charts in over five countries including the U.S. and U.K., we were able to take the growth numbers to DSPs and get playlists adds on huge lists like A-List Pop, and were able to get airplay on Sirius XM Hits 1. Overall we estimate that the song is 8-10x bigger than it would have been and it shows no signs of slowing down. 

Ideation is the key to many successful TikTok campaigns. Obviously, having a strong TikTok-friendly song is helpful, but being creative with the song and connecting visual components to it can be a massive difference-maker. Songfluencer is happy to help ideate concepts and viral moments with you and your team.