Well it is certainly hot right now if the social media gurus are to be believed.
First up, what is TikTok?
Launched in late 2016 it is an app (available on iOS and Android) for creating and sharing short videos. It has gone through a couple of names (Musical.ly and Douyin, which is the Chinese version of the app) but looks like TikTok is here to stay.
The app allows you to make 15 second videos with an array of filters and other cool features making anyone with a smart phone a video pro (for 15 seconds at least).
TikTok’s mission is “TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.”
Well they must be doing something right with 90% of users using the app on a daily basis.
According to CX Tech, TikTok now has over 700 million monthly users and was the third most downloaded app in 2019 Q1. That is 188 million new users and growing!
But is TikTok relevant? Yes, yes it certainly is to those 700 million + people who are actively using it. But it might not be so relevant to you though.
Is your target market under the age of 24? Because 41% of TikTok users are and unless they are your audience you may well be spending a lot of time in a space where your audience simply isn’t.
That said, there is a growing demographic of people in their 40s. Interestingly those in their 30s and 50s seem to be staying clear of the app at this stage.
There is a social media platform for everything these days and it is quite simply impossible to service each platform adequately without compromising something and that something is usually quality.
Bring it back to what it is you want to achieve and what value it will add to your brand and your target audience for you to be on there.
It is useful to remember that 150 million active daily users are in China, many of which still use the Chinese version of the app. So, if your market is in China, then it may well be relevant for you to be on there.
TikTok only started playing around with ads on the app in January 2019 so there isn’t much data to go on now but big brands like Pepsi, Levis and Sony Music have started building communities on there. It is a risk to be first but when it works it really works!
Download the app for yourself, have a play around and decide if it fits with your marketing strategy. Always remember when trying something new – Is it Relevant to my brand?
