TikTok is Universal
I’ve written a lot about the Walt Disney Company’s and Disney Parks & Resorts’ social media presence. While Disney has accounts on all of the most popular social media platforms, Disney still struggles to establish a relatable personality for its social audience. I have to admit, Disney Parks has been improving its TikTok style and presence. TikTok has grown dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic and it just seems to be growing more and more. If a company is not on TikTok now, it is behind in the social media trends. There is one company that I noticed has not taken advantage of TikTok’s up-and-coming social dominance, and that company is Universal Studios.
Universal Studios is Disney Park’s rival in the theme park industry in Orlando, Florida, and Los Angles, California. Disney targets a more family-friendly audience. TikTok is popular among Gen-Z and millenial audiences. Disney’s use of TikTok seems to be trying to grow its audience in these markets. Universal, however, caters to a more thrill-seeking. They have huge roller coasters and thrill rides that younger kids probably would not ride. Gen-Z and Millenials tend to fit Universal’s target more. While Universal might generally target these generations, it’s confusing that they’re not already on TikTok where this audience tends to live.
Universal Studios’s social media presence has improved and started making more of an impression on its audience over the past year. Universal has separate accounts for its Orlando and Hollywood theme parks on Instagram and Twitter. Both Instagram accounts boast about 2.1 million followers each. Universal Orlando’s Twitter has double the following of its Hollywood counterpart. Looking at the only international Universal park, Universal Japan’s Twitter has over 2 million followers while its Instagram has only 410K followers. Universal Japan only tweets in Japanese to its audience. For that reason, I will be focusing more on the domestic Universal Parks. However, the variance of followers between the domestic and Japanese Twitter accounts is astonishing. Universal’s domestic parks have built a personality on their Twitter accounts that have been received well among their audiences. Universal has managed to create a personality similar to that of Taco Bell or Wendy’s. Its personality is silly, sarcastic, and relevant. When interacting with its audience, Universal responds quickly and in the same tone as its tweets.
Twitter and Instagram presence is important when it comes to theme park social channels to inform guests of immediate park updates, hours, and showtimes, but TikTok would be able to showcase its brand personality further and draw more guests to its parks. If Universal’s competition and direct rival is on TikTok, there is no reason that Universal isn’t already jumping on the trend.
TikTok started as a lip-syncing app in 2016 but gained popularity over the pandemic.
Lockdown supercharged TikTok. Having grown so quickly, brands can’t afford to ignore the platform’s potential. With an audience dominated by Millennials and Gen Z — tech-savvy generations, demanding innovation, creativity, personalization, and transparency — TikTok will help connect brands to a younger, more creative demographic. -Elena Melnikova, CMO at Talkwalker
As the end of 2021 approaches, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users. Disney, other theme parks, tourist attractions, and even restaurants use TikTok to build on their social media personality and highlight special or new offerings. Theme parks are constantly changing and updating to improve their guest’s experiences. Disney uses their TikTok to do just that as well as adding personal touches from their employees. Disney’s most viewed TikTok about a special offering at Disney Springs’ Ganachery had 6.1 million views. This led to the item selling out the rest of the week in one hour.
It’s no secret that Universal and Disney are rivals. Universal can be using TikTok in the same way and driving their attendance. While Disney is using TikTok to gain a new audience and drive attendance, Universal already appeals to the demographic on TikTok. Being present and posting content would help Universal drive its park attendance and compete with Disney Parks. With the holidays coming up, Universal can give a sneak peek or an exclusive look at all their decorations, food, and attractions available. Universal prides itself on the details of its attractions, showing how some of these attractions come to be would excite the audience. Halloween Horror Nights is a highly anticipated offering that is exclusive to Universal Studios Parks. Showcasing their characters, behind-the-scenes videos, and walk-throughs of attractions can also drive the audience to come to the event.
Universal not being on TikTok already is shocking. Social media marketers and brands should always be where their audience is and not being there first means you’re behind. Universal needs to get on TikTok as soon as possible to stay relevant with their audience compete with its competition.
