TikTok is the social media app taking the world by storm that recently passed 2 BILLION downloads. Its growth trajectory has been one for the books, recently setting the record for most downloads of an app in one quarter.

It's an amazingly strange new form of social entertainment of :15s-:60s videos that has already deeply rooted itself into culture and is giving everyone from Instagram to Netflix to YouTube a run for their money.

Baldwin& Behaviors Lab conducted focus groups with their panel* of Gen Z college students to talk all about TikTok and learn why it's such a beloved app. *Note, the sample size is 35 students at colleges across North Carolina.

Who is using it?

Gen Z's got TikTok on lockdown (which we talked about a while back here)—76% of 16-24-year-olds are using the Tok to be exact. However, people of all ages are joining the platform, including parents. As you can see from the chart below 52% of the audience is aged 25+.

It also certainly doesn't hurt that the world's boredom has drastically increased while sheltering in place, leading many people to "give in" to TikTok and finally download it.

North America only makes up 6% of the user base (which makes sense because it got its start in China as Bytedance's Douyin), whereas platforms like Netflix and YouTube got their start here and then steadily grew to have more international users than US.

Why are people so obsessed? 

It's an endless stream of content curated to your interests. The algorithm is alive and well, and most people love it. Dissimilar to many social platforms, it's not about who you follow, it's about what's interesting. You don't even need to follow anyone to get a never-ending bottomless pit of videos.

One student said, "It’s a platform that gets to know you. It’s better because it caters to your interests, not just popularity. And, I don’t have to search for content—the content comes to me".

Not everyone likes it though. One Gen Zer felt that the algorithm is "really creepy" because her feed "was so accurate from what I was feeling or what I was watching on Netflix, or even convos over text that seemingly followed me onto TikTok".

The content is entertainment crack. The videos are short, often funny and it takes a lot of creative skills to make a killer Tok. It's fully saturated with excitement, cutting out all the boring parts of longer videos. There's a wide range of content, spanning from dance challenges to life hacks to tutorials. The endless scroll combined with entertaining videos makes it extremely addicting.

“Sometimes the only reason I stop using the app is because my thumb hurts from scrolling.” Now that is saying something.

It's entertaining because "there's always something different", vs Instagram that now feels "predictable" and "laborious" to scroll through (ouch). Just look at the discover page right now, there are videos about #spacethings, #greenvspurple Grand Theft Auto "gangs", and #bakingrecipes.

This or this or this or this will give you an idea of how LOL-worthy the videos truly are.

GOING VIRAL IS BACK, BABY! It's every marketer's dream come true again. Although the content is curated, it's unencumbered because every user can see every video from people around the world. The main feed is housed on the For You Page or FYP, the new most coveted page on the internet.

"Literally anyone can end up on the FYP" and most kids we interviewed either had gone viral themselves or knew someone that did.

Trends like dance challenges take off like wildfire, making the rounds in days and sometimes hours. It also helps that the app is made for copycatting, giving users the option to "duet" each other (where you can play someone's video next to yours), along with the fact that content like challenges prompt people to try and do it themselves.

And then when TikTok stars like Charli D'Amelio (52.9MM followers) or Addison Rae Easterling (37.8MM followers) do the dance, you know you've made it (although sometimes that creates drama because of leaving the original creator without credit).

This happened to Jalaiah Harmon, a talented dancer and creator of the Renegade dance. But then all was settled through a TikTok collab video (see below) and she landed the NBA All-Star Game halftime show as a 14-year-old.

It's also way more *authentic*. Authenticity is certainly a bankrupt word in today's social media landscape, but it's actually true this time around.

One student said, "it’s not as serious as Insta and Snapchat, you can let loose…it’s just for fun, you don’t have to look pretty or be perfect in it". There are also not the "unspoken rules" other platforms have, which takes the pressure off of trying to perform.

This creates a stark contrast with Instagram where people are clearly being fake under the facade of authenticity. Students talked about how they really trust normies (aka everyday people) when they are talking about some awesome random Amazon find they got for the fact that it's not sponsored and they clearly do recommend it because why else would they post about it?

Because it's so creative, it's raised the bar for everyone. Although it is a social media app, it's also an incredibly complex video editing tool. There are hundreds (maybe thousands? I don't have time to count) of effects, filters and sounds that you can use to craft your :15s of fame. Often, people spend hours making just one video.

This has "weeded out the bad influencers" and content, prioritizing the videos that clearly a ton of effort has been put into it. If it isn't good, people will just scroll past. Advertisers, this means even MORE SO now that your content can't suck.

And here are some other random insights to share about TikTok.

What's the hottest new media channel? Bathroom advertising. Doing Toks with your friends in public bathrooms has become a go-to spot because of good lighting and mirrors. So if I were you trying to reach a teen, I'd start advertising there.

Also, bedrooms. Searches for TikTok room ideas on Pinterest has increased drastically since January, with the main focus being on awesome LED lights. Here's your TikTok bedroom starter kit in case you want to become a teenager again.

The implications that TikTok has for every other entertainment or social platform is massive.

People's attention spans are being stunted further, making it hard to get through a Netflix show or even a YouTube video. One student said, "TikTok has replaced viewing..when I hear about a great Netflix show or movie to watch I can't bring myself to watch it because I'm more obsessed with shorter videos, not entire series anymore".

It has also created a strange interest in bits and pieces of content, vs. the whole thing. For example, the songs used in TikToks are often parts of song mashups and one student said, "sometimes I look up the song on Spotify and realize I don’t like the actual whole song, just the little snippet from TikTok". 

What does this all mean? There's a new playing field the kids are hanging out on and if you're a brand that hopes to have a future with Gen Z, you gotta go play the game by their rules. That means throw out all the other tactics you've learned from other social platforms and don't be afraid to get weird, be funny and have a good time.