We`ve seen lots of social apps rise and fall (Vine, Yik Yak, Meerkat, to name a few). however the short-form video app TikTok has a powerful owner and a concept that`s catching on not solely with teenagers, however also older generations within the U.S.A.. Can it take on Facebook and the other huge names of social media?
What Is TikTok?
TikTok is the international version of Douyin, a popular short-form video app in China. Users can upload short, quirky videos of themselves to the app and share them with followers. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns both apps, acquired U.S.A. short-video app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with TikTok in August.
TikTok has been on a growth tear around the world; however its U.S.A. performance has been especially notable. TikTok’s U.S.A. monthly active user audience grew by thirty million in the three months since the merger, and downloads were up twenty five within the U.S.A. and 20th worldwide, according to app tracker Apptopia.
Tracking by App Annie found that TikTok was the second most-downloaded app within the Apple App Store and Google Play as of November, among social, communication, photo and video apps. In June it ranked No. 7.
Some of the uptick seen within the Apptopia and App Annie information may be attributed to the fact that Musical.ly users were automatically switched over to TikTok once that app shut down. however there are other factors, like a promotional push by late-night host Jimmy Fallon, who used TikTok for a series of viewer challenges, as well as one where users could create a video of themselves rolling sort of a tumbleweed and then upload the video to the app.
Worldwide, TikTok rose to the No. 2 spot in app downloads in November 2018, according to SensorTower, behind WhatsApp and ahead of Messenger, Facebook and Instagram.
Though the app has natural appeal with teens, it`s additionally catching on with individuals older than that. A recent article from The Washington Post detailed how nurses and members of the military have taken to the app, making their own TikTok groups to share videos.
What do we know about TikTok’s Chinese Version?
In China, Douyin is very in style. In July it had three hundred million monthly active users and a hundred and fifty million daily active users, according to China Daily.
Parent company ByteDance has deep pockets and massive ambitions to grow. In October, SoftBank and other investors poured $3 billion in the company, according to Bloomberg. Subsequently ByteDance was reported to be raising over $1 billion for its own investments in media and artificial intelligence (AI).
What about Advertising?
TikTok has no paid advertising yet, however some brands have used it for influencer selling campaigns or to publish their own videos. Within the meantime, the app is making cash in other ways user spending on in-app purchases increased 275% between October 2017 and October 2018, to $3.5 million, according to Sensor Tower. Users can buy emoji and digital gifts to share with TikTok users during live streams.
Douyin does contain paid video ads and is a component of a growing economy of short-form video apps that were expected to bring in an estimated RMB14 billion ($2 billion) in marketing and advertising revenues in 2018, according to a forecast revealed by iResearch Consulting group.
In another sign that TikTok may be on to something, Facebook recently launched a TikTok competitor called Lasso. Facebook`s track record with me-too apps has been uneven, therefore it wouldn`t be wise to read too much into Lasso. however it`s undoubtedly going to make sense to pay attention to TikTok in 2019.