Social Media Platforms Change, Customers Stay the Same
Brands should tread lightly when it comes to marketing on new social media platforms. When new platforms first come out, it may take time for them to gain popularity amongst the public. For example, TikTok came out in 2016 but it took four years to gain traction.
The Coronavirus pandemic propelled TikTok into mainstream popularity. It makes me wonder if the app would have gained this much traction had the pandemic not happened. Many people were left at home, some out of work with the only outlet to the outside world being social media. TikTok took off during this time with “TikTok Trends” becoming a common phrase in everyday conversations.
I do not foresee TikTok sticking around forever, considering the data situation and China owning the app many countries do not allow the app on their servers. Just like Vine, TikTok might fizzle out in the near future. Apps like Instagram offer the same features as TikTok but to a much larger audience.
Based off the above graphic, TikTok is not as high on the list of social platforms compared to Facebook and Instagram.
It is hard to say if brands should jump right in immediately. Considering TikTok took four years to become mainstream now is the time for brands to step into the platform if they aren’t already. But they have to have a very strategic way of going about it. There are a wide variety of audiences on TikTok but if the brand gets in with the wrong audience that could make or break their strategy.
With how TikTok algorithm works, it makes it fairly simple to go viral. But an account could have one video go viral and the subsequent videos barely reach 100 views. TikToks algorithm is heavily based on hashtags, captions, and trending sounds. If brands can find a way to quickly capitalize on that, they will be successful on the app.
