Despite TikTok’s increasing importance to marketers, the majority of brands are not getting it right, and their videos on the social media platform are under-performing.
According to new research, 84% of the video content released by brands on TikTok fails to generate strong positive emotions, capture attention, or enhance brand recall.
The mini-study conducted by DAIVID, which aids advertisers in assessing and enhancing the impact of their content on a large scale, also found that 24% of TikTok videos were triggering strong negative emotions, potentially damaging to brand reputations.
Their study evaluates the effectiveness of video content being shared on the social platform using a variety of metrics, including the positive and negative emotions elicited by each video, the attention they generated, and the impact the content had on various brand metrics, such as brand recall.
The study’s findings include:
Only 16% of the branded TikTok videos scored higher than the average Creative Effectiveness Score (CES) of 5.8 out of 10 – a composite metric created by DAIVID that combines the three main drivers of effectiveness: attention, emotions, and memory.
60% of branded TikTok videos were simply forgettable, with below-average positive emotional responses and below-average brand recall. They also ranked above the global average for causing confusion and boredom.
24% of branded TikTok videos triggered strong, extreme, negative emotions like anxiety, fear, discomfort, disgust, and shame.
Overall, branded TikTok content was 9% less likely to generate intense positive emotions than the global average and attracted 2.5% less attention.
In a press release, Ian Forrester, the CEO and founder of DAIVID, said:
“This research reveals that the vast majority of content being released on TikTok simply isn’t up to scratch. Sixty per cent of the creative is simply forgettable, under-indexing for positive emotions and over-indexing for negative emotions such as confusion and boredom. In one ear and out of the other for the viewer.”
He added:
“Yet, even more concerning for brands are the 24% of videos that evoked intense, extreme, negative emotions such as disgust, anxiety and shame. If these emotions are attached to the brand, they’re likely to do the brand damage, negatively impacting future sales potential.
This should be a wake-up call to brands and underlines the importance of analyzing the effectiveness of your social creative beyond just the basic reach, impressions and engagement rate data provided by the platforms to understand the real impact that it’s having.”
What Marketers Can Do To Avoid Negative Reactions
I realize that many marketers working at other big brands will ask, what should I do next?
For starters, read “39 Emotions Digital Marketers Can Use In Advertising.”
You’ll discover the latest research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia has uncovered: “Generally, it’s advisable for … brands to leave us with a positive emotion.”
Next, read “TikTok Trends 2024: The Most Important Trends To Watch.” Among other things, you’ll learn that TikTok launched its Creative Center earlier this year.
This can help you find inspiration by giving you insights into what type of content is trending in your country, broken down into hashtags, whether lip-syncing audio, popular creators, or specific video formats.
Finally, read the “10 Most Emotionally Engaging Olympics Ads (For Paris 2024 & For All Time).”
Yes, these video ads were uploaded to YouTube, not TikTok. But Procter & Gamble (P&G) dominates DAIVID’s all-time chart, with five of the top most emotionally engaging Olympics ads – including the top three tear-jerking positions.
So, you’ll want to figure out what they know that you don’t.
Spoiler alert: Brands should focus on creating more TikTok videos that generate intense positive emotions, including hope, admiration, amusement, and trust, as well as making fewer TikTok videos that evoke intense negative emotions, such as anger, disgust, fear, and anxiety.
We shouldn’t need new research to reinforce this important lesson. But, if 84% of TikTok videos by brands are underperforming and 24% generate a strong negative reaction, then I guess it’s time to ask some hard questions.