This study explores Generation Z’s attitudes towards the use of humor and memes in brand communication on TikTok. Despite controversies surrounding the plattform, involving both legal matters and privacy concerns, the app is growing rapidly. This has led to at least five million companies present on the platform, as it has grown to become an important tool to evolve the corporate identity through branding and interactions. Through the theoretical frameworks encoding/decoding and Corporate Identity Theory, the essay examines Generation Z’s perceptions and preferred communication strategies in the digital age. Through a thematic analysis of the qualitative material gathered from eleven semi-structured interviews, the study reveals that humor and memes in corporate communication promotes engagement. However, to receive positive attitudes from our selection of Generation Z, the contextual relevance in regards to current trends in pop cultural media as well as alignment with brand values is crucial. The lack of these factors can result in negative attitudes and brand avoidance. Representatives of Generation Z also believe that the boundary for inappropriate use of humor and memes is defined by the seriousness of the organization, avoidance of offensive content and consideration of the brand’s interpretive authority and identity

The study explores the phenomenon of girl trends on TikTok, specifically focusing on the Clean girl and Rat girl communities. It aims to understand how these communities influence self-representation and femininity, highlighting the significant role TikTok has in creating ones identity. The paper specifically researches how modern femininity is represented and which discursive strategies are leveraged to construct identity on the platform.  By implementing a multimodal critical discourse analysis, the study dissects visual, textual, and auditory elements from videos tagged with either #cleangirl or #ratgirl on TikTok. By utilizing a framework that combines Sensemaking theory with concepts of Respectability and Performativity, this study analyses the material within a Postfeministic context. The findings show that Clean girls align with more traditional notions of femininity, emphasizing an aesthetic lifestyle deemed respectable and desirable. Meanwhile, Rat girls subvert these ideals by promoting authenticity and non-conformity by distancing themselves from stereotypical norms. The analysis emphasizes the interplay between autonomy and gender expectations in shaping identity on TikTok. The results of the study contribute to the understanding of femininity, suggesting that TikTok both influences user engagement and reinforces stereotypical norms upon its users, thereby affecting the shaping of self-representation. Despite the surge of new and alternative expressions existing within the concept of girl trends, all interpretations still fall within the same context and expectations of femininity. This complex interplay negotiates femininity through a paradox where TikTok offers both freedom of expression and upholds societal norms when allowing its users to construct their identity.

Inledning: I inledningen redogörs för hur digitala sociala nätverk har växt fram och tagit en allt större plats i konsumenters vardag vilket har gjort dem till utmärkta marknadsföringskanaler. Därefter förklaras det nyaste stjärnskottet bland sociala medier, TikTok, och dess potentiella roll inom marknadsföring.  Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur marknadsföring genom sociala medier påverkar unga svenska konsumenters attityder.  Frågeställningar: Utifrån studiens syfte har två frågeställningar formulerats:  1. Vilken påverkan har marknadsföring genom TikTok på unga konsumenters kognitiva och affektiva attitydkomponent samt beteendekomponent?  2. Vad har bakgrundsvariabler (demografiska och användning) för effekt på unga konsumenters attityder till marknadsföring genom TikTok?  Teori: I studiens teoriavsnitt presenteras sociala medier som marknadsföringsverktyg mer utförligt. Därefter förklaras det komplexa begreppet attityd som delas in i tre olika attitydkomponenter. Vidare beskrivs teori runt word-of-mouth, content marketing, Generation Z, skillnader mellan könen samt skillnader mellan olika typer av användare Metod: Studien är grundad i en kvantitativ metod och en tvärsnittsdesign har tillämpats. Empirin har samlats in genom enkäter online. Data har sedan analyserats i det statistiska programmet SPSS med T-tester, korrelationsanalyser och ANOVA-analyser.  Slutsats: Studien har visat att marknadsföring genom TikTok inte har en positiv påverkan på konsumenters attityder. Dock är detta den första studien av sitt slag och det krävs därför mer forskning för att stärka eller förkasta resultatet. Word-of-mouth och content marketing hade ett starkt positivt samband med konsumenternas attityder. Det fanns inga skillnader mellan könen. En liten skillnad upptäcktes mellan olika användare där de som någon gång publicerat något på TikTok hade positivare kognitiv attityd än de som aldrig publicerat något. / Introduction: The introduction consist of how the digital world of social networking has evolved and been given more room in the individuals everyday life which has made it possible for the platforms to become excellent marketing channels. Then the study presents the new sensation TikTok and their potential part in marketing. Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the influence of TikTok marketing communications on young consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioral attitude components in Sweden.  Research questions: Based on the study’s purpose the following research questions where phrased:  1. What influence do TikTok marketing communications have on young consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioral attitude components?  2. What influence do background variables have on young consumers’ attitudes towards marketing through TikTok?  Theory: The theoretical part of the study provides more in-depth explanations about social media as a marketing tool, the complex concept of an attitude which can be divided into three different components. Furthermore, the theories of word-of-mouth, content marketing, Generation Z, differences in genders attitudinal responses, and differences among various types of users, are described. Method: The study is based on a quantitative method and a cross-sectional design was applied. An online survey was used via self-administered questionnaires that where distributed through a snowball sampling. Data was analyzed through the statistical tool SPSS by using T-tests, bivariate correlation analysis and ANOVA analysis. Conclusion: The study discovered that young consumers displayed unfavorable attitudes towards marketing communications through TikTok. However, both word-of-mouth and content marketing was positively correlated to attitudes. No significant differences were found between genders. Individuals who had at least posted content sometime on TikTok displayed more favorable cognitive attitudes than those who had never posted on TikTok.

