Why Vice, BBC, WaPo, others see new TikTok teams as the next wave of specialist publishing talent

By Krystal Scanlon

TikTok first, TikTok this, TikTok that. With continued emphasis on the short-form video app, news publishers have turned to talented TikTok specialists to get a grip on what works.

The reason – as ever – with TikTok comes down to its audience.

Like advertisers, publishers want to get in front of the younger demographics that can’t see to get enough of the short-form video app. There are many different theories within this approach, but they all share the same assumptions.

Team composition

Vice is a case in point. The publication runs several TikTok teams, each with three to four staff, within the Vice brand portfolio. And each of those teams, dubbed “pods”, is embedded in a larger editorial team that reports to an editor in chief.

“They always include a producer, a social editor, a video editor and a senior-level multiplatform editor whose expertise spans both journalism (news gathering, storytelling) and social,” explained Katie Drummond, senior vp global news & global editor in chief at Vice. “The senior-level editor reports to an editor-in-chief, who approves pitches and reviews final scripts and cuts.”

Those specialists work alongside Vice’s digital reporters, editors, TV correspondents and producers that sit within the wider editorial team.

Similarly, the BBC has had bespoke teams for social platforms for several years, most recently for Instagram. Having a dedicated team enabled the broadcaster to grow its 4 million Instagram followers back in 2019 to 24 million today, noted Naja Nielsen, digital director for BBC News. As she pointed out, publishers don’t get that kind of growth unless they actively decide to pursue it with investment.

The bulk of that investment would likely go on salaries – something the BBC does not share on job posts, including the one for the senior journalist roles on its social team. That said, the average annual salary for senior journalist roles elsewhere across the organization ranges between £37,881 ($46,880) and £61,447 ($76,044), according to Glassdoor.

To that end, BBC News recently advertised for four senior journalists to join its newly formed TikTok team, which sits within its broader social news team that is led by Nielsen and manages the broadcaster’s social platforms.

As the advert stated: Growing the BBC News TikTok account to make it the biggest and best, both globally and in the U.K., is one of News’ main priorities for 2023.

Nielsen found that having a diverse team with different experiences of social media platforms is key. “They can lean on they’re own experiences to know what may or may not work going forward,” Nielsen added.

And this fresh talent – which isn’t restricted to simply internal or external candidates – can bring new perspectives, such as knowing the intricacies of the latest new trendy features on TikTok as well as creative ways to tap into a Gen Z audience authentically on the platform.

Specialist skills

For these new BBC journalists, an understanding of TikTok is paramount. They will be expected to understand the TikTok algorithm, be creative video storytellers and engage …read more

Source:: Digiday