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In this episode, Barbara discussed:
- What TikTok offers to everyone
- Why it is so popular
- Tiktok and other Social Media Platform Statistics
- How TikTok became an absolute goldmine
- How do you get to be an influencer on TikTok?
Key Takeaways:
“TikTok is not just a fad; it’s here to stay.”
Connect with Barbara Hales:
Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales
Facebook: facebook.com/theMedicalStrategist
Business website: www.TheMedicalStrategist.com
Show website: www.MarketingTipsForDoctors.com
Email: Barbara@TheMedicalStrategist.com
Books:
YouTube: TheMedicalStrategist
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/barbarahales
TRANSCRIPTION (081)
Dr. Barbara Hales: Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host, Dr. Barbara Hales. Today we’re going to be talking about the app TikTok.
Have you seen anything like it? It’s not going away anytime soon. It has almost become a part of today’s fabric of society. It’s a reflection of who people are and what they do. And for all your attention deficit people, it increases your visibility, engages people, and attracts a crowd.
Why is TikTok so popular?
Dr. Barbara Hales: What is it about TikTok that attracts people and engages them? The answer to this question may be that TikTok follows current trends, like dance challenges, the latest music, filters, or humanizing pet animals. We all love our pets. So, what can be more endearing and seeing pets speaking back to us in our own language or dancing around themselves wearing cute little outfits? You can see young dancers, grandmas dancing with their children, or even senior citizens wiggling away to popular tunes.
Algorithms reward videos that are following current trends. If your video has a song that’s trending, it’s going to get bumped up the ranks no matter what you look like. It can be choreographed, or you can look like a cartoon cockroach hopping around. More people will view it. How about all those pet videos? Is this so cute? What have you or Yvette putting your animals into TikTok with your name associated with it makes you more well known, and your patients would recognize you?
Filming
Dr. Barbara Hales: Have you noticed that there’s an increase of people making weird dance moves in public? Usually, it’s probably a TikTok that they’re making when somebody is filming them. In March 2018, it gave birth to one of the most sought-after apps, Musical.ly and Douyin. TikTok statistics is just famous as Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” most popular among teenagers. The TikTok app is now used across all age brackets. So, if you were to say, “That’s not for me, it’s only for teenagers.” Think again! TikTok has every topic. They have doctors and dentists giving advice. And it may be five minutes that they break up into 32nd segments, which you have to press and follow to see the rest. It could be almost anything. Not only does it span across every age range, but it also spans across every topic.
TikTok Statistics
Dr. Barbara Hales: TikTok has 689 million monthly active users. TikTok was installed 2.6 billion times, so if you have downloaded TikTok, you’re certainly not alone. TikTok users span across 155 countries worldwide. So, here’s your chance to be known globally. More than 1 billion videos get viewed each day on TikTok. In 2020 TikTok was the app with the most downloads worldwide. Over 50% of the United States TikTok users were aged 18 to 34. But this is changing. 90% of TikTok users visit the app more than once every day. The TikTok facts mentioned here are staggering especially considering that TikTok only came into existence two and a half years ago.
TikTok is on the rise, and it is not showing any sign of slowing down. It has introduced advertorials into its app. That’s where advertisements look like editorials and authentic articles. People reading them may not realize it’s an advertisement. And this update is expected to bring in an influx of brands and new users worldwide. It’s important to note that TikTok has already had a consistent growth rate since its launch, even without the ads. TikTok users are more than 50% under 34, with the largest group ranging from 10 to 19.
An absolute goldmine
Dr. Barbara Hales: Think about this for a moment. TikTok is an absolute goldmine. If you happen to be a pediatrician or a vendor for children’s clothing, one of the critical strategies contributing to the app’s popularity is that it provides local content for its users. And because of the content, it just goes viral. Now, how long did it take for a YouTube or Facebook video to go viral? But for a TikTok to go viral, you put it out there immediately. Another thing contributing to it going viral is that TikTok has actually used celebrities to do TikTok videos. Since these celebrities already have their established followers and see what they have to say.
According to Hootsuite, TikTok is the 7th most used social media app now. With 689 million active users. Facebook took 1st place with over 2.7 billion users, YouTube with 2.3 billion users, WhatsApp with 2 billion users, Instagram with 1.2 billion users, and other apps that TikTok beats. TikTok is on the rise. When TikTok first came out, the idea behind it was to create a viral video that everybody could watch. It was short, entertaining, engaging, and then you’re on to the next one. And you can even see it without having an account merely by opening up your website and going into your app.
