TikTok for Good: how charities can use TikTok to engage audiences

Since its international launch in September 2017, TikTok has emerged as the leading destination for short-form mobile video. With hundreds of millions of users across 150 markets and 75 languages, the app represents an exciting opportunity to connect with a Gen Z, engaged, global audience.

This audience has shown an eagerness to unite behind charitable campaigns. TikTok positions itself as a social media platform with a focus on the ‘positive’. Their userbase reflects this message through the content they create and share.

The nascent platform exploded in 2020. People found themselves with a lot of time on their hands in the UK’s intermittent lockdowns, and TikTok found a foothold as he social media platform of choice for a younger generation.

As the app became more popular, the ‘TikTok For Good’ initiative gathered real momentum. Nonprofits, charities, and NGOs can engage the user base with ‘Hashtag Challenges’ whereby users create their own content to show support for campaigns.

The United Nation’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched the world’s largest dance challenge. Their #DanceForChange campaign to help people in rural areas of Africa and other developing countries saw 33,000 videos created, generating over 81 million views.

TikTok has in the past got involved in fundraising themselves – donating £1 for every ‘Movember’ challenge video created and $2 for every video created in support of Red Nose Day.

So how are NGOs in the UK using TikTok? How can they create content that engages and resonates with an audience? And how does TikTok differ from other social media platforms?

TikTok for Good event 

We at Charity Digital were invited to attend the ‘NGO x TikTok for Good Event’ on 13 November 2019. Around 100 representatives from approximately 50 charities attended the event, which was designed to inform and educate UK charities about TikTok. Top creators such as Steven McKell and MrASingh were on hand to share their stories and best practice on creating content.

"Keep with the feel of the platform. Be authentic. Make it silly, make it fun, make it joyful."

– Liz Kanter – Public Policy Director at TikTok

The word of the day was ‘authenticity’. TikTok may be set apart by its unique format, but just as important is that the app has cultivated its own style - its own vibe.

TikTok’s model of focusing content on a ‘For You’ page, rather than a more traditional feed, means that content is served based on the kind of videos with which you have previously interacted. Therefore, successful campaigns will be those that meet users on their own terms.

"I want to make content that inspires me, that makes me happy, that makes me laugh."

– Steven Mckell – Creator

Speaking on the ‘TikTok for Good’ panel, popular creator Steven McKell spoke of the importance that a positive message plays in his own work, and indeed on TikTok as a whole. He described successful videos as comprising "original content, fun content, relatable content". This outlook lends itself to empowering and engaging campaigns that allow people to feel a sense of involvement. Or in McKell’s words – ‘Beyond TikTok, it’s how you want to live your life.’