Tik Tok on the Clock!
Social media is constantly evolving. As a social media manager, it is not an easy feat to keep up with. In the past year, TikTok has blown up. Social media users will always be after the latest and greatest no matter what it is. If it’s the “cool” thing to do, they will download and use it. What better time for a social media platform to take off than when everyone is stuck in their homes and doesn’t have much to do while they quarantine. TikTok videos became viral. There were various challenges going around along with dances being recreated, even celebrities got on board. As a business, how do you know when it is the right time to create an account for your brand? Will it die as fast as other social media platforms have? Will it be the next best thing?
In the midst of quarantine, there were rumors spread left and right about TikTok being shut down due to being owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and the potential of it being a cybersecurity threat. Should this deter your brand from creating an account? It is a hard decision to make if you are worried about your brand’s security, however, it is getting more noteworthy the more it is talked about and it leads to more people wanting to see what they hype is about.
First things first, the target audience on TikTok is very limited. You should sit back and think if it even makes sense for your brand to use this platform to reach your target audience. TikTok’s statistics show that 41% of users are aged between 16 and 24 with 50% of their global audience being under the age of 34. If your brand’s target audience is older than this, TikTok should not even be in question. You would not reach your target audience effectively.
After you have decided if TikTok is even a fit for your brand, I would jump right on to creating your brand an account. With over 1 billion, yes I said billion, active users, there is plenty of potential for your brand to succeed. Creating a new platform and adding more to your content calendar across the board takes time, but if the return on investment is there, it will be worth it in the long run.
Although TikTok was not created in the past year, the global pandemic did bring it to its peak popularity. It had everyone interested in seeing what it was all about and provided a new way to stay connected with others. This spike in users in 2020 was positive for the app. It is entertaining and addicting all at the same time. It makes it easy to keep scrolling that they even input ads to tell you when you have been scrolling for too long (I may here these too often, whoops!). It is completely free for users too, which is a great perk!
When it comes to sticking around, as long as it continues to not get banned in the US (which it seems like it won’t), I think it will be here to stay. Users are getting back to work and don’t have as much time to be scrolling on their phones for hours on end, but somehow that has not stopped the growth. 90% of users access the app on a daily basis. I have noticed a progression with paid advertisements within videos. I can see ads continuing to grow in number and price, which may deter some users as well if it gets out of hand. TikTok will soon make personalized ads mandatory, meaning there is no opting out of receiving ads based on your engagement. Many average people have become viral off TikTok and even found a way to make money off of the app by views or gaining sponsorship deals. There is a lot of opportunity for growth and now is a great time to get started, especially to run ads before it gets out of hand.
When I first heard TikTok, I was the person who thought everyone was referring to Ke$ha’s song and that she was making a comeback. Little did I know, it would be the most downloaded app in the app store.
