https://www.tiktok.com/@cryptomarkets2?
Autoethnography can be defined as an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience in order to understand cultural experience (Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). I found exploring my niche and using methods such as a participant observation has led to a better understanding of the culture behind the cryptocurrency niche.
One of the key steps in conducting a participant observation is taking notes of all the fundamental details around the niche and the platform. Having never used TikTok before, I was under the impression that it was extremely easy to gain popularity on the app. Having been on the app for more than 4 months now I have concluded that this is not the case and popularity and reputation on TikTok takes a long time just as it does on any other social media platform.
Another note I took during the observation was the volume of content that each individual creator was creating on a daily basis. The creators I was following were each producing 5 to 10 pieces of content a day. For me this came as a shock as most other social media platforms the volume of content isn’t as much of a factor but rather the quality. This as I came to learn is because TikTok favours quantity over quality so the more content you are producing the more likely you are to gain exposure.
Most users see videos on TikTok as it comes up on their ‘for you page’. As this is the case and users aren’t clicking on a video to watch rather have it shown to them the video must be entertaining from the start otherwise most people will scroll as they aren’t interested. I have found it is extremely common amongst the Cryptocurrency niche for creators to start the video with something enticing, for example, “Watch this video to find out how you can double your money in 1 week”.
‘The Predictive Power of Social Media within Cryptocurrency Markets’ a text written by Ross Christopher Phillips, describes how the different affordances on social media affect cryptocurrency discussion. In the text it is mentioned that one of the driving factors that impact which social medias are used for different topics are the limitations of the affordances within each social media platform. For example, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms however it isn’t commonly used to discuss cryptocurrencies in detail rather used for price predictions and technical analysis etc. This is mainly due to Twitter restricting submissions to 140 characters. Platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, YouTube and TikTok all have restrictions on their platform however it doesn’t necessarily affect people openly expressing their views and opinions on cryptocurrencies which is why they are more commonly used to discuss Cryptocurrencies. Knowing this I was intrigued to find out what the standard was on TikTok and how I could produce information in a way that was conducive to this new audience.
As I used TikTok more I began noticing certain patterns and trends within the content that aligned with other social media platforms and how the cryptocurrency niche is betrayed on these mediums. One of the key takeaways from my experience on TikTok was that visual appeal is a crucial part in order to obtain engagement on your platform which directly correlates to YouTube as the same principle applies. In order to fully understand how important this principle is I decided to perform a textual analysis to identify the underlying ideological and cultural assumptions of my niche from multiple mediums.
When undertaking a textual analysis it is important to note that a textual analysis generally focuses on the semiotics and interpretive approaches to a piece of content (Fürsich, 2018). One of the main purposes behind a textual analysis is to describe and analyse the fundamental meaning behind the message contained in the content. To conduct this I evaluated the audience’s reaction and engagement on certain trends and patterns on certain content. I looked into the different types of videos that crypto currency creators on TikTok use and how that affects engagement.
It is indefinite as to how the TikTok algorithm works however I found that videos that express information quickly and concisely and contain specific cryptocurrency with a price prediction often gain more traction. The TikTok algorithm tends to videos that have a high watch time so videos that draw the viewer in and keep them listening is a great way to increase engagement. I also found that almost every creator in the niche uses a green screen to show their face talking behind a chart of another device. This is because having a talking face is visually appealing and shows the audience who is talking which can be extremely important.
Throughout completing all of my benchmarks for this subject I have been provided with some great feedback from my peers which has led to huge improvement for my Digital Artefact. On my pitch I received a comment that explained to me how important using tags in your blog post are as they can attract other users with similar interests to your post. Since using tags on my posts I have received a large amount of likes and engagement on my blog posts which I previously hadn’t. I also received a comment on my pitch encouraging me to perform a textual analysis for my niche. I took this advice as I realised a textual analysis is a great way to find the underlying cultural assumptions of a media niche.
References
JungleTopp. 2021. TikTok Algorithm: How it Works and 7 Tips to Hack it – JungleTopp. [online] Available at: <https://jungletopp.com/tiktok-algorithm/> [Accessed 27 October 2021].
Phillips, R.C., 2019. The Predictive Power of Social Media within Cryptocurrency Markets (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)).
Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). Investigating communication: An introduction to research methods. (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Ellis, C., Adams, T.E. and Bochner, A.P., 2011. Autoethnography: an overview. Historical social research/Historische sozialforschung.
Fürsich, E., 2018. Textual Analysis and Communication. [online] obo. Available at: <https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0216.xml> [Accessed 29 October 2021].
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