TikTok: Flicker, Flash, Flare Strategies

Video content is undoubtedly the primary medium business owners and social media marketers should be focusing on in 2022. Video humanizes the brand, allowing potential customers to connect and relate in a way that fosters long-term loyalty and drives sales. 

TikTok is the ideal content for distributing video content right now. It’s a relatively new landscape for business owners and marketers alike. The TikTok flicker, flare, and flash strategy is a framework that can make it easier to see results from your TikTok efforts. Discoverability is way more achievable on TikTok than on other platforms, making the platform a great place for brands to grow quickly. 

Ready to jumpstart your TikTok content success? In this post, we’re showing you exactly how to conquer the short video platform using the flicker, flash, flare TikTok strategy. 

What is the flicker, flash, and flare TikTok content strategy?

The flicker, flash, and flare model is recommended by TikTok as a way for brands to succeed on the unique platform. Let’s break each element of the strategy down:

Flicker content on TikTok is reactive

Flicker content on TikTok is where you participate in trends with your take on . With flicker content, you want to make use of trending hashtags, music, sounds, filters, etc. to participate in bigger conversations that are happening on TikTok. This type of content is easy to produce and should make up the majority of your TikTok content. Use flicker content to remain relevant to your audience and leverage borrowed interest. This type of content can earn brands more exposure and profile visits.

Flash content on TikTok is proactive

Flash content on TikTok is pre-planned content that can be episodic in nature. Your content buckets will come in handy here. Flash content should be original, not trend-based, and posted on a consistent schedule. While flare content should be produced quickly with minimal effort put into its production quality, flash content should be slightly better in terms of video and editing quality. This is where you show your community what your brand is all about via entertaining, engaging content. 

Flare content on TikTok is interactive

Flare content on TikTok is where you’ll implement large-scale campaign initiatives like branded hashtags, challenges, and effects. Flare content should be reserved for your brand’s most important events, like big campaigns and product launches. It needs to be high quality without being overly produced (overly produced video content doesn't really work on TikTok). It should be super interactive, driving users to engage via fun prompts that inspire creativity. 

Duolingo on TikTok does a fantastic job of implementing this strategy. Duolingo’s social media manager Zaria Parvez shared that they use the Flicker method the most and when using trending audio she looks for audio that's about to be trending. So if audio has 30k videos made under it that means it's up and coming and they go with that to create their trendy video content. Duolingo post flicker content a few times a week and flash content a few times a month, priming their audience to accept flare content with open arms and engaging finger taps. When jumping on trends via flicker content, Duolingo embraces the slightly menacing and unhinged nature of Duo (the green owl) to give their brand a unique, entertaining personality.

Flicker, flash, and flare TikTok content examples from brands

Flicker: Make up brand e.l.f using the trending Love Island USA sound

e.l.f Cosmetics uses the trending Love Island USA sound to show off their new skincare products. In doing so, they’re creating awareness around their newest launch while hopping on a recognizable trend.

Flash: Duolingo’s educational videos 

Here Duolingo pops in to share an untranslatable term with their audience. Followers get a morsel of information they will remember and use in regular life, which shows them how much they’ll learn after downloading the Duolingo app.

Flare: ELF’s #eyeslipsface campaign

e.l.f created their own song to be used as part of their flare campaign. They then called on influencers to spark a trend using the song as a sound for makeup routine videos. The sound now has over 23 million Spotify streams. You can view the whole challenge here.

Flicker, flash, and flare TikTok content ideas

Flicker ideas

• Use the Meme Maker effect with the song "Zou Bisou Bisou" by Gillian Hills to create your brand’s very own memes. Example

• Use Brent Morgan’s rendition of Lizzie McGuire’s “Hey Now” to make a grand reveal. Example

• Use the sped-up version of Taylor’s “You Belong With Me” to share something that is seemingly easy but that most people don’t do (hint: like using your product). Example

Flash ideas

• Show your products in action like Gymshark in this workout vid. Example

• Answer customer questions in a creative way like Vessi. Example

• Share fun facts about your brand like Chipotle. Example

Flare ideas

• Create a branded hashtag challenge inspiring users to show how they use your products. Example

• Create a branded effect that shows users what life would be like if they had your product. Example

• Make an original sound for your brand.

Need more timely Flicker ideas for your Reels or TikTok? Visit our content creation ideas page!