TIKTOK EXECUTIVE TALKS SHOPPING AND THE FAMOUS FETA PASTA

Feta cheese was scarce in some stores earlier this year. The culprit? TikTok, where videos that showed an easy-to-make baked feta pasta recipe went viral.

TikTok, launched in the U.S. in 2018, has become a force in the shopping world, influencing people to buy things they’ve seen on the app, from cheese to leggings.

Now TikTok wants to capitalize on that power. It hired Sandie Hawkins last year, whose job as general manager is to make money for the company in North America. She works with brands directly, getting them to buy ads on the app, create TikTok videos and explain how they can use it to boost sales.

In an interview, Hawkins talks about the difference between an influencer and a creator and why she ended up buying feta cheese, too. The questions and answers has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How do you create a TikTok video that goes viral?

A: That’s the beautiful part about the platform — you don’t know. Any piece of content on the platform can take off. The magic of TikTok happens on the front page, the “For You” page. It starts to learn the type of content that you like and bring that type of content to you. It’s not based on the people that you follow.