Our current situation got a lot of us re-thinking how we went about our daily lives. The same is true for our professional paths. Staying at home forced us to think over how we communicate with one another and how we can truly make a difference with what we have.
Take a look at Tiana Kocher and the #donttripchallenge. A few weeks ago, I wrote about it in the hopes that more people can use it as an avenue to help. It’s also a healthy outlet to release some stress we are experiencing.
A little recap: Tiana opened up a contest where people need to dance to her single “Don’t Trip” on TikTok, tag her in their posts, and winners were picked daily. Open in the Philippines and the US, the lucky ones were given a P2,500 gift card from Lazada plus a P5,000 donation was given in their name to the Philippine Red Cross. US winners were rewarded with a $50 Amazon gift card and a donation of $100 was given to the American Red Cross in their name.
Looking at how it went viral gave me a sense of hope. I think businesses can learn from this: People are willing to spend time on a product or a platform, give a comment, or double-tap as long as it’s for a bigger cause.
It’s hopeful to see how the challenge raised PHP158,500 for the Philippine Red Cross. There’s so much to learn from that number alone. But I also looked at how #TianaKocher and #donttriphchallenge got 10M views and 9.6M views respectively. “Don’t Trip” was used to make 4,888 videos.
To me, those numbers speak to how people want to be apart of something positive. They’ll be curious over who are the people and the campaigns that lead us to better ways to connect, help, and even just inspire in our own ways…even with just our camera phones.
I also think artists can take a page from Tiana Kocher. Talent is great but there’s got to be a purpose. I saw how Tiana used what she had to create something that had a meaningful end. On YouTube, the official lyrics video to “Don’t Trip”has over 400,000 views in the month and at the same time, “Don’t Trip” on Spotify commands 80,000 streams and counting.
More than all of this information, it’s just the sign of how times are changing. And it seems like we’re making this change to our advantage. It’s time to re-focus on what empowers us, can help others, and how we can create something meaningful on social media.
For further information or interview opportunities, please email Liz Rodriguez: [email protected]
Photos by BJ Pascual
