TikTok has been a safe haven for the majority of us over the last year. A fun place to watch content from like-minded people at all times of the day and night. It has been a great platform to keep positivity and morale up during the pandemic compared to other social media apps, with this creating further engagement and usage with TikTok users and cementing it as a firm holder of attention through 2021 and beyond.
TikTok has already developed so many amazing features and partnerships this year, with many more to come. It is a great platform to gain greater engagement, establish new customers and also to discover other similar people who take an interest. It can have an amazing effect on your business, especially if your current consumers use the app on a regular basis. So let’s have a look at TikToks current audience…
As of February 2021, TikTok is available in 150 countries with over 1 billion monthly active users from ages 10-50+. From the graph below, it can be shown that teenagers make up for nearly a third of the total users, with users in their 20’s not falling far behind at 29.5%. Therefore, if your current consumer falls between these two brackets, there is almost a certain chance that if your brand is not already on TikTok, you’re missing out!
TikTok New Partnerships Across Music, Entertainment & Sport
Football Euro Championship Partnership
TikTok has become the first digital entertainment platform to support the official UEFA EURO 2020. They are sharing their passion for football with their users and trying to establish itself as the home for football fans in a time of lockdown and reaching into mainstream media.
This will allow for football fans to have TikTok as a place where they are able to follow their favourite football content creators, share the best content to their friends and also create their own TikToks about football tournaments, such as their reactions or celebrations. TikTok and the UEFA will also develop a range of features, sounds and hashtags that will be a great opportunity for users to create content, follow trends and also see other creators who are like themselves. Not only this, but it will also help gain exposure for creators who are jumping on these trends and get their account seen.
TikTok and Universal Music Group Expanded Global Alliance
Universal Music Group is home to the most iconic and influential labels and brands in music, such as Abbey Road Studios and Virgin EMI records UK and operate in more than 60 countries. They are also the world leaders in music-based entertainment. Earlier this year, TikTok and UMG entered into a global alliance that will allow users on TikTok to be able to use UMG’s full catalog of music and create and express themselves through new sounds and discover new artists. This in turn, will help produce a great community of artists and help expand the music culture further.
Not only this but it is a great way to help new talent emerge and also bring back older artists to the current day, with the potential of TikToks 1 billion users hearing or seeing the use of a particular song. It is definitely a great way to promote and also collaborate with other talented artists and create deeper and more emotional connections with fans through the use of music.
TikTok has always been a great way to promote upcoming and current music, with the sheer popularity of the app and the creativeness and trends it can bring. We are extremely pleased that our incredible client Jamie Grey is also using the app and is showcasing his amazing music, that we definitely think you should check out.
TikTok creates partnership with Saturday Night Takeaway
TikTok have also created a partnership with ITV’s Ant and Dec Saturday Night Takeaway! With the audience having to move online, TikTok was the perfect way to still encourage the audience to participate and keep engaged. The challenge is all about nominating someone who is your hero by creating a TikTok video that demonstrates why that person is special to you! It is a great way to help form a community and encourage users to keep positive and show gratitude towards others, reinforcing the positivity on TikTok compared to other social media platforms.
TikTok x UFC
TikTok have announced a multi year deal with the fastest growing sport and arguably the most forward thinking digital sport in the world: The UFC.
The UFC are famous in digital circles for their unrivalled access to fighters via social channels and now this has extended to TikTok. The UFC have always pushed the boundaries with how they have delivered digital content tailored to the channel they’re on, so we’re really excited to see how they get even more creative on TikTok.
Game-changing TikTok Product Updates
TikTok Live Stream with 4 People
With the current climate of online communication, TikTok live streaming is an extremely important tool on the app and is becoming an essential part of virtual connections. Tik Tok have recently added the feature to have up to 4 people in a live stream, which is a great addition for many individuals and businesses.
With this feature, it allows for brands and people to build trust with prospective buyers, with being able to see the behind the scenes, answering any questions that they may have and seeing who is behind the brand. It also helps create real-time brand engagement, by allowing your customers and audience be able to engage with your content right there and then in the moment.
Furthermore, referring back to TikTok in the music industry, the option to be able to livestream with 4 people is a great way for artists to showcase their music with other artists who are similar to them, build great relationships and potentially perform to their audiences in a time of virtual events. However, not only referring to the music industry, live streaming is definitely a great way to build connections with other users on the app, to get to know them and/or their audience.
TikTok E-Commerce Is Coming
There has been discussion that TikTok is planning a great expansion into the ecommerce industry, increasing their competition with Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. These new features will allow for affiliate links, self-service advertising, along with in-app brand catalogues, which will bring great opportunities for businesses, influencers and TikToks 1 billion active users.
It will allow for users to have a chance to purchase products and goods through a few taps after seeing them displayed on a like for like mobile version of television shopping channels. This will be ideal for business and influencers, as this feature will allow for an easy, stress-free purchase for both them and their customer, encouraging further purchases to be made.
Small Business Resource Center
TikTok For Business launched their first Small Business Resource Center in December 2020. The goal of the Resource Center is to help small businesses leverage the power and creativity of TikTok to grow their brands and connect with their audience.
“Small businesses are at the heart of our communities and an important part of the TikTok ecosystem. Not only are they vital to local economies, but they are deeply rooted in TikTok, the community, and the experience of the platform. We launched our self-serve ad platform last summer to further empower advertisers of all sizes and budgets to easily and efficiently activate at scale on the platform. We’re proud to see that, since its launch, the self-serve platform has provided the tools and resources to support thousands of businesses in connecting and engaging with the community and finding a voice on TikTok as they begin to emerge from the pandemic.” – Becca Sawyer, Head of SMB and Operations at TikTok
What Does That Mean For You
There are many remarkable opportunities that TikTok and each of these features can bring to you and your business. With the popularity of TikTok and the amount of users worldwide, it can be extremely beneficial for your brand and gaining brand awareness to an audience you wouldn’t reach otherwise. It is also a great way to reach your current audience on a different app, if your current consumers make up a strong percentage of Tik Tok users.
How You Can Take Advantage of This
There are many ways you can take advantage of TikTok, but one of the main ways is to just submerge yourself with it and create an account! Put yourself and your brand out there and see how many new users and customers you will reach! It is also important to jump on trends and songs that are currently popular, which will allow for you to reach more accounts and be seen more. Also, it is important to keep up to date with new features that TikTok is bringing out to make sure you are ahead of the game and utilising the new aspects of the app. Lastly, just have fun!
