Editor’s note: Media Insider is the podcast series by The Fix looking into the changing world of media.  You can find it on all of your favorite platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcasts.

TikTok came a long way from being perceived as a place for teenagers to becoming one of the most influential platforms in the world, surpassing 1billion annual users in 2021. The platform’s growth presented new opportunities (and challenges) for publishers. 

In the latest episode of Media Insider, we talk to Gabriela Campbell Gómez, Co-founder of Ac2ality, Johanna Rüdiger, Head of Social Media Strategy at DW, and Erika Marzano, Project Manager of audience development at DW about the most effective ways publishers can mark their presence on TikTok, the strategies to be used, and the importance of knowing trending TikTok songs. 

Here are a couple of ideas shared in the episode: 

Johanna Rüdiger

  • ”You have to find your niche, you have to have a content strategy, you have to be ready to upload every day and you have to be committed to that niche. You have to be on a platform every single day, build your community and understand the language and trends.”
  • “The good news is that it is possible to go viral even if you have 5 followers: you make a really good video and you got 1 million views, because the algorithm is not status-based, like Instagram and Facebook, but content-based.” 

Gabriela Campbell Gómez

  • “There is a huge variety of content in the app: there are a lot of dances, jokes, recipes. But now [in TikTok] there is definitely a space for education and therefore, for publishers.”
  • “TikTok is well-known and appreciated for being very natural…You will record in your pajamas and in the bun and people would love that.”

Erika Marzano

  • “Now we are calling them traditional social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.”
  • “KPI for TikTok is definitely not followers when on the other platforms it still is.”

Tune in to learn more insider information from the world of media.