TikTok Talks: Mark Thomas Talks Music Marketing and Keeping Up With Trends

It’s time for another episode of TikTok Talks, fam. In case you missed it, it’s ONE37pm’s brand new series, where we chat with TikTok stars who are making a name for themselves on the app. This time around, ONE37pm’s Omari White speaks with 19-year-old content creator Mark Thomas.

The Pennsylvania native first gained popularity on musical.ly, accumulating over 5 million followers on the app that eventually became TikTok. While he’s all about TikTok trends and challenges, Mark is also really involved with music marketing. That’s right. He knows exactly what it takes for a song to completely blow up on the app (Think: “Say So” by Doja Cat or “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion). From the art of growing artists on the app to the importance of keeping up with trends, Mark spills all the details on his secrets to success. Check it out!

ONE37pm: What’s your favorite filter on the TikTok app?

Mark: I’m going to have to go with the G6 filter. That one and I think they just came out with a couple of new ones, towards the very right of the filters that I like a lot. Those are pretty dope.

ONE37pm: What was the driving moment that made you create a TikTok account?

Mark: I’ve actually been on the app before it was actually TikTok. I actually can’t remember. I think someone just told me to download it, or some of my followers recommended me to it.  And I got on it, and I love it. It’s an amazing app.

ONE37pm: What’s your advice for someone just getting started on TikTok?

Mark: My advice would be to find a category that you think you could absolutely destroy and make the best content out of what you think you could create the best. And find trend patterns, like whenever a trend pops up, do it. Be creative with it—trends are definitely the best things to follow when you’re starting out.

ONE37pm: Do you usually dive into hashtags?

Mark: I try not to use too many hashtags. But I mean, the main one, it’s just #fyp, for you page. I usually use that one. If it’s like a challenge—like for example, the #ZoomChallenge—a hashtag like that would be perfect. It really just depends on the TikTok.

ONE37pm: Who’s your favorite follow on TikTok, and why?

Mark: I would have to go with the Sway Boys, like Bryce [Hall], Josh [Richards], Blake [Gray] and all them. I’ve known them for almost like five years now, coming up on six, I think. They’re just killin’ it. They’re great guys. Mad respect for them. They just grind on the app, and they kill it. 

ONE37pm: Do you use TikTok to discover new music? If so, what songs have you discovered?

Mark: I do, actually—especially when TikTok was just starting to pop off. I listen to a lot of alternative music, and a lot of alternative music is really popular on TikTok, which is crazy because songs I’ve known for years or just recently found—and then, it starts popping off on TikTok. I get a lot of music from there. But also, on the other hand, I do music marketing myself, so I use TikTok a lot to do campaigns and stuff and push artists and songs and break records. So I think it’s great for music. It’s perfect. Our recent campaign, we grew the song, I think it’s up to like 20 [or] 30 million streams now. So, it’s huge. If you know how to play your cards right, it’s huge for music marketing. And even if you’re an upcoming artist—just make a TikTok. You can do a tutorial, like how to make a song. There’s so many ways you can get a song or convert streams through TikTok. It’s insane.

ONE37pm: Who would you love to collab with on TikTok?

Mark: Probably Jason DeRulo or Kevin Hart. Jason DeRulo is killing it right now. His ideas, his videos are insane. And Kevin Hart, he’s just funny as shit, and I love him. So I think that’d be dope to collab with him because he’s always making funny content. 

Now those are some collabs we can get behind! Be sure to check out Mark's content all across Instagram (@duhitzmark), Twitter (@duhitzmark) and, of course, TikTok (@markthomas)—he's doing big things!