What is Tik Tok?

Tik Tok is an app from China that makes and shares short and vertical videos.Tik Tok’s parent company is the Chinese ByteDance which was recently valued at $75 billion.The name of Tik Tok in China is douyin.

It has a simple threshold that users set a music can start shooting short video.It could be dancing or performing a short film.It contains rich templates and visual effects to add interest to video.It also has a live stream feature that allows users to send virtual “gifts” of real money to their favorite creators, with the rest having tags like followers, themes, likes and comments, just like any other social app.

These video’s are full-screen, not square, and can be navigated by endless scrolling up and down.In a separate place, you can experience augmented reality filters like snapchat, the ability to search for music and sounds for your video, and the ability to generate video for a user called a duet.As the story progresses, the byte beats merge with the music.Statistics from third-party market data agency App Annie show that not only in Vietnam, but also in Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia and other countries, Tik Tok is in the leading position in the market, and has repeatedly topped the local App Store or Google Play overall list.

Why is TikTok important?

One of Tik Tok’s most powerful features is that it is a level playing field.Creators have the same potential to go viral among all viewers, from hundreds of millions to millions.This is because the discovery mechanism on Tik Tok is implemented through hashtags, so anyone with enough creativity and speed on the platform can jump onto an existing hashtag and create content that will entice followers to click the follow button.In addition, the need to display “polish” on the platform is reduced.In a world where influencers have entire teams to create perfect, evocative images for platforms like Instagram, it’s a breath of fresh air for creators to let more silly content win out.

Tik Tok helped many artists create careers through the combination of memes and music.Due to its subculture of fun, celebrating stupidity, and not taking itself too seriously, it provides a foundation for fans of UGC content creation.The oddity of Tik Tok is hard to overstate.The video content on the platform ranges from a dog leading a flock of ducklings to a rhythmic chopping of cucumbers – all of which are jaw-dropping.

Celebrities are starting to take notice.Jimmy Fallon recently encouraged his fans to post their tummy tummy video, and Arnold Schwarzenegger has posted his mini-pony workout on his bike.Thanks to this massive viral spread, and the addition of celebrities, Tik Tok now dominates the conversation among those who want to target a smaller audience.

Is it a fad?

It is similar in nature to Vine and has spawned a host of stars in a similar way.It has messaging capabilities and works like any other platform.Even so, there are growing pains.Like Facebook and Twitter, Tik Tok has come under fire for providing offensive, violent and hateful content.In India, they were removed from the app store because they were deemed to “encourage pornography”.This is not because of a lack of regulation of the platform, however.Not only does Tik Tok have firm rules against hate speech, nudity and harassment, but the community has an unparalleled self-policing structure on other platforms.In many cases, posts are quickly taken down because enough people find it offensive in a very short period of time.

Domatters thinks that Tik Tok is not a fad.There are two main reasons for this.

Firstly, Tik Tok seems to be taking a page from the playbook of previous companies, adopting a “create first” approach that companies like Vine and Snapchat didn’t adopt until it was too late.Creators and influencers on any social network form the backbone of content creation on the platform, resulting in enduring content.It’s no secret that Vine’s rapid demise was due to the negligence of the influencers who made it popular, and Tik Tok seems to be learning from that mistake.This approach further means that new content continues to pour in on this hyper-addictive platform.

Secondly, there is something particularly refreshing about the platform which allows you to join several different tribes at the same time.Scroll down and you can immerse yourself in a Fortnite community, scroll down and you can enter a community to recreate old shrek’s video.In these communities, you can be an influencer — not by the number of followers you have, but by your creativity.The resulting dopamine rush keeps you coming back for more.

How should brands create Tik Tok content?

l Self Identification

Tik Tok places a special emphasis on self-expression.As noted earlier, it is seen as a haven for young people away from the pressures of other social networks, which need a more polished look.If social media is seen as a new form of television, most obviously with Tik Tok, then your role as a brand is to help them create the best possible TV show as opposed to being an advert. Everyone skips the adverts. If you are a fashion brand, rather than doing standard advertising to invite people to sell, you can continue to create a hashtag challenge where people have to exchange your clothes in a short period of time.

l Content Cliffhangers

One of Tik Tok’s most powerful features is the duet feature where users can complete another person’s video.This led to some hilarious video and the creators of video provided a radical end to video.This opens up the ability to develop content cliffhangers – interesting video can be launched by brands, but done by potential consumers who sell as your brand.In our experience, this is one of the most powerful forms of viral transmission on a platform.

l Comedy win

Most importantly, the most successful content on Tik Tok is interesting, and your communication potential is closely related to your ability to create comedy content around your brand.The threshold to humor is virtually nonexistent: from finding lyrics that are relevant to your product, or tapping into popular moments that your audience can understand.Tik Tok allows you to easily tap into cultural nuances.

With celebrity endorsements, a “create first” philosophy, and an evergreen content machine, Tik Tok’s longevity is clear. It has the potential to be the next big social platform.Marketers committed to understanding it are the future winners.