Platforms: TikTok is among the biggest winners of the corona pandemic

In August of this year, the social platform TikTok will celebrate its third birthday. If we judge by the fact that the first three are the most important, the owner (the Chinese company ByteDance) and investors have absolutely no reason to worry: they have set up a capable, smart, creative, and resourceful entity that does not require any financial concern. According to data from January this year, the TikTok app has been downloaded 2.6 billion times (in less than two and a half years!), it has about one billion active users each month, and its revenue in 2020, just in the US, is estimated to have exceeded 500 million dollars.

Although it was initially perceived (and that was the idea) as a video platform where kids could post their dance videos, today it is a breeding ground for all kinds of content, from social commentary, comedy, crafts, memes to challenges, makeup or fashion guides, and has penetrated platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. This Chinese startup has truly performed wonders in the global market. The New York Times recently focused on a series of innovations and trends it has initiated, predicting a very bright future for this young digital brand.

Transformation of Industries

To begin with, TikTok has, they claim, left a significant mark on the entertainment industry. No social network since Myspace has offered such a new experience, new technology, and a different way of consuming media. This is primarily due to the ‘For You’ page on the app, which is programmed so that users do not have to follow or be followed to view content/videos tailored to their preferences. This ‘operating principle’ has allowed TikTok influencers to be seen, with some, like Dixie D’Amelio or Addison Rae, earn millions of dollars and expand their business to other media platforms (the D’Amelio sisters recently launched their show on the streaming service Hulu).

Furthermore, the app has transformed the music industry, becoming a place where producers discover new music platforms, promote their new songs, or establish collaborations with other musicians. After the entertainment industry, the New York Times states that TikTok has undoubtedly influenced consumer purchasing decisions, particularly in fashion. During 2020, some TikTokers (influencers from the platform) appeared in campaigns for luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Prada, signed contracts with agencies like IMG Models, and, of course, formed some new fashion trends.

The fashion brand Gucci, for example, created a challenge (another of TikTok’s innovations that hundreds of millions of users ‘hook’ onto) that teaches consumers how to style their clothing and look like models from fashion runways. Mainstream, or mass-market brands have also peeked into the platform, selected influencers for collaboration, and launched clothing lines that can be purchased in retail chains like Walmart or Target. As reported by the New York Times, Kudzi Chikumbua, one of the directors at TikTok, stated that users perceive this digital platform as ‘a place for joy and fun’, to which brands that choose to join adapt. This allows them to showcase a completely new, different, and more relaxed side of themselves and present their personality and artistic talent in ways that are not possible to see on conventional channels.

Assistance in Sales

Since many physical stores closed their doors during the pandemic, many companies have used TikTok to stimulate online sales. For instance, vintage brand resellers have ‘taught’ users on their TikTok profiles how to buy and combine clothing items from their offerings, while retail chains like Sephora or Dunkin’ encouraged their employees to become TikTok influencers and thus contribute to the growth of sales results.

In addition to brands and influencers benefiting from TikTok’s penetration, the app has also left a ‘social’ mark. During the pandemic, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals used the platform to speak in short videos about the risks of coronavirus infection and the importance of wearing masks, as well as to break down prejudices about vaccination (many documented their vaccinations and posted them on TikTok). The platform was also very important for the Black Lives Matter movement, as young activists posted content addressing police brutality, necessary reforms in the justice system, and, in general, the issues faced by ‘others’, regardless of race or sexual orientation. After the American elections heated up, TikTok once again showed that it can ‘tolerate’ more serious topics. A campaign against Donald Trump was conducted on the app, and young political commentators filmed videos and informed the audience about their values, the importance of voting, and more.

A Refuge for Youth

When it comes to young people, the New York Times emphasizes that TikTok has become their refuge during the lockdown, which has been recognized by individuals working in the education system. On the platform, students held live stream sessions during which they learned and solved assignments together. In June, some American educational institutions began producing educational content tailored for this platform and its users, thus helping to share knowledge, network, and bring kids together who were confined to their homes. And finally, as The New York Times writes, TikTok has created some trends that truly make life better, but also more fun. For instance, it has popularized dance and dance skills, and what they called ‘viral food culture’ has migrated from Instagram to TikTok.

The platform has made some dishes and drinks, such as oatmeal pancakes, ‘whipped’ coffee, or carrot bacon, viral, and some chefs, like 18-year-old Eitan Bernath, have become globally popular stars. Songs performed on TikTok have turned into the soundtrack of the pandemic year 2020, and many musical artists who had previously lived in complete obscurity have become performers who now earn very decent incomes from their talent. As concluded by The New York Times, the wonderful thing about TikTok is that during the exhausting pandemic months and isolation, along with fears about the future, the platform ‘manifested’ a better reality and connected users, especially younger generations, in a way that no other platform has managed to do so far. In this sense, TikTok is one of the biggest winners in this ‘new abnormal’, and given that hundreds of millions of users have been ‘hooked’ on this content, its future is indeed very promising.