Social media not only builds connections but also helps with discovering newly released movies. Marketers sure knew what they were doing getting through to TikTok users. In fact, a new study reveals that many users have been flocking to movie theaters because of the video-scrolling app.
When browsing through your TikTok feed, it’s common to see short trailers of upcoming movies on your phone screen. A recent TikTok study (via The Hollywood Reporter) discovered that 44% of users are more likely to head to movie theaters than non-users. Moreover, 33% actually credit the app for why they’re movie theatergoers. 47% even learn about new movies through TikTok, leading to 42% of users looking up showtimes and 36% purchasing tickets. These numbers aren’t surprising as movies and TV are the 4th viewed category on the app. That means about 170 million users have been visiting their local theater.
The survey also revealed the big secret of connecting users to the latest movies is that ads follow trending content. If users engage with content or challenges from a specific movie, the film’s ad can end up on their feed. Smart marketing strategies like that can make a user 1.5 times more likely to go to the movies. Sony Pictures Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing Rose Phillips admits TikTok plays a big role in the studio’s marketing plan:
“It’s a big piece of the pie for us that we’re thinking about and thinking about it unique to other social platforms.”
What are examples of movies greatly influenced by TikTok marketing?
As you can imagine, one movie that fell under the spell of TikTok marketing was Twisters. The summer flick conjured up a mighty box office storm with a domestic weekend opening of $80.5 million. You can thank TikTok for helping Universal create an official channel for Twisters, now with over 270,000 followers. The separate channel first started with the trailer and then generated more content over time involving the cast.
Trending videos related to Twisters flooded TikTok. For example, there are clips of attendees displaying their before-and-after selves seeing the box office hit in 4DX. There were also videos of users saying they saw the movie “for the plot” before zooming in on Glen Powell. More entertaining content surfaced, like the Twisters cast dancing to Charli XCX’s “Apple,” as well as other behind-the-scenes footage.
Katie Hawkins, Universal Pictures‘ VP of digital marketing, gave her own explanation of why users are hooked. “I think fans, when they feel like it’s authentic and they feel like it’s something that is relevant to them, that is always going to convert and, for us, get people to go see a movie in a theater.”
Bad Boys: Ride or Die also benefitted from TikTok marketing by collaborating with the app’s popular content creators. Khaby Lame, with 163 million TikTok followers, collaborated with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and even cameoed in their Sony Pictures movie. The studio also had TikTok creators preview the trailer, take photos with the leads, and spend a day pitching and producing audience-specific content. These marketing strategies most likely played a part in the action-comedy film grossing $56.5 million.
It’s clear social media marketing through apps like TikTok can be an effective way to motivate more people to go out for a fun movie night.
