TikTok.. It’s Stupid.. I beg to differ

TikTok, which was first introduced in 2016, has been extremely popular on social media thanks to its feature that allows users to make up to three-minute-long short movies. Despite some individuals labeling it as TikTok stupid, the platform has developed into a hub for interesting content, where people share funny stories and practical jokes. Moreover, numerous companies have recognized its potential and are hopping on board, utilizing TikTok as a tool to inform their audience and advertise their goods and services.

TikTok exceeded 1 billion monthly active users in Q2 of 2022.
By the beginning of July 2022, according to the company’s self-service advertising capabilities, advertisers will be able to reach 1.023 billion users (18 and older) on TikTok. By the third quarter of 2022, TikTok’s monthly active users are anticipated to number between 1.2 and 1.5 billion.

Installations of 3.5 billion
Almost 3.5 billion devices around the world have TikTok installed. In February 2019 it reached the one billion mile mark, and in April 2020 it reached the two billion mark. Midway through 2021, it surpassed three billion. TikTok became the first app not owned by Facebook and the fifth overall to cross the 3-billion download mark (now Meta). It came in first place for both downloads and sales.

In the US, around 18 million individuals have downloaded TikTok from the Apple App Store.
In the second quarter of 2022, iOS users in the US downloaded TikTok 17.67 million times, according to Statista. With 1.41 million iOS users, Mexico is in second place, followed by the United Kingdom with 1.37 million users. Among the top 10 countries with the most TikTok downloads from the Apple App Store are Canada, France, Brazil, Russia, Germany, Turkey, and Italy.

Minutes Per User on Average
Users of TikTok adore the app. They spend almost 1.5 hours (a whopping 95 minutes) on the platform each day on average. TikTok is the leader in terms of time spent on social media platforms. Users of TikTok spent more than four times as much time on the app as those of Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram combined.

150+ nations
154 nations presently have access to the TikTok app. In 124 of these nations, it ranks in the top 10 overall, and in 140 of them, it is in the top 50. But, according to the official TikTok Creator Marketplace, the app is currently accessible in more than 40+ countries.

Highest Engagement Rates on Social Media Per Post
For Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, recent Upfluence data reveal higher engagement rates across different following levels. At all follower levels, TikTok has significantly higher engagement than either of the other two networks. For instance, Upfluence discovered that micro-influencer engagement rates on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were 17.96%, 3.86%, and 1.63%, respectively. On the opposite end of the spectrum, mega influencers’ engagement rates on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were 4.96%, 1.21%, and 0.37%, respectively.

Additionally, TikTok is currently the most engaging social media network with a median engagement rate of 5.96%, according to the Social Insider industry standards for 2022. Not only are TikTok’s engagement rates higher than those of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but the difference is widening.

 

Revenue
Expected Revenue of $914.4 Million
With customers spending $914.4 million on it, TikTok was the highest-grossing (non-gaming) app in the world in Q3 2022. This takes the lifetime consumer spending on TikTok to over $6.3 billion, according to Sensor Tower.

Teens in the US Often Use TikTok, 67%
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, TikTok is the second most popular social media network among teenagers. TikTok is used by 67% of teenagers at least once each week, and by 16% very constantly. The ranking was led by YouTube, with TikTok coming in second and Instagram and Snapchat in third.

Advertising on TikTok
According to Varos, the proportion of TikTok ads to Facebook ads has reached 40%. It increases each month.
$0.71 on average per 1,000 followers (86 percent less than Instagram!)
Top 50 median number of followers: 41m
The top 50 posts cost an average of $28,670.

Hashtags
To promote a hashtag challenge, TikTok advises spending an additional $100,000 to $200,000 on advertising within the platform (Adweek, 2019)

Supporters of TikTok
Influencers on TikTok with 2.5 million or more followers charge about $600-1000 for each post, compared to $100-$200 for every 10,000–20,000 Instagram followers (Telegraph, 2019)

TikTok’s most popular category by hashtag views is entertainment
The app’s entertainment content category received the most views. I assume that all of those videos of people lip-syncing fall under this category. Also, it covers a wider range of topics than other hashtags, such as comedy, sketches, duets, special effects, and more. The overall most popular categories are:

535 billion hashtag views in the entertainment sector
dancing: 181 billion
jokes: 79 billion
Sports/fitness – 57 billion
DIY home improvements: 39 billion
Skincare and cosmetics: 33 billion
Clothing – 27 billion
Cooking/recipes – 18 billion
Advice/life hacks: 13 billion
10 billion pets
2 billion outside

Engagement Rate for US Influencers is Almost 18%
On social media, engagement is undoubtedly a crucial measure for organizations to monitor. Also, the algorithms appear to favor accounts with high interaction levels, which is a sign that your material is connecting with readers.

According to data, influencers in the US engage at a rate of about 18%. That’s a compelling argument for businesses to try TikTok. In fact, it appears that micro-influencers have more engagement (those with less than 15,000 followers).

In 2023, 40% of marketers intended to increase their TikTok spending
According to Hootsuite research, 40% of marketers questioned planned to increase their TikTok spending in 202.

The importance of this video-sharing platform is being recognized by more marketers, thus it will become saturated. Brands would be wise to join in now so they can establish their reputation.