The Rise of TikTok & Why You'll Be Obsessed
This morning, I was brewing some coffee while Freddie was shaving and getting ready for work. As he walked out, I heard him singing a song under his breath, “Nah dah, dah, dah, dah dah, dah, when I popped off…” Oh, my God. It was official. Freddie had caught the TikTok bug too!
TikTok, the app, not to be confused with Kesha’s hit song from 2009, is a social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. The app was launched in 2017 by ByteDance, for markets outside of China. It’s pretty much the leading destination for short-form mobile video. TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. At first, the app was wildly popular amongst Generation Z, but now, Millennials, as well as Baby Boomers, are flocking to the app.
So what makes TikTok so good?
Unlike other apps, the reach on TikTok is enormous. Everyday people from nurses to teachers and lawyers are on the app, participating in challenges and reaching hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. The app brings light to how many imaginative and artistic individuals there are in this world - even if their daily job doesn’t reflect those skills. TikTok proves to be a creative outlet for many, bringing millions of people together in the process.
I’ve only been on the app for a little over a month, and the other day I posted a video of a popular trend called “boyfriend checkk” - It was a montage of the special man in my life, set to Jason Aldean’s, “You Make It Easy.” At the very end of the video, I shared Freddie’s surprise proposal, pointing out that he was now my fiancé. Mind you, this video was only 15 seconds long, but it allowed me to take TikTokers on a quick journey of our love story. Within 48 hours of posting, the video received 133,000 views from being featured on the explore page, aka the For You tab.
Organic reach like this is a distant memory on other platforms unless you started early on those respective apps. I will always continue to post and utilize Instagram and Facebook, but there is something magical about the tone and timing of TikTok. Users don’t take themselves too seriously, and it is incredibly refreshing to consume content that puts a smile on your face or inspires your heart.
Should content creators get on TikTok?
Like, yesterday. Whether you are a blogger, vlogger, podcast host, actor, singer or entertainer in general, this is the app you’ve been waiting for! Growing an audience now and getting discovered, while organic reach is still available is going to build crazy momentum for you. Get your name out there, start posting and make connections with others all over the globe!
What type of content should I post on TikTok?
In my opinion, the coolest part about this app is that the creative challenges are already built-in by other users. You don’t have to rack your brain about what you should post. Simply scroll through the challenges and see what feels exciting to you. New challenges are created almost daily, and it is so fun to get in on the trend. The “boyfriend checkk” video was a popular challenge, and I believe that’s why it got so many eyeballs on it so quickly.
There also is a duet feature, where you can join in with a person who made a video that you like. If there’s a musical post that you love, you can reply with a duet video. TikTok bought Musical.ly, and this was a popular past feature. All you have to do is find a video you’d like to duet with, press the share button to see sharing options, then press the “duet” option on the bottom row in the center.
The app also has an eclectic mix of music - popular videos range from rap and hip hop to classics as well as broadway tunes. There really is something for everyone! It does take a minute to figure out how to use the app, but once you dive in, it’ll become like second nature to you!
If you’re on TikTok, let me know below! Do you love it as much as we do? As always, you can find me on TikTok @AlyssaTabit
