Due to their compelling content on Musical.ly, certain content creators gained notoriety and were inducted into halls of fame. The users’ sharing of Musical.ly videos on social networking sites like Instagram helped the app gain more users and grow in popularity.
However, a Chinese business, ByteDance, acquired the app in August 2018, and its users were transferred to TikTok. On Musical.ly, all of the material and user accounts were immediately migrated to the new TikTok app.
Describe TikTok
With the help of the software TikTok, users can make and share 15-second films on any subject.
For the Chinese market, TikTok maintains a distinct app called Duyin, which has over 300 million active monthly users. The Musical.ly and Duyin logos were combined to create the new app’s logo.
Differences Between It and Musically
The TikTok app, unlike Musical, has a much wider focus and is built on the same short-form video concept.
Ly’s interest extends beyond just singing along to the song.
The TikTok app gives users access to a large library of sounds and music excerpts, as well as the choice of adding further effects and filters. Directly adding videos made on your phone is another alternative.
Reactions, a tool that lets users record and share their reactions to videos, was launched to TikTok in September. A digital well-being function that informs users when they spend more than two hours on the app has also been added to TikTok.
The new app is advertised as a social network for sharing videos. Users of TikTok can produce a range
How it Became Popular
The TikTok app’s popularity has skyrocketed since its release. It was the top downloaded photo and video app overall in the Apple Store in October 2018. The app apparently has over 500 million active monthly users, with the US being the most popular region with over 80 million downloads.
The following are some of the main causes behind the TikTok app’s explosive growth:
Popular Person Endorsements
A number of famous people, including Jimmy Fallon, use and like the app, which has contributed to its growth in popularity. The app has paid partnerships with a number of famous people from different places who help advertise it to local audiences.
Jimmy Fallon’s interest in the app first came from a natural source, but the app later made money off of it through a sponsored relationship. Jimmy Fallon introduced a “challenges” segment to his show in November 2018, and he chose TikTok as the venue for the challenge.
He encouraged his followers to take the #TumbleweedChallenge and record videos of themselves rolling like tumbleweeds to upload to TikTok. To establish this trend, the television host himself accepted the challenge
Within a week, the challenge attracted over 8,000 entries and 10.4 million engagements after becoming viral.
In other countries, the TikTok app has celebrity sponsorships as well. The app attracted famous people when it first debuted in Japan, including Kinoshita Yukina, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and Watanabe Naomi. TikTok teamed with social media star Kaykai Salaider in Thailand and Aashika Bhatia in India.
Celebrity alliances have been a crucial element in TikTok’s plan for international growth. Celebrities and influencers are used by the app to create viral content and increase platform awareness.
These celebrities advertise TikTok on other social media platforms in addition to posting material on TikTok. For instance, Indian celebrity Aashika Bhatia promoted the TikTok app on Instagram in the post below.
Regional Content
The fact that the TikTok app places a heavy emphasis on localised content despite being a worldwide app is another important factor in its appeal. The app frequently hosts regional competitions and challenges and monitors regional trends by utilising regional hashtags.
The “1 million audition” competition is run individually by TikTok in various nations. The best video producers are recognised for each contest after receiving themes on which to base their entries. For each nation in which it is hosted, this competition not only inspires the production of thousands of locally produced films, but it also aids TikTok creators in building their reputations and fan bases.
A similar competition that was launched in Russia in September 2018 attracted 31,000 video submissions and millions of TikTok users’ views.
simple creation, sharing, and viewing of content
The creation and sharing of videos have been made easier and more advanced thanks to the TikTok app. Users only need to promptly share everything they record from their daily activities. The brief structure means that neither making the video nor watching it requires much time or effort.
Additionally, the moment a user starts the app, this short-form video material begins to play. One by one, the films begin to play, and the spectator is quickly submerged in a sea of enjoyable, captivating, and compelling video content. It is incredibly simple for people to continue viewing random videos for hours due to the sort of content’s addictive nature.
How Might Brands Use TikTok?
In terms of being a social media platform for marketing, TikTok does not have any room for conventional display ads and is not even in direct competition with other social media platforms. But as TikTok continues to expand and gain popularity, more and more businesses are beginning to see its potential as a marketing medium.
Many brands have used strategies like TikTok challenges and competitions to encourage consumers to create content linked to their brands. To promote their TikTok marketing initiatives, brands are using hashtags in a way that is somewhat similar to how they do it on other social media platforms.
Take the #InMyDenim campaign from the Guess brand, for instance. The Guess brand took over TikTok on September 1 and asked all US-based TikTok users to participate in their #InMyDenim hashtag campaign.
The Prospects for TikTok
Although the TikTok app is incredibly popular right now, there is still no assurance that its popularity will ever match that of other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Back in the day, Vine was a very well-liked site for sharing videos, but it is no longer around at all. And there are other other applications that gained popularity fast before disappearing.
TikTok will need to continue inventing and figuring out fresh methods to engage its user base if it wants to sustain its present level of success. In order to make the app a social network that will endure, they will also need to make the platform more brand-friendly in terms of marketing.