Over the last year, the most popular video had 547.1 million views. Bella Porch, who was the one that put it out, use Millie B’s “M to the B” song in one of her videos, attracting 547.1 million views and close to 45 million likes. Now, other people have put out videos using the same song. The track has been around since 2016 but only went viral in 2020 after Porch’s TikTok. The video with the second-highest number of views was from Nathan Apodaca, where he filmed himself drinking cranberry juice while skateboarding, and it garnered 76 million views.
Tumbleweed challenge
Dr. Barbara Hales: According to TikTok, #tumbleweed was Jimmy Fallon’s initiative to encourage users to roll on the floor like a tumbleweed. TikTok users’ statistics show that over 1000 videos were created for the challenge during the first week of its launch. As of 2021, the tumbleweed challenge had almost 39 million views, and users across every age group submitted 1000s of videos to participate in it. Now TikTok has more than 3 million more in my #feelings videos when compared to Instagram. According to Media Kicks, the challenge originated from Instagram and had about 1.7 million videos, and it becomes a hit among TikTok users.
The users who participated in the challenge had to video themselves dancing, grooving, or lip-synching to the famous “My Feeling” song by the Canadian rapper Drake. Interestingly enough, 51% who took the challenge happened to be men. Even though more males than females actually view the videos. Interestingly enough, the videos are made more by women and published by men.
User Spending
Dr. Barbara Hales: This past December 2020, TikTok generated $142 million and earns $110 million per month from user spending, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub. As TikTok becomes more popular worldwide, so does user spending.
The app allows people to purchase coins worth up to $100, which they use to reward their favorite creators. So, when a creator said, “If you like this video, donate below.” They are not even selling something, and people enjoy the video, and they’re rewarding the creator for that by “donating” to them. In 2021, user spending accounted for $110 million per month, according to TikTok Usage Stats, and it is the highest-grossing app globally, according to App Topia.
TikTok is the biggest app earner bringing in $540 million in 2020. The second highest is Tinder, with 513 million, and YouTube taking third place with $478 million. TikTok influencers play a crucial role in the growth of the app around the world. A crucial part of the marketing strategy is to have celebrities from strategic places worldwide and have them promote the app. Just like how when Jimmy Fallon signed up and initiated a challenge for his followers to participate, that alone attracted thousands of new users to sign up.
How do I get to be an influencer on TikTok?
Dr. Barbara Hales: Getting famous on TikTok is not that easy because there are 500 million active users. But here’s the thing to remember, not only it’s a relative newcomer, only 4% of marketers are using TikTok. This gives you a huge opening to be there as a marketer and get eyes on what you’re trying to promote or the message you’re trying to convey.
You have to know what is trending. You have to do something different. If you do the same thing that 10 other people just put out, obviously, it’s not going to be seen or as popular as if you did something original. Think of doing something unconventional and humorous because people love something different.
If you’re a professional, you’ll notice that professionals giving advice don’t just get 1000s of views but more than 1.5 million views for each video. So, there is definitely a place for you as a professional. The thing is, you have to understand your audience. A significant part of learning how to become an influencer comes down to who is your target audience and who will be watching your TikTok videos? What interests them that they want to see? What kind of people do you want to follow your channel? By understanding these, it will determine the type of content that you put out.
Know your competition. Although there are people who are already in about every niche, there’s always room for more. Look what your competition did to make their video viral. What can you learn from it based on the subject or method they employed?
You may not be well known or successful in the first few weeks. Stick with it, continue, and persevere. Eventually, you’ll get successful as you refine your videos with every succeeding release. People don’t go viral overnight with their first video. It takes time, frequent, and consistent posting for weeks or months. And they may not see any results until all of a sudden one of your videos goes viral, and that’s it.
So, the thing is this if it’s something that you’re interested in doing and becoming an influencer, now is the time to get started. And there are several benefits to being a TikTok influencer. First of all, you can make money with TikTok as an influencer. Sponsors pay you to highlight their products, and even you can promote the things you do. If you are not selling or promoting anything, becoming an influencer boosts your SEO. Suddenly, you jump from page 25 to page 1 in Google Search, and you will be the one people will go to.
Dr. Barbara Hales: TikTok is not just a fad; it’s here to stay. And while it originally started as being popular among teenagers, it’s now a great source of entertainment for people of every age, especially since we’ve had to stay home with the pandemic more than ever. People are going online, not just with their computers, but for the most part with their smartphones. And they’re going into these apps, and they see the videos that are put out. So, at this point, are you ready? Is this something that you’re tempted by? There is no time like the present! I’ll be looking for you on the other side!
This is another episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors with your host, Dr. Barbara Hales. Until next time!
