There is a social network that has had exponential growth this year, and that is why it is necessary to know the reasons for the success of Tik Tok. The incredible thing is that what started as a musical platform for young people has ended up attracting all kinds of audiences.
As early as 2019, it was becoming popular, and this is demonstrated by a study carried out by Sensor Tower. This indicates that TikTok reached more than 738 million downloads and obtained almost 177 million dollars worldwide, which represented more than five times his 2018 income.
Likewise, it states that it was the second application in the world with the most downloads on the App Store and Google Play. It was only surpassed by WhatsApp, which is 2019, obtained 849 million downloads. So that. As noted, the reasons for Tik Tok’s success are reflected from last year.
From Douyin to Tik Tok
Before delving into the reasons for Tik Tok’s success, it is essential to know its roots. In 2016, Beijing-based technology company ByteDance launched the Douyin app in China. The following year it takes out the app, but this time to internationalize it. And already with the name that is known in the rest of the world.
In the same year, 2017, the Chinese company bought Musical.ly to enter the American teenagers market. This purchase cost $ 1 billion. But, most importantly, it made possible the migration of all the accounts of this app to TikTok.
It should be noted that both the Asian country version and the rest of the world use the same software. However, they maintain separate networks to comply with the censorship restrictions of different governments, mostly the Chinese.
The application is available through the App Store or Google Play; that is, it can be used in iOS and Android operating systems. Currently, it competes with large networks such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook about the generation of videos.
Eight reasons for Tik Tok’s success
To doubt that there are clear reasons for the success of Tik Tok would be crazy. However, you must know the fundamentals that support the rise in popularity. Therefore, below you have figures from different studies that will make you understand this current phenomenon of social networks:
1. A considerable number of application downloads
Sensor Tower follows in the footsteps of Tik Tok and, therefore, in April of this year, it again carried out a study. In this it indicates that during the first quarter of 2020, Tik Tok generated the largest number of downloads compared to any other application. Reaching 2,000 million downloads and accumulating more than 315 million installations on the App Store and Google Play.
The report clarifies that although the app was already popular, it had a further increase amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This is because consumers are now much more connected to their mobile devices. Confinement has caused people to search for new ways to shop, work, and entertain themselves.
It considers that this increase obtained during the world crisis is an ever-growing base. It’s not just about short-term success, but also long-term success in keeping up with the competition.
2. 800 million monthly active users
According to Hootsuite’s 2020 Social Media Trends report, Tik Tok has more than 800 million monthly active users, which are on average from 16 to 24 years old, which shows that it is no longer an application only for adolescents.
On the other hand, the Ape Lab App shows data on the participation rate in this social network during 2019. Determining that the percentage of monthly users who open the application every day is more significant than 70%. And in 2018, it was 29%, which represents an increase of more than 30% of participation.
It should be noted, too, that this social network of short videos exceeds Linkedin – 675 million -, Reddit – 430 million -, Twitter – 340 million – and Pinterest – 322 million – in monthly active users. With these data, it is not difficult to understand the reasons for the success of the Tik Tok.
3. High time users spend per session
Fast Company stated that users spend an average of 45 minutes per day on the app. Although it does not exceed other social networks such as Instagram (53 minutes), Facebook (58 minutes), or Snapchat (49.5 minutes), according to data from Similar Web, the truth is that it gets an excellent position for the time it has.
On the other hand, Qustodio made a report based on a survey of children between 4 and 15 years of age during the peak of the quarantine in the US, And it was discovered that users of this group spent almost 86 minutes watching TikTok videos daily.
On the other hand, as reported by TikTok, US users open the application eight times a day. This to attract advertising clients; these sessions average 4.9 minutes in length. They are thus surpassing Facebook (4.7), Instagram (3.1 minutes), and Snapchat (1.6 minutes).
A report by the Economic Times, meanwhile, said that users in India spent an average of 38 minutes a day using the application. While on Instagram, it was 44 minutes, and in 35 minutes on Facebook.
4. High engagement rate
Cloutmeter indicates that users average a healthy engagement of 52.1%. It is important to note that, as in most social networks, these figures vary significantly according to the number of followers. But this, without a doubt, can be seen as another reason for the success of Tik Tok.
To see it more clearly, it is better to explain it with the following example: TikTok users with less than 1,000 followers have an average engagement rate of 144.9%. For this reason, accounts with 10,000-50,000 followers drop from 74.1% to 10.6% for those with 50,000-100,000.
This study was based on accounts with a range of 100,000-500,000 followers, which had an average engagement of 5.9%.
5. Most of them are users between 18 and 24 years old
Data from March last year reflect that the age group with the highest number of visits is 18-24 years (3.7 million). This represents more than a quarter (25.8%) of the total adult visitors to the United States. While another quarter (24.5%) of 18 years or more entered the age group of 25 to 34 years.
The figures show that this social network has been adopted by a little more than 1 in 8 adults (12.9%) who are between 18 and 24 years old. It is increasingly confirmed that it is no longer an app exclusively for teens.
Regarding the distribution by sex, they indicate that it is used by 8.2 million women and 6.1 million men. They are reflecting that the female gender outnumbers the male by just over 2 million. Therefore, it has a higher reach among them, and their ages are between 18 and 24 years old (14.9% adoption).
6. Income on the platform itself
Did you know that Tik Tok obtained income from the users themselves? They can buy coins in the app to send to other users in live broadcasts. These have been calculated to have moved $ 456.7 million. Of them, Americans make up about 20% of that total at $ 86.5 million.
Although this helped them get money, they did not stay there. So the Chinese company, while this approach certainly made money, increased new revenue streams with e-commerce features such as purchase links, hashtag challenges, and other announcements.
Thus, it obtained the best earnings in the fourth quarter of 2019, with $ 88.5 million. While in February 2020 alone, TikTok earned $ 50.4 million, reflecting a 784.2% increase year-over-year.
7. Hashtag Challenge Plus
Tik Tok has not been left behind, and in the same way as Facebook and Instagram, it has exploited its full potential. It has done so through the purchasing function called “Hashtag Challenge Plus “. This gives users the ability to explore products that are associated with a sponsored Hashtag Challenge without leaving the platform.
This was accomplished by partnering with eight top influencers on the app. An example was CoverGirl, who promoted their new product line, which targeted TikTok’s predominantly Gen Z audience.
The figures show that the videos created by influencers were viewed more than 34 million times and received more than 3.2 million likes. One more fact that adds to the reasons for the success of Tik Tok in recent years.
8. Available in 75 languages
The short video social network has 75 languages, making it more accessible. Also, it has millions of users in various countries of the world. These are some of the nations in which it is in greatest demand:
- India: 119.3 million users (It should be noted that in this country, it was banned for a time).
- United States: 39.6 million users.
- Turkey: 28.4 million users.
- Russia: 24.3 million users.
- Mexico: 19.7 million users.
- Brazil: 18.4 million users.
- Pakistan: 11.8 million users.
- Saudi Arabia: 9.7 million users.
- France: 9.1 million users.
- Germany: 8.8 million.
Now you know some of the main reasons for the success of Tik Tok, so if you have not yet joined for sure, this will encourage you to do so. However, for many brands, it is difficult to know how to exploit all the advertising advantages of each social network.
Author Bio:
Rohit Singh is a professional Digital Marketing Expert. He is a digital nerd, and he loves sharing his thoughts through Blogger Cage. SEO Tips, WordPress Tips, Hosting Reviews, Make Money Online, and Digital Marketing are his prime interests.
