5-minute read
Since its founding in 2016, TikTok has captivated the world like no other app. Even in 2024, the short-video platform is an indispensable part of the social media landscape. Learn how TikTok achieved this rapid ascent and why so many creators, influencers, and businesses are utilizing its unique features.
What are you looking for?
How did TikTok come about?
TikTok's relatively short success story began in 2016 with the founding of Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Developed by Zhang Yiming and his company ByteDance, the app quickly gained popularity across China.
To expand TikTok into the international market, he decided to combine Douyin with another Chinese app. Following its merger with Musical.ly, TikTok experienced a global breakthrough in 2018. The combination of short videos and music proved highly popular and took the world by storm, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown. Within four years, TikTok had nearly reached the top, competing with global players like Facebook and Instagram.
We have summarized the 11 most important facts about TikTok
that you should know about the social media giant in 2024.
TikTok is the 5th most popular social media platform.
While most social media platforms, such as Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), and Instagram (2016), have been around for years, TikTok has quickly become a major competitor, ranking as the 5th most popular social media platform worldwide.
With over 1.7 billion monthly active users, TikTok has more usage than Snapchat and Twitter combined. Including its Chinese version, Douyin, the platform demonstrates an even broader global reach.
Good to know: 9 out of 10 internet users engage with social media.
2. The algorithm leverages artificial
intelligence.
To better understand the algorithm, it's helpful to first examine the structure of the FYP (For You Page). Similar to Instagram's Explore page, the FYP is an endless feed of content that TikTok's algorithm believes will be interesting to users.
Several factors influence which content the algorithm displays to users. These factors are also weighted and evaluated differently.
Order of relevance:
User activity
Text
Location, language
Audio and video effects
“Not interested” feedback
(Source: https://later.com/blog/tiktok-algorithm/)
For user activity, the algorithm primarily considers how long users watch a video and how often they rewatch it. The number of likes, comments, and shares also plays a role.
SEO is becoming increasingly important on TikTok. TikTok analyzes text from descriptions, bios, hashtags, and text written on videos. Therefore, it's crucial to use relevant keywords to reach the right target audience and guide the algorithm effectively.
TikTok increasingly displays content in the country where the account is located. The language used in text or speech also plays a role in content distribution.
If a video uses a trending sound or effect, the algorithm will show it more often to people who have previously interacted positively with that trend. Therefore, it's advisable to always keep an eye on the latest trends, as those who quickly identify them can usually benefit the most.
To ensure that the quality of content remains high enough for users, there are several indicators that tell the algorithm when a particular post is no longer desired. The most important factor is the number of users who immediately swipe away from the video. Additionally, the 'not interested' feature ensures that fewer videos of that type appear on the FYP in the future.
3. TikTok has a global reach.
Figures in millions.
Over half of all TikTok users are from Eastern Europe and Asia. This figure does not include the nearly 500 million Douyin users. Among European countries, Germany ranks first with almost 20 million users, even though this represents a smaller percentage of its population compared to countries like France, Italy, or Spain. Even Switzerland, with its 2.6 million users, surpasses Germany's percentage with a value of 29.6%.
Nearly 40% of Americans use TikTok, which accounts for over 130 million people in the US alone. However, this does not make them the country with the highest average number of TikTok users.
Saudi Arabia takes this spot with an astonishing 64.9%.
4. TikTok is increasingly appealing to
older generations.
TikTok is predominantly used by minors and young adults. However, the combination of short videos, music, and text is not only popular with younger generations. More and more Gen X and Millennials are joining the trend and scrolling along.
The data refers to users over 18, as official TikTok statistics only provide data for users aged 18 and above.
Distribution in Switzerland
The short-video platform has long been established in Switzerland and is predominantly used by Gen Z and Alpha here as well. However, the numbers show that users over 35 already account for 1/5 of the total user base in Switzerland.
5. TikTok speaks more languages than you
and I.
While not as many languages as Duo, TikTok is still available in over 70 languages and 155 countries.
Duo, the Duolingo mascot, became a true internet celebrity more or less overnight thanks to TikTok.
Since the green owl took over the account, it has generated 5.4 million followers and over 100 million likes to date. A true prime example of effective marketing on TikTok.
However, the little music note is not popular everywhere. In India, the short-video platform has been banned since 2020. As a result, TikTok lost over 200 million users.
