During the COVID-19 pandemic's peak, platforms like Netflix experienced unprecedented surges in subscription numbers as people sought entertainment while confined to their homes. However, recent quarterly earnings calls indicate that this rapid growth in Netflix membership is losing momentum; their state-side membership is beginning to plateau or even decline. Similarly, Zoom, which became a household name for enabling remote work and social interactions through video calls, has seen a significant reduction in usage for non-work-related gatherings. The enthusiasm for virtual socializing is waning, a sentiment shared by many, including me. I don't know how many more virtual happy hours we could take!
However, the one trend that didn't slow down is TikTok. The app has done the impossible and unseated Meta as the social media channel of choice for many people, especially the highly sought-after demographic of people aged sixteen to thirty-five.
This sea change has caused a lot of marketers to wonder if TikTok is suitable for their brand. Can we ride the wave of dance challenges and life hacks to success? Or, at the very least, create some brand engagement. When TikTok first arrived on the scene, it was known as the fun little sibling of the social media space. The other social platforms had your aunts and uncles arguing over the political fight of the moment, whereas TikTok is for people who want to show off their dance skills or make you laugh.
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Recently, there has been increasing concern about the level of control that ByteDance, and by extension, the Chinese government, has over the platform. In response to this concern, a bill has been proposed in Congress to force TikTok to sell its American operations to a US-based company. TikTok has asked its users to lobby against this bill, but this seems to have backfired, as it has only highlighted the amount of influence the company has over its young users.
This ambiguity leaves advertisers in very murky waters. However, one thing that's clear is that TikTok will not disappear any time soon. The people at ByteDance are clearly savvy. While they would like things to remain status quo, if the bill does pass, they are smart enough to know it's better to reap the financial rewards of selling the app than allow Congress to block it entirely from the Apple and Android App Stores.
The crucial question for marketers remains: whether they can authentically connect with people on the platform. If not, then it's best to focus your efforts elsewhere. For every success story you see on TikTok, there are misfires, like when Jennifer Lopez, usually a savvy marketer of her own image, tried to promote the twentieth anniversary of her second album by starting a TikTok trend called the "Love Don't Cost a Thing Challenge." It asked people to post videos of themselves on the beach, throwing all their expensive accessories in the sand. Nobody was up for the challenge.