Celebrate good times, come on! TikTok has reached a new milestone; one billion active users! The ByteDance owned app has brought on a new wave of creativeness for the web and opened more avenues for marketers to experiment with when engaging with audiences.
But that’s not the only reason we’re raising a glass to TikTok. The app is leading the march for monthly download charts with more than 59 million installs through September.
TikTok commemorated the milestone with a statement: “More than 1 billion people around the world now come to TikTok every month to be entertained as they learn, laugh, or discover something new. We’re honored to be a home for our immensely diverse community of families, small businesses, and creators who transform into our favorite stars.”
Chief Operating Officer of TikTok, Venessa Pappas, also posted a thank you message on the platform.
Since January of 2018, TikTok has gathered 950 million users in 45 months. To compare, it took Instagram from Feb 2013 to June 2018 to attain a billion users. Even though internet connectivity, mobile usage and social media usage has improved since then, it’s still a noticeable comparison in growth.
Though a billion users is huge news, we’re not surprised at the popularity TikTok has garnered over the years. Through its unique creative methods, developing In-App shopping systems, and the almost infinite amount of influencers to be inspired by, TikTok is the principal place to grab the attention of the younger generations.
Sorry We’re Late to the Party!
With TikTok’s success, there was no doubt the other social media big dogs were going to take notice. Actually, they went even further and started utilising TikTok’s unique features in their platforms.
You may be familiar with some of these examples, but it’s always useful to know how other platforms implement strategies from those leading the way.
Snapchat
Snapchat introduced Spotlight, a feature that highlights stories with a customised feed of short-form video clips. This addition feels like a natural progression for Snapchat, as its platform is very visual-centred.
YouTube
YouTube wanted to get on that short-form video hype, and thus, created YouTube Shorts. This new inclusion allows creators to shoot short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobiles (sounds familiar). It will be interesting to see how monetisation works within this feature as YouTube prefers long-form content in the grand scheme of things.
Facebook recently went in the opposite direction and instead limited the reach of TikTok reposts on Instagram. In a post highlighting the “dos and dont’s” of engaging Reels, Instagram underlined the importance of original and authentic content whilst also mentioning not to use music not featured on the IG music library. It seems Instagram wants to keep everything in-house for the time being.
If you’d like to read more about Facebook’s answer to TikTok, you can read an Arke article all about Instagram Reels here.
All That Tiks Might Not Tok
Sometimes, you’ve got to be the party-pooper. Before we continue the celebration, we wanted to highlight some of the noteworthy discussions around TikTok.
Like everything on the internet, one day, you could wake up, and your favourite site could be gone! TikTok is not at a higher standard when it comes to this. In fact, the app was almost banned in the US.
Furthemore, due to tensions between the Indian government and China, TikTok (along with 59 other Chinese apps) TikTok was banned within the country.
TikTok & Beyond!
It’s worth noting that we should never place all our marketing eggs in one social media basket. Best practice is to be where your audience is. Make use of all the relevant social media channels to your audience – each platform has its own quirks and demands. Test, learn, analyse and experiment.
But that’s enough about that…it’s TikTok’s time to shine! Right now, there’s no better platform for engagement (here’s a blog all about that from us), and with a rising presence of paid media on the platform it’s also a brilliant way to reach your target audience in a cost effective manner.
If you’d like help with anything TikTok related or want further insight into using other social media platforms to achieve engagement, contact our social media experts now.