In other countries too, TikTok faced significant criticism in 2020 over issues such as inadequate youth and child protection. Nevertheless, TikTok's image recovered and it did not let itself be defeated.
6. Every video can go viral.
Every video has the chance to go viral, even without a large follower count or prior success on TikTok.
Unlike other social media platforms, the TikTok algorithm does not focus on the number of subscribers or the total number of likes. Theoretically, a video from an account with no subscribers and no likes can still go viral. So, what are you waiting for?
7. On average, users spend
over 1,200 minutes per month on TikTok.
Most long-time TikTok users are aware of the app's high addictive potential. It has never been easier to get lost in the endless feed of funny, authentic, and creative posts and lose track of time.
With 1,250 minutes monthly and 90% of users opening the app at least once a day, it's no wonder that TikTok has one of the highest user engagement rates of any platform. It's not without reason that 50% of all users have posted at least one video; the app motivates and succeeds in getting the community active.
8. TikTok was the most downloaded app
from 2021 to 2022*.
With over 3.5 billion downloads, TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Most Top 10 apps are the same every year, with Meta occupying four of the top 10 spots: Facebook (3), Instagram (2), WhatsApp (4), and Messenger (8). In 2021, ByteDance secured two spots, one for TikTok (1) and one for its video editing app, CapCut (9th place).
9. TikTok has the highest interaction rate
of all social media platforms.
The engagement rate serves as one of the most important metrics for determining the success of posts.
Average engagement rates vary by platform and must therefore always be evaluated in relation to each other. Studies show that TikTok has a 15% higher engagement rate than other social media platforms (Source: https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/tiktok-drives-greater-audience-engagement). This also makes TikTok very attractive for businesses, which can particularly benefit from increased user interaction.
How do I calculate the engagement rate?
Likes + Comments + Shares / Number of Views
or
Likes + Comments + Shares / Number of Subscribers
To get a better impression, it is recommended to calculate and sum this for the last 20 posts.
Naturally, the rate can vary significantly depending on the industry, product, and market situation. It should also be noted that, statistically, accounts with fewer subscribers tend to have a higher engagement rate than accounts with medium to large follower counts. This is also because as the number of subscribers and views grows, it becomes more challenging to maintain the same growth in interactions.
(Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/de/tiktok-engagement-kalkulator/)
How high should the engagement rate be?
A good engagement rate for other platforms is around 1–3%. For this reason, when calculating and evaluating the engagement rate on TikTok, it should be noted that it needs to be higher to achieve success (Source: https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/what-is-a-good-social-media-engagement-rate).
Twitter = 1 %
Facebook = 2 %
Instagram = 3 %
LinkedIn = 6 %
TikTok = 4.5 % - 18 %
10. TikTok has the largest selection of
effects and filters among all
social media platforms.
With hundreds of different effects, there are truly no limits to creativity. With each update, countless new filters are added, which are used and spread by the community in various ways. If that's not enough, you can edit your videos, trim them, adjust speeds, and much more directly within the TikTok app.
You don't even need a cumbersome greenscreen anymore. With the built-in greenscreen filter, it's possible to appear in front of an image or video and create engaging content.
With over 600,000 music tracks, everyone can find the perfect soundtrack for their videos. If that's not enough, you can use the text-to-speech function to have your texts read aloud by a selection of voices, thereby creating your own unique sounds.
11. Charli D`Amelio earns up to
$100,000 per TikTok video*.
The 18-year-old had her first breakthrough in July 2019 when she uploaded a dance video as a 'Duet' with TikTok user 'Move With Joy'. In November 2020, Charli became the first person on TikTok to reach 100 million followers.
Following numerous collaborations with renowned brands such as Morphe Cosmetics and Dunkin' Donuts, her net worth is estimated at over $20 million. This makes her one of the youngest self-made millionaires in the world at just 18 years old.
Top 10 TikTok Accounts with the Most Followers:
*Sponsored Content
(Source: https://stylecaster.com/charli-damelio-net-worth/#slide-2)
Like any social media platform, TikTok will continue to change and evolve over the years.
We are excited to see the direction TikTok takes in 2024 and are happy to assist you as an Online Marketing Agency with any questions regarding TikTok and social media.
Do you require support?
We would be pleased to assist you with your social media marketing strategy and its implementation for the coming year.