These Swiss media are already on Tiktok
On November 20, the German Tagesschau launched its Tiktok presence. Eleven days later, it already cracked the 100,000-follower mark. Opportunity seen, opportunity seized. A social media fairy tale. But criticism was quickly voiced. Does the Tagesschau now have to go on Tiktok? Leo Wehrli thinks so: Yes! In Switzerland, we still have a gaping hole in this area.
News-deprived people can only be reached via social media
It's not just acceptable for media to have a presence on social media. It's central. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing the so-called news-deprived.
News-deprived people are people who consciously or unconsciously consume only little (nationally relevant) news. In Switzerland, they make According to the Research Institute Public and Society (FÖG). 36 percent of the population. These people can no longer be reached with the traditional products of a media company (newspaper, app, website). They only come across news in passing - via Google, aggregators or social media.
The news-deprived group has grown by 15 percent in the last 10 years. This trend is set to continue. Among the under-29s, 56 percent already consume their news in this way.
A traditional media brand thus runs the risk of becoming practically invisible to a growing part of the population. That's why it has to go on social media. And the new rising star is called Tiktok.
Switzerland surprises on Tiktok
At first glance, SRF does not yet have a Tiktok presence, but the private media have already dared to take the first steps. Some with astonishing success.
Radio Energy, which for months has been the Storyclash Ranking Leadsalso knows how to produce viral hits on Tiktok. The team has been posting videos on Tiktok since the end of October. The most successful one went around the world - five million people have seen it, and that with 44,000 followers.
Venty, the youth brand from 20 Minuten, is hot on Energy's heels. Several videos have already cracked the one million views mark. 24,000 people follow Venty on Tiktok. This means Venty has more followers on Tiktok than on Facebook and Instagram combined. Videos are also published under the 20 Minuten brand. In the beginning, (light) news fare was served up, but now Tiktok-typical entertainment can be found.
Energy and Venty perfectly demonstrate the phenomenon that anyone can reach millions of views on Tiktok with the right content - without paying.
Other classic news brands such as the View, Tages-Anzeiger or the NZZ is not yet available on Tiktok.
Surprisingly, two media brands that appeal to a young target group and would therefore actually be predestined for a successful Tiktok appearance are also missing: Watson and Izzy. Supercedis Schalk is made for the short video platform. Also surprising: Teleclub Sport and the Südostschweiz are bolder and have been active for a short time. Will they manage the next viral hit?
Nothing new in the news section
One thing stands out when browsing the Tiktok accounts: Nowhere is there news. One looks in vain for an example like the German Tagesschau, which, in addition to entertaining videos, also reports on the Hong Kong protests or the huge number of parcel returns due to online shopping.
A gap that is just waiting to be filled. Will the public media company SRF step in here in Switzerland, too? The news deprived would thank it.
* The Storyteller Leo Wehrli is since November responsible for the editorial management of the social content newsroom "Andy Was Right.
