#CleanTok is making cleaning fun and we’re seizing the opportunity

How interesting would you find it watching a video of someone doing their laundry? Washing grease off a grill pan? Or better still, scrubbing the toilet bowl?

If the answer is “not very”, you’re missing out on a growing trend for home cleaning hacks, tips and tricks, and, crucially, entertainment. In fact, there’s a new breed of GenZs who see staying home and cleaning as the new going out.

Cleaning our homes took on new meaning during the pandemic, but it’s no longer just about killing germs and removing stains. It has increasingly become about satisfying experiences. And nowhere is that better illustrated than with #CleanTok. This is TikTok’s cleaning community and it’s the biggest thing on the platform by a mile.

We have launched a new, exclusive and global #CleanTok partnership which aims to tap into this huge and rapidly expanding audience.

It’s an opportunity for us to provide information to consumers and inspire them on how to use our products. It also gives us a unique insight into how they use our products, as well as what they do and don’t like about them. This two-way dialogue is like sitting down and having a chat with millions of people who use our products each day.

The partnership, which includes all our Home Care brands such as Dirt Is Good (DIG), Cif, Domestos, Sunlight and Comfort, will run until January 2024 in the UK, Vietnam, Turkey, Brazil, Philippines, Thailand, France, the Netherlands, Argentina and Indonesia. During this time, our Cleanipedia website, which provides tips and advice on cleaning, will be #CleanTok’s exclusive sponsor.

“There is a huge amount of emotion attached to our homes,” says Eduardo Campanella, our Home Care Chief Marketing Officer. “So, while cleaning products have been traditionally seen as functional, and the act of cleaning as a chore, the results that come from using the right products in the right way can bring a huge amount of satisfaction.”

The rise of ‘cleanfluencers’ and content creators

Born out of the pandemic, TikTok’s global #CleanTok trend is fuelled by ‘cleanfluencers’ and authentic content creators, who elevated the role cleaning plays in our lives, taking a category traditionally viewed as mundane and making it one of the most loved and entertaining genres.

Since then, the cleaning boom and newly formed consumer habits, have led to over 79 billion views of #CleanTok and its associated video content, surpassing other popular trends including #BeautyTok with 50 billion views. The partnership aims to celebrate the shift in perception from cleaning as a chore to a form of entertainment, which is amassing millions of fans across the globe.

And data shows that these fans convert to consumers. For example, 54% of users have bought a household product after seeing it on the platform – with 71% of these being unplanned purchases. Almost 70% say that TikTok played a role in their discovery of household products. And TikTokers are 1.5 times more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered compared to the users of other platforms.

A global phenomenon with cultural nuances

The great thing about #CleanTok is that there’s a cleanfluencer for everyone. You can find somebody that appeals to you – young, old, male, female, family, single – and whatever your cleaning style or needs, whether that’s hacks, transformations or deep cleans.

But while #CleanTok is the unifying theme, it is executed differently around the world due to local cultural nuances. An interesting way this shows up is during family holidays. There’s a wave of search in-app for home cleaning tips and tricks before any holiday moment when family visits, from Ramadan to Christmas. Parents coming around is a universal trigger to get scrubbing!

We also see #CleanTok engagement spikes at key moments such as spring cleaning, back to school and preparation for different festivities. It’s at these times that younger people look to #CleanTok for information and inspiration.

Collaborating on content

Teams at both Unilever and TikTok will work with over 100 content creators to serve their followers with useful and entertaining content such as cleaning hacks, tips and product reviews, promoting the #CleanTok movement. All content can be found in the dedicated in-app #CleanTok hub on TikTok.

To start the partnership, we’re working with @chrisjoyz (5.2 million followers), @mumukdaneno (1.8 million followers) and @senalicann (226,000 followers).

“The rise of #CleanTok shows just how attached we are to making our homes look, feel and smell good,” says Eduardo. “We want to continue to inspire and educate people and, by working with TikTok’s creative teams to develop new and engaging content, we hope to gain valuable insights into a growing audience of young people who are just as passionate about cleaning as we are.”