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How Sides Are Using TikTok (Short Case Studies)

About This Document

A survey which provides details of Morris Federation sides’ TikTok accounts is available. This document describes the approaches taken to providing TikTok accounts by Ravens Morris, Chelmsford Morris, Sheffield Steel Rapper, Devizes Jubilee Morris and Shrewsbury Morris.

Case Study 1: Ravens Morris

Imogen Heaven, social media rep for Ravens Morris, provided the following short summary about the Ravens Morris TikTok account:

“What a great weekend at Bridlington we have had dancing!” (click to view)

We set up the Ravens Morris TikTok account to engage with another demographic, create new content, use platform specific techniques, to influence and show the younger demographic that Morris dancing is cool! And to gain another following for those not on the other platforms. 

We create content by creatively putting clips or images together usually either with trending music or mood specific music. We use Capcut to add effects, overlays, shadow effects, etc. For example in the TikTok video featured in this post all of the edits where carried out using Capcut and the file was then imported into TikTok with further edits added. We also sometimes use  the YouCut editor.

We also use Studio video insights in TikTok to look at the analytics.

With every clip that goes up we either follow what is trending right now including hashtags, getting involved in trending dances or pick up an old trend as  both will help increase interactions as well as adding a CTA (Call To Action) at the end of clips.  We use the “account check” in TikTok Studio as it is  a great way to check your account and see if it is keeping within account guidelines, and see how your content is doing.

To keep track of what’s working and what isn’t we keep an eye on retention levels, average watch time, traffic sources, search queries and overall traffic/interaction.  

The feedback we receive is really positive as it is creative, fresh, funny, following trends. We also share our content to our other platforms on the Ravens Morris Facebook and Instagram accounts as we know that not everyone who has an interest in our activities is on TikTok!

Case Study 2: Chelmsford Morris

Anna Johansson has provided the following short summary about the Chelmsford Morris TikTok account:

We decided to set up our TikTok acccount as I thought it was important to potentially get new members interested and to increase our presence on social media as a whole. 

The Chelmsford Morris Facebook account remains our most interacted with platform (890+ followers) and I find this is the most useful for publishing events, etc.

I like TikTok as I think it’s easy to use and it allows us to be creative when making visual content for social media. 

I have used social media extensively both personally and for another charity so I knew how to work the app and create content. I also have a hobby interest in photography so I enjoy the creation side of it as well.

I have found the best feedback and the most views on TikTok comes from showing us dancing to the traditional accompaniment, there is a temptation to try and “modernise” morris on TikTok to keep up with trends and such, although I have made a few videos like that using trending sounds, they haven’t done as well as the more traditional videos

I use a lot of hashtags and I think this helps (the following hashtags are used in the video featured below:  
#morris #morrisdancing #morrisdancinglife #morrisdancinguk #morristok #chelmsford #essex #folkdancing #folk #chelmsfordmorris #folkmusic #morrisdancing2024 #folkdance #wearechelmsfordmorris #foryoupage #england #traditionaldance #foryou #morrisdancer #morrisdancersoftiktok 
).

Tiktok (and all social media) can be hit and miss, we had one video get over 48,000 views, some have had less than 300.

I think consistency is key and really it’s about just being out there as a side, we are on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok plus I’ve recently modernised and revamped the Chelmsford Morris website, paying attention to making it look good on a mobile as this is where most people view from. 

From the point of view of getting new members, I think it’s essential to have some social media, most potential new members will go there first, I know I did when I joined! 

I’ve noticed that we get more website views and more followers after an event or the day of, so people are looking and finding us online as they are watching I think.

Video introducing the side, from a practice to clips of stick and hankie dances – in 1 min 51 secs (click to view)

Case Study 3: Sheffield Steel Rapper

I’m  Veronica Keszthelyi-Scown, Sheffield Steel Rapper’s social media manager.

Video taken at DERT 2024 competition and published on TikTok

I decided to create a TikTok account for Sheffield Steel as I saw with my own personal account that it got way more engagement than my Instagram. Also the fact that it was originally a dance app made it seem like a no brainer. 

Since setting up the account we routinely have many more times engagement on TikTok than Instagram or Facebook. And because of the FYP hashtag (“#FYP is a common acronym used to hashtag a video intended for the “For You Page” found on all TikTok users’ accounts”) it means we reach accounts that have never even heard of rapper.

