It’s Time for TikTok at the ‘Santa Barbara Independent’

The Indy’s web content managers, Saehee Jong and Celina Garcia, recently embarked on a new frontier in our paper’s ever-evolving social media strategy: TikTok, the video-sharing service developed in China that’s been courting American buyers while annoying President Trump. 

“Being on TikTok means we’re reaching out to a younger demographic and ultimately sharing important information and stories to a more diverse crowd, which is one of the goals in journalism,” explained Jong, who said one of the first videos already nabbed nearly 1,200 views. The goal is to showcase the events, businesses, people, and places that make Santa Barbara unique. “I see TikTok as an opportunity to capture the stories of our town that may slip through the cracks, especially when it comes to the way our base readers typically view our material,” said Garcia. “This is a fun way to showcase what I love about my city.” They hope to post a video each week on TikTok under @sbindependent.