At the training session " compiling 2.0 - From Newsroom to Storyroom with TikTok", Mr. Luu Dang Hai - TikTok Southeast Asia Strategy Partnership Manager - shared the current situation, opportunities and challenges when Vietnamese press exploits this platform.
TikTok press in Vietnam and current status
According to Mr. Luu Dang Hai, TikTok is becoming an increasingly important media channel not only in Vietnam but also in the world. Television agencies and international news agencies actively produce and distribute news on this platform to reach young audiences, where they consume information quickly, concisely and intuitively.
In Vietnam, since 2021, more than 100 press and media units have joined TikTok, making our country the global leader in the news channel system on the platform. The news content on TikTok is very diverse, including politics - society, sports, culture - entertainment, finance - business and life. Press agencies convey information through many forms such as video adaptations from television, original content, synthesized slides, fancams or CCTV, and rolling photo videos.
Mr. Luu Dang Hai said that the strength of mainstream press on TikTok is the ability to provide reliable information, based on data, professional analysis and the direct participation of reporters at the scene. This brings the advantage of "real people, real things" and creates trust with readers.
However, many channels are currently facing limitations when the content is not really attractive, the videos are long, the words are heavy, the images lack movement, the image quality is low and the voice-over is still very trendy.
To optimize effectiveness, Mr. Luu Dang Hai suggested measures such as choosing a reasonable posting time frame, prioritizing the morning from 8 to 10, the afternoon from 2 to 3 and the evening from 6 to 9 am. The video should be broadcast before 11pm, except for hot news, and the first 8 seconds are the most important to attract viewers.
Using 3 to 5 hashtags is reasonable, maintaining a high and stable posting frequency, regular interaction with followers, as well as prioritizing authenticated accounts will help the news channel develop sustainably.
An important highlight in the content strategy is the Story-first method, which is to convert traditional news into an engaging story. Accordingly, each video should build three story layers: setting, character and beat. The setting needs to answer the question "What does this matter to you?", the characters are people that viewers can stick to such as people, main characters in events or reporters at the scene, while the performance is divided into three parts including issues, developments and meaningful conclusions.
The video, which is 30-45 seconds long, tells a story according to this formula, providing both information and creating an engaging experience, helping to increase interaction and spread legitimate information.
Notes on Community Standards on TikTok
In addition to optimizing content, Mr. Luu Dang Hai emphasized that complying with Community Standards is a mandatory requirement for journalism to operate sustainably on TikTok. Common violations that news channels should avoid include recording in halls, unauthorized public events, disclosing personal information, copyright infringement, illegal advertising, as well as acts related to suicide or self-harm. Shocking and violent content can also be limited in reach or deleted.
Mr. Luu Dang Hai believes that complying with community standards is not only a legal obligation but also a strategy to protect reputation, build trust and maintain long-term relationships with readers.
At the discussion session, answering the question of how the press can make money on TikTok, Mr. Hai said that at present, TikTok does not have an automatic money-making mechanism. However, according to a survey and working with a number of units, the press can earn money by selling video bookings (ordering from brands), commercial banner hanging on the newspaper's daily videos...
Mr. Hai hopes that these types will continue to develop so that TikTok can become a channel to help the press earn more revenue in the future.
