You’ve probably heard the unkempt youth of today saying its name, perhaps you saw a viral video with it’s watermark in the corner. Well, we are here to clear the air on the new player in the world of social media – TikTok. Now boasting over 800 million active users worldwide, Tik Tok has entered the big leagues of Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat as a major player in the social media market. It maintains impressive user retention specs, with users spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app and 90% of all users access the app on a daily basis.
What the heck is this TikTok thing anyway?
Tiktok has dubbed itself the “destination for short-form mobile videos”. Users can upload video content up to 15 seconds long (or string together four separate videos to create 60-second pieces). Though short, these videos allow users to incorporate music, filters and editing effects. Whilst the nature of the platform lends itself to lip-syncing or dancing videos, it has morphed to become a place where users discuss and educate each other on complex subject matter. For example Taylor Price offers financial advice tailored completely for Generation Z and has gained upwards of 840K followers. Campaigns for change have also been launched on TikTok, around healthcare, civil rights, mental health and even more diverse issues.
Who uses TikTok?
Of course TikTok is most popular with teeneagers across the globe, but it has seem a huge amount of growth with Global Web Index. Statistics from 2019 showed that TikTok’s popularity is at its highest in Asia, where over one-third of internet users aged 16-64 had a Tik Tok account. TikTok has users spread across 156 countries around the world and global brands have recognised the importance of TikTok It has become a key way to engage with young audiences, encourage user-generated content and partner with relevant influencers. TikTok has seen paid advertising campaigns from some of the world’s biggest brands such as Nike, Skittles, Pepsi, Calvin Klein, Sony, LuluLemon and FIFA to name just a few.
Should your business have a TikTok account?
Sadly this answer brings out our pragmatic side … whilst getting involved in a new social media platform can be exciting for any business, it’s important to make sure your time and money is well spent. To cut to the chase, we created a few ‘qualifying-questions’ below so you can figure out if your business is suited to TikTok
- Is your business targeting Gen-Z & beyond?
- Is your business consumer and public facing?
- Is your business already creating video content for Instagram?
- Can you sell your product in under 15 seconds?
If your answer was NO to more than two of those questions, then TikTok probably isn’t the right social network for your business. If your answer was YES, then you might just have found a new social media channel to help grow your business, and engage your audience.