🤩 What sparks joy in consumers of the post pandemic world?

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending

TikTok: The Stage, their inaugural business

conference in SE Asia.

My biggest takeaway from the

full day event was this:

Joy is a powerful catalyst for business growth.

Happy followers = Happy buyers.

According to an Accenture study,

commissioned by TikTok,

7 out of 10 users go to TikTok

when they want to feel joy.

And the positivity they get from TikTok

primes them for sales conversion.

They browse more.

They buy more.

They share more.

Here are some hard stats to back this up.

50% of TikTok users discover new brands

and products while on the app.

And 44% of those users make

spontaneous purchases.

This hashtag #TikTokMakesMeBuyIt

with 4.1 billion views has been responsible

for causing products like the $30 Amazon

leggings to sell out and brands like

LittleMoonsMochi to become overnight

success.

So this got me thinking really hard.

What sparks joy in consumers

of the post-pandemic world?

Believe it or not, this is an important question

because consumers make decisions based on

how they feel.

So if we know what sparks joy in them,

we will know how to better engage them

in all our communications.

This is why finding an answer to the above

question became my sole obsession as

I listened to experts from consumer marketing,

behavioural science and the TikTok business

team.

As it turned out, what brings consumers

joy in this new norm has changed quite

a bit, all “thanks” to the pandemic that has

significantly disrupt our lives.

I like to highlight three in this email.

Authenticity

Consumers are getting tired of overly

polished or curated content.

I am sure you feel the same.

When you start comparing your

behind the scene reels with every one’s

highlight reels, it can make you

feel miserable and unworthy.

With science and respected thought leaders

Brene Brown backing these claims, many

are choosing authenticity over aesthetics.

Enter the era of flawsomeness!

Flaws + awesomeness

(I first heard this word from a TikTok leader)

Consumers today want us to be comfortable

showing our vulnerabilities and imperfections.

One, it makes us relatable.

Two, consumers trust us more.

And three, it’s a breath of fresh air!

Experience

The days of people identifying by

their possessions are gone.

Culturally we have entered a new era

where people identify by their experiences.

This is so important in post pandemic

because we are lacking in memories.

Fact: we haven’t done much in the past

two years since COVID19 hit us

(just check your photo album)

So if you can help your consumers

to create shareable moments, it gives

them something positive about you

to talk to their friends about.

In other words, free publicity!

And you also get remembered

for all the right reasons.

Community

Wanting to belong is a base human need.

This is why we have friends and we join

social and business groups.

Unfortunately the pandemic has forced us

to retreat to our homes and without

the physical interactions, many of us

are feeling lonelier by the day.

Which is why we crave community even more.

And so if we can proactively build active

relationships with our followers and clients,

and even allow our followers and clients to

build active relationships with one another,

we create immense amount of positive

emotions like fun, connection and a sense

of belonging.

With tools like Facebook groups and

telegram channels at our disposal, you and I

have the power to start communities and

in the process, build loyalty.

Enters Vin Diesel from Fast & Furious:

“There is nothing stronger than family”

Haha.

Jokes aside, I suggest you take this email

seriously and relook into how you are

engaging your consumers.

Are you authentic?

Are you giving them shareable moments?

Are you engaging them through

a community?

And most importantly, when your consumers

think about you, do they feel joy?

Your #1 fan,

Eric Feng

P.S. Do you find this week’s email helpful?

If yes, please share it on your social media.

Tag me so I know and I will create more

emails like the above.

P.P.S. I did a fun version of what I learnt

about TikTok on TikTok haha.

Watch it here -> 7 reasons why TikTok is so

addictive (you can apply them to your

business too!)

P.P.P.S. And finally, do check out this week’s

podcast if you want to build a powerful

network in the digital age.

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple podcast

Watch the video interview