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56 million views in 2 years: How Which? crafts a TikTok strategy to appeal to consumers

Which?'s Hannah Ballantyne discusses how they approached launching on TikTok, the content that resonates with audiences there, and the value to the publication of having a presence on the platform.

Building a presence on social media platforms isn’t as straightforward a decision for publishers as it once was. From ethical questions around posting to X to the throttling of traffic to Facebook pages, brands are weighing up the effort of crafting content and monitoring engagement with the potential benefits of audience reach and community building. 

Short-form video platform TikTok has been top of mind for the industry since surging in popularity with younger people in 2019. It offers virality that many other platforms don’t, but has been caught up in global political wrangling over its Chinese owners Bytedance. Publishers who haven’t already joined the platform are hesitating, given the very real potential for bans in the US, which has a significant English-speaking user base.

For consumer-focused publication Which?, joining TikTok in 2023 was a carefully considered decision. They are now reaping the benefits of planning and monitoring the performance of videos; a strategy which has won the team Best Use of Social Media in 2024’s British Society of Magazine Editors Awards.

Which?’s Senior Social Media Manager Hannah Ballantyne joined The Publisher Podcast this week to discuss their approach to social media. TikTok was a key point of discussion, especially given the banning and swift un-banning of the platform in the US just last week. Ballantyne talked about how they approached launching on TikTok, the content that resonates with audiences there, and what the value of having a presence is to Which?.

Preparing for launch

Before joining TikTok, the Which? Team looked at what competitors were doing on the platform, what was working, and where the opportunity was for Which?’s consumer campaign content. “We put forward the business case based on being able to reach a different audience, and the opportunities TikTok presented in terms of incredible scale without necessarily needing to build up your follower base,” Ballantyne explained.

One key consideration was whether they would have a sustainable supply of relevant content, or whether there would be a lot of extra work needed to maintain a presence. Because Which? already have Instagram accounts, the videos could be produced for both Instagram Reels and TikTok, with only small modifications. 

The team scoped out a six month trial on TikTok. They were given an initial target of 350 views over the first three months, posting between 3 and 5 videos a week.

As Ballantyne noted, TikTok is a platform where videos can go viral without pages needing to have a large follower base. Which? struck gold with their first video, ‘What to do if your car is damaged by a pothole,’ which racked up more than 1 million views.

Almost two years on, the account is approaching 100k followers. Ballantyne shared that they have had over 56 million views of their TikTok videos in that time, with top performing themes including dishwashers, saving energy, and consumer rights.

Prioritising quality content

Ballantyne credits Which?’s TikTok success to a number of factors. The first is the investment in quality content. Social media isn’t seen as a quick and easy thing to do: Which? has a dedicated team of 6, and it is seen as strategically important. “Social media is very much viewed by our leadership as core to who we are, but also what we want to become,” Ballantyne said.

“Whether you’re talking about loose leaf tea, or student accounts, or dehumidifiers, or campaigns for consumers, the same core principles apply: clarity, relevance, and the value to your audience.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean videos have to have a studio quality of production, though. Ballantyne explained that on Tikok and Instagram, there are instances where they take a deliberately ‘lo-fi’ approach, depending on the video topic. “But in other content, where perhaps we’re showing some of our testing and showing those lab settings, [we need higher] production values.”

The team spends time analysing which content has done well on TikTok to shape the strategy going forward. “We put a lot of emphasis on thinking about, why did something work? Why did something not work?” said Ballantyne.

One more surprising learning is that the perception of TikTok as only being for young people isn’t accurate. Ballantyne said many would be surprised at how broad the demographic is for Which?’s following. “For me, one of the most interesting things on TikTok is that’s probably where, for Which? content, we see more of an even balance of male and female, whereas a lot of our other channels are more female-skewed,” she noted.

Dishwashers are among the top-performing content, and their most viewed video on TikTok - ‘Five things I would never do as a dishwasher expert’ with 6 million views - has inspired a whole series of expert-led videos on tumble dryers, washing machines, and other appliances.

A trusted presence

But it’s not just about popularity. Which? is a not-for-profit publication, with core aims of making life simpler, fairer and safer for consumers. Ballantyne explained that there are a lot of misconceptions about Which? and what they do, like only doing white goods reviews, that everything is paywalled, or that brands can influence reviews with freebies. 

“We’re completely impartial, and completely independent,” she emphasised. “[People] are quite surprised as to the breadth of our offering and how much of it is free to access. So our social media presence is a brilliant gateway for people to discover Which?.”

On TikTok in particular, there is an opportunity to build a presence as a trusted source. Consumers are increasingly aware that sponsorship or ad deals from influencers are put across in a positive light, even if the influencer doesn’t use or dislikes the product.

“It’s often not possible to determine whether something is genuine or not,” Ballantyne explained. “That’s where we have a key role to play in that we are independent, we are impartial, we have rigorous, lab-based testing. Our in-house excerpts genuinely are experts. We don’t put anything out that we can’t stand behind and back up with our research and investigations.” 

Social media as an awareness channel

Direct monetisation from TikTok is a challenge for publishers and creators. But for Which?, the business case is about showcasing the breadth of the Which? offering and consumer impact campaigns. TikTok and other social media platforms are seen as a marketing tool rather than a revenue stream.

“It’s very much a gateway to Which?,” said Ballantyne. “If we can drive people to the website, or get them to engage with our content, follow our channels, if we can get them to sign up for free newsletters…we’re building that awareness and those journeys. 

“Ultimately, we’re positioning Which? so that at those key life moments, if they’re starting a family, buying a house, looking to make those big key purchases, then hopefully they then take the step to becoming a subscriber.”

Ballantyne is not worried about a permanent TikTok ban in the US. She believes that there’s such a big user base that Trump will find a way to keep it. However, she did caution other publishers to think about what the potential reputational risks of being on various platforms is to them.

“Each brand needs to think about what the reputational risks are, how they want to be seen, what content they’re delivering on those platforms, and what the value is,” she emphasised, citing some publications choosing to come off Musk-owned X recently. “Because our content is for all consumers, for making life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone, there’s value in being on those platforms.”

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