KELLIE NORTON - JOURNALISM AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Actually, She Can JOURNALISM AND NEW MEDIA SCHOOL ALUMNA FINDS HER DREAM JOB WITH SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS BY MICHAEL NEWSOM
YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM TIKTOK has exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 2 billion users, it received the most downloads for an app over a three-month period earlier this year. What you may not know is that a University of Mississippi alumna is part of the global communications team that is playing a major role in TikTok’s continued success. Kellie Norton, a 2012 graduate with a degree in journalism and emphasis in public relations, is a communications manager at TikTok. Working for the tech firm is fun for many reasons, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native said. For one, the app is so new, but so hot at the same time, that the conversations she has with people around what exactly the app is can be entertaining. “When people hear that I work at TikTok, it’s usually met with lots of excitement,” Norton said. “But, also intrigue from people who still have yet to download the app and get involved on the platform.” “I think most of my friends and family think I just play on the app all day as my job, and while that’s not 100% accurate, I do like to set out times during the day to check the app and get inspired by all the creativity and diversity we have on the platform,” Norton said. “It’s a nice little ‘sunshine’ moment of my day.” She’s not alone in wanting a little more sunshine in her day, it seems. TikTok has grown substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people are stuck at home more in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. It has benefitted from a public hunger for new ways to connect with the world about music, food, shopping, dance and myriad other interests over social media. It has grown in the last few months, with major celebrities and many organizations jumping into TikTok. The app has been downloaded more than 2 billion times, according to the Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates released
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in late April. This major milestone, when viewed through the lens of its data, is also a testament of just how fast it has grown. Just five months before it hit 2 billion downloads, TikTok hit 1.5 billion, and in the first quarter of 2020, the 315 million installs it registered are the most for any app ever in one quarter, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence reports. Norton’s time there hasn’t been typical, yet. Since she was hired, she’s worked from her parent’s home in Gulfport, which is not what she would have expected. She was spending COVID-19 quarantine there when she got the job and hasn’t actually gotten to meet many of her colleagues. Once normalcy returns, she will be working at TikTok’s headquarters in New York, the city that has been home for Norton since she graduated from Ole Miss. Before joining TikTok, Norton started her career working for various PR agencies in New York. From working red carpet galas and nightclub openings to
collaborating with clients to launch female empowerment campaigns, agencies were a key to breaking into the public relations industry, she said. “When you work at a PR agency, you have this unique opportunity to gain skill sets from across different industry verticals,” Norton said. “One minute, you’re planning the launch of a fashion client’s fall collection; the next, you’re producing an event on the top of the Freedom Tower. “I will always recommend new graduates to look into starting off at an agency setting. The amount of doors that open from that type of experience is incredible.” Throughout her career, Norton said she always had a goal of working for a company that not only breeds a positive and supportive culture, but one that is focused on a diverse and inclusive workforce. “I find myself so inspired every day by the people I work with at TikTok – all of their diverse backgrounds and skill sets,” Norton said. “I truly feel humbled and honored to be part of the TikTok team. “I like to think my big-sky-dreaming, 13-year-old self would be really proud of where I am today.” At Ole Miss, Norton was a student in Samir Husni’s publishing class, and the professor hosted the Act2 Experience and
