How TikTok Can Engage Younger Audience With Your Employee Advocacy

Audio and video are fast becoming people’s preferred ways to consume content. That means if you’re not already using them as a part of your employee advocacy programme, you could be failing to connect with a large part of your target audience. 

You don’t have to create long videos. Bite-sized videos are great for content consumption and engagement. 

There’s a reason TikTok videos are capped at 3 minutes. Viewers are more likely to watch videos all the way through and stay on the platform for longer. 

The best type of content for a platform like TikTok is edutainment. That means you entertain and educate someone at the same time. 

And yes, it is possible. Plenty of content creators already do this, such as Janet Murray.  

It can require a mindset shift, to see education and entertainment as one and the same, rather than two separate things. 

But, once you get through that barrier and embrace it, you’ll find idea generation much easier. 

A Growing Audience 

When most people think of TikTok, they probably think of teens and people in their early twenties. But the demographics beyond that, for creators and consumers, are growing.  

There are lots of content creators who aren’t in Gen Z, and who use TikTok to share industry information, build their brand, and educate their audience. 

Part of TikTok’s success is its fast-paced videos. They use a lot of cuts and often include captions and background music.  

This is a flexible framework that you can adapt to fit your needs to share industry news, dispel common myths, or even involve your audience in a game/quiz. 

Building Trust On TikTok 

One of the biggest benefits of video is that it builds trust faster than any other form of content because your audience can see and hear from people within the company. 

They get to feel like they know the people behind the brand better and have a deeper understanding of the company’s values and beliefs.  

This matters, too – according to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, 58% of people will buy from, or advocate for, brands based on their shared beliefs and values. 

It also found that co-workers are still the most trusted source of information. So, including them in videos builds trust, and reflects company culture, far more than if the CEO is the only person featured in videos. 

After all, businesses only feature employees in their content regularly – and encourage them to build their own platforms – if they trust their employees.  

Embracing Employee-Generated Content 

Trusting employees to share their knowledge in video makes the business seem like an open and honest place to work, attracting those with a similar mindset to purchase from the brand and apply for roles. 

Video creation can also be fun for employees to do, giving them a break from the usual structure of their day while they share their knowledge. It can even reassure them that they know more than they think. 

Without even talking about company culture, you can reflect the company’s culture and build trust within your industry quickly and easily in video form. 

This will attract the attention of passive candidates, building the company’s employer brand even when there are no open roles.  

When it is time to hire, the company will attract better-quality candidates who are excited to work in an environment they’ve already – passively – done their research on. 

TikTok videos are also additional content that you can post to LinkedIn, which your ICP can see. And who doesn’t want to partner with a fun company? 

The content a business creates can go a long way towards changing perceptions. Consider how a brand like Innocent Smoothies is viewed, with its funny, topical content.  

And look at how hard Microsoft has worked over recent years to shed their cold, corporate image.  

Conclusion  

TikTok is an easy way to get into video creation, with a low barrier to entry and a simple format. 

Its untapped power can help businesses and employees to build their brands, fostering a culture of trust which allows employees to develop their brand and their confidence on camera.  

It’s also a reflection of an open culture that trusts its employees and is comfortable allowing them to use social media, even if they can’t check over every piece of content before it goes live.