I’ve heard about TikTok, but I’m not quite sure about what it is… 

TikTok is a short-form video creation platform. You can make videos that are up to 60 seconds long, using multiple edits, filters or effects.  

You use different audio, uploaded by any TikTok user, to create funny or entertaining videos. Often users will use this audio to put their own spin on a video another user has made. Some users record themselves recounting funny stories or saying motivational speeches in the mirror. And certain communities (especially those who do Cosplay) still use the platform in the same way that the original iteration of the app known as musica.ly was used, which was to lip-sync to songs or parts of TV shows.  

Our best advice? Download it and take a look for yourself. 

And if you find the jargon a little confusing, TikTok has created a handy glossary of all the different terminology.  

Sounds fun. But why is Young Scot on TikTok? 

Don’t worry, we’re used to this question (and several variations of it in our comments section) by now.  

As an organisation, one of our key priorities is to inform young people. And, where best to do that than the platforms our audience are already on?  

Ofcom found that TikTok was used by 13% of all children aged 12-15 in 2019.  Globally, 50% of TikTok's audience is under the age of 34, with 26% between 18 and 24. From the data gathered so far, we see the users are well within our 11-26 remit. 

Also, TikTok’s the rising star of the social media world – and the only non-Facebook owned product in the top five most downloaded apps on 2019. It’s a disrupter and that’s what makes it so interesting.  

It’s had an unparalleled cultural impact in a very short period of time. The multi-award-winning and record-breaking song Old Town Road was first uploaded onto the platform which is where it was propelled into infamy. The artist, Lil Nas X, credits TikTok as the reason why the song made it so big.  

These are just some of the reasons why we decided to join the platform back in July 2019. We haven’t looked back since. 

But why is it so popular? 

The way the app is designed is to make it as easy as possible to spend time in. The average time spent on the app is about 52 minutes. The first page you open on the app is the For You page (#ForYouPage), which shows you an infinite stream of videos to watch which is influenced by the videos you like and what videos are currently trending. It’s a bit like if your Instagram automatically opened to the Explore page rather than your Homepage. It shows you a constant stream of content and uses an algorithm that learns quite quickly what content you enjoy. 

It is really easy to make your own content – especially if you aren’t too creative. The audio and effects creators use are displayed on their video. All you need to do is click on them to use the audio or effect and you can record right away. It makes it as easy as possible to put your own spin on someone else’s idea.  

It is also incredibly easy to share videos on TikTok which means it has leapt outside its own bubble onto other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. 

I’ve heard bad things about TikTok…  

Child protection concerns have risen from the platform and there has been lots of discussion about how appropriate some of the content is for younger audiences. There’s also been complaints about misinformation being spread – especially from medical professionals (most notably in the United States), for example, a nurse promoting abstinence as the best contraception.   

The platform has tried it’s best to combat the safety concerns and has produced its own educational video series, which are actually filmed as TikToks, that teach people to protect themselves on the platform and control what other people can see. You can view them all over at @tiktoktips  

TikTok has also recently announced a new family safety mode that will include a ’restricted mode‘ this will filter out inappropriate content and turn off messaging. 

How does an organisation like Young Scot use TikTok? 

It’s a great promotional and brand awareness tool for us. A lot of young people aren’t aware you can use the Young Scot Card until you are 26, don’t know how to change the photograph on their card, or don’t know how to order a replacement (or that you can do it for free). These are the kinds of comments we find most often on our videos and it gives us direct access to our audience to answer them. For a third sector organisation, it’s a fantastic tool that doesn’t involve big advertising budgets to tell people about the services we offer. 

Advertising is becoming more prominent– when you open up the app it comes up with an advert straight away. Unless costs come down this isn’t a viable option for us. However, it could be to our advantage as we come across as a fellow user and more relatable on the platform rather than a brand with a budget that is trying to ‘sell’ something. 

The platform is also an exciting opportunity to explore collaborations with other partners already on there – either on futures challenges, hashtags, Young Scot Rewards opportunities and more. Please get in touch if you would like to explore this with our Digital Team!  

TikTok is also encouraging more third sector, NGOs and campaign groups to use their platform via their programme, TikTok For Good.  

What have you learnt from your short time on the platform? 

We are definitely still learning! It’s been a case of trial and error for us. However, what’s clear is that TikTok is an entertainment app first and foremost – so what you’re creating has got to capture the attention of those watching. Our most popular posts so far have been light-hearted ones – translating famous movie quotes into Gaelic and explaining Scottish slang. These posts have lead to interactions with users asking how to replace their cards in our comments and have enabled us to provide answers to young people we might not otherwise reach.  

We also want to explore making future videos more informative, and will look to our audience and experience from other organisations about how best to approach this.  

It’s important to keep up to date on the current trends. This means engaging in social listening and actually using the platform. Making unique content is hard, but TikTok makes it incredibly easy to copy current viral trends – in fact, it seems to encourage it by setting the platform up in a way where it makes it easy to reuse audio or effects on videos already made. This means you just need to think about how your information or organisation can fit into this format.  

Also, look out for the ones that make it out of the TikTok bubble – why do you think it’s been shared onto Facebook/Twitter/Instagram etc? What makes it shareable?  

I heard you hosted a TikTok event recently? 

We were delighted to welcome lots of attendees to our first ever #YSLivingRoomChat event where we discussed all things TikTok. Ross McCulloch from Third Sector Labs, Jim Woolf from Leith Agency, and Emma Gilmartin and Tasha Quinn from Glasgow University all spoke about how they are currently using TikTok and the plans they have for the future.  

Four fantastic young people joined a panel and were asked questions from the audience. We learnt that the enjoyment of TikTok comes from entertainment factor and because it highlights stories that aren’t seen or heard as often – there are many ASL and BSL users are on TikTok, and others talking about difficult subjects such as domestic abuse.   

Ross lead a workshop with the attendees on how to plan TikTok content which had a number of young people feed in their experience on the platform to the teams planning sessions. Check out our Twitter thread from the day to catch up and keep an eye out on Young Scot’s Twitter or sign up to our stakeholder newsletter to find out about future events. 

We’re lucky to work in an environment where creative risk is encouraged. A “let’s try it” attitude which encourages innovation – so thank you to the Digital Information Team at Young Scot for allowing us to bloom! We are looking forward to seeing where we can take our channel in the future and exciting collaborations that can come from this.  

Take a look at what we’ve been creating on TikTok so far…

 Get in touch with the Digital Info team to talk to us about TikTok and content partnerships.