Yuri Mussoly, head of content at TikTok, talks about how the platform can help brands connect with their audience
“Brands, don’t ruin TikTok”. This was the request of Yuri Mussoly, head of content at TikTok in his talk at the 2024 Gramado Summit. The executive was one of the attractions on the main stage to talk about how brands can use the platform and the creator economy to promote their products and /or services.
In “Creators beyond Publi”, Yuri discussed how TikTok works, highlighting that the application is much more about entertainment and content than about advertising. “A lot is said but little is done beyond good old publicity. Everyone is a little tired and fed up with it but TikTok is a more relaxed platform and open to co-creations, as well as being a platform for discovering new talent”, stated the executive.
According to Yuri, 70% of TikTok users believe that the platform’s communities have the power to change culture and that, therefore, it is important for brands to align themselves with creators, since they are the ones who make the platform be relevant.
“People connect with people, not with brands and machines, although we are living in a world that enjoys the evolution of technology to help us. Here, it’s about eye to eye, so the brand that uses the right creator to communicate , has a better chance of being successful because the human factor is very important. The creator is a bridge between the relationship that the brand wants to build with the public”, he explained.
To do this, she gave three tips for companies: creating an emotional connection with the public, building a narrative and thinking about the result and, based on them, presented tone of voice options that brands can use as a communication strategy on the platform.
In “relatable”, Yuri explains that companies can adopt a humorous stance and gave as an example an advertisement made by Luftal, which used this strategy to promote its product that combats gases, a subject that is often treated as taboo among people .
With “aspirational”, she suggests that a sovereign posture be established, worthy of serving as inspiration and stimulating the public’s desire. The third option is “informative”, where companies can use the platform to inform about topics, as was the case with Itaú, which invested in influencer marketing to warn about banking scams
Finally, in “inspirational”, the executive points out that brands can take on a “social” role, to truly inspire people on several fronts. For example, she cited Dove’s “That’s Not My Name” campaign, which invited the platform’s users to remember nicknames they received from friends and family in childhood and adolescence.
At the end of his talk, Yuri invited people to “think like marketers, but create like creators” and recalled that the platform offers a great diversity of content and possibilities, brands just need to understand the language and connect with the right creators for their needs. messages they want to give.
