When Liv Sandberg joined TikTok in January 2021, the world was still deep in lockdowns. She was tasked with building the platform’s presence in the Nordics almost from scratch.
“We started in a living room in the middle of the pandemic,” she recalls. “In the first year, we grew to 60 people and onboarded hundreds of medium and large brands.
“The priority was to create trust and credibility for a new player in the market,” adds the digital leader, whom TI met at the Danish startup festival TechBBQ.
For Sandberg, who had spent two decades in the media and communications industry, with leadership roles at media agency Starcom and also Facebook, it was a trial by fire: a startup culture, a young platform barely four and a half years old in the region, and audiences who still largely associated TikTok with viral dances and lip-syncing teenagers.
Four years on, TikTok is no longer a novelty. With more than a billion users globally, it has become a cultural hub, a discovery engine, and increasingly a platform for businesses of all sizes.
Sandberg, now overseeing the Nordics and Central Europe, is helping drive a new message: TikTok isn’t just for memes and music anymore. It’s a place where brands — from start-ups to global enterprises — can build trust, find and grow communities, and convert awareness into purchase, whether they’re promoting a product or the company itself to potential employees.
Social discovery
“We like to say we are an entertainment platform,” Sandberg explains, “but we are also becoming a discovery engine.” She claims that unlike social networks built on follower counts, TikTok operates on a content graph: what matters is not who you know but what you watch.
“It doesn’t matter how many followers you have. If your content is relevant, it can go viral. Everyone – users, artists, influencers – plays an equal role in shaping the platform.”
That shift from social to discovery is what underpins TikTok’s growing appeal to brands. Communities thrive around every imaginable niche: gardening, interior design, entrepreneurship, even B2B services.
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For companies, the challenge is not necessarily broadcasting but participating. “You don’t come on TikTok to scream your commercial message,” explains Sandberg. “You lean into communities, you contribute. That’s how you build loyalty.”
Early adopters
Some of the most compelling examples of TikTok success have come from brands that, at first glance, might seem unlikely candidates. Duolingo, the language-learning app, has turned its green owl mascot into a cultural figurehead by leaning into humour and memes. The brand’s irreverent, tongue-in-cheek content has made it a case study in how to humanise a brand voice — something even large enterprises can learn from.
The Washington Post has also surprised many observers. A 145-year-old newspaper with a serious reputation has carved out a new persona on TikTok by publishing humorous behind-the-scenes videos, often with its staffers playing exaggerated versions of themselves. It proves that even legacy institutions can build trust with new audiences when they dare to show personality and self-awareness.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has used TikTok to spotlight employee stories, workplace culture and innovation in a way that feels approachable rather than corporate.
“These examples show the potential,” Sandberg says. “Enterprises can join TikTok, find their communities, and establish a voice that resonates without being overly corporate.”
Sandberg adds that for smaller businesses, TikTok can be more forgiving than traditional advertising channels. “It may even be easier for them,” Sandberg argues. “Big brands have strict guidelines and less freedom. Smaller brands can be more agile.”
The platform rewards authenticity over polish. Low-fi videos, sometimes even with mistakes left in, often outperform glossy productions, she says.
“We see fantastic examples in the Nordics. One Swedish brand has a social media manager filming content in-store on her phone. It doesn’t need a million-dollar budget — it’s authentic, and it works.
Search, AI and TikTok’s edge
One reason enterprises are paying closer attention to TikTok is the way its recommendation engine has quietly become a rival to search. A growing share of younger users are turning to TikTok first — not Google — to look up recipes, travel tips or product recommendations.
Sandberg acknowledges the comparison but stresses the distinction. “TikTok is not about giving you the definitive answer in the way a tool like ChatGPT might,” she says. “It’s about sparking discovery, connecting you to communities, and letting you see the world through many different voices.”
AI is nonetheless now central to the platform. TikTok’s algorithm filters and surfaces content in a highly personalised feed, and newer AI-powered tools are designed to help businesses create, adapt and optimise campaigns cost-effectively.
“It’s what enables a small brand with one person behind the phone to compete with global players,” Sandberg argues. “The playing field is more level here than on almost any other platform.”
Beyond discovery, TikTok is investing in infrastructure to help brands succeed. TikTok 101 provides insights into trending content and music. AI-powered solutions help brands create content at scale and optimise campaigns. Smart Plus improves advertising performance, while Symphony repurposes content from other platforms into TikTok-native formats.
24-Hour trend cycle
TikTok’s rapid-fire trend ecosystem can be intimidating. How can brands keep up with a platform where memes and sounds can flare up and burn out in less than a day?
According to Sandberg the answer is not to merely observe from the sidelines.
“Be active yourself. Understand your community. Respond to comments and feedback. Follow trends but have a long-term plan. Authenticity and creativity must go hand in hand. Experiment, and once you’re confident in your voice, then scale into advertising.”
And when it comes to the perennial question: consistency or virality? Sandberg doesn’t hesitate. “For brands, consistency is more important. That’s what builds long-term, sustainable partnerships.”
Now three and a half years into her role, I ask Sandberg what she enjoys most about working in the tech sector. “The people,” she says without hesitation. “I love the creativity of the teams, the speed of innovation, and the sense that we are building something new together. TikTok moves fast — no two days are the same.”
That also shapes how she hires. “I look for people who combine experience with an entrepreneurial mindset. You need to be comfortable with ambiguity, because things change quickly. You also need curiosity, resilience, and a collaborative spirit. Building a culture of trust and agility was critical in those early days, and it still is.”
And when she’s not leading, she is learning. Sandberg herself follows a range of voices on TikTok — not just creators and entertainers, but also business leaders and entrepreneurs (US author podcast host and Lawyer Mel Robbins gets a namecheck).
“I find a lot of inspiration in people who share their startup journeys, or who demystify business topics in a creative, accessible way. It shows the platform is not just entertainment, it’s education and inspiration too.”
Trending upwards
TikTok has come a long way from its reputation as a hub for viral dance challenges. In Sandberg’s view, its next chapter is about scale and seriousness: becoming a cultural discovery engine where brands of every kind – from start-ups to B2B enterprises – can find their place.
The lesson for enterprises is not to replicate what they do elsewhere, but to adapt to TikTok’s native culture. Humanise your brand voice. Engage with communities. Embrace imperfection.
As Sandberg puts it: “It’s about playing with the platform, being agile, and staying true to yourself. That’s where the real opportunity lies.”
