The latest social media platform to go viral online, TikTok is a short form video sharing app which allows its users to create and share videos on any topic. Despite being launched and largely marketed as an app for short form videos, TikTok actually enables content of up to 10 minutes in length, as of an update shared in 2022.
From viral trends to completely unique concepts, TikTok supports video content which is engaging and shareable – and has become particularly synonymous with trends and challenges which are posted, shared, and copied hundreds if not thousands of times.
In this article, we’re telling you all you need to know about TikTok – from its history to the way that the app is used today.
The History of TikTok
TikTok may have made a new for itself in very recent years, but the app has actually been around since 2014 making it a decade old.
Originally, TikTok was launched as Musical.ly and was an app which invited users to share lip-syncing videos. Over time, the app developed and was acquired in 2018 by a company called ByteDance. It was renamed to TikTok and rolled out as an app which created and shared dance trends.
This has remained one of the most popular video formats on TikTok, with the time allowance for videos increasing to 3 minutes in 2021 and up to 10 minutes in 2022.
In 2023, TikTok reported over 150 million active users in Europe alone, making it one of the most compelling and effective platforms when it comes to profile and reputation growth – for influencers and brands alike.
How To Maximise TikTok Success As a User
Because TikTok boasts such a high number of users, spanning influencers and celebrities as well as regular users, it has become a community hub on which likeminded individuals can connect.
Celebrities jump onto trends and dance challenges in the same way as other users, while the rise in specific TikTok influencers only serves to prove how influential the app can be in framing and supporting future stars.
Here are a few tips to maximise TikTok exposure and success…
- Use the trends and challenges to your advantage, filming your own version of a dance challenge or video trend and sharing it
- Share your videos to other social platforms to boost engagement and exposure. Instagram reels and stories are a good outlet for sharing TikTok videos
- Use trending audio in your TikTok videos
- Use the video editing tools to further personalise your TikTok videos, including adding voiceover audio, stitching two videos together on the same screen, duetting with other users, and enhancing the visual with a green screen background or added stickers
- Use hashtags to drive users towards your content
- Be entertaining and think outside the box, especially when it comes to brand content
In short, TikTok is a social app which facilitates and promotes the creation and sharing of video content. Over the past decade, it has grown from a lip-sync platform to a social phenomenon with millions of active users and an exceptional level of engagement.
If boosting your brand or profile is one of your goals for the coming year, joining TikTok is a must – whether it be to add personality to your online presence or to introduce a new generation of users to your brand.
