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The Rise of TikTok During Covid-19

by Nadine Head | 27.07.2021

Whether you’re a dedicated TikTok viewer or a creator in the making, it’s clear to see that this platform has seen a huge rise in usage since the outbreak of Covid-19. With trends, dance routines and popular TikTok songs becoming the norm, this platform has seen positive impacts across small businesses and brands.

When TikTok first burst onto the social media scene, monthly active user numbers worldwide were in the millions, but since November 2018 figures have increased from 680 million active monthly users to over 1.1 billion monthly active users in 2021. The platform saw the highest number of app downloads in Q1 2020, driving over 315 million downloads worldwide. This coincided with the time that countries across the world got locked down and people turned to social media trends to keep them busy at home and connected with their friends, family and wider world.

TikTok – not just for kids

With TikTok’s audience growing, the age range of creators and users started to increase – when the platform first was launched, usage was highest in 13-17 year olds but now users across all age ranges are on the app, whether you’re a parent making lunch for their kids or a grandparent getting involved with the latest trends, there really is something for everyone.

Brands on TikTok

Being available in 154 countries, like any social media platform, this is a way for small businesses to grow their following and their brand awareness. I don’t know about you but I’ve made more purchases from small businesses by seeing them on TikTok than I have on any other platform, because they are there on my For You page and ready to promote the products.

On average, a user makes at least one purchase a month through seeing a TikTok video (I would say my purchasing habits are above average looking back at everything I bought in lockdown). Small businesses especially have been utilising this platform to promote their brands – plus users will get more personalised products and service rather than purchasing through a larger brand who have higher consumer numbers.

The rise of paid ads on TikTok

And it’s not just organic content that is on the rise, brands have also been jumping at the chance to use the platform paid ads to take advantage of the strong audience presence that had been built in the last year. Whether they want to use ads to gain revenue or to push their content out to a wider audience, it’s very clear that this platform is one to test and see what results can be achieved. TikTok is a great way to escape from reality and watch some hilarious content, but it’s also an amazing platform for brands and companies to grow their business and user following. During tough times it’s important to give back where we can and TikTok is a great place to do so, so if you’re umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to jump on the band wagon, I say go for it and you could find some amazing content and creators along the way.