“The turning point was TikTok”: Reaching new audiences with engaging digital content
Abi Chowney, Marketing Specialist at West Northamptonshire Council, shares her experiences since graduating from the University of Northampton and how she’s embraced the use of TikTok in public sector communications.
I graduated from the University of Northampton in 2018 with a degree in Media Production and Moving Images.
The course was perfect for my practical learning style, as it was very hands-on. We created short films and ads, which made the experience both creative and engaging.
After I graduated, I found it hard to break into the media industry as I wasn’t sure what direction I could go into without going self-employed. That’s not something I felt I could do, as I require a structured work schedule.
At the time, a friend of mine at the council saw that I had graduated and mentioned a temporary HR role that was coming up.
My plan was to use it as a stepping stone to get out of my student loan and then look into media jobs once I was financially stable, and understood what career I wanted to go into.
But of course, COVID hit, and with everything shutting down, nobody was hiring in media. That’s when things started to change for me.
While I was at the council, I became aware of the communication and engagement team and I began to see how my media skills could fit into this industry. I started off volunteering my time to the team, to get an understanding of how a communications team works.
Shortly after, I stepped into an internal communications assistant role. While I was doing all kinds of admin, I also began to look for ways to bring my creative background into the work. Six months later, I progressed to become a Marketing Specialist, looking at ways to strategically communicate the council’s services.
I started experimenting with social media and content creation because that’s what I loved. I’d always been interested in how social platforms work and the idea of using them for more than just fun seemed like a great opportunity.
The real turning point came when I started looking at TikTok. The council had an account, but it wasn’t really an active platform. They were pretty open to trying something new and I thought, “Well, why not try it?”
The whole idea was to reach out to younger audiences - 18 to 25-year-olds who wouldn’t necessarily be tuning into the local news or reading newsletters. We needed something that would grab their attention.
The first campaign I worked on was the election. It was a tough one because getting people excited about voting isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. But TikTok has this fun, informal vibe, and I thought, “Why not try to make something interesting that people will actually want to watch?”
After a bit of back and forth on the content, I posted a video explaining the new requirement for photo IDs at polling stations, and it actually worked.
Not only did I get feedback from colleagues internally, but the video was popping up on people’s For You pages – and they weren’t even following the council.
That was when I realised how powerful TikTok could be. It wasn’t just about having followers; it was about the reach and engagement that came with being strategic with your content.
The more I worked on TikTok, the more I saw the potential for reaching a wider audience. One of my first most successful organic videos was promoting a local Highland cow experience. It took off, reaching more than 10,000 views in just a week. The algorithm then picked it up a few weeks later and it gained more than 20,000 views.
The feedback was amazing, and people were actually engaging with the content, leaving positive comments. It showed me that you could make all kinds of public sector information interesting, even when it might not seem possible to start with.
Another project I worked on was promoting the opening of Northampton's revamped Market Square. I got colleagues and people from partner organisations involved in a series of TikTok videos, like the front-of-house staff at Royal and Derngate.
They were comfortable being on camera, and it really helped to humanise the whole campaign.
We collaborated with them on the platform and this helped gain more than 24,000 views with tons of positive comments.
We were able to show the human side of the council - that it’s made up of real people who care about the community.
One of the hardest parts was getting people to be on camera. At first, I was the only one in the videos because most people were quite hesitant. They didn’t want to be on TikTok, especially with it being associated with the council. But over time, as the videos started to get more positive feedback, people started to see the value in it.
They wanted to get involved, and I think that’s been one of the best things to come out of this whole experience. People started realising that it wasn’t just about marketing – it was about connecting with the community in a meaningful way.
TikTok’s algorithm is set up to push out engaging content, even to people who don’t follow you. So, while we did see an increase in followers – from around 100 when I started to 1,000 now – the real success has been in the reach. Every time we post, we see more engagement, and it’s clear that the platform works.
But the numbers only tell you so much - it's about the impact those numbers have. Whether it’s a small local campaign or a big initiative, the goal is always to get people involved, educated and engaged. People always have a mixed response to the work of the council, but when we humanise our work , the feedback is always more positive.
Looking forward, I’m keen to keep working in public sector communications. I’m still learning, but I feel like I’m finding my niche in digital marketing, especially through social media. There’s so much potential in this field, and I’m really enjoying the challenge of trying to make even the most routine government messages engaging. I’m also keen to explore other aspects of communications, like event management and community outreach.
Overall, I’ve learned that in this role, you have to be adaptable. The public sector is always changing, and communication has to evolve with it. Whether it’s through TikTok or any other platform, my goal is always to find ways to make the message stick – and make it interesting while I’m at it.
I’m excited to see what I can do next.