In addition to raising our side’s visibility to those unfamiliar with rapper sword dancing our intention is to find festivals and events that had not seen or heard of us previously to widen our chances for dance-out invitations. On a more local level we’re also hoping to reach people that may want to join us or even try rapper for the first time.

I mostly use videos taken out at crawls or events as content. The comments we receive are generally very positive. If you look at our 3 dances down! 3 to go!” TikTok video at the DERT 2024 dance competition you’ll notice there have been over 120 comments such as:

    • Excellent. What’s the history of these dances?
    • This was so impressive and fun to watch, crazy stamina and timing!
    • That’s honestly the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen! Well done! 
    • As someone completely unaware: How old is this dance? Was it used as a kind of advertisement for the steel?
    • Absolutely brilliant. I love how much the ladies were obviously enjoying themselves too.
    • Congratulations on your well deserved win! 

 

Case Study 4: Devizes Jubilee Morris

I am Kodi Czerwionka, digital creator for Devizes Jubilee Morris.

We decided to set up the Devizes Jubilee Morris TikTok page to reach a wider audience and promote our unique blend of heritage and vibrant dance. Recognizing the platform’s popularity and engagement, especially among younger generations, we see it as an opportunity to showcase our intricate routines, colourful costumes, and the joy of Morris dancing. The page aims to break down common misconceptions, spark interest in the tradition, and connect with a new generation of Morris enthusiasts.

Being a young dancer  (see my profile) on the side, I set-up and look after our teams TikTok page and create our content. Our videos typically include traditional English folk dancing with a modern twist, often filmed in engaging locations within our local community. By capturing the energetic and inclusive nature of our dances, we hope to inspire and entertain a diverse audience on TikTok. 

The feedback on our TikTok page has been overwhelmingly positive! We’ve been thrilled to see so many people enjoying our videos, with comments praising our energy and the joyful spirit we bring to Morris dancing [for example see the comments on the TikTok video shown below]. The engagement has been fantastic, with likes, shares, and comments pouring in from all over the world. It’s clear that our efforts to share the beauty and fun of Morris dancing with a new generation are resonating strongly, and we’re excited to continue creating engaging content that captures the hearts of TikTok users!

Case Study 5: Shrewsbury Morris

Ellie Cliftlands commented:

The Shrewsbury Morris social media accounts are all run by different people and each know how to get the best out of the platforms. Social media can be so informative and fun in bitesize pieces, which is what works best for audiences and users of today. Social media has always been a way to escape and create and this is why TikTok blew up in lock down. The type of video that seemed to be most created at that time were the dance videos, usually danced to popular songs. Morris teams have stretched over all social media for a while now and because of our large media following on X (Twitter) it made sense to go to TikTok too and we were delighted to find and follow other teams that had also made their way there. 

Knowing how trending music and sounds worked on video platforms, it has been fun to work out which ones worked best for the team. As soon as the “I’m a …, of course we…” came around, I knew it would be a perfect way to have a laugh and educate people about Morris dancing! It was also a great way to get the team involved as not everyone is on social media, but they then have a better idea of what is going online. We now have 478 followers on TikTok and 59.5k views on our most watched video. [see image below, with number if views highlighted in red]


Feedback

We welcome feedback on this document. In addition we would like to hear from morris, sword and other traditional dance sides who use IT and would be willing to share their experiences. Would you like to contribute a case study?

Contributors

Contributors to this document were Imogen Heaven (Ravens Morris) and Anna Johansson (Chelmsford Morris), Veronica Keszthelyi-Scown (Sheffield Steel Rapper), Kodi Czerwionka (Devizes Jubilee Morris) and Ellie Cliftlands (Shrewsbury Morris).  The editor was Brian Kelly, Morris Federation IT volunteer.

Status of this Document

Document published: 31 May 2024
Updated: 11 Jun 2024 (third case study added); 17 June 2024 (fourth case study added); 25 Jube 2024 (fifth case study added)

Licence for this Document

This document is available with a Creative Commons Sharealike (CC-BY) licence. In brief, this means you can copy and make changes to this document provided you give acknowledgements to the author/publisher. A suggested wording for acknowledgements is:

This document is based on the "How Sides Are Using TikTok (Short Case Studies)" document by Imogen Heaven (Ravens Morris), Anna Johansson (Chelmsford Morris),  Veronica Keszthelyi-Scown (Sheffield Steel Rapper), Kodi Czerwionka (Devizes Jubilee Morris) and Ellie Cliftlands (Shrewsbury Morris) and edited by Brian Kelly (Comms and IT volunteer with the Morris Federation).

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