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TikTok has succeeded not because it has unique features. It simply started its strategy to take on the world with the freshest possible generation of users, chi
by meerita 7y ago
TikTok has succeeded not because it has unique features. It simply started its strategy to take on the world with the freshest possible generation of users, children aged 11-14.
Look at the beginnings, it was disgusting, but they were there patiently spending money to convince the generation that now with 18-21 already believes that Instagram is just a stronghold of retirees and no community.
They now feel part of something unique because getting on Instagram meant competing against those who were already established. Every social network must be focused in this way. Today TikTok attracted all the big stars, and the Instagram generation is really asking themselves, what is going on? (same question snapchat users did back then), the truth is TikTok is eating Instagram at some big pace and it will take it over completely soon.
Do you want to create a new social network? Aim for the 11-15 year old population and in 3-4 years you will have the strongest, most faithful and active community.
- treelovinhippie 7y agoPredatory capitalism, well just capitalism.
- meerita 7y agoIt's social engineering, not capitalism.
- jtms 7y agoYou misspelled “human nature”
- WilliamEdward 7y agoCapitalism is totally natural.
- jtms 7y agoThat is my point
- GrayTextIsTruth 7y agoFree market != capitalism You can have a free market bartering chickens. Free markets are natural.
- asveikau 7y agoI can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. It's an amusing time to be alive.
- thrwaway69 7y agoSarcasm detection AI bot here, that was a snark.
- anomaloustho 7y ago> the truth is TikTok is eating Instagram at some big pace and it will take over completely soon This seems a bit hyperbolic. TikTok had 500M users last I checked, whereas Instagram has 1B users. Instagram’s growth rate was very similar to TikTok’s and remains while having an additional 500M. When TikTok’s growth rate saw a large increase, so did Instagram’s growth rate.
- bredren 7y agoThe products are also quite different. Even as TikTok rises, I do not notice that it would necessarily have a displacing effect on insta. In addition, free marketing is straightforward on insta, it is not even remotely so on TikTok.
- meerita 7y agoTikTok is the fastest growing social media platform according to App Annie. Its monthly active user base is now estimated to be 625m, up from 500m. The stats show an 85% year-on-year increase, compared to Facebook's 8% YoY growth. Regarding app usage and downloads: - 2X Better User Retention - No. 3 most downloaded app in Google Play ahead of Facebook and Instagram - Most download app in Apple store for 5 quarters - Growing 1000% YOY
- CPLX 7y agoThis is nonsense, Tik Tok has succeeded because it is a fantastic digital product. It presents an entirely different vibe than the other services you mention and is useful for different kinds of interaction and discovery. It’s simply really engaging and enjoyable for people to use. Also the reference to “attracted big stars” seems confusing to me. The genius of the platform so far has been that it’s genuinely possible to participate as a normal person and a lot of the other content is created by actual peers of most users. As the stars and celebrity phenomenon grows there I think we’ll see the platform start to deteriorate.
- samhain 7y ago"It's the product not the people" Sorry, but social networks are made of people, without the people you don't have a product. He's trying to say that because important people create the community then that's the most important thing to the product in this case. Trying to say that the product creates the people makes no sense.
- CPLX 7y agoBut that’s the part that confused me. Has everyone commenting actually spent time using the product? The whole notable thing about Tik Tok is that “important” people didn’t create the culture. It was created mostly by high school age kids sharing music and dance videos. I guess the premise is that since Tik Tok deliberately sought that market... the success doesn’t count somehow... or something? I mean like the entire planet is trying to market to that demographic. Nearly everyone fails. The distinguishing feature of Tik Tok here is that it’s a great well designed social product that’s fun to use and viral.
- thrwaway69 7y agoI really wonder if I live in the same world at all. I have never come across a tiktok link for some reason. First time I heard of tiktok was from an American guy talking about how China is taking control via their social media apps. That was a few months ago.
- 7y ago
- 3fe9a03ccd14ca5 7y ago> Aim for the 11-15 year old population and in 3-4 years you will have the strongest, most faithful and active community. Excellent synopses. However, how do you stay relevant? After all, the 18 year olds grow up to be 35 year olds.
- doublerabbit 7y ago> However, how do you stay relevant It's hard. I was a youth worker for a bit. Anything I tried to get them to corporate in they rebelled because it was a "grandpa" thing. Attention spans just don't exist nowadays. Spending five minutes explaining the manual of a game is over. They won't listen and get bored very quickly even if you get a round in. TikTok appears to mitigates that as you can do your thing in a matter of seconds. Even the younger adult leaders were struggling to get them engaged. At least football's still a thing.
- aguyfromnb 7y ago>However, how do you stay relevant? You don't. The hip, new thing gets recreated every 5-10 years.
- ReverseCold 7y agoFacebook did it once. First by marketing to college students for the original product (Facebook), then by buying the next big thing (Instagram). I don't think they're doing it again though, many recent acquisitions (starting from Oculus in 2014) are VR/AR based, and AFAIK they're growing the core Facebook product instead of launching new ones.
- infinitezest 7y agoMy thoughts exactly. My impression is that the key is to get in early while a product's value is rising, then cash out at the last possible second for maximum gain. Then, once you're financially established, you can throw portions of your wealth into equity in later iterations and repeat the cycle.
- meerita 7y agoEverything comes down to two points, I think, the first, that the new generations have a hard time entering and succeeding in mature social networks, there they feel alienated, therefore, any new place is more attractive. Second, because new places offer the feeling of belonging that those places where the effect of popularity is impossible to achieve. TikTok and Musical.ly achieved their base of very young people who now all at 17-23 years old already feel that it is their default social network. Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are in a downward spiral because the new generations will only join TikTok as the big celebrities will go where their potential audience is.
- artemisyna 7y agoTikTok was also spending something ludicrous (probably the majority of whatever investment $$ it had?) on ads in its early days in order to build a userbase. (Don’t remember the exact details, but I recalled being surprised at seeing their spend per user/retention rates on an app trend analysis site a year or two back.)
- euroPoor 7y agoFor a community that’s baseing their hypotheses on data usually, it’s a shame to see this on top with exactly TWO data points. Don’t form narratives that generalize without data backing up your claim.
- thrwaway69 7y ago> TikTok has succeeded not because it has unique features. It simply started its strategy to take on the world with the freshest possible generation of users, children aged 11-15. > Look at the beginnings, it was disgusting, but they were there patiently spending money to convince the generation that now Source? Interested in their early marketing breakdown.
- hbosch 7y agoTikTok “succeeded” because they bought Musical.ly. Without that move, TikTok would have no significant Western presence.