Watch our hour long webinar with Michael Corcoran, Ryanair’s Head of Social about their approach to TikTok marketing and learn how they became one of the platforms biggest brand accounts.
They’ve organically grown to 1.5 million followers and rank number 2 on our UK’s Best TikTok Brand Report.
Ryanair’s strategy is to be the most talked about brand on and off on social
They have a reactive and community unit within the social team who’s focus is looking for reactive opportunities within the world of social.
Developing concepts at pace and producing content that is topical, entertaining and irreverent is crucial. This allows Ryanair to step into that world, be a voice within that discussion and potentially bring it back to Ryanair in some way.
Not only has this resulted in phenomenal reach on social but has even seen Ryanair’s TikTok get coverage in editorial such as Financial Times!
Watch the replay or check our our summary below
Key tips
Trending sounds are really important
Their teams are constantly looking out for trending sounds and having multiple people (internal and external) having different passions is secret to success as they have a wider variety of For You Pages (FYP) to spot emerging trends.
Having multiple people with multiple interests allows them to spot sounds as a sound is beginning to trend.
7,000 – 12,000 uses of a sound is the sweet spot and is a good indicator that it’s going to take flight soon:
‘It’s about hitting the bell curve at the right time, go too soon and you’re not going to get the cut-through, go too late and you’re not going to get the pick up of others because they’re riding that wave already. If you hit the bell curve at the right time it’s money in the bank’
The Ryanair team check sounds that have 3,000-4,000 uses, then save them and constantly check back to see if they reach the sweet spot.
Physical characters have a role but aren’t for everyone
‘Plane face’ has worked really well for them but doesn’t allow Ryanair to jump on certain trends. Duolingo have developed this much further with their mascot – however this is not for everyone and you have to be careful of directly copying what other brands are doing.
Use people within your team who are savvy and native to the platforms
They’ll always better understand what works on TikTok due to their For You Pages.
The comment section is equally as important as what you publish
It can yield higher interactions on what you reply to than the content itself. The comment section can help understand how the content is performing, uncover more content ideas and ultimately build an audience who will see your content more and more.
Ryanair also engage with others who are tagging them in.
You don’t have to invest much money in TikTok
TikTok is not a high investment channel, TikTok is raw and the creative needs to be created appropriately. Social media content has become more authentic, more raw and less polished due to TikTok and working from home. ‘It’s okay to create content this way and it’s bloody fun!’
Influencers credibility has fallen
Old school influencers (think those accounts that are always doing collaborations) have lost credibility. New creators have changed the game with how good their content is.
Sign off is easier than other brands
Michael is the only sign off for content – this allows them to be much more reactive compared to other brands (think how many layers of sign off you might have).
Film and edit within the TikTok app where possible
Where possible, the team try to keep everything native within the app as this generally performs better (according to TikTok themselves).
They still don’t know the ideal posting times
It’s a constant process of testing to find the ideal time, they thought they had it but had seen performance alter so they’re back to the testing phase.
Staff training for TikTok
Everyone in the team is challenged to create 1 TikTok/Reel each week regardless of whether they’re actually posted onto the account or not.
‘Just start making, don’t worry about it not being right, don’t worry about it being perfect, just practice. It’s about creating a habit, if you keep doing it and making it you’ll get better over time’
TikTok is getting bigger than YouTube
With 5 minute videos coming, TikTok is going to keep getting bigger and could overtake YouTube.
Be unhinged in what you do
You shouldn’t be afraid to break the brand guidelines on TikTok. It’s a place to experiment and be raw
‘Be unhinged in what you do… don’t be afraid to break the brand guidelines a little bit if you’re allowed to… If not, do it and beg for forgiveness because if it works you’re going to be the hot topic within the business’.
Don’t treat it like any other social media platform
TikTok is raw and is social how it should be, in the words of Michael ‘it’s bloody brilliant and fun’.
Ryanair got lucky
As first movers on TikTok, they got lucky with their growth. However, their creative license and lean sign off methods meant they could act truly native to the platform. Starting on TikTok now is much harder but to succeed you really need to stand out, think differently and find a niche.
Don’t rely on one person to run the platform
Everyone has a different For You Page and unearthing relevant trends requires more people using TikTok to help validate the right trends for your business.
‘You need to have more people supporting you if you’re delivering TikTok, if you’re not it’s a very difficult thing’
Looking for help with TikTok?
If you’re confused about getting started or want some help with what you’re doing on TikTok at the moment, give our TikTok Marketing page a read for some more tips and options to help your brand succeed on TikTok.
Watch this space for more webinars about TikTok success!
