From TikTok hype to long-term loyalty: How FMCG brands can turn visibility into trust

Why TikTok attention isn’t loyalty 

TikTok is where discovery begins — but loyalty is built elsewhere. In a feed that moves in seconds, you can win attention fast; the next purchase is won when it’s easy to understand, believe in, and choose your brand again. Treat every video as a small trust transaction: if it gives the viewer proof, an explanation, or a useful service, you’ve earned a “trust token” you can compound over time. 

The new FMCG attention landscape 

Reach has never been easier; repeat purchase has never been harder. TikTok has become a starting point for how people discover products, learn something new, and form opinions. A viral spike is rarely the goal in itself. What turns visibility into trust is how consistently a brand keeps its small promises over time. When FMCG brands succeed, you see the same pattern: the product’s truth is told in many small chapters, by familiar voices, and it’s followed by simple paths to purchase and to repurchase. 

From visibility to trust: the brand strategy 

Start building mental availability: distinctive codes can make recall effortless. Decide which moments and needs you want to own, then let colour, pack shape, sonic cues, and a consistent visual language carry that memory from creator videos to the shelf and product page. When codes do the heavy lifting, each post contributes to a bigger, coherent story. 

Now add two-way communication to the core. Decades of dialogic communication research show that brands build stronger relationships when they invite and respond to audiences, not just broadcast at them — the shift from one-way messaging to dialogue underpins trust and commitment. On social platforms, dialogic cues (listening, replying, encouraging feedback) are linked to higher stakeholder engagement; more recently, studies find that perceived interactivity increases brand trust and that corporate responsiveness on social networks boosts (re)purchase intentions. In other words: conversation quality compounds into loyalty.  

Keep the brand promise at the centre and orchestrate the journey from feed to choice. TikTok is often the first touch, but decisions happen elsewhere: retailer pages, stores, subscription flows. Strong brand strategy ensures the same promise, codes, and proof appear where choices are made. Track brand signals alongside performance (branded search, direct traffic, saved videos, organic mentions) so TikTok impact compounds into brand equity, not just the next campaign.  

From hype to trust 

Creating true value from TikTok isn’t just about hacking an algorithm; it’s about repeating the same truth in ways people want to see — and making the choice easy every time. When proof arrives early, codes are unmistakable, and conversation is genuinely two-way across touchpoints, views become habits and habits become value. 

This CeraVe case is a clean proof-of-concept: a snackable, creator-led demo where creators act as trusted translators between the brand and its audience, turning a two-way conversation (comments, replies, shared language) into repeated exposure to the same promise and distinctive codes, visible proof in action, and a seamless handoff from feed to product page, transforming scroll attention into a confident, repeatable choice. 

Watch the case below