There’s no denying, TikTok is ALL the rage right now. There are “normal” kids amassing huge followings, I’m talkin’ 12M+, all because they post a low budget video of themselves dancing or lip syncing. It’s extremely fascinating. And I’m not the only one who feels that way, which is why some experts argue that TikTok might just be the new Instagram…
At this point, nothing I’ve said should come as a shock to you. If you follow me on Instagram you know I’m a huge TikTok advocate. At this point you’ve probably seen some videos and gotten an account with TikTok by now. If you don’t have an account yet, stop reading this post and go make one now before someone’s snags your username!
Why TikTok is so popular
Let’s take it back for a minute… TikTok started off as Musical.ly in 2014 which was an app strictly for lip syncing. It caught on with the kids because, well, most apps do at first. So the platform was mainly for 10-17 year olds. “BabyAriel” was the first major Musical.ly star who, to this day, has over 30M followers.
In 2018 Musical.ly was bought out and became TikTok to draw in a wider audience instead of those 10-17 year old lip sync-ers. Basically, they did a rebrand which was genius because it worked. And now Charlie D’Amelio is the rising star with almost 20M followers and is part of the “Hype House” which is like TikTok’s version of the Team 10 House for YouTubers. Bottom line: 15-19 year olds are living proof that social media is the most powerful, and lucrative, tool right now.
So the question on everyone’s mind is why? Why now? Why TikTok? Why not Vero?
Well for one, TikTok is SO different from Instagram whereas Vero was not. Vero was literally Instagram without ads and an algorithm. It was cool for a hot second but ultimately ended up tanking like most Instagram lookalikes. If another platform was going to overtake Instagram it would have to be something completely opposite of IG, which is exactly what TikTok is. It’s like Vine meets Dubsmash meets Triller.
TikTok vs Instagram
Right now I’d say the popularity of both apps is pretty equal. I mean yes there are more users on Instagram but people are bored on IG. TikTok is so refreshing and FUN. Remember when Instagram was fun?!
If I had to guess why TikTok has been killing it lately, I’d say it has something to do with how Instagram operates. Over the last 5 years, Instagram has increasingly worked in favor of advertisers instead of the user like it once did.
Instagram is a pay to play platform and the algorithm makes it damn near impossible to go viral. Instagram is also super serious. Everything is so curated, so calculated, and so picture perfect whereas TikTok is just the opposite because it’s run by kids who don’t give a shit basically.
These kids don’t have their glam squads come over before creating a TikTok, they just create it and if they mess up, it’s even cuter because it’s REAL and it shows the fearless innocence that kids have, that quite frankly, we could all use more of.
Most trends start with the kids and TikTok is no exception, so in order to stay relevant, older generations – Millennials, Gen X-ers, and even Baby Boomers are hopping on the band wagon.
TikTok is fun, light, and fluffy and I think a lot of people are seeking that given the state of our world and other media outlets. However, apps do need cash to survive so I’m sure at some point TikTok will become just as saturated with ads, promotions, data insights, and everything else that comes with other platforms but until then… enjoy the organic reach while you can!
Tips for new TikTok users
+ Get your username! TikTok is heating up fast and usernames are being snatched up left and right, so if you have a brand name like, @notanotherblonde, get it now. My girl, Arielle Charnas, made the mistake of hopping on the TikTok train late and her username was already taken.
+ Consume, consume, consume. TikTok is NOT Instagram therefore you need to learn the language of TikTok first before you go posting what you think will perform well because it performed well on Instagram. I recommend just observing people on the app for like a month, then drop your first video.
+ Research trending hashtags. This is how your videos will be seen, get discovered by new people, and potentially go viral. All viral videos on TikTok have used a trending hashtag.
+ Keep it playful. TikTok hasn’t been converted for business yet so “Check out my latest blog post” isn’t what TikTok users are looking for. They’re looking for “best friend check”, “c-walk challenge”, and just pure entertainment. That’s the best way to describe TikTok right now… as entertainment. So if you can do that, you’ll be set!
I feel like I definitely need to do a follow up post to this so what TikTok questions do you have? Ask below and I’ll give you a shout out in my next TikTok blog post!
xx
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