TikTok has risen from an unchartered niche which brands and business are now eager to tap on, with its growing trend.
By Brian Yatich
For any business, social media presence is non-negotiable. It has gradually changed our operations and our day to day lives right from the way we get information to the way we transact business.
The usage of social media around the world is increasing every day, and it has become one of the most popular activities that users are fully engaged in throughout the day.
The evolution, since 2004 has seen social media growing exponentially and experts believe it has not yet reached the peak of its popularity.
Social media statistics of 2019 from Emarsys – a market research company, show that there are 3.2 billion social media users worldwide, and this number is only growing. That equates to about 42 per cent of the current population.
According to the report, Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world, has 2.4 billion users. Other social media platforms including YouTube and WhatsApp also have more than one billion users each. This means social media platforms are used by more than two-thirds of all internet users.
With time, social media which began as space for people to gather and connect has moved to an ideal landscape for advertisers it is no longer just a platform for sharing company-related news, content, or announcements.
Today, it has slowly morphed into different strategies to keep up with consumer behaviour and technological trends and also to build brand presence and attract the attention of new audiences.
Brands and companies have done this by moving with popular trends. This new idea of new ways of customer acquisition and re-targeting is taking centre stage globally.
In the traditional media, according to social media trends 2018 by global web index, you needed a big budget and a collection of agencies – today the barriers of entry for marketing are almost zero. “Now millions of marketers are using digital channels to engage their audience, find customers and grow their sales,” it says.
After decades of new and old platforms dying others have been able to thrive, and when you think one social platform has managed to monopolize the space, a new one almost out of nowhere emerges and changes the landscape.
While giants like Facebook remain relevant in the evolving digital space—a new contender has entered the arena targeting the corporate market, with a unique offering —TikTok.
TikTok is a Chinese iOS and Android social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync to a song, comedy and entertainment videos. It allows users to browse through millions of user-generated short video content.
The app was launched in 2017 by Chinese developer ByteDance, for markets outside of China.
By mid-2018 the app had already reached half a billion users gaining on average, about 20 million new users per month over this period.
According to Sensor Tower – a mobile intelligence company, TikTok has passed 1.5 billion downloads worldwide on the App Store and Google Play.
“The social video app is currently the third most downloaded non-gaming app of the year, after WhatsApp at No. 1 and Messenger at No. 2. Facebook and Instagram rank in fourth and fifth place, respectively”, the survey says.
Why has it become so popular?
Going with the stats, it is safe to say, TikTok is the fast-growing social media platform today, giving us a glimpse into the future of social media. You may also try to create a strong presence on TikTok. So you can find opportunities to purchase comments, and like to grow your account faster.
Also read: TikTok in a campaign to woo content creators in Kenya
The sudden rise and growth of TikTok and the platform’s growing appeal for fashion, food, music comedy and the goofy segment is an interesting case of today’s ever-growing preference for short video content for young digital natives, making it an ideal base for influencer marketing and brand strategists.
TikTok has opened a big podium, which unlike Twitter and Facebook has allowed companies and brands to connect with a larger audience in a way that is relevant, meaningful, and value-driven.
A TikTok representative told Afritech Media, that the rapid and fast adoption of social media technologies is changing the way content is delivered owing to the shifting taste of the public, preferably the youth.
“The shift to music enhanced content is becoming popular. TikTok is particularly popular among the Gen-Z and millennials, but our target is everyone. TikTok is a place where everyone belongs – and that’s regardless of age. Being an inclusive platform, it encourages users to be their authentic selves, while finding a community that does the same,” the representative said.
Also read: What is TikTok and how does it work?
The kind of content shared across the platform, the company indicates has allowed Millions of creators to use TikTok to showcase their creativity and skills in short videos that are exciting, spontaneous, and authentic.
“So the type of content that’s popular tends to be fun and creative across a wide range of content from comedy to fitness to life hacks, this ensures that it appeals to all the audience across different spectrums,” the company said.
With TikTok, TikTok representative reveals that the platform has become increasingly popular as the go-to platform for people to creatively express their authentic selves and showcase their incredible skills.
“Coupled with its unique challenges and trending topics, TikTok has developed a highly interactive community where users can find an inclusive, diverse and positive experience. Because of this, brands have started paying attention to TikTok as they find it a promising destination to reach out to their users,”
Looking ahead, it is vividly clear, as TikTok is yet to gain a considerate market share and popularity to rival the huge social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, its rapid uptake, and unique video approach makes it a formidable social force.
