Outside China, TikTok has experienced 72% growth in monthly visitation since the third quarter of 2019, driven by the pandemic, becoming a pioneer in enabling creativity globally.
The data, from research company, GlobalWebIndex, reveals that in specific regions, this growth has been even more astonishing. In Latin America, it sits at +185% over the same period – perhaps the biggest rise in social platform visitation we’ve ever seen in such a short time-frame.
Key findings show:
• In North America, the social platform has seen a +123% growth in monthly visitations, and in the UK this rises to +172%
• In Latin America, it sits at +185% over the same period – perhaps the biggest rise in social platform visitation we’ve ever seen in such a short time-frame
• In July 16% of global consumers said they had been creating and uploading more videos on platforms like TikTok and YouTube thanks to lockdown, rising to 29% of Generation Z
In North America, the social platform has seen a +123% growth, and in the UK this rises to +172%. It’s not hard to see why potential buyers are racing for the chance to acquire TikTok’s regional operations, or why marketers are adding TikTok as a staple in their marketing mix.
For example The NBA embraced TikTok early in the game, which explains why it’s gained more than 10 million followers and nearly 200 million likes.
Chase Buckle, Trends Manager at GlobalWebIndex comments – “TikTok has seen tremendous uptick over the past year. Its brief video format was already seeing success. TikTok’s consumption continues to rise, in the midst of rival platform Instagram Reels’ launch, and the interest from the likes of Microsoft and Oracle in acquiring TikTok’s operations in a handful of countries.”
TikTok pioneer in enabling a new breed of creatives
Lockdown restrictions certainly incentivised people to get creative with their own content on social media — In July 16% of global consumers said they had been creating and uploading more videos on platforms like TikTok and YouTube thanks to lockdown, rising to 29% of Generation Z.
Notably, most people who said they were spending more time on various activities because of the pandemic were engaging in those activities prior to the disruption, and creating or uploading videos is no exception.
However, it’s not just new audiences taking up the activity – existing audiences have been engaging more frequently or intensively. Over a quarter (27%) of those already doing this activity before the pandemic said they were doing more of it during lockdown, compared to just 7% who were not doing it prior to the pandemic.
Chase continues – “While TikTok is known for content creation, our data shows that many more go on simply to watch and react. Users are far more likely to watch or like a video, than create one themselves.
“Beyond the controversies and new rivals, brands need to be paying attention to how TikTok’s unique vibe can complement their marketing mix. TikTok is as much of a social media sensation as it is an indication of changing social media engagement patterns. Much like Snapchat forced the major social platforms to copy their offerings to capture this new way of using social media four years ago, TikTok is having a similar effect now – Instagram Reels has launched, and Snapchat emulated its features with a new series of Lenses.”
Source GlobalWebIndex