If nothing else, TikTok is impossible to ignore. The social media site currently boasts one of the fastest growing audiences in the U.S., with monthly active users more than quadrupling since 2018. Users reportedly view TikTok as “avant-garde,” the report finds, and the platform boasts a higher conversion rate of users from younger social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Snapchat users are among the most likely to be in the Trial (at 82.6% of Snapchat users) and Usage (88.8% of Snapchat users) stages of embracing TikTok, the report says.

Interestingly, The Harris Poll found that while Gen Z makes up a large proportion of TikTok’s user base, millennials are actually most likely to buy products based on TikTok’s influence. The report found that 57% of millennials have purchased something featured on TikTok, compared to 38% of Gen Zers. TikTok users also seem to be moving into product consumption, with 48% of TikTok users saying they’ve bought a product or service after seeing an ad for it on the app, while 47% of users say they’ve purchased something based on the recommendation of an influencer, the report says.

The rewards for brands from TikTok are potentially huge. The platform offers brands the most supportive audience compared to other social media platforms according to the report, with its own users ranking the platform highest in brand equity, which The Harris Poll says is essentially a proxy for popularity. The report measures brand equity as the perceived value of a company based on its reputation among consumers. Within the platform, brands on TikTok like RedBull and Xbox are seeing higher brand equity through TikTok compared to the general public. RedBull saw a brand equity lift of 15.7% on TikTok, with Xbox seeing a 13.5% lift. This means in-app content, influencer engagement or ads have resonated with the platform’s users, The Harris Report writes.

Authentic content played a central part of TikTok’s pitch during the 2021 IAB NewFronts. Brands can reach the most engaged audiences on the planet and truly be a part of culture, the company said during its presentation, touting the tagline “Don’t make ads, make TikToks.”

The trouble with user-generated content

User-generated content still holds the greatest sway on the app, the survey finds, and campaigns with user-generated content tend to be the most successful. Users were drawn to TikTok because of its creativity and a large community that can serve their interests, the report says. But brands may still be nervous about ceding control to creators, something likely unimproved by TikTok’s NewFronts advice to simply trust creators and give them more control and leeway over campaigns.

Last month, several retailers including Etsy and Parachute, offeredtheir customers the option to “opt out” of Mother’s Day-related marketing. According to an Ad Age-Harris Poll, the majority of adults, or 66%, say they would have a better opinion of brands that allow for this option, and 29% of those surveyed said they would be more likely to purchase from such a brand. Roughly half, or 55%, of U.S. adults said they would choose to not receive any holiday-themed messaging.

The poll also found that opinions regarding Mother’s Day messaging could vary depending on age. Nearly half of Gen Z consumers, or 47%, said they would be more likely to buy from a brand promoting an opt-out option; 38% of millennials said the same.

Even as brands navigate these consumer sensitivies, they could be poised to benefit from a windfall of spending around the holiday. The National Retail Federation reports that spending is expected to increase by 5% to a record $28.1 billion in total, with shoppers spending on average $220.48.

Some retailers are going after these dollars in a more sensitive way than in the past. In its Mother’s Day spot, Dick’s Sporting Goods is highlighting its own employees, including CEO Lauren Hobart and Aimee Watters, executive director of Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, who are working mothers. In the spot, the mothers ask their children about being scared and talk about the importance of being brave.

In 1-800-Flowers’ campaign, “Love Makes a Family,” different people from a variety of backgrounds and families talk about the role their mothers played in shaping their lives.

In the tailwinds of the pandemic, the embrace of corporate social responsibility has accelerated, along with the rise of stakeholder capitalism, the idea that companies serve the interests of all stakeholders—including, for example, customers, employees and the community—rather than just shareholders. You can see it in the “open book” policies of companies publicly sharing sustainability data. And you can hear it in BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s recent promise to “be loud again” about his company’s advocacy-focused investing priorities.

Suffice to say, the crises of the last year—not just the pandemic, but also the burgeoning social justice movement and tumultuous national politics—have intensified consumer scrutiny of the corporations they work for and buy from.  And the risks have never been higher, however, with nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) in new research from The Harris Poll stating that a brand that loses its trust cannot earn it back. But while a sense of urgency is key for brands in this moment, so too is thoughtful planning and action.

After all, corporate reputation can change quickly—for better or for worse. No industry exemplifies this better than the pharmaceutical industry, whose meteoric rise in the hearts and minds of consumers took a dramatic turn over the course of the pandemic. Pre-COVID, the industry’s reputation score languished at 32%, according to Harris polling from January 2020, and then nearly doubled during the pandemic, reaching 62% in February 2021 as widespread vaccine rollout became a reality. The lesson here is that brands don’t need to be loud, political or provocative to build up goodwill and trust—they need to listen, innovate and deliver on their promises.

Understand expectations—and respond wisely

A strong majority of Americans (60%) said in April that well-known brands taking stands on social issues is more important than in the past. Gen Zers and millennials overwhelmingly share this stance (70% each). Why do consumers feel this way? A majority (53%) say that companies have “more platforms and tools at their disposal to speak to and influence a large number of people.”

This is the information age in action: Every major brand has multiple social media accounts and numerous followers. They regularly reach and interact with consumers in ways unimaginable just decades ago. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility.

Companies must actively listen to their customers and choose their response wisely. The pandemic made online engagement more important as in-person contact subsided, and consumers will continue to follow brands’ online moves closely. Instead of simply jumping on the issue of the day, use these channels to take a temperature check engage with customers directly. At the end of the day, brands can’t be expected to join every conversation—nor should they. But they are expected to be responsive and accountable to their customers online.

In fact, iPhone users who have gone through the update are actually more willing to share their iPhone data than those who are still on the old operating system.

Apple’s rollout last week of its most recent iOS 14.5 update introduced several new privacy features, most notably a pop-up that would force apps to ask users for permission to track them around apps and across the internet. Ad tech companies worried the changes could restrict businesses that rely on using customer data to build advertising profiles and deliver targeted audiences.

Surprisingly, iPhone users on the most recent iOS 14.5 update are slightly more willing than users not on 14.5 to allow social media and shopping apps to track and share their iPhone data. The poll shows 47% of those running the latest update would allow Facebook to track and share iPhone data, compared to 19% of users not running 14.5. Likewise, 36% of users running 14.5 would allow TikTok to track and share iPhone data compared to just 21% of users who haven't updated. And in a bellwether for how shopping and commerce apps are likely to be received, 44% of users running 14.5 would allow Nike to track and share iPhone data compared to 31% of iPhone users not running the latest update.

Pop-ups are also unpopular with users, even if they help communicate data privacy choices; 63% of U.S. adults say they have an unfavorable opinion of mobile pop-ups, whether from apps, websites or the phone’s operating system. The results vary slightly for Apple device users, with 43% of iPhone users more likely to have a favorable opinion of pop-ups that provide transparency on data collection compared to 37% of other smartphone users.

The Ad Age-Harris Poll also indicates millennials tend to be more security minded than their Gen Z counterparts: 77% of millennial users find pop-ups too intrusive compared to 61% of Gen Z users, while 55% of millennial users have a somewhat favorable view of data collection pop-ups compared to 40% of Gen Z users. Millennials -- 42%-- are also more likely to have done research to understand how the data collected by apps is used, compared to 31% of Gen Z users and 29% of all U.S. adults.