Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have come across the social media phenomenon that is TikTok. The app for IOS and android originated in China, but quickly became a global brand, securing fans and active users in every corner of the world. The app is a content sharing platform, that allows users to post short form videos, usually accompanied by trending music. It is now one of the fastest growing apps, and it’s reach hasn’t just stopped at downloads. TikTok is responsible for starting trends, dance contests, provided content for memes, and even made some songs go viral. It’s addictive scrolling feed means some users are now spending hours each day on the app, contributing to it’s consistent growth in popularity since it’s creation.

So, why is it that TikTok has soured into popularity recently? 41% of TikTok users in 2019 were recorded as being between the ages of 16 to 24. This is a staggering amount of young users on the platform, and is probably a key element to their success. If one young person is sharing a video, other young people will want to be part of the action, leading to a higher number of downloads, and an increase in the number of monthly users. Because it is specifically designed to allow young people express themselves in a creative way, be that by lip-syncing, or dancing to a funny video, TikTok has soared in popularity amongst teens, and made it the must-have app for many. TikTok users are often searching for the most efficient way to gain followers, and become more respected on the platform, and services such as tiktokfollowersfree make sure your profile is getting the hits and best chance of viral success.

In less than 18 months, the amount of adults using TikTok grew an impressive 5.5 times, rising from 2.6 million users in October 2017 to 14.3 million users in March 2019. But the question is, how big will TikTok be next year? Is the only way up, or is the app set to fall? 

Competitors

There are a handful of dominant social media platforms that seem to have the world in their grip. The likes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat have managed to infiltrate the social media app market to the point where many people can no longer imagine life without the platforms to connect with friends and family. However, TikTok provides a slightly different element to the social media content we have become used to. Instead of updates on people’s lives, sharing photos, or voicing opinions, TikTok provides more organic entertainment, with its main appeal and purpose being to collate and share humorous videos, to be consumed and enjoyed in the moment. It offers the option to take on a persona, rather than sharing specifically personal information, and switches the focus away from the creator, and on to the idea behind the content created. TikTok’s success in harbouring this gap in the social media market has meant that users have flocked to the app for this sole purpose. It’s easy to grasp concepts, and its ability to start online trends has provided the unprecedented growth into a major entertainment app we recognise it as today. Despite not yet being as large in terms of penetration as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat, it is one of the only apps which is seeing a growth in penetration.

However, competitors are now stepping up their game to try to minimise the negative effect TikTok has been having on their monthly users. Instagram, in particular, has added a number of features that mimic and replicate the appeal that TikTok has, especially to users wanting to experiment with video and effects. The success of TikTok has also spurred on newer start-up companies to replicate features, and create similar apps which could eventually draw a percentage of users away to alternative entertainment sources.

Predictions for the year ahead

With TikTok established as a major player in the social network industry, it seems the app will be even bigger next year. While growth is certainly slowing, TikTok is working hard to expand its appeal to the over-18 population, widening their original demographic of users, and therefore the amount of monthly users they can expect. According to eMarketer, by 2021, TikTok’s user base will have surpassed 10 million, which is a sizeable 24% increase on this year’s numbers (8.1 million).