Datum: 2023-05-30 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i Företagsekonomi, 15 hp  Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens Universitet  Författare: Alva Landberg (96/07/03), Emma Inge (98/02/15), Felicia Schönning (98/11/02)                                                                                 Titel: Användargenererat innehåll på TikTok och dess påverkan; En kvantitativ undersökning av generation Z's köpintention och köpbeslut Handledare: Pejvak Oghazi Nyckelord: Användargenererat innehåll, Attityder, Elektronisk Word of Mouth (eWOM), Generation Z, Köpbeslut, Köpintention, TikTok Forskningsfrågor: (1) Hur påverkar användandet av TikTok generation Z’s köpbeslut? (2) Har användargenererat innehåll på TikTok något samband med generation Z’s köpintention? (3) Hur påverkas generation Z’s köpbeslut av användargenererat innehåll på TikTok? (4) Hur påverkar användandet av TikTok generation Z’s attitydkomponenter; kognitiv, affektiv och beteende? (5) Vilka skillnader finns mellan generation Z och millennials vid användandet av TikTok?   Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka ifall användargenererat innehåll på sociala medieplattformen TikTok påverkar generation Z's köpintention och köpbeslut. Metod: Studien är baserad på en kvantitativ forskningsansats där primärdata samlats in i form av en digital enkätundersökning. Datan samlades in med ett resultat av 183 respondenter med ett bortfall på 30, vilket gav 150 validerade svar. Datan analyserades sedan via en korrelationsanalys, Cronbach’s alfa, regressionsanalys och en korstabulering i det statistiska dataprogrammet SPSS. Slutsats: Resultatet visade att användargenererat innehåll på TikTok har ett samband med generation Z’s köpintention och köpbeslut. En ökad användning av TikTok bidrar till att attitydkomponenterna; kognitiv, affektiv, beteende påverkas positivt av rekommendationer från användare på TikTok, vilket bidrar till en ökad köpintention som senare leder till ett köpbeslut. / Date: 2023-05-30 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Alva Landberg (96/07/03), Emma Inge (98/02/15), Felicia Schönning (98/11/02)  Title: User-generated content on TikTok and its impact; A quantitative study of generation Z's purchase intention and purchase decision Supervisor: Pejvak Oghazi Keywords: Attitudes, Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM), Generation Z, Purchase decision, Purchase intention, TikTok, User Generated Content (UGC) Research questions: (1) How does the use of TikTok affect generation Z's purchase decisions? (2) Does user-generated content on TikTok relate to generation Z's purchase intention? (3) How does user-generated content on TikTok influence generation Z’s purchasing decisions? (4) How does using TikTok affect generation Z's attitudinal components; cognitive, affective, and behavioral? (5) What are the differences between generation Z and millennials when using TikTok? Purpose: This study aims to investigate if user-generated content on the social media platform TikTok influences generation Z's purchase intention and purchase decision. Method: This study is based on a quantitative research approach where primary data has been collected through an online survey. The data was collected with a result of 183 respondents with a non-response rate of 30, which gave a total of 150 validated responses. The data were analyzed through a correlation analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, regression analysis and a cross-tabulation in the statistical data program SPSS. Conclusion: The result showed that user-generated content on TikTok has a connection with generation Z's purchase intention and purchase decision. Increased use of TikTok contributes to the attitudinal components; cognitive, affective and behavior is positively affected by recommendations from users on TikTok, which contributes to an increased purchase intention that leads to a purchase decision.

