TikTok: everything you need to know about TikTok

TikTok has been causing a sensation and fighting for a place with popular social networks like Instagram and Facebook, thanks to its fun targeting and segmentation of a young audience.

The numbers for TikTok are impressive and it is clear that the use of the application is very fun and extensive. TikTok has gained space in the market, facing strong competitors such as Facebook and Instagram. Success, however, has its origin in an efficient business strategy.

Applications are more useful, functional and important since smartphones appeared. And, just as there are features that help in everyday life, there is also the entertainment segment.

In the midst of this category, one app has stood out: yup, you guessed it! It is TikTok, a social network  that has been reaching very important download numbers since 2018.

TikTok has been causing a sensation and fighting for a place with  popular social networks  like Instagram and Facebook, thanks to its  fun targeting and segmentation of a young audience.

Are you curious about where such success comes from and why it is downloaded so much? In this post, you will learn what you need to know about TikTok and get to know some more details about this app. Shall we start?

How did TikTok come about?

TikTok is an app that emerged from the merger with Musical.ly, which was geared towards music.

This line was maintained, however, the proposal of its creators was based on expanding performance and really developing an application that would compete with the giants in the segment.

From this merger movement, new ideas for a different approach to the offer to the user were implemented. The proposal was precisely  to create a more complete application that mainly allowed interaction between users  .

This new concept made TikTok more than a dubbing and music application, it became a social network.

What is most impressive when watching TikTok is the speed with which it exploded. The union with Musical.ly took place in August 2018 and, in October of the same year, the application had already  surpassed the number of downloads from some giants such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

It was a sign that, at least for the moment, the strategy seemed to be heading in the right direction.

What generated the growth of TikTok?

TikTok’s movements in the market have been strategically thought out and studied, which helps to understand its growth.

The developer of the application is the Chinese company ByteDance, which had already planned a  segmentation of the market  for the young public and the focus on music. Seeing the success of Musical.ly, he understood that there was a great business opportunity there.

ByteDance acquired Musical.ly precisely to expand its operations and start exploring the Western market , which was already used to and committed to the previous app.

This strategy was one of the big secrets that resulted in the rapid advancement of downloads and the growth in popularity of TikTok.

From there, the popularization of the old application was easier. In the merger with TikTok, this rapid audience acquisition move was natural.

Transaction values

The operation was ambitious, and the numbers invested in it showed very well how much ByteDance was betting that entering the American market would be a good business.

The merger between TikTok and Musical.ly moved no less than   values ​​between US$ 800 million and 1,000 million dollars .

The transition

In a way, the transition from the Musical.ly brand to TikTok was quite quick and very convenient. The app just changed its name !

Those who had Musical.ly installed on their smartphone noticed overnight that it had changed again and now worked differently. Although questionable, this change was strategic.

ByteDance automatically tapped Musical.ly’s entire American user base at first, simply by inserting the proposed new app into the old system.

While this had some impact, as potential users uninstalled the app, others took the path of curiosity. When they perceived a more interesting system, the compromise happened.

How was the start of TikTok in the US and global market?

Perhaps what is most surprising about TikTok’s growth is the rapid rise that the app has achieved in less than a year, beyond the Asian market.

Despite scaring those who see it from the outside, this whole move was well thought out. After all, what company would invest a billion dollars without the certainty that the business would have excellent prospects for expansion?

In just 3 months of operation of the new TikTok, 130 million active users could already be counted on the app . Such impressive figures served to encourage investors, who at that time understood that the planning carried out could be achieved.

business strategy

At the time of the merger, ByteDance had clear goals and they revolved around numbers: 500 million active users. The proposal was to reach this mark and then recover all the investment obtained and start making the application profitable.

The way seems open for this, as the number of app downloads continues to rise. In December 2018 alone, TikTok was downloaded by 75 million users, which was a record.

Today, total smartphone installs have reached the  1 billion mark . This was the seal that ByteDance needed to start the profitability project with the app.

Monetization

Despite being completely free, TikTok has ample possibilities for  monetization , which is precisely why this entire merger movement occurred.

The main way to earn money is very simple:  advertising. As of December 2018, ads began to be tested in the app, and users could already view campaigns from all kinds of companies.

After all, a large active user base and an impressive number of downloads go a long way in attracting advertisers to TikTok. However, the application is valued for maintaining   targeted advertising , that is, that really interests users.

Since it has a younger audience, the space was opened up to companies that offer products and services suitable for this age group.

However, before the ads, there was already a way to monetize. Since there are many profiles of artists early in their career, TikTok allowed  donations from followers . On this occasion, the way to obtain a profit margin was to keep a percentage of the money that was passed on to celebrities.

How does TikTok work?

TikTok is an application very close to the idea of ​​the old Musical.ly:  stimulating the creativity of musicians , allowing them to perform in front of the camera of their phone through  video content.

However, the changes in the application brought several editing possibilities, in addition to functions such as dubbing and many other ways of generating content.

The app itself provides a collection of songs that users can dub over, making it a lot of fun to use.

Because they have been on the platform for a long time, many of these people have already become quite popular and have millions of followers. This feature brings TikTok closer to other social networks and this new format was key to the growth of the application.

As of today, there are also already seen and explored features to  gain followers on Instagram , such as  filters, stickers, and a host of other editing features . Together, these elements give users the tools they need to explore creativity.

The use goes far beyond voiceovers and songs, generating all sorts of fun content for a young audience that is very easily engaged.

Hashtags

The app also allows you to target videos by  hashtag. So, just like on Instagram, you can find different topics with the terms inserted after the “#”.

For anyone looking to gain popularity on TikTok, using this feature is key to gaining visibility.

Messages

The greater proximity to the concept of a social network also opened up space for direct messages, also widely used on Instagram. Users can communicate more effectively with those they follow, in addition to all other TikTok profiles.

Variety of content

Accessing TikTok today, you can see how the app was not limited to music. The contents are of all kinds, created by people of all ages, but always with a main feature: humor .

From the cute videos of cats and dogs to people dancing, everything helps to create a  light and very interesting environment for the user .

Musers

Musers are to TikTok what YouTubers are to YouTube. These users have been generating content for a long time, dedicating themselves a lot to the platform proposal.

Having become practically professional, his videos are more famous and accessed. They also play the role of influencers, which has been talked about so much lately, especially when it comes  to influencer marketing .

Use

Getting started with TikTok is very simple: just download the app, which is available for iOS and Android users. It is possible to synchronize with accounts such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to quickly have a profile in the application.

Every TikTok success has an explanation and, behind it, a good strategy and business plan. The trend is for it to grow even more, conquering users and opening up new ways to monetize.