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What is TikTok and Why It's So Popular?

ToÌýsome people, Facebook, Instagram, andÌýSnapchat are theÌýonly social media apps that matter. But those people… are wrong. There’s aÌýnew kid onÌýtheÌýblock, andÌýhe’s taking theÌýworld byÌýstorm!

The name? TikTok.

has quickly joined theÌýlist ofÌýhigh-performing apps with its increasing growth over theÌýyear. But because it’s soÌýnew, hip, andÌýyoung, many people find themselves intimidated byÌýthis video creation andÌýsharing app. So, we’re here toÌýchange that.

TikTok isÌýone ofÌýtheÌýmost prominent andÌýtrending apps onÌýtheÌýinternet today. According toÌýaÌýrecent Digital 2020Ìýreport, TikTok now has over 1Ìýbillion monthly active users.Ìý AsÌýaÌýsocial platform f´Ç°ùÌýshort videos, TikTok isÌýlargely powered byÌýalgorithms. Creators andÌýusers can upload videos ofÌýupÌýtoÌýthree minutes andÌýpack their videos with special effects, music, andÌýclips from other videos.

With massive andÌýsignificant success recorded byÌýtheÌýcompany soÌýfar, theÌýquestion then is: what are theÌýattributes ofÌýTikTok’s success? InÌýthis article, weÌýwill discuss this andÌýthings you’d probably like toÌýknow about TikTok.

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What isÌýTikTok?

TikTok isÌýanÌýapp, much like Facebook, Instagram, ´Ç°ùÌýSnapchat, which people can use toÌýcreate their sounds, ´Ç°ùÌýchoose songs andÌýexpress themselves creatively inÌýanyÌýway they’d like. TikTok isÌýenabled f´Ç°ùÌýusers toÌýcreate short, fun, andÌýappealing videos f´Ç°ùÌýother people onÌýtheÌýapp.

ItÌýisÌýmasterminded byÌýaÌý35-year-old , whose company, Bytedance has witnessed tremendous growth over theÌýyears. Forbes says Zhang isÌýworth more than $16Ìý²ú¾±±ô±ô¾±´Ç²Ô—a²Ô»å isÌýtheÌý13th richest man inÌýChina.

Having started Bytedance inÌý2012, which relied heavily onÌýAI, Zhang created TikTok aÌýfew years later. The idea isÌýthat TikTok users can video themselves andÌýrecord their acting out sketches, lip-syncing, ´Ç°ùÌýduet creations which enables users toÌýreact toÌýother persons’ TikToks. The videos should last upÌýtoÌýthree minutes, but users can doÌýaÌýlive video onÌýtheÌýplatform f´Ç°ùÌýaÌýlonger stretch ofÌýtime.

The app has aÌýuser-friendly interface f´Ç°ùÌýusers toÌýscroll through videos inÌýaÌýseemingly endless stream. You might hear people say that it’s ²¹»å»å¾±³¦³Ù¾±±¹±ð—t³ó¾±²õ isÌýlikely what they’re referring to.

TikTok also allows f´Ç°ùÌýediting using special filters, andÌývideos can beÌýslowed down ´Ç°ùÌýsped upÌýf´Ç°ùÌýcomedic ´Ç°ùÌýdramatic effect. These short videos have earned theÌýapp aÌýplace among popular social media platforms. TikTok has also gained widespread usage among young teenagers andÌýso-called Áª´Ü´Ç´Ç³¾±ð°ù²õ.´Ï

InÌýaddition, theÌýuser’s ability toÌýpick music andÌýexpress themselves makes TikTok abundantly attractive toÌýmany content creators andÌýsmall businesses. The app isÌýconstantly adding new features that fans can enjoy. But generally speaking, users have enormous freedom ofÌýexpression onÌýtheÌýapp. And this has been aÌýmajor contributing factor toÌýits overall success.

TikTok isÌýaÌýwell-executed social network, which isÌýnot inÌýtheÌýsame category asÌýInstagram andÌýFacebook. TikTok isÌýsoÌýpowerful f´Ç°ùÌýsoÌýmany reasons. ItÌýhas some nice UIÌýchoices that are worth looking atÌýandÌýlearning from. Also, its UIÌýisÌýsuper simple andÌýnon-penalizing, while theÌýswipe-up ´Ç°ùÌýdown- toÌýtheÌýnext video feature isÌýastonishing.

Interesting TikTok Stats

Why isÌýTikTok SoÌýPopular?

Before theÌýadvent ofÌýTikTok, there was anÌýapp called Vine. Vine reigned supreme inÌýtheÌýbite-sized content creation front between 2013-2015, but was shut down inÌýearly 2016. Since then, people have sought other ways toÌýmake comedic videos andÌýhave fun with their social media. That’s where TikTok came in. TikTok bought Musical.ly, andÌýtheir parent company ByteDance decided toÌýmodify theÌýapp from what people knew itÌýtoÌýbe.

Rather than focus onÌýdancing andÌýlip-syncing, theÌýcreator decided toÌýmake anÌýapp where people can share short videos andÌýmake their sounds with their voices. That is, inÌýaddition toÌýwhat Musical.ly was known for.

