RSPB’s TikTok Glow-Up
By Allie Corser-James
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RSPB AKA the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
RSPB is a charity for the conservation of birds and nature. Their work is rooted in five areas: species, science, place, policy, and people.
The Campaign
The RSPB was in need of a marketing reset. Brand insights showed that younger audiences didn’t really know about the organization and those who did saw it as old-fashioned and stuffy—not exactly the vibe they wanted. Even the name wasn’t doing them any favors.
The RSPB launched numerous initiatives to reach a younger audience such as, free access to their 200 plus nature reserves for anyone aged 24 years and under. However, they soon found out that digital marketing was going to be their ticket in to reaching their target audience. That's when they jumped on TikTok—and things got weird.
RSPB’s TikTok
When the RSPB first launched their TikTok page they saw limited engagement. People would scroll past their content without getting invested or interested in the organization.
So, they decided to refresh the page with these objectives in mind:
Raise awareness of the RSPB among younger people, who are less likely to have an existing relationship with or knowledge of the brand.
Increase understanding through education and enthuse younger people about birds and nature.
Build an engaged younger audience who are excited to see what we post and return week in, week out.
Grow loyal younger audience with the potential to mobilize for the right campaigns.
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Yas Devi and Joshua Boyd
RSPB hired TikTok Social Executive Yas Devi and Social Media Manager Joshua Boyd to head this updated version of the RSPB. They were inspired by other major brands TikTok pages such as Duolingo, and the Empire State Building.
The duo came up with the simple idea—the now infamous Bird of the Week posts. This type of content was nothing new on TikTok, but the RSPB were able to use it as a catalyst for switching up their branding and attracting a younger audiences.
Bird of the Week
The Bird of the Week concept was a challenge to all preconceptions of what the RSPB is. The idea gave audiences reasons to come back to the page or even follow them.
“Getting the cultural references right has been crucial, with younger audiences, when you miss the mark, it just fails and so we’ve been very particular about this! As well as jumping on the right memes and trends to support (rather than replace the format)” -The Drum
From the original idea more tools to implement audience engagement evolved such as asking their audience to provide birds they want featured on their page. The concept also provide opportunity for merchandising and partnership opportunities. Overal the idea was able to follow trends while educating audiences in a consistent unique format.
Results
The RSPB page followers increased by 190% since launching the concept. They also saw an uptick in younger audiences joining the organization.
Followers = 175k (+115k since Jan)
Views: 37M (+23m since Jan)
Likes: 4.9M (+2.9m since Jan)
Shares: 1M (+655k since Jan)
Comments: 155k (+123k since Jan)
- The Drum
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Analysis
The RSPB's Bird of the Week shows how a brand can adapt formats while staying true to its identity.
“The style and zeitgeist of TikTok is constantly evolving and so we knew we needed something that could adapt over time but also remain consistent” - The Drum
While TikTok is a chaotic social media platform brand image and content consistency is still key for a pages success. The RSPB’s Bird of the Week concept is a perfect example of how a brand can remain relevant while posting consistent content.
The RSPB’s Bird of the Week concept also shows how utilizing pages like TikTok can develop tight knit communities within a brand. Through using interactive elements in the Bird of the Week posts, RSPB built a cult-like following, with audiences becoming obsessed, commenting, and sharing as if they were the Kardashians of the bird world.
The Bird of the Week concept has pushed the RSPB’s TikTok page to ventured into more chaotic and fun territories attracting a younger audience and getting them to care about nature and conservation.
Key Take Aways
What the RSPB did to refresh their brand and garner a younger audience is something to consider when taking your brand to social media.
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As showcased by the RSPB, in order to grab a younger audiences attention your content needs to stick out. Engage in current trends, no matter how ridiculous they appear. On social media platforms such as TikTok, audiences want content that is authentic and free from corporate influence. The RSPB’s TikTok page shows how different platforms require unique strategies. Don’t be afraid to adapt your brand image to fit vibe and expectations of each platform.
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RSPB’s Bird of the Week is content that is wholly unique to the RSPB brand. While it incorporates current trends it still remains unique to the organization. When creating content don’t try to be like somebody else. Find your niche and weave in relevant trends to make your content stand out.
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TikTok is a platform that is always rapidly evolving. Trends come and go in within weeks, days, and even hours. With an constantly changing platform it is hard to create consistent content. The RSPB’s Bird of the Week concept shows how content consistency doesn’t have to negate a brands adaptability. When creating a campaign make sure to find something that can be easily adaptable. Find something that can maintain a consistent stream on content while being topical for digital media marketing success.