TikTok är en sociala medier-plattform där användarna kan publicera korta videoklipp. Applikationen används idag av över 1 miljard människor. Plattformen erbjuder funktioner som främjar interaktion och kunskapsutbyte mellan användarna. Underhållning är sedan tidigare förknippat med TikTok men sedan 2020 har även ung aktivism börjat ta plats på plattformen. På TikTok kan användare uttrycka sociala värderingar och nätverka med varandra, det är även vanligt att hashtags används för att koppla videoklippen till ett specifikt ämne. Syftet med studien är att förstå hur TikTok-användarna upplever audiovisuell information som berör ämnet feminism. Videoklipp har valts ut från plattformen via sökordet feminism samt hashtaggen #feminism. Därefter genomfördes en innehållsanalys av klippen för att avgöra deras likheter och olikheter, för att på så sätt kunna välja ut fem klipp att använda i studiens nästa fas. De fem klippen presenterades i kvalitativa intervjuer där respondenterna svarade på frågor och uttryckte sina åsikter kring bland annat trovärdighet, funktioner och informationen i sig. Det insamlade materialet jämfördes och analyserades dels utifrån respondenternas olika upplevelser, dels ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv.  Respondenterna i studien visade störst intresse för två förklarande videoklipp som presenterade ny information genom att använda bilder, video och tal.  Information som presenterades med hjälp av bilder ansågs underlätta förståelsen för budskapet, göra videoklippet mer intressant och bidra till att öka respondenternas nyfikenhet. Ett annat klipp som uppskattades använde ett narrativ för att framföra utbildande underhållning som mottagarna kunde relatera till. Mottagarnas vilja att engagera sig kunde kopplas till deras positiva upplevelser av hur informationen presenterades i dessa klipp. Studien visade även att mottagarens upplevelser påverkas av individens tidigare kunskap, deras informationsbehov, motivation till att använda TikTok samt hur de bearbetar information. / TikTok is a social media platform where users produce short videos. Today TikTok is used by over 1 billion people. The application offers various features that promotes interaction and knowledge exchange among its users. Entertainment is strongly associated with TikTok, however since 2020 the use of the platform for youth activism has increased. On TikTok, users can express their social values and cooperate with each other. It is also common to use hashtags as a way of linking videos to a specific topic. The aim of this study is to understand how TikTok users experience audiovisual information regarding the topic of feminism. Videos were selected from the platform by using the search word feminism and the hashtag #feminism. This was followed by a content analysis to determine the videos differences and similarities, which enabled the final selection of five videos to be used in the next step of the study. The five videos were then presented during qualitative interviews where the respondents answered questions and expressed their opinions about for example trustworthiness, features and the information itself. The data was compared and analyzed both from a theoretical point of view and regarding different experiences expressed by the respondents. The respondents in this study showed the most interest in an explanatory video which presented them with new information by using pictures, video and speech.  The respondents showed greatest interest in two explanatory videos who presented new information by using pictures, video and speech. Information presented with pictures were considered to facilitate the understanding of the message, make it more interesting and arouse curiosity. Another video appreciated by the respondents used a narrative to convey entertaining education they could relate to. The recipients’ willingness to engage in the videos were linked to their positive experiences of how the information was presented. This study also shows that previous knowledge, information needs, motivation to use TikTok as well as different processing styles affected the respondents’ experiences.

