From the huge GRWM community to extremely niche fan edits accounts, TikTok offers entertainment for everyone. The reach and size of the entertainment platform means that there’s a creator out there to suit each of your interests.

At BIG little LDN, we’re big fans of data and analytics. With that in mind, we’ve decided to start tracking and analysing the growth in some of these TikTok online communities such as: #PetTok, #FoodTok, and #GameTok.

Maya Behzadi, Marketing Executive and BIG Shot alumni, is one of our in-house TikTok experts. As a member of Gen Z, she lives and breathes TikTok and has grown up surrounded by social media trends, giving her the ability to speak the ‘language of online’. She knows instinctively how to create content that’s going to resonate with an audience – there's no one more qualified in our team to predict the future of trends on TikTok this year.

Convenience cooking - easy meals that pack the punch

It has always been on trend to create meals that are super quick and easy. Let’s be realistic, who has the time to always be cooking for hours on end?!  Over the last year, we’ve seen culinary creativity boom as people experiment with quick recipes that look as appetising as the time it took to cook them...  

TikTok users have also been enjoying watching content creators plate up their favourite meals and arrange their plates to get the perfect portion of food. For example, @chloeroseofcl who always plates up her meals on camera creating series such as ‘fakeaways' where she recreates her favourite meals from takeaways.  

After the viral Samyang Buldak noodles and air fryer recipes, we can expect to see people opting for short easy meals that have plenty of flavour.

@eman.ibrahiim shared a video in early 2023 showing themselves making the viral buldak noodles gaining over 1 million likes. Others have done the same and gaining upwards of 1 million views each time.  

The hashtags say it all...

#Samyangnoodles – 37.9k posts, top liked video 871k likes, 17.5m views.  

Top liked video under #buldakramen has 18.4m views – 1.7m likes.

#Quickrecipes – 1.2m posts, 16.4 b views

Need more proof?

Single packs of Samyang Hot Chicken Ramen have over 87,000 views on TikTok Shop! And an impressive 50,000 packets have sold since the delicious noodles became an internet sensation.  

Using pets for human trends  

I’m sure everyone has seen a dog day in the life in their time on the app this year with the designated prankster voice effect.  

One account that hopped on this trend is, @winston_da_ween his video has got just under 9m views, on his (Winston the Daschund) day in the life which featured the ‘prankster’ voice over effect and gained over 2m views an engagement rate of 22%.

I think it’s likely we’ll be seeing more and more owners joining TikTok and getting their fury friends to join in on human activities (or vicariously live through their four-legged friends?). As PetTok grows and we see more accounts dedicated to their pets, I think they’re a real contender for dominating the entertainment app this year.

Hashtags we will track  

#PetsOfTikTok – 8.3m posts

#PetTok – 222k posts  

By tracking a niche topic’s popular hashtags, we’ll be able to measure just how much these communities are growing from quarter to quarter and year on year.  

Pet advice  

Pet advice has been a popular topic across many different social media platforms. However, with the new controversial laws on the ownership of XL bullies, and more awareness being spread about how to keep your dog's safe on their walks, I think it's likely we’ll see more experts reaching out to TikTok to share their knowledge, facts and opinions on pet advice, training and ownership.

How do the hashtags look?  

#Dogadvice – 7595 posts  

Although these hashtags show considerably less posts than the hashtags we have been tracking for other topics, this is a great example of a niche within a community. PetTok is so huge there will be people on it for completely different reasons! Some users might be finding some comedic relief through funny videos of pets, others will be using the hashtag for advice and training, and some might be researching breeds for their future fury friends.

Popular accounts for pet advice

@Amirthevet -  veterinarian, 384.4k followers and 19.4m likes  

@kaylakowaski – certified dog nutritionist, 1.7m followers and 43.5m likes

@Useless_Farm – gives us an insight into what farm life is like, 5.2 m followers and 190m likes

TikTok gaming streams

Gaming as we once knew it has completely transformed over the last few years with the use of VR and AI technology.  

Although innovation will continue in the gaming world, it's not always translated to the gaming community on TikTok. TikTok caters for everyone, from your everyday gamer to your gaming enthusiast.

This year, I believe we will see gamers taking to stream on TikTok playing their favourite games just like we’ve been seeing of @yfilly and @angryginge13.  

Creators starting of as streamers like @angryginge13 have now gained great success on other social platforms like Instagram and TikTok. He has a huge and loyal fanbase, on TikTok, the hashtag, #angryginge13, has 75,000 total posts under his name.

GameTok Hashtags

#GameTok – 2.9m posts

#GamingSetup – 1.2m posts

Did you catch @MrBeast’s Squid Game IRL?

@MrBeast, a famous American content creator originally on YouTube, captured audiences when he created his very own Squid Games after the popular Netflix series took to our screens in 2021.  

In total, his Squid Games video, garnered over 567 million views and took over the online gaming community, you can still see a huge amount of edits of it on TikTok.

After the viral success of this campaign, and the conversations it created online, I think it could be the start of IRL gaming.  

The question is – what will be the next game being brought to life and promoted across TikTok?

See you next quarter!

Keep an eye out for our update on TikTok Trends, Forecasts and Predictions for 2024. It's going to be the perfect reading for anyone looking to emerge into the TikTok scene this year.  

I’m going to continue scrolling through my favourite social media and keeping track of trends, data and my own forecasts and report back to you at the end of each quarter. I’ll see you next time in April 2024.

With comparative data from the previous quarter, this will be a series of articles you won’t want to miss!

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