TikTok represents a goldmine of opportunity for businesses looking to connect with their audience in a meaningful and impactful way. With over 4 billion downloads (and counting!), since its launch in 2017, TikTok is now worth an estimated $223.5 billion and is one of the most lucrative social media platforms in the world. Here we look at the statistics of TikTok and how it has massively shaped the digital landscape since its inception less than a decade ago.
Table of Contents
A Brief Overview of TikTok
TikTok is a video-sharing platform that simplifies video creation for users, allowing them to create and share short-form videos typically ranging from 15 seconds to 10 minutes long. With a wealth of filters, effects and video editing tools at their fingertips, TikTok users can get creative as they upload snippets from their daily lives instantly.
With videos played as soon as the app opens, the platform makes it easy for viewers too by instantly immersing them into a world of digestible, entertaining, addictive video content.
TikTok started out as a lip-syncing platform called Musical.ly in 2014 before being acquired by ByteDance in 2017 for $1 billion and renamed TikTok.
With its highly engaging and entertaining content, TikTok offers a dynamic and vibrant ecosystem for content creators, businesses, and users alike and continues to grow at an exponential rate. In 2023 TikTok reported 150 million monthly active users in Europe and it now employs 5000 people in the EU alone.
TikTok For Businesses
The immense power of social media video advertising is impossible to ignore and the TikTok statistics speak for themselves. Video is one of the most powerful ways to make your customers stand up and take notice, and the algorithm gods favour video content above all else.
TikTok presents a unique opportunity for businesses and brands to reach and engage with a highly active, diverse audience.
Through creative, authentic video content, businesses can connect with potential customers in a more genuine and interactive way than ever before. Via TikTok advertising, compelling video content creation and partnering with influencers, businesses can harness the power of TikTok to get their brand seen by the masses.
Due to being innately more shareable and clickable than static photos, video social media content benefits from longevity and continues working for a long time. Using strategic ad placements on TikTok can get your brand seen by your chosen audience and help you gain visibility for your business.
TikTok also has a feature called ‘video reply’ whereby you can respond to a specific comment by creating a video with the comment overlayed. This is a powerful way of brand communication to translate your brand message and reply to followers.
Due to its usability, high user engagement and shareability, TikTok statistics show that users spend approximately 52 minutes per day on the app, making it one of the most engaging social media platforms and a fruitful marketing avenue for any business looking to increase reach and maximise sales. Can your business afford not to be part of the TikTok revolution?
Key TikTok Video Statistics & User Insights
Understanding the power of TikTok is best highlighted by looking at TikTok statistics and the facts which underpin its growth. Here we explore some pivotal TikTok stats and user insights to learn more about this ever-growing social media platform.
User Demographics
TikTok boasts a diverse user base, with a significant portion of its users being young adults and teenagers. Studies show that the majority of TikTok users are under the age of 30 however, the platform’s appeal extends across more than 150 countries with age and gender demographics diversifying more than ever before as the platform continues on its stratospheric growth trajectory.
There has been a noticeable increase in older users joining the platform recently, contributing to its growing diversity and global reach.
Reports show that 53.4% of TikTok’s global users are female and 46.6% are male. In 2023, there were 170million TikTok users in the 35 to 44 age bracket.
Number of Users
TikTok has been installed on devices over 3.5 billion times across the world and amassed over a billion active users which positions it as one of the leading social media platforms globally, rivalling established social media giants like Facebook and Instagram.
Usage across social media platforms 2023. (Statista)
Average Time Spent on TikTok
On average, users spend approximately 52 minutes per day on TikTok, making it one of the most engaging social media platforms in the world today.
This high level of user engagement is attributed to TikTok’s addictive nature and endless scroll of short-form videos and personalised content recommendations.
Engagement Rates
TikTok actively encourages user engagement which fosters a sense of community and boasts impressive engagement rates, with users actively interacting with content through likes, comments, shares, and duets. Statistics show that 92% of users take some sort of action after watching a TikTok (such as liking the video, commenting on it, or sharing it with others).
TikTok’s engagement rate of 4.25% far outstrips that of all other social media platforms – the second most engaging social media platform is Instagram with an average engagement of 0.60%. These impressive engagement rates are precisely why so many businesses are starting to integrate TikTok video advertising into their marketing strategies
Content Trends
TikTok is synonymous with viral content trends, with new challenges and memes emerging regularly. These trends often originate from user-generated content, gaining traction through shares and remixes across the platform.
