TikTok Fills the Void and Defines a Generation
Social platforms aren’t just popping up left and right, but there is one that we all keep hearing about and keeps making the news. It’s TikTok. It’s been around since 2017 but didn’t start to gain traction and popularity until recently.
Being a younger millennial, I’m wary of new social media after living through the rise of MySpace, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, and Instagram (to name a few). Many of these social platforms aren’t around anymore or aren’t available the way they once were.
It wasn’t until I started to recognize the sound bites coming from my boyfriend’s phone over and over again that I decided to pull to trigger and download the Gen Z fad. The sound clips are the most recognizable media on the market and are responsible for many musical successes. Recent releases by Gen Z artists even talk about TikTok success, so their songs gain more traction on the app.
As a self-proclaimed music lover and digital strategy grad student, I wasn’t going to miss out on this strange moment in social media history. I passed on the Vine fad and missed out on the comedy that defined an entire generation.
As the sole social media manager for my job, I constantly try to decipher the algorithms that keep us endlessly scrolling, seeking endorphins like junkies. TikTok’s unsolvable puzzle of an algorithm is enough to captivate anyone and keep us tapping and swiping with no end in sight.
It wasn’t so long ago that Mark Zuckerberg stood in front of the Senate on trial for violating the privacy of millions of Facebook users. Since then, many people have been wary about how Facebook disseminates its information to advertisers. Facebook launched a campaign promoting ad targeting as a good thing, explaining that you’ll only see ads that interest you and not the other stuff.
This transparency (or pseudo-transparency) defines a generation of people who only know targeted ads and take no pause with how algorithms serve them ads or content in general. TikTok’s algorithm changes regularly, but they got ahead of the curve by coming out with a press release in June of 2020 detailing how they get videos “#ForYou.” That’s why TikTok is going to stick around for a long time.
Should social media content creators like myself get on platforms like TikTok? Should we wait until we know TikTok is going to stick around? Or is it worth the risk to hop on a platform that may fail?
My boss called me up about a week ago and asked me to make short-form videos like TikTok. We discussed some of the demographics and other people in our industry who were using TikTok. Very few people in real estate were doing home tours or real estate tips, which is our bread and butter for content.
Entering a platform where our ideal demographic is present with little to no competition is a no-brainer. We made some content and are building up a library of short videos we can cut together. Even if TikTok goes under (which I doubt it will), short-form video content isn’t going anywhere.
If you have the labor and general financial and logistical means, hopping on a new platform isn’t a bad idea for any business. Even if that platform goes away, you’ll have loads of content for other platforms. Performing due diligence about your audience and understanding what logistics are necessary for beginning content on a new platform is essential to decide if your business is ready to start something new.
TikTok is especially perfect for businesses to hop on. Any company can ride off the addicting fads and the uber-recognizable audio clips to increase their brand awareness. TikTok is also a low-risk platform. TikTok only shows your content to people interested in it, and it’s relatively easy to make. You don’t need special programs or fancy cameras to create polished content that meets your audience halfway. If you have an updated iPhone and enough space to download Adobe Preview, you can get started on TikTok simply for the cost of labor.