TikTok: The Hidden Key to Gen Z

If you’ve interacted with someone under the age of 18 in the past few months, you may have encountered some unusual behavior. Maybe they’ve started wearing neon butterfly clips in their hair and too much blush. Or, they keep singing the same ten seconds of a song over and over. Perhaps you’ve even heard them banging on their door in the middle of the night. So, what exactly are those gosh darn kids making such a big ruckus about? Yeah, that’s right: TikTok. 

Okay, I feel old! What is it?

TikTok is a social app in which users can post short video content (ranging from 3 - 60 seconds each). Think Vine, but with music. Created by ByteDance, a Chinese IT company, the app merged with Musical.ly in November of 2017. It soared into international popularity in 2018, garnering over 800 million downloads worldwide.

So what do you do on the app?

At its core, TikTok is a video creation and sharing app. Users make videos featuring a song in the background, or occasionally just their voice. The app offers a variety of filters, like wacky rainbow cat ears. It also hosts video editing capabilities, ranging from adding text stickers to an earthquake effect to your videos. Another popular feature is the option to “duet” or “react” to another user’s videos by creating an overlay. Similar to other social platforms, you can follow creators, like and comment on videos and search through hashtags. The content itself varies from dance trends, to lip syncing television bits, to parodying everyone else on the app. No matter your interest, you’re bound to find other people who feel the same way. 

Who uses it? 

TikTok’s audience is undeniably young, with over two-thirds being under the age of 30. Currently, TikTok requires its users to be at least 13. After facing scrutiny over illegally collecting children’s information, TikTok agreed to a record settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission for over 5.7 million dollars. Since then, the company has placed strict restrictions on the app, creating a G-rated experience for those under the age of 13. 

How do brands use TikTok?

The beauty of the app is that the content is almost entirely user generated. TikToks (and TikTokers) are funny, smart, and above all creative. There is simply so much content on the app, users must be quick and innovative just to stay ahead of the trends. Along the same lines, brands have to create content that is highly original just to keep up with the creative users. 

One instance was Chipotle’s Lid Flip challenge, held for 5 days in May to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Inspired by a Massachusetts employee that went viral for his lid flipping skills earlier in the year, they decided to experiment on this new platform. They kicked off their campaign with a video starring David Dobrik, a YouTube influencer who is very popular among the Gen Z target. The campaign amassed over 100,000 submissions and 230 million views.

While brands are working with the app to produce paid campaigns, others are finding organic success. In April, the haircare brand, Marc Anthony, saw a sudden spike in a particular product’s sales. Their Strictly Curls, Curl Defining Lotion had been quietly growing in popularity. Seemingly overnight, the product blew up on the app. Teenagers filmed videos of themselves buying the cream and carefully applying it to wet hair, then showing off their effortless beachy waves. The #strictlycurls hashtag received upwards of 8 million views, and the brand saw a 60% increase in sales of the product.

Okay, what does this all mean for advertisers?

That’s where things get iffy. Not every company can be as lucky as Marc Anthony. Every brand dreams of going viral, but that’s simply not a reality for most of them. But, they can still take advantage of paid reach within the app. For brands, advertising on TikTok is relatively uncharted territory. The app only began beta testing ads in late January. However, this makes the app an absolute goldmine for marketers targeting Gen Zers. TikTok advertising may be the newest way to interact with teens in an engaging and exciting way. This generation has proven time and time again that they don’t listen to advertising unless it truly is interesting. So, brands - buckle up, grab those clout goggles, and get meme-ing.