‘Social Listening’: The Consumer Goods Giant Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in drops in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”