Wanted: Interns Who Can Make TikTok Hits

“They’re going to show their face in the videos once in a while,” Mr. Schaefer said, but mostly they will be capturing “what the brand is and produce content around that.”

The Rosedale Center, the mall in Minnesota, recently received more than 50 applicants for its TikTok creator internship program, which has produced content showing students promoting Auntie Anne’s pretzels and new stores. Few malls have seized on TikTok, so “it was a great way to set us apart and fish where the fish are,” said Molly King, Rosedale’s marketing manager.

Ms. King, 53, said that she believed people all of ages could make popular TikTok content, but that it was useful to work with students because the mall, which has about 5,700 followers on the app, was trying to attract Generation Z shoppers.

Last year, an intern’s TikTok post about the mall’s new Lululemon store showed how influential content on the app could be, after it attracted 100,000-plus views and drove crowds to the opening. “It was like, oh, my gosh, this really works,” Ms. King said. It wasn’t just younger people, she said, but “younger people and their mothers with the credit card.”

Ms. Lacke, the student working with Claire’s, said she understood why brands wanted college students to help with their TikTok posts, adding that young people tend to know what is funny and relevant on the app.

“It does have a very unique way of posting, and I could see how maybe it would be confusing to upper-level managers who may not be on TikTok,” she said. “But for college students and Gen Z in general, it kind of comes naturally.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/business/tiktok-interns.html