267The hottest "event" on TikTok recently has to be former U.S. President Trump's debut on TikTok.
Before this news broke, no one expected Trump to post videos on TikTok.
However, it really happened!
Once the news came out, it was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves.
Countless netizens from home and abroad flocked to TikTok, wanting to see what kind of content it was, and were "lucky" enough to become viewers of Trump's first and so far only video on TikTok.
Screenshot of Trump's TikTok account
Opening the video, you can see that the content is actually quite simple.
In the footage, Trump appeared at the scene of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts event.
In the video, Trump not only waved to UFC fans, but also took photos with them.
The scene looked very lively.
If such a video were posted by someone else, a few million views might be the limit.
But Trump's influence is clearly much greater than that.
A video of just 13 seconds actually received 93 million views after being posted, almost reaching 100 million!
It received 6 million likes, 231,900 comments, and 340,700 saves. (As of June 6, 2024, 16:00)
Such powerful influence is evident.
When it comes to politics, I don't intend to say much. I just want to analyze, from the perspectives of celebrity effect, personal brand, and other factors, why Trump's extremely ordinary video could get nearly 100 million views!
Screenshot of Trump's first TikTok video
1. Celebrity Effect
No one would argue if you say Trump is a world-class celebrity, right?
After all, you might not know the names of any American stars, but you definitely know Trump!
Especially for the Gen Z youth, both domestic and international, they are very familiar with Trump.
Take young people in China for example—anyone who likes surfing the internet definitely knows who Trump is.
Nowadays, there are many memes and parody videos about Trump on Bilibili.
And because Trump "knows" so much, he is affectionately called:“King of Knowing”!
A generation of "kings" is thus born.
It is precisely thanks to such high popularity that his video attracted massive attention and traffic after being posted.
Trump, a man who is not a celebrity, but is even more famous than one.
Screenshot of Trump's first TikTok video
2. Personal Brand
I may not know about other aspects, but when it comes to business, Trump really knows his stuff—this is undeniable.
Trump's family has always been in business, and Trump himself started out as a businessman when he was young.
He hovered on the brink of bankruptcy several times, but miraculously pulled through each time.
And eventually became President of the United States.
The reason behind this is closely related to Trump's skillful use of new media to build his personal brand.
Back when television was still mainstream, Trump realized the importance of social media and started connecting with ordinary users through social media platforms early on.
He truly reaped the benefits of early social media, and this made Trump's "down-to-earth" image deeply rooted in people's minds.
Seeing this, have you noticed?
That's right, this is actually the process of building a personal brand!
No matter how things are in other areas, at least in business, Trump is quite successful.
He knows very well what ordinary users like to watch and pay attention to.
That's why he often becomes the focus of online discussions, making more people aware of him.
This also explains why Trump's fame is even greater than many world-class celebrities.
Combining both, when Trump posts a video, it naturally gets massive attention.
Screenshot of Trump's first TikTok video
3. Other Factors
--Public Curiosity
This curiosity refers to people wondering:Why did Trump choose to post a video on TikTok?
He was clearly active on other overseas social media before, so why is he now "switching" to TikTok? What's the purpose behind it?
I don't know about others, but I'm very curious about this.
So, unsurprisingly, I contributed a click myself...
--Everyone Loves Gossip
There's gossip in the front, and melon-eating in the back.
When we were kids, we learned from Run Tu to stick a melon, and when we grew up, everyone wanted to be the "melon"...
The joy of eating melons—those who know, know.
So on boring days, when there's something fun to watch, of course everyone goes to check it out.
So it's not hard to understand why Trump's first TikTok video exploded in views.
After all, joining the fun is human nature!
As you can see from the picture below, overseas netizens also love playing with memes.
By analyzing the reasons for the impact, on one hand, I want to happily eat melons with everyone, and on the other hand, I want to let everyone know how to increase brand awareness on overseas platforms.
Trump is a great example—he built a deep connection with users through social media, which is very worth learning from when promoting products.
Based on this, if you want to enter overseas markets, you can totally collaborate with influential TikTok creators to boost your brand awareness and product sales. With their huge fan base and influence, you can expect great results.
Or, you can create your own brand ambassador, just like Trump, or well-known figures like Lei Jun, Dong Mingzhu, Yu Minhong, and so on.
When you yourself become the "brand," you can imagine how strong your influence will be!
That's all for "eating melons" about Trump's debut on TikTok.
Looking forward to the next person who will attract attention across the internet—may it be your name!