The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of political party organizations' digital communication by investigating what and how Swedish political youth associations communicate on TikTok. The purpose is realized through a case study of two youth associations, Moderata Ungdomsförbundet (MUF) and Sveriges Socialdemokratiska ungdomsförbund (SSU). The material is collected from a three-month period (November 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024) and the method of the thesis is a combination of quantitative multimodal content analysis and thematic analysis. The theoretical framework provides an understanding of the youth associations' conditions and expectations as an organization, as well as the media logics and norms that they need to adhere to in their communication. In the result it became clear that what the youth associations communicate differs. The most frequently communicated content from SSU consisted of entertainment content, closely followed by political content. MUF mostly focused on political content, but entertainment was also seen. Like previous research, only a small part of the material consisted of personal content. In terms of how the youth associations communicate, there was a similarity in that both associations used a comic style frequently, something that is typical for the platform and thus becomes a way for the youth associations to adopt the current style on TikTok. Similar to previous research, however, there was a lack of interactive tendencies on the part of MUF, which the platform invites. SSU appeared to use the interactive style in about half of the material. Similar to previous studies, we found that both SSU and MUF were diligent users of affordances such as music, audio, text, hashtag and location features. Tendencies we could see in how the youth associations communicated were also that they use platform trends and vernaculars frequently, which differs from previous research. We could thus state that both youth associations showed an adaptation to the platform dynamics.

This thesis examines readership communities on the social media application TikTok, and more specifically videos published under the hashtag SpicyBooks, where users discuss the literary genre of romance. Together with the closely related #BookTok, #SpicyBooks has had a profound impact on the book market. Correspondingly, the formation of readership communities on the app should be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the changes of and within literacy among young adults. This study examines the top 130 featured videos under #SpicyBooks, which are thematically divided into categories analysed in three separate chapters. Taking its cue from affect theory, the thesis examines how the affect of shame is produced, represented and mediated in the videos. Furthermore, the study maps the various reader positions conjured by shame, and surveys how the video creators present themselves in the prevailing ideas and norms of aesthetic taste and social gender that circumscribes the literature discussed in the videos. By focusing on how the social media users and readers represent themselves, rather than how libraries and librarians can make themselves visible on social media, the study proposes a methodological shift, which might begin bridging the generational gap between libraries and their potential users.

This research explores if Sweden, a country with high trust in the political system could be challenged by social media. The study focuses on one spectrum of social media, TikTok, that exploded during the covid-19 pandemic and is proof of how fast social media develops and reaches out to human beings. The study addresses a research gap regarding this new social media platform as it examines exposure to political content and impact on political behavior. Specifically, the study focuses on first-time voters voting behavior in the Swedish election 2022. This thesis is based on a digital survey sent out to 139 respondents during November 2022. The result indicates that there is a relationship between viewing time on TikTok and voting behavior among young voters in the Swedish election 2022. The study ends with a discussion about how specific political content the respondent was exposed to on TikTok could have had an impact on the political behavior in the Swedish election 2022.

The main purpose of this paper’s research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a Media Sharing Network (MSN) in building small businesses. The effectiveness is measured by means of raising the website traffic numbers. Due to its’ novelty, there is a lack of research on TikTok, creating a research gap requiring further investigation for this MSN. Therefore this social media is used as a tool for data collection for this paper’s investigation. In addition, the effectiveness of the various features is evaluated to identify the one most fit for the set task of raising brand awareness through MSNs.

Syftet med denna studie var att bidra till ökad kunskap kring applikationen TikTok då det är en plattform som just nu ökar i popularitet, särskilt i åldrarna 16 – 25 (Svenskarna och internet 2020). Samt att få en inblick i hur kvinnor bemöts i applikationen. Vi valde att fokusera på hur unga kvinnor i åldrarna 16 – 25 bemöts och talas om i kommentarsfälten under sina egna videor, och om det fanns något samband mellan vilken typ av video de lade upp och den sortens kommentarer de fick; samt om det fanns tydliga skillnader mellan hur män och kvinnor uttryckte sig mot, och / eller, om de unga kvinnorna. Urvalet för undersökningen var tio kvinnliga TikTok-konton i åldern 16 – 25, den så kallade generation z. Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där vi med hjälp av ett analysschema analyserade sammanlagt 2000 kommentarer under de valda TikTok-kontonas videor. Resultatet visade att män och kvinnor uttrycker sig annorlunda, samt fokuserar på olika saker när de kommenterar kvinnornas videor. Kvinnor visade sig vara mer positiva än männen, samtidigt som de även skriv mest negativa kommentarer direkt riktade mot kvinnornas utseende. Männen däremot skrev framför allt negativa kommentarer som då var riktade mot kvinnornas åsikter, typiskt kvinnliga normer, sexistiska kommentarer, samt i princip allt innehåll som kunde beröra männen själva. När det gäller sambandet mellan videornas innehåll och kommentarerna, så fanns det ett visst mönster, men i grunden verkar det handla mer om vem personen bakom videon är och vilket syfte TikTok-kanalen har.