Cultural Content - Guest Post from National Archives TikTok
How the account has built up 2.5 million views since it launched 5 months ago
Hello content folks,
I’m really pleased to be able to share this guest post from Steven Franklin, Digital Engagement Officer at National Archives.
You might also know Steven from his previous role Twittering from Egham Museum in 2020-1, creating the Choose Your own Adventure Twitter thread as well as the Egham Oddity podcast.
In late January this year, Steven launched the National Archives on TikTok. Since then he’s grown this channel so that – in five months – its accrued 2.5 million views, 350k likes and 35k followers.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Here’s his view of how that happened…
P.S. if you haven't filled out the 2022 Cultural Content Survey make sure you head over there as it'll be closing soon!
TikTok... the Home of Gen Z, ring lights; trending sounds, dances, and content that often just leaves you feeling as equally bemused as amused.
It’s safe to say that, on the surface at least, TikTok looks and feels like the wild west of the social media landscape. The platform that starts blaring out noise as soon as it’s opened. The platform that appears to have no sense of interconnected coherency, fuelled by the immediate adrenaline rush of dopamine hits for creators and consumers alike. The platform where there is seemingly always an ‘in-joke’ in the form of a trending sound.
For the newcomer, TikTok can be an overwhelming place to inhabit. The platform, however, offers incredibly high returns for relatively little investment, and the possibility of doing the impossible – that is going viral – has never been more possible.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
It is no surprise then, that there has been an explosion of cultural organisations that have jumped onto the TikTok bandwagon. The desire to put content in places where our audiences frequent, mixed with a collective desire to remain culturally relevant, has acted as the sector’s clarion call. Fortunately, the sector has also witnessed the astronomical success of early adopters such as The Black Country Living Museum and English Heritage, followed by anecdotal accounts of increased visits by younger demographics. The wider sector now had the beginnings of a blueprint for success and a trailblazing path to follow.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
In January, the National Archives launched on TikTok. Since January we have accrued over 32,000 followers, been watched over 2.5 million total views, received close to 350,000 likes, and posted over 100 videos. 1 of these videos – focussing on some rude medieval marginalia – has had over 1.3 million views! Our TikTok journey has been quite the ride, but also a lot of fun.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Prior to posting our video, a lot of time was dedicated to thinking about what content streams we might create. A key part of this was seeing what content other cultural organisations, brand accounts, and popular creators were making. Our rationale was simple: if it is working for them, then surely it could work for us.
Individual Creators
A big part of TikTok is its focus on the personality of the presenter. Through a combination of green screen effects, cut away shots, and voice-overs, creators can make mini-history documentaries. There is an onus on the presenter to be a key driver in the selling of the content, through a mixture of humour, authenticity, energy, and engaging storytelling. Accounts such as Mary McGillivray (_theiconoclass) & Alice Loxton (history_alice) provided a good source of inspiration when it came to balancing humour and digital storytelling.
Editor’s note: Mary was a guest back in February! Here's her post:
But their success also helped to reinforce the idea that TikTok wasn’t all about dances and sounds. It was possible to communicate historical ideas on the platform, and use it as a tool for education, when the content is framed correctly.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Brand Accounts
Outside of the cultural sector, various brand accounts have risen to TikTok stardom. Duolingo and Ryanair have shown that consistency of content – in terms of theme and visual identity – is important. Ryanair’s follower count has now crossed the 1 million mark, and much of this has been down to the way they have consistently paired a face filter – where eyes and mouths transposed onto the fronts of planes – with trending sounds. Their content is irreverent – often leaning in to the tropes that people criticise them for, such as the lack of legroom, or charging for extra baggage.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
However, their content has proven popular because it’s relatable. Their content has struck a chord with the public and the conversations they have about the brand. Like all social channels, a good mixture of relatability and irreverence tends to go a long way and, at the very least, raise a small smile.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Costumed Interpretation & Character-based content
When it comes to costumed interpretation on TikTok, everyone automatically thinks of the Black County Living Museum and their cast of Midlands-based characters. Equally, English Heritage have also deployed the celebrity of Mrs Crocombe to great effect on TikTok. Followers of The National Archives account will have seen that we too dipped our toe into the waters of TikTok costumed interpretation. The release of the 1921 Census of England and Wales offered us the perfect opportunity to bring some ‘20s people’ to life. If the 1921 Census provided us with the characters, then it was our hope that through the power of social media and storytelling we could bring some of the characters and through them, the era of the 1920s to life. We found a company who had experience of producing similar content for other heritage organisations – in this case English Heritage - and worked with them to bring eight different characters (and their occupations) to life. We have produced four to five one-minute videos for each character, designed to provide a brief glimpse into what their lives would have been like and the issues they would have faced. The videos are deliberately short, in keeping with the transient nature of TikTok.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
You have to find your own way
The rules of engagement on TikTok are in many ways no different to other social platforms. Be consistent; be relatable; be engaging; but most importantly be authentic. The massive challenge with TikTok is that the form of communication is radically different. Rather than relying on the wit of the written word, we now find ourselves needing to factor in the personality of the presenter and other visual storytelling considerations.
Seeing what is working for other organisations is a helpful way in to this new world. The safety blanket of tried and tested content formats is a reassuring presence, especially in the early days when issues around production are at the forefront of your mind. But imitation only gets you so far, whereas the iteration of content ideas bares far greater reward.
The key to TikTok does not come through overthinking. The key to TikTok comes from taking the plunge, being brave, and making the content that best reflects the organisation. Some of it will bomb. Some of it will stick. Some of it will go BIG. But that’s the fun and the challenge of it. Make content that is authentic, interesting, and quirky. Do this in ways that keep people watching and elicits response. That’s the key to TikTok.
That’s it for this week.
I’ll be back in early June doing a round-up of what cultural / internet happenings have been making waves over the past fortnight.
👋