With a billion monthly active users, social media’s “dancing app,” TikTok, is now a household name. As we head into a new year, let’s see how the platform influenced the world in 2021.
The rise of community commerce
“As seen on TikTok” is a term now that describes the platform’s ability to shorten the funnel and influence purchase behavior through community commerce. Community commerce is where the community is at the center of the shopping experience. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt,which has over 6 billion views, points to the platform’s ability to sway consumers.
TikTok encourages community commerce through influencers who drive entertaining, compelling content. TikTok influencers use their platform to share products they love and encourage their audience to buy them. These organic and notsales-y recommendations influence users to make purchase decisions.
Product discovery is another way TikTok gets users to buy. TikTok’s personalized product discovery via its For You page is populated based on a user’s interests. This flow of personalized content allows TikTok’s users to stumble on items they like and often leads to impulse purchases, especially in the clothing, accessories, beauty, and personal care categories.
Spreading joy and happiness
Social media users are tired of the negativity and conglomeration of other people’s happy moments they have to consume on platforms. So there’s a shift towards TikTok, which is considered a “happier place.”
TikTok inspires happiness through its mood-boosting and highly positive content. Characterized by joy, silliness, and experimentation, TikTok videos are fun, giving users doses of micro-entertainment. The top three positive feelings consistently associated with TikTok are happiness, joy, and creativity.
Thanks to the platform’s recommendation system, users find a constant stream of entertainment tailored just for them. And they can join in the fun by participating in hashtag challenges or exploring new ideas and products.
TikTok’s easy-to-use augmented reality, video editing and music features allow creators to easily tell stories in a short amount of time and delight their audience. This ease leads to playfulness when creating and allows users to spread joy by expressing themselves in a way that suits their personalities. 64% of users say they can be their true selves on TikTok and 56% say they can post videos they wouldn’t post elsewhere.
TikTok is undoubtedly a fun outlier in the social media universe and its upbeat nature is strongly appealing to a growing number of people who just want to have fun on social media.
The platform commands attention from Gen -Z
TikTok has strong engagement and loyalty among Gen Z. By the end of this year in the U.S., TikTok is predicted to have 37.3 million Gen Z users (born between 1997 and 2012) who access their accounts at least once per month. Mark Zuckerburg enlisting TikTok stars like Khaby Lane to hype up Facebook’s rebrand shows just how influential TikTok is when it comes to reaching Gen-Z.
TikTok is personal, with real people having honest conversations that resonate with Gen Z. This type of content aligns with Gen Z’s appetite for amateurish, organic, opinionated, often funny content from real people.
Gen Z craves connections and TikTok gives them a community where they can share experiences and speak freely on issues that are often excluded from mainstream conversations.
TikTok fosters Gen Z’s sense of community by encouraging a high level of interaction and collaboration through posts. For example, denim brand Antur Supply co., developed a new product based on feedback from Tik-Tok’s community.
Most young people enjoy TikTok because it provides the entertainment from their peers in the format they love.
TikTok is the “hot new nightclub” in the world of apps for the young crowd.
Tiktok set the trends Beyond viral dances & challenges, a lot of trends begin on TikTok. TikTok’s technology allows people to explore their creative side and create content that brings big wins for brands and musicians.
TikTok’s influence ihas even influenced the music industry. Most of the songs nominated at the 2022 Grammys iwent viral on TikTok in some way. For instance, Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More,” which was nominated for a Grammy, was one of TikTok’s biggest hits of 2021. The song was used in over 2.5 million videos. This suggests that TikTok overlaps with pop culture and determines to some extent who gets noticed in the music industry.
TikTok also sets trends for other creative industries. In fact, the social media platformad has an undeniable effect on what people wear. One compelling video, hilarious review, or authentic recommendation from a user or creator can spark new fashion trends. This year, trending TikTok videos even skyrocketed sales for some retailers. Gap’s “high-rise cheeky straight” denim saw sales surge this year as TikTok helped spark a frenzy for “mom jeans.” Gap saw a 200% increase in the number of cheeky straight jeans sold online within just a day.
TikTok is influencing people and culture. Marketing teams better take notice and learn how to use TikTok to their advantage.
Shelves sell out
TikTok can influence in-store shopping behavior as well. A number of products became viral sensations in 2021 and sold out in stores. For instance, Feta cheese became scarce when a feta pasta recipe went viral on TikTok in February. The hashtag #fetapasta has more than 1 billion views.
How does TikTok influence products going out of stock?
Its configuration. TikTok’s feel-good vibes create an emotional trigger that makes people want to participate by purchasing. The app also blurs the boundaries between community, shopping, and entertainment. This makes it easy for users to move from enjoying videos to hitting stores.
TikTok’s creators are another key element in driving purchases. Their focus on creative freedom gives creators the power to address their communities honestly, make a product relatable, and inspire their communities to try new items. This often leads to brand recognition and promotes store visits.
2021 showed TikTok is more than a music or dancing app. And it has the power to not only attract and retain users on its platforms but also influence activities offline .