The Rise Of The TikTok Phenomenon

I was on the inter-web. Surfing, scrolling, frolicking my way around. Just another lazy Sunday for me.

My eyes went to a jarring statistic.

56% of the people who use TikTok, aren’t accessible through any other app. Neither Facebook nor Instagram.

You can actually listen to my views about this on my podcast: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e5aeb9

I didn’t take this at face value at first. How could this be the case? 56% on an app with over 500 million users and they can’t be accessed through any other app?

But then, my mind settled and I started doing the rudimentary thinking. The history of communicative media. TikTok for Gen Z, is what Facebook was for millenials, is what the telly was for the Gen X.

Is it a coincidence that the same way TikTok is hated for its cringe content, Facebook was ridiculed initially and Television too was called an idiot box.

Our duty as marketers is very simple. Be where the audience is.

I engage with a lot of people about TikTok ( I also ask similar questions about Instagram). The response I get is usually in the following line:

Opinion1: TikTok makes cringe content man, I don’t want my brand to be associated with that.

My Answer: Does your dad like the kind of music you listen to? It is cringe for you, since you are a generation apart. But believe it or not, the fact that million of people in the lower age demographics is using the app and enjoying it is a clear indication to the fact this is the language the younger market speaks.

Opinion2: My audience isn’t there on TikTok.

My Answer: Just ten years ago, the target audience for a lot of businesses was not there on Facebook. But guess what happened, kids who were using the app grew up. Now they are the audience. The new entrant into to the global workforce. Same goes for TikTok. The audience will grow up and start earning. Who will they buy from ten years from now? Someone who has been present on the platforms for years, or someone who is just starting with their content.

Opinion 3: I don’t know what kind of content to create?

My Answer: Know your niche, add a spice of fun and music to it, and just do it.

Now here is the logic for all of this. I don’t want you to create content on TikTok to have a massive following. It doesn’t matter. In today’s world, social currency is everything. I doubt you purchase from any business that lacks a Facebook page and has no Instagram profile. I doubt any HR hires a person without checking out their LinkedIn.

The mere social presence is a clear indication of the very existence of a business. A couple of years from now, the same could be the case for TikTok.