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This document provides a survey of TikTok accounts used by Morris Federation sides which are listed in their Teamfinder profile followed by a discussion of the findings. Note a case study on “How Sides Are Using TikTok” provides further information on how five of the sides featured in this survey (Ravens Morris, Chelmsford Morris, Sheffield Steel Rapper, Devizes Jubilee Morris and Shrewsbury Morris) make use of TikTok.
Morris dancing (in all its varieties) is an experience which is best experienced live. However if this is not possible use of multimedia services can provide a feeling of the visual and audio experiences – and this can be valuable for sides in recruiting new members and being invited to bookings.
Recent morris surveys has shown that the average age of morris sides is increasing, with over half of dancers aged 60 or over! In addition the overall number of dancers has fallen since COVID. The key question facing many sides is “how do we attract younger dancers?“
In 2020 a survey of Internet users who use TikTok in the UK shows that 24% are aged 15-25 and 18% are aged 26-45. This suggests that TikTok may provide a means of reaching a younger audience, for both showing what a cool fun activity morris dancing can be and, potentially, encouraging potential dancers to make contact with a side.
Launching a digital service for the first time can be a daunting prospect! To help sides thinking about launching a TikTok account (and sides with an account who would like to see how their service could be enhanced) ) this document looks at the TikTok accounts for 28 sides which have listed their TikTok service on their Teamfinder profile.
The following survey was carried out on 26 May 2024. The table includes:
Looking at the video clips posted on the TikTok accounts show that a number of different approaches are being taken such as conventional clips of dances, practices, montages of dance displays, use of photos, a variety of background music and sounds and inclusion of interesting ‘features’ (young children and bears!). Some of the clips appear to have been taken by a professional photographer using a hi-spec camera – but others were probably taken by a dancer using a personal smart camera.
It was interesting looking at the hashtags used to maximise access to the clips – some are related to the side’s name and the type of dance; others to the event with a number of other hashtag seeming to have more idiosyncratic purposes!
The statistics of the numbers of views (given for the most widely viewed clips) indicate the potential popularity of TikTok clips but it should be noted that even sides which post very poplar clips will also have clips with significantly smaller number of views.
Some suggestions:
Document: 31 May 2024
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 "Survey: Use of TikTok (2024)" document by Brian Kelly, Comms and IT volunteer with the Morris Federation.
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