How did TikTok become so popular?

Who on Earth hasn’t heard about TikTok? Unfortunately, if you haven’t looked into or come across this popular app, you may miss out a lot. 

TikTok is a short-form video hosting service owned by a Chinese technology company named ByteDance. It is also known as Douyin in China, which features a wide range of short-form user videos, with lengths ranging from 15 to 30 seconds at first and can last up to 10 minutes based on the latest update, in genres such as dancing, life hacks, tricks, pranks, cooking, motivational messages, and other sorts of entertainment.

Like Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media app, you can follow and get followed, and gain friends on TikTok. You can also send messages to your friends and mutuals through this app. 

The availability of many filters, effects, and sounds is the primary factor behind how quickly many users became addicted to this software. A TikTok video can be liked, commented on, “dueted,” “stitched,” and shared using hashtags to enter the TikTok algorithms, acquire more views, and gain more followers. 

It has the greatest hits collection that includes the most exciting details and impressions compared to its predecessors. 

TikTok logo ✓ The source code of this SVG is valid.

When did TikTok start?

TikTok app was initially created in 2016, but its spectacular ascent to fame really began in late 2017, when it acquired its rival, Musical.ly, and added its 200 million users to TikTok. 

It didn’t really take off until the first quarter of 2020 when the pandemic was at its worst, and people were obliged to stay at home as the best way to avoid getting sick. Users of Apple and Android devices can easily download this software from app stores. 

The Sensor Tower reports that TikTok achieved 138 million active users in the U.S. alone and had 315 million downloads alone in the first quarter of 2020. 

Why is TikTok so well-liked?

Although TikTok only allows the creation of short videos, using it can be highly addictive, scrolling on a never-ending feed of “For You” videos of all sorts. TikTok analyzes the accounts you follow, where and what you comment on, what you choose to like, what you choose to send to others, which videos are your favorites, which videos you’ve told the app you’re not interested in, and which videos you’ve reported to determine your interests. 

The brief videos produced on this social media platform make it more engaging. Users tend to be more interested in what will appear next without waiting long for one video to finish. 

Because of this, TikTok has experienced tremendous success among users of all ages. Seasoned and aspiring content creators may use this to broadcast their business or ideas to the globe.

Screenshot of TikTok home page as of April 2021.

Dancers construct easy-to-follow movements to the accompaniment of captivating sounds from many languages such as Korean, French, Spanish, and other famous English pop songs, leaving the audience with the last song syndrome (LSS), which goes viral as a result. 

Other users make tutorials of these trending dances, which gives them more engagement and following too.

Makeup artists, both professional and amateur, films “get-ready-with-me” videos featuring various local and international makeup brands. Typically, they would swatch lip and eye products to demonstrate how they might appear on multiple skin tones. They even reveal hacks for applying makeup effectively and extending its daily wear.

Aspiring cooks exchange cooking advice and recipes that may be simply prepared at home using the most readily available items. Users may quickly replicate these recipes, make changes, and then publish them again on the app for the benefit of others.

Close up of smartphone screen with smiling woman recording cooking tutorial for video channel, copy space

In their videos, fitness enthusiasts also talk about exercises for developing your glutes and quads, obtaining a flat stomach, gaining slimmer arms, and the kind of diet they follow to get their ideal body type. 

Other users post their home versions of these routines using improvised gym equipment for people who cannot visit a fitness center or do not have access to gym equipment.

There are gardening techniques available for you in this app, regardless of how much or how little room you have at home. Many video producers use recyclable materials as pots and advise on better plant growth as well as stunning arrangements of both large and small plants.

TikTok is versatile since it provides more knowledge about anything under the sun in addition to enjoyment. Professionals, including doctors, dentists, teachers, engineers, and architects, exhibit their skills and reach a wider audience through their accounts in this app. 

They would provide short discussions about general and oral health, correct pronunciation of words, techniques for teaching small children, minimalist house designs, and other things in their field of specialization.

People interested in beauty and wellbeing can also advertise their business or products in the app. Most of them would offer brand advertising to users with a huge following to reach a big audience of potential users.

As a matter of fact, TikTok shop was created to help businessmen and small entrepreneurs sell their products as they periodically appear in the “For You page” as you scroll. Product adverts in TikTok have become such a trend.

Even well-known stars like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and the Kardashian sisters have created personal TikTok profiles where they post videos of their daily activities, and fans swarm to watch, like, and comment on them.

Video archives concept.

Because TikTok is so simple to use, even regular people can start making and uploading their own videos to the app. Some people enjoy making fun of themselves by duplicating famous lines from films or TV shows or even potential sounds from other users. 

In addition, they can also work together or create a single TikTok video and share it to inspire their followers about how friendships and partnerships begin using this app.

Another fascinating aspect of TikTok is how it promotes emerging artists and gives them a place in the spotlight like Bella Poarch, a Filipino-American singer and social media star who lip syncs to the British rapper Millie B’s song “Soph Aspin Send” in a video in August 2020 and has received the most likes on TikTok with 58.2 million likes, 42.3 million shares, and million views on each of her TikTok videos.

The Bottomline

Most individuals use TikTok as a way of life to find outlets for their stress, and, unexpectedly, it also helps them realize their potential and capitalize on their interests through online videos. 

This app’s popularity results from its simplicity of use, diversity of content, and adaptability to users.