In this blog post I am going to be giving an update on the ideas and ideations I have thought about and put in place over the last 5 weeks of conducting my ethnographic research. I have had 3 main epiphanies so far and I’m sure I will have plenty more to come in the future.

Epiphany 1 – Building a reputation is key

I have particularly noticed that there is a direct correlation between the amount of engagement on a user’s account and how experienced the user is with cryptocurrencies and how professional they are with giving out information. These users tend to get more of a following as they have built up a reputation for being knowledgeable in their field and are able to provide good quality information. Someone who has not built up a positive reputation on TikTok will often get sceptics commenting regarding whether or not the information being presented is reliable as they don’t yet have any credibility. Building a reputation can take long periods of time so being patient is key. 

“A good reputation has a competitive advantage and attracts more people, it is
considered an important factor for achieving success” (Ryu, E.A.; Han, E. 2021)

Users with a significant reputation

Epiphany 2 – Interacting with others is extremely important

Throughout the process of me analysing my target audience the first thing I realised is that you cannot expect to simply just post content and expect others to come over and do the same to yours. By commenting consistently on other users’ content you are inviting people to look at your page if you have given an insightful comment. This effectively helps to build your reputation in the community which as previously mentioned is extremely important for engagement growth. 

“Commenting can also lead to indirect links through exposure and exposure itself, meaning things like you leave consistent quality comments, people start to recognize you. You sort of see that profile picture again and you go, ‘I know that brand from somewhere or I know that person from somewhere. I have some positive association with them adding value.’” (Fishkin, 2021)

Epiphany 3 – Haters gonna hate

Finally, the last major epiphanie is that no matter who you are, if you voice your opinion on a cryptocurrency topic you are going to receive hate comments no matter what the issue at stake is. Many cryptocurrency investors are emotionally attached to their investments as they have spent thousands of dollars. Whenever someone talks down on something they own it generally results in a comment section flooded with emotional investors calling them dumb or stupid. I have learned to adapt to this audience and accept that my videos are not going to please everyone as that is simply impossible.  

Having these moments of realising throughout the process of conducting my research is a crucial part of creating a successful digital artefact. Not having been a member of the TikTok cryptocurrency community previously has required me to be extremely productive within the time I have had. I have been required to adapt quickly to the audience in which I am producing content for.

References

Fishkin, R., 2021. Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation. [online] Moz. Available at: <https://moz.com/blog/comment-marketing-how-to-earn-benefits-from-community-participation-whiteboard-friday&gt;

Ryu, E.A.; Han, E. Social Media Influencer’s Reputation: Developing and Validating a Multidimensional Scale. Sustainability 2021,