Most popular TikTok videos in the United Kingdom in 2023, by views (Statista)
From dance challenges to lip-syncing videos and comedic sketches, TikTok’s content landscape is dynamic and ever-evolving, catering to a wide range of interests and preferences.
Average Video Lengths
Most TikTok users access the platform on their phone (usually whilst doing something else) so short, snappy video content is the best way to capture the users’ attention quickly. TikTok’s emphasis on bite-sized videos is part of what has made it such a success.
The hallmark of TikTok’s content is its brevity, with videos typically ranging from 15 to 60 seconds in length. This short-form video format encourages creators to deliver concise yet impactful content, capturing viewers’ attention in a matter of seconds.
Posting Times
Optimal posting times on TikTok vary depending on your target audience demographics, geographic location, and content niche. There are millions of viewers on TikTok every second of the day, so by using the correct SEO and hashtags you can generate relevant video views and engagement no matter what time of day you post.
However, creators can experiment with posting times to determine the optimal window for reaching their target audience and maximising engagement. Peak usage hours typically coincide with when users are most active, which tends to be early mornings, evenings and weekends.
Conversion Rates
Whilst TikTok’s conversion rates stand at around 1.1%, this statistic has been steadily increasing year on year, particularly for e-commerce and influencer marketing campaigns. Brands can leverage the platform’s immersive ad formats and influencer partnerships to drive user engagement and generate leads.
This conversion rate figure includes all product sales of all sizes, from estate agents selling property to beauty influencers selling lipstick, so it pays to look at your industry individually to generate a better idea of TikTok conversion rate statistics. TikTok’s shoppable features such as in-video links and product tags facilitate seamless conversion pathways, enabling brands to capitalise on the platform’s vast user base and growing purchasing power.
TikTok’s Impact on the Video Production Industry
TikTok encourages users to be as creative as they please and express themselves and their ideas via the power of video. This means anyone with a smartphone can create compelling video content at the touch of a few buttons.
Since its arrival, TikTok has had a deep impact not only on how people view video content but also on how videos are created and edited. Short-form content is already popular in the video production world due to consumers’ decreasing attention spans and TikTok perpetuating the popularity of short-form videos of 15-60 seconds.
Short-form video will continue to reign supreme due to being more easily digestible by Millennials on the go and TikTok providing added value to short-form content. TikTok proves that it is possible to make entertaining, compelling and engaging content which evokes emotion and sells a story, even within short timeframes.
Not only this, but the style of video production has changed. On TikTok, users often quickly jump from one clip to another, use transitions or put on-screen text to help string clips together cohesively.
This fast-paced editing helps to drive viewer engagement and is being adopted by the video production industry as a style that works and keeps viewers engaged. Video production agencies can embrace this technique to make engaging and captivating video content which feels familiar to the viewer.
Most videos on TikTok are viewed when the user’s device is on mute so TikTok video creation on TikTok heavily features on-screen text, comments and subtitles. For example, a popular TikTok trend sees creators standing mid-shot and pointing at various points around them where words or phrases pop up for the viewer.
Whereas previously text and subtitles were perhaps more of an afterthought in video production, leading video producers now incorporate more text and animated words into their video making as they know it drives engagement and conversions.
Success Stories
Here at Bull & Wolf we are creative thinkers, passionate storytellers and have a laser-sharp focus on the latest trends dominating the social media landscape. We make video ads which are convincing, authentic and intriguing.
The social media video adverts we create go the extra mile to capture your target audience’s attention and make them stand up and listen. Using the magic of video production we create entertaining, shareable content that drives engagement and gets you the results you deserve. Our videos turn viewers into doers, it’s really that simple. Take a look at some of our success stories…
Summary
Choosing lively video content over static images for your social media ads is the fastest, most authentic route to brand exposure and search visibility.
If you’re looking to increase customer engagement, maximise clicks and ensure that your social media video ads place you above and beyond the competition, you’ve come to the right place.
Here at Bull & Wolf we specialise in creating videos for social media advertising. Our deep-rooted passion for social ad video production means that we have become industry leaders in creating high-performing videos for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
We have a laser-sharp focus on the latest trends and developments in this fast-paced digital marketing landscape, and share this in-depth understanding with each and every client we work with. Get in touch today and let’s start telling the story of your brand together…