I have had a TikTok account ever since my son posted something and it went viral with over 2 million views. Of course I immediately had to check out what platform he was using (once a mom, always a mom). TikTok is intriguing. I was horrified by some of the videos younger kids post—especially the girls, but at the same time I was also oddly fascinated by how many different people were posting and using this platform as a means of expression. As a side note if I see one more yep/nope song video I may cry. I think we have hit critical mass on that trend, folks.
A platform loved by Gen Z, TikTok offers an endless stream of creative videos of people goofing off, dancing, posing and just being themselves in 15-second digestible chunks. Easy to watch, easy to flip away and move onto the next video. Unlike YouTube there is no waiting for the commercial to end or waaaaayyyyy too long videos which to me is the advantage of TikTok.
With the entire platform being built on self-expression and creative freedom for what seems to be a younger audience I was surprised to see on Good Morning America that TikTok was now being “taken over” by extreme couponers.1 In fact informative videos have been on the upswing on TikTok as people post instructional segments on virtually any topic and stream together four 15-second clips.
Take for example, Katie Swanson, a mini celebrity on the platform who posts really interesting informative extreme couponing tips. Katie, also featured in the GMA segment, joined TikTok in March of this year as @coupon_katie. She posted a video of her “stockpile”—a place in her house where she warehouses all of her couponing wins—while the song “Ooh Ahh (My Life Be Like” by GRITS played. Just like that the video had over 3 million views.2 Think about that…3 million views of a video featuring extreme couponing wins. In fact the TikTok hashtag #coupons has 29.2 million views. #Couponing has 14.5 million, and #coupon has another 6.8 million and counting. Katie went on to post more videos about couponing like this one about Target:
Informative videos? Easy to watch? All I can say is look out YouTube your days of being the reigning champ of instructional and informative videos might be over.
References:
- Bernabe, Angeline Jane, and Sara Russell. “Woman Uses TikTok to Teach Teens How to Use Coupons.” Good Morning America, Good Morning America, 16 Oct. 2019, https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/coupon-queen-woman-tik-tok-share-tips-couponing-66302189.
- Glum, Julia. “Extreme Couponers Are Taking Over TikTok.” Money, Meredith Corporation, 16 Sept. 2019, http://money.com/money/5652592/tik-tok-app-couponers/.
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