Oh, what a ride it has been… And it is just the beginning…

For the first time in 15+ years since it launched, Facebook saw its DAU decrease. And that took nearly $300 billion chips down with it.

The David in this story suddenly became the new Goliath.

From an existential threat (when Trump tried to get Microsoft to push a deal down Bytedance’s throat) and still being “banned” in a country with almost a billion potential users, Tiktok took over our phones, and our days, and quite literally, parts of our lives.

Tiktok became the only non-facebook site ever, to cross 3 billion downloads in 2021

And that’s an understatement.

While it actually started almost 3+ years before the pandemic hit (Sep 2016 to be precise), it took the global lockdown for us to fall in love with everyone’s videos living in their head rent-free, and to show everyone we are _________ without showing everyone we are _____

Within what feels like the blink of an eye, we were all laughing away at the Zoom mishaps, while at the same time, telling us Mama said it was okay.

Store shelves were suddenly running out of product and not just toilet paper, but non-essential luxury items like Clinique lipsticks, feta cheese, boba tea, and everything else in between.

Things TikTok made me buy has consistently stayed as one of the top trends since 2020 and this is just the beginning.

In 2021, Tiktok became the most trafficked site in the world, overtaking Google and taking a bite straight out of Meta’s pie, literally stealing their lunch (well almost)

With the great resignation, comes a flurry of new content creators, that want to live free, devoid of material possessions, sometimes in a Prius, and enjoy the travels.

Content Creators (Influencers, as they were called in Meta’s Universe) are suddenly becoming rich megastars, raking in annual paychecks as high as $27.5 million (Charlie & Dixie D’amelio sisters) or $4.75 million for Kris Collins

But these aren’t the only people in this ecosystem, raking in the big moolah.

When Tiktok introduced its business for marketers program in 2020, every social media agency jumped in hoping to cash in like it was 2014 all over again (with Meta, as it was)

They couldn’t be more wrong.

Most campaigns (and by extension, agencies) saw egg on their faces because Tiktok is not a social media platform in the traditional sense of the world. Or at least we’ve known social media.

It defies the traditional media norms and does not have dedicated spots for ad insertions.

Tiktok, first, is an experience-first platform.

And while it may appear simple enough distinction to read, it is indeed a big differentiator.

That differentiator is choice.

What most marketers did not realize, was that the user had complete control over the scroll.

This means, if their ad creative was anything but entertaining enough in the first 3 seconds, users would just ignore it and scroll through.

When you’re watching a video on Facebook or YouTube, you’re forced to watch ads after a certain time, but Tiktok totally ditched the norm.

It gave users complete freedom to scroll ahead and ditch the ad completely.

And therein, lies the opportunity.

Any ad, if it has to succeed, has to be interesting enough, engaging enough, entertaining enough, not just to pull the users’ attention, but to engage in a way that gels in with the content they’re consuming.

If I was to explain this in terms of the Tiktok analogy…

Sell me something without telling me you’re selling me something.

This opportunity is massive.

Where YouTube influencers (for the most part) were simply content with brand deals and selling branded merch like print-on-demand t-shirts, TikTok content creators are now becoming brand creators.

Everything from “My dad’s secret spice mix” to “The New Logo For Amazon” is on offer.

And we’re all buying. In bulk. Over, and over again.

The Great Resignation Will Only Fuel This Growth

With a constantly expanding audience demographic, that now includes Gen X’ers like me, and Baby Boomers (at least to some extent) TikTok is becoming the new discovery platform for products of all kinds.

And it’s easy enough to test your hypothesis. Massive companies are being built on top of Tiktok, which include link-tree apps, influencer discovery engines, Tiktok Ad Agencies, Online course creators for Tiktok, and the most exciting of all – DTC brands.

This space is getting hot, and we’re excited to be a part of this time in history, when traditional work-life norms are being challenged for the first time in a meaningful way, and there’s hope for everyone to find happiness in their work, whether they live in a big city or in their Prius.

What’s Next

Yesterday, Tiktok announced the introduction of long-form 10-minute videos, and in a direct threat to Youtube, it is claiming its spot in the most popular segment of YouTube videos as well. How that plays out is going to be an interesting story to watch.

What you can do next…

If you have ever wanted an opportunity to build or grow your DTC eCommerce Brand?

Now’s the time. And we can help.

Book a 30-minute strategy call here, and let’s talk growth marketing 🙂