A mistake that most brands are making is creating impersonal content in an effort to bandwagon on trends or to target everyone. Content strategy should be one that provides value to their audience whether that value is education, entertainment, or comfort. Simply creating visually appealing content is not enough, instead a content creation strategy is required. This ensures that key customer demographics are targeted through engaging content. Moreover, by using key users that can personify the company’s mission and values is essential to creating content that connects to their users.

To understand what appeals to Gen Z on TikTok, it is important to look at what drives engagement with content. The key factor that drives engagement on TikTok is authenticity, which is a necessary value for Gen Z. This means that media brands should know what is their own ethos and use all functions of TikTok to appeal to the younger generation.

American Express is a brand that could improve its social media presence, as it falls into the trap that numerous corporate social media accounts do. The brand seems to think that using pretty pictures, and generic captions, will bring an audience following. But, the brand fails to realize the importance of having a high engagement rate on social media. I would recommend that the company focus on telling human stories with American Express, and find a way to incorporate more video content. I believe that people come on social media to connect and something American Express needs to utilize in their strategy.