TikTok then became aÌýperfect replacement f´Ç°ùÌýVine asÌýusers were now able toÌýmake new videos andÌýpublish toÌýtheÌýlarger millions ofÌýpeople onÌýdifferent platforms, even beyond TikTok.

Meanwhile, theÌýfact that TikTok appeals more toÌýtheÌýsense ofÌýmillennials does not mean itÌýisÌýsolely f´Ç°ùÌýthat category. Adults can have fun with theÌýapp, too. With more than 500Ìýmillion active users every month, itÌýisÌýobvious that people ofÌýall ages enjoy using theÌýapp.

Now, let’s talk about how TikTok has helped people, andÌýwhy itÌýhas gotten soÌýpopular soÌýfast. TikTok can provide aÌývast majority ofÌýpeople with new opportunities toÌýmake short videos onÌýtheÌýplatform. Songs ofÌýartists featured onÌýtheÌýapp have consequently grown toÌýbecome very popular too.

Put inÌýperspective, Old Town Road byÌýLil Nas XÌýclimbed theÌýbillboard’s top 100Ìýbecause ofÌýTikTok. And there are many other songs andÌýartists whose success could beÌýpractically attributed toÌýTikTok. The money-making potential ofÌýusers ofÌýtheÌýapp cannot beÌýunderemphasized. 16-year-old Jacob Sartorius blew upÌýandÌýgained massive fame with millions ofÌýfollowers because ofÌýTikTok.

First, TikTok can boast ofÌýthat much success because theÌýcompany has adopted theÌýknowledge learned byÌýcompanies from making intriguing advertisements andÌýhanded theÌýcreativity toÌýtheÌýlarger masses. Thousands ofÌýdollars, andÌýmillions inÌýsome cases, goÌýinto aÌýcommercial onÌýTV ´Ç´ÚÌý³Ü±èÌý³Ù´ÇÌý30Ìý²õ±ð³¦´Ç²Ô»å²õ.

Second, theÌýapp’s connection with Instagram isÌýanother reason f´Ç°ùÌýits fame. Thousands ofÌýpeople share TikTok videos onÌýtheir Instagram pages, andÌýthis plays aÌýhuge role inÌýtheÌýdownload andÌýusage rates ofÌýtheÌýapp due toÌýtheÌýlarge user base. More so, aÌýconsiderable number ofÌýpeople only came toÌýknow about TikTok through IGÌýinfluencers andÌýInsta stories.

Elsewhere, TikTok was able toÌýboast ofÌýbeing aÌýsuccess because theÌýoriginal model ofÌýVine- which was aÌýsuccess onÌýits own- was adopted. Nobody knows theÌýexact reason why Twitter had toÌýshut down Vine, but itÌýhad some great stars like Shawn Mendez. And TikTok has aÌýsimilar concept. The growth ofÌýTikTok can beÌýfurther ascribed toÌýtheÌýdire need f´Ç°ùÌýteenagers toÌýhave aÌýplace ofÌýtheir own. That is, away from Facebook, Snapchat, ´Ç°ùÌýInstagram- where they could not beÌýseen byÌýtheir parents.

TikTok has pushed its way into theÌýranks ofÌýtheÌýgiants onÌýsocial media. Consequently, itÌýhas made social media fun again. According toÌýresearch, videos are theÌýmost popular form ofÌýcontent, especially with how itÌýcombines Snapchat andÌýVine.

The app isÌýeasy toÌýnavigate asÌýyou get onÌýother social media apps. You can like, share videos, andÌýcomment theÌýway you please. Navigating theÌýapp from theÌý“For You” page, through which you can comment, follow theÌýcreator ofÌýcontent, like, ´Ç°ùÌýshare ´Ç°ùÌýwhat theÌýnext videos, makes TikTok very popular andÌýsuccessful. Besides, theÌýfact that you don’t need anÌýaccount with TikTok makes itÌýone ofÌýtheÌýfastest-growing apps globally.

Conclusion

With theÌýgrowth andÌýevolution ofÌýtheÌýplatform, andÌýtheÌýway itÌýcaptures theÌýinterest ofÌýaÌývariety ofÌýpersons, celebrities, andÌýbrands, theÌýprominence ofÌýTikTok has become incredibly evident over theÌýyears.

The most interesting aspect ofÌýTikTok isÌýtheÌýuser’s ability toÌýpost about almost anything ranging from music, toÌýtravel, dance, photography, fitness, humor, hobbies, toÌýmention aÌýfew. Each category keeps getting massive attention over time andÌýoffers users aÌýdegree ofÌýexposure, especially those that can tailor their content toÌýtheÌýshort-form video model.

Although entertainment isÌýseemingly theÌýmain draw asÌýitÌýstands, theÌýapp has gained tremendous use inÌýeducational, business-related, andÌýaspirational content. Therefore, you can join theÌýtrain too, andÌýleverage these numerous, unprecedented opportunities toÌýgrow your ecommerce business byÌýidentifying with ºÚÁÏÃÅ.

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About The Author
Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.

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