Top 6 Reasons Why the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Has Fueled TikTok’s Continued Growth
By: Dhruv Patel
Tags: Technology Trends, Digital, Technology, Tiktok App, Social Media

Top 6 Reasons Why the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Has Fueled TikTok’s Continued Growth Dhruv Patel Follow May 11 · 4 min read

By now, you must have heard of the app TikTok. If you haven’t, here is what you need to know. TikTok is a social media platform designed to create, share, and discover short videos. Some call it Vine 2.0. As of late April 2020, TikTok has been downloaded more than 2 BILLION TIMES globally on the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence’s estimate.

¼ of these downloads came just within the last 5 months, and the global COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a contributing factor. As a greater number of consumers are spending time at home and on their mobile devices, people are looking for new sources of entertainment and opportunities to connect with others.

Now what exactly is it that makes TikTok so addicting? And why am I qualified to tell you? Well, based on my average phone screen time this past week as you can see below, I am clearly an avid user.

1) It kills time

TikTok is so easy to simply open up and start watching. There is no real commitment as most videos are less than one minute, and it is so easy to open the app and watch one video after another in any time gap that you find whether from a TV commercial, while you cook, or even while on the can. I find myself randomly opening up the app throughout the day, and I end up spending over 20 to 30 minutes on the app each time. Given the large amount of time people are spending at home right now, TikTok has become a great way to kill time.

2) It’s relatable

Some of the most viewed and “hearted” TikToks are those that are relatable. Similar to the success of memes, seeing a TikTok that resonates with you based on a similar childhood memory, cultural similarity, unique activity, or anything else relatable really drives success.

What makes it so powerful is seeing another person or thousands of other people (based on the likes / views on the video) relate to something so obscure that you may experience or do that you might have never even given thought to.

3) Ability to “follow” people / a project

When people find someone that consistently makes videos or content that relates to them personally, they may hit them with a follow. And with this, many people are constantly wanting to see more content from that user. To give an example, I came across a TikTok user that was following the journey of remodeling a large backyard pool. As crazy it sounds, I wanted to see how progress was coming along with the pool over time. This creator is dedicated to making weekly TikTok update videos, and as a result, this user has amassed over 400K followers. Some people definitely use this to their advantage and create content that gets frustrating by making a “teaser” video ending with a “follow for a Part 2 video” to attract more followers, which has resulted in success for certain content creators but can be frustrating as well for consumers.

4) Teaches you new things

It might be crazy to think that TikTok can actually teach you something. In my time on the app, I have learned how pizza commercials are shot professionally including how the cheese looks so “stretchy” (they use nails if you were curious) to seeing how professional photographers create their ideal photo setting to viewing a timelapse of how a painting is created. It provides a new lens to teach everyday people on various activities in an easily accessible manner.

5) Its algorithm

TikTok has a “For You” page that curates content to you based on videos that resonate with what you like. I am not 100% sure what the inputs are that go into creating your own “For You” page (and not sure I want to), but after a while, the algorithm starts showing more of the types of TikToks that you like or are watching more of, and this drives customer stickiness to the app.

6) The sheer amount of content

People are creating content every second on TikTok. People of all ages from teenagers to young adults to parents to grandparents are using the application. Content creators come from all sorts of backgrounds and produce content from arts & leisure to construction to dance to regular daily life activities, so there really is something for everyone. I rarely see repeated content on the application, and the amount of ingenuity from users really makes it addicting.

Now, the real question, is TikTok here to last or is it another fad? The social media space has had a lot of competition from Snapchat to Instagram, each bringing its own unique element, but for the foreseeable future, I don’t see TikTok’s success going away.

Thanks for the read, and comment below on why you think TikTok has experienced so much success or what has prevented you from downloading it.