Over the last few years, after the demise of the similarly themed Vine website, TikTok exploded in popularity as the website of choice for short-form video. It's like how Facebook took over the popularity of MySpace when that kicked the bucket.

While the COVID-19 pandemic years of lockdowns and lack of travel probably helped in TikTok's growth, the site is still projected to have a boost of users over the next few years in the 2020s.

As a digital marketer, it's in your best interest to apply your digital marketing campaigns to this platform as well.

Let's now talk about the latest TikTok ad trends and changes to watch out for during this first quarter of 2023.

Twitter hashtags have been seemingly transferred to other platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and (of course) TikTok. If you want your ad content or sponsored content featuring influencers to go viral, you should pay attention to the hashtags you're adding.

It's because hashtags will remain crucial in making TikTok videos visible like how websites depend on tags and metatags to gain "relevancy points" on the Google algorithm's radar.

Popular 2023 hashtags so far include the following: #POV #Advice #EduTok #Storytime #FactOrCap #InnerChild #MustHaves #HotGirlWalk #ShopWithMe #ComeWithMe #TreatYourself #UnwindWithMe #GrowthMindset #TikTokMadeMeTryIt #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt #ExpectationVsReality

You can build a community with your business using TikTok outside of TikTok challenges. To be more specific, you can pack orders on camera. Certain businesses can interact with their community of customers by packing their orders on camera like they're doing a reverse unboxing video for clients.

TikTokers or TikTok influencers use this to add a personal touch when sending merchandise to their legions of fans. Businesses can have their most photogenic staff or crew to pack orders in TikTok form.

There's an ASMR vibe to these packing or packaging videos (as in they play pleasant, everyday sounds people love), which is another trend to be discussed at length later on this list.

Originally a YouTube and Vine trend, it has made its way to TikTok in 2023, and digital marketers are paying close attention to it. It's hard to describe ASMR videos, with ASMR being an acronym for "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response".

Long story short, it's a type of video that pleasantly indulges your sense of hearing, with it impacting some more than others with its pleasant vibe and feel. Some listeners or watchers report a tingling sensation when hearing the sounds produced by these video types.

Others don't understand the hubbub. But for the niche that does, digital marketers can take advantage of it with their creativity. For example, if you're a barbershop, you can advertise your service by doing an ASMR video on the barbershop experience. The same goes for the sights and sounds of an arcade or a wellness spa.

Spruce up your TikTok ads as a digital marketer by making skits, gags, and storytelling scenes for your every commercial like you're a YouTuber translating an age-old YouTube trend to a new generation of social media.

Skits have been used by YouTube video makers before to inform and entertain their audiences using some sort of performance and play. Sure, most of these skits are amateurish, but that's part of their charm.

They also tend to be low budget save for certain exceptions due to the shorter release dates needed to churn out content for social media. On TikTok, skits are extremely popular, so if you want people to pay attention to your commercials, adding a bit of storytelling to them might be in order.

Another way to appeal to an audience or would-be customers is to make a "Day in the Life" video, like a vlog of what you're up to if you're an influencer (that you can put ads for) or as a representative of a given brand or company.

The TikTok video typically follows someone throughout the day doing daily activities (edited to summarize it all in a minute or so, of course), particularly when it comes to how it's connected to the business operations.

Such videos help "humanize" the brand, "personify" its top workers, and make it more relatable instead of viewed as a nebulous concept or as an uncaring corporate behemoth.

For instance, an online graphic artist can put up a "Day in the Life" video outlining the struggles of working at home—that everyone can relate to by now—in a freelance capacity as opposed to a regular 9-to-5 job where you get a regular salary regardless of performance.

Can green screen be considered a trend? Isn't it just par for the course for many a reactor or movie reviewer as well as a Let's Player or Twitch streamer? Green screen in the filming or television sense involves adding digital effects to a green screen background while in the foreground the presenter or reporter continues their job.

For Internet personalities, the green screen serves as your way of viewing the game or the movie clips while the reviewer appears in the foreground or as a small box on the side. Editors can add or superimpose anything to the green background.

TikTok has an "Effects" tab when recording videos for good measure. As far as digital marketing is concerned, this is an ad trend because you can add info, Chiron, or menus in the background while the foreground person keeps talking like it's a news report or a multimedia presentation.

Yes, the ever-present dance challenge trend for TikTok that's been around as long as TikTok itself remains an ad trend for 2023. Try to act shocked. Nevertheless, TikTok actually went from being a lip-sync app (Musical.ly) to a dance app.

Just as most YouTubers started off doing Let's Plays or reacting to viral videos in order to grow their channels, many famous TikTokers began by creating their own dance challenges or performing any viral dance challenges out there.

How is this trend an ad trend? You can have your brand mascot do existing dance challenges or make up a dance challenge of your own using company jingles and whatnot. Be creative. You can even have team members representing the company to do dance challenges themselves like it's the ALS Challenge all over again.