The psychology behind TikTok’s newest addictive feature

We’re going streaking. We’re going through Snapchat and up to TikTok.?

Following in the footsteps of Snap Streaks, TikTok recently unveiled its very own version of the addictive feature just in case you weren’t already spending enough time in the app. Now, when you and a friend exchange three consecutive days of messages, you’ll unlock a fire emoji along with the streak count.?

The move is designed to create more engagement through DM sharing and to encourage users to return to the app every single day. But streaks come with a little more baggage than an uptick in your screen time. According to a 2022 paper published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior – “Why did we lose our snapchat streak?” Social media gamification and metacommunication” – gamification hacks like streaks “impact user behavior, communication and relationships in ways desirable for the creators of social media.”

What is portrayed as something seemingly harmless on the surface suddenly turns into a burden that comes with a whole host of convoluted social rules to uphold – i.e., the article explains if users are going on vacation or will be without service for some time, they’ll share their passwords with friends to keep their various streaks alive:

“With such gamifying features, Snapchat draws adolescents into becoming an active part of Snapchat's business model - by encouraging a creation of a self-sustaining system that includes peer-sanctions against possible disturbances of said system. Ultimately, the net of obligations, expectations and customary behaviors wraps adolescents in a temporally dense improvisation of snapping on time for the streak, answering, reminding others to snap and finding workarounds in the case of bottlenecks.”

Isn’t social media fun? TikTok’s streaks aren’t going away, so please promise me that if you head off to a tropical island for two weeks, you’ll worry more about pina coladas and less about keeping your streaks alive. And don’t give your password to your best friend. That is all.

ICYMI:

• No skip zone: Instagram is testing unskippable ads that viewers will not be able to scroll past. A countdown timer will pop up, indicating how much time is left until users can get back to their feed.
• Want to reach more eyeballs on Instagram? Keep those videos under 90 seconds. The Creators account shared how to post a longer video on IG with one important caveat: “just remember that any video over 90 seconds won’t be eligible to be recommended in Explore or Reels Tab.” ?
• LinkedIn? More like LinkedIn: All organic link posts on LinkedIn will now see a smaller image preview in feed, while sponsored posts will get the full-size, standard treatment.?
• Take notes: Instagram continues to flesh out its Notes feature, this time adding ‘prompts’ that will encourage conversation. They’ve also added Likes and the ability to mention other users within a Note.?
• YouTube is getting in on the gaming trend: More than 75 free games are now available to play directly on the platform.

LIKE//RETWEET//SHARE//ETC

Like my good pal Arthur the aardvark would say, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card. And for the Milwaukee Public Library, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card and a video strategy that’s racked up over 300K followers across Instagram & TikTok. Let’s open the card catalog and check out what makes this library a must follow:

• They deliver information in the most creative way possible. The library could share their calendar of program offerings in a boring graphic. But you know what’s better than a static image? Having one of your employees dress up as Amelia Bedelia and act out some of the programs.?
• The best way to attract a new audience is to meet them where they already are. MPL designed their strategy to fit the needs and wants of younger followers and the proof is in the engagements.?
• Their content is so good you almost forget that there’s a call to action within each post. Yes, they want you to get a library card, check out books, attend events, and take advantage of all their resources, but first and foremost they want to entertain you.
• They’re proud of their success and want to pass it on. The library has an entire about page on their website dedicated to their social strategy where they share insights, advice, and explain the technical side of it too.?
• If you’re going to be online all the time, you might as well take advantage of it. MPL jumps on memes, trends, and pop culture moments with their very distinct stamp. Shoutout, Milwaukee’s Nicole Kidman.

Make it work for you: Find what’s working on social and figure out how to carve your niche within those parameters. The MPL joined Instagram and TikTok when short-form videos were king and created their entire social strategy around short, engaging, easily digestible pieces designed for quick consumption.

Things that are good in this world: Vacays. Work/life balance. AIM style away messages. Eating bread by the water. Coming up with Thriends.?

When the “person” in charge of Calm’s Threads account left town for a week, they put on a masterclass of scheduled content. Let’s all take a deep breath together and inhale and exhale our way into these posts.?

• A new platform = a new chance to experiment with voice. Threads is the easiest place to take a few swings these days, and Calm is going for it with a relatable, conversational vibe that’s different from all their other accounts.
• Showcasing their employees actually logging off gives the brand that champions “sleeping more, stressing less, and living better” a good amount of credibility.?
• Scheduled evergreen content? Been there, done that. This was a clever way to keep the content churning, while having some fun and drumming up engagement along the way.?
• Keeping the formatting consistent with the ?SMM Away Message? opening gave these posts a sense of cohesion – for the account and the audience.?
• The success of these posts gives the account something to rely on the next time a vacation is planned, and it could also be something their other accounts adopt.?

Make it work for you: You can break the mold and create your own moment on social. Instead of waiting on the latest trend or figuring out how to join an ongoing conversation, find an event (or something that constitutes an event) and go for broke.

Post of the week:

The secret to fixing baseball isn’t a pitch clock, it’s making every night Pups in the Park night.?

(credit: TikTok/@dodgers)