How McDonald's SG can reach its 1,000 followers despite being late to the TikTok game

McDonald's Singapore has officially joined the TikTok party. In a post on its official page on Sunday (9 March), the food giant shared a humorous 15-second clip to unveil the news. 

"Help me reach 1000 followers or I'm cooked," the caption read.  The video showed a conversation between a boss and an employee in a social media team group chat, with the boss advising their employee not to "let them down". 

At the time of writing, it had 137 followers.

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After an eerie pause, the boss shared that the team had finally gotten approved to launch the McDonald's Singapore TikTok account. Based on the posts, it seems the food giant's initial goal is to go "viral" and gain more followers on TikTok. Additionally, in an Instagram post, McDonald's Singapore prompted users to share the types of videos they wish to see on the new TikTok account. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to McDonald's Singapore for more information. 

How can McDonald's hit its target?

Sunny Johar, managing director of KRDS Southeast Asia said brands that tend to go viral on TikTok are first and foremost brands that don’t take themselves too seriously, such as Ryanair and the fan-favourite Duolingo. 

"Instead of a traditional approach to crafting branded content on social media, which typically uses a palette from the brand CI, heavy use of logos and corporate fonts, these brands make their content recognisable through the clever use of mascots," she said. 

In addition to playful personalities online, these brands create content that is trendy, relatable, but does not directly focus on selling or promoting their products. This content includes memes, relatable daily tidbits and the clever use of trendjacking, such as Duolingo's jump on the TikTok ban talk earlier this year. Johar also noted that the brands engage actively in their comment sections, making sure their audience knows they’re listening.

In tandem, Kristian Olsen, managing director at Type A said in order to go viral and be successful on platforms such as TikTok, brands need to do something wild and different, but still remain authentic to their message. 

"Even if it’s a trend, make it yours. Audiences are forgiving if you experiment, but if you go overboard and lose your identity, they’ll roast you," he added. 

Olsen also said that despite initial content preparations, going viral is still a gamble. However, he noted that "you can't win if you don't buy a lottery ticket". 

Meanwhile, it comes as no surprise that the Southeast Asia (SEA) region loves social media, with all nations using more platforms than the global average of 6.83. In fact, Meltwater's 'Marketing trends to watch in 2025' report revealed that people now spend more time on social media than watching conventional TV. This marks an important shift in media consumption where even though TV time is declining, video remains as important as ever, with platforms such as TikTok and YouTube allowing audiences to watch on their own terms. 

With that being said, TikTok doesn't just provide users the chance to stream videos, but also drive conversion. Last week, Samsung Electronics Singapore launched its TikTok shop page as part of a strategy to engage digital-first consumers through interactive live commerce. The platform enables consumers to explore and purchase products across various categories, including mobile, TV and audiovisual (AV), home appliances, and monitors. This move aligns with Samsung's broader strategy to bolster its digital presence and expand its reach through innovative commerce solutions.

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