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TikTok: The platform healthcare brands can’t afford to ignore
2020 has been the year of brands pulling in the reins and watching what they spend. But an entertainment platform was about to become a household name and bring a smile to people’s faces during this tough time. TikTok has been around since 2017 but has very quickly risen to the top by becoming the must-have app during lockdown. TikTok aimed themselves at Generation Z, but people staying at home and wanting to ease boredom has helped to drive TikTok downloads and create a shift in audience. We’ve even seen our excellent healthcare professionals taking to TikTok to help them get through the tough days they’ve been facing during the pandemic.
With a 205.3% growth in 2019 and 800 million active users, TikTok has even appeared on our screens during primetime TV with a small ad campaign, showing the story behind the app and even getting celebrities on board. 2020 really has been the year for TikTok.
Just to put it into context, TikTok has become the 9th most popular social media site. That puts it ahead of LinkedIn, Twitter and Snapchat. And for this reason, it’s becoming the go-to for social media campaigns. So, how could it be used in the healthcare industry? Here’s some health and wellbeing campaigns that have caught our eye and, we think, have mastered the TikTok platform.
#TooSickToBeSick
Mucinex cold & flu medicine based in the USA, worked with TikTok to create a Halloween themed campaign. Using the hashtag #TooSickToBeSick, they asked customers to transform themselves from being sick to ‘too sick’ by
taking their cough medicine, to get them ready to celebrate Halloween.
By selecting one of the transformation styles you could go from snotty
nose and surrounded by tissues, to a devil ready to party.
#EyesLipsFace
e.l.f cosmetic brand used #EyeslipsFace (an acronym of the brands name) alongside a commissioned song of the same name to encourage users to take part in their dance challenge. The challenge was fun and appealed to everyone as it didn’t require any use of cosmetic products.
#gymshark66
Fitness clothing brand, Gymshark, launched a change your life challenge where users were asked to choose their own personal fitness goal and share before and after pictures using the campaign hashtag #gymshark66. Gymshark selected a winner and they received a year’s supply of Gymshark goodies! Not bad for taking part in a 66-day challenge.
#PLSchallenge
Even the French Red Cross is using the platform to help teach young people first aid. The charity selected four popular TikTokers for their #PLSchallenge and tasked them with creating dance moves inspired by first aid, from the recovery position to CPR. The campaign reached seven million young followers, helping the French government get closer to their target of training 80% of the population by 2030.
As TikTok continues to gain ground, healthcare brands are recognising the opportunity it provides, not only to connect with a younger audience, but to help HCPs become unbranded influencers and to use it as a platform for healthcare education. TikTok can be funny, cringy or even just pure genius. But there’s no doubt it represents a huge opportunity for the healthcare industry. If you would like to expand your campaign onto any social platform, we’d love to hear all about it and help you out. Take a look at some of the social campaigns we've completed for our clients.
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About The Foundry
The Foundry is a strategic communications agency, based in Manchester, delivering fully-integrated marketing campaigns for B2B, B2C, public sector and healthcare clients.
Marketing services that support patient education include qualitative and quantitative research, social media campaigns, educational websites, CPD programmes, online learning tools, in-clinic training materials, posters and patient literature.
For more information, call 0161 926 8444.