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TikTok Statistics for 2020: Charts and Data

Authors: Kayla Matthews Kayla Matthews
Posted Under: Social Media
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TikTok Statistics for 2020

TikTok, the social media platform known for its brief, often dance-related videos, has taken the world by storm. People — younger demographics in particular — love the memorable clips that often feature familiar tunes and spontaneous dances. 

The sheer popularity of the platform proves that a less-is-more approach resonates with the platform’s users. Companies that find the most success on TikTok frequently get straight to the point while taking lighthearted approaches.

TikTok also has branded channels for verified businesses. The platform could function for you similarly to how YouTube does by giving viewers a single hub for watching all the content your company wants to promote. Plus, even if you’re not familiar with TikTok videos yet, the app’s built-in creation tools make it easy to hit the ground running. You can alter a video’s speed and use filters to maximize the impact, for example.

Expanding your marketing plans to include TikTok is not a foolproof approach, however. A recent study from Check Point Research revealed several security concerns associated with the platform — including that hackers could manipulate content someone posts to the platform and show a user’s details.

Some organizations and nations view TikTok as a threat, too. The U.S. Army forbade its personnel from putting the app on their work devices after deeming it a “cyberthreat,” while countries, including India and Indonesia, banned the app. Even if national leaders only block it temporarily, such a decision could understandably thwart the plans of a marketing company that intended to gain ground in a particular destination.

As a marketer, you may be in a position that many of your fellow marketers likely face. They wonder: Is TikTok a worthwhile platform for our business to explore?

These 12 TikTok statistics for marketing will give you some food for thought, making it easier to gauge whether or not to depend on it as a mechanism for meeting your goals.

42% of 13-16-Year-Olds Use TikTok

A September 2019 poll from Morning Consult revealed that 42% of 13-16-year-olds are TikTok users — approximately the same amount of people in that age group who use Facebook or Twitter. If you’re trying to gain momentum with young teens, that statistic strongly suggests you should include TikTok in your social media marketing mix.

Gen Z TikTok Statistic Usage
Social Media Platforms Used by Gen Z and Millennials

Image source: eMarketer 

42% of 13-16-year-olds use TikTok Click To Tweet

74% of Marketers Do Not Plan to Invest in TikTok This Year

According to the 2020 Social Media Marketing Industry Report from Social Media Examiner, nearly three-quarters of marketers do not intend to use TikTok at all this year, but there are 16% who will ramp up their usage. Also, 7% of marketers are planning to rely on TikTok the same amount as last year. Thus, the best approach may be to start small and scale up if the results warrant doing that.

TikTok Usage Plans
Marketers who intend to invest in TikTok in 2020

Image Source: Social Media Examiner

74% of marketers do not plan to invest in TikTok this year Click To Tweet

TikTok Was the Second Most Downloaded App of 2019

Market penetration is likely one of the factors influencing your decision about a possible TikTok investment. The good news is that data from SensorTower showed TikTok as the second most downloaded app of the year in 2019, suggesting plenty of people are interested in using the app.

TikTok App Popularity Statistic

Image Source: SensorTower

TikTok was the second most downloaded app of 2019 Click To Tweet

Users Spent More Than 68 Billion Hours on TikTok in 2019

The State of Mobile 2020 report from App Annie reported a 210% uptick — equal to more than 68 billion hours spent — on TikTok in 2019. Thus, whether your focus is advertising on TikTok, content creation or both, a positive trend is that people are eager to use TikTok and stay engaged with it for substantial periods.

People in More Than 150 Countries Can Download TikTok

According to Hootsuite, residents of more than 150 nations can use TikTok, and advertising on the platform could reach people who speak more than 75 languages. Although some countries are initially resistant to the app, it bodes well for potential investment plans that TikTok is getting an increasingly commanding global reach. This is especially useful for companies with international expansion aspirations.

TikTok Portrait Ads Offer up to Seven Times More Engagement

Internal research by Incipia found that portrait-oriented TikTok ads got seven times the engagement compared to landscape and square advertisements, demonstrating a compelling reason to carefully choose ad specifics. Another thing to keep in mind as you explore whether to advertise on the platform is that other options — including rich messaging sent by e-commerce brands — are gaining momentum and may tie into your TikTok plans.

TikTok Got an Average Engagement Increase of More Than 27% Due to COVID-19

A company called Obviously, which specializes in social media influencer campaigns, measured an average increase of more than 27% between February and March 2020, attributed to more people trying to find entertainment and stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. If the coronavirus stifled your marketing efforts, this statistic may be enough to make you see that TikTok investment could still pay off — no matter how long the crisis affects the world.

TikTok Has an Estimated 800 Million Monthly Active Users

Representatives from Wallaroo Media estimate that TikTok now has approximately 800 million people who actively use the application each month. That’s crucial, because marketing campaigns can only succeed if TikTok sparks initial curiosity within your target audience, plus encourages them to use the app regularly. This statistic confirms that TikTok has so far urged millions of users to take that action.

TikTok’s Adult Users Have Doubled Year Over Year

TikTok marketing statistics mentioned earlier in this roundup highlighted the popularity of the application among teens. If you want to target grownups, however, research indicates that usage among adults doubled in overall year-over-year growth. You have a good chance of reaching a broader age group than you may have expected.

TikTok Statistics Adult Growth
Adults Using TikTok in the United States

Image Source: MarketingCharts

TikTok Received 315 Million First-Time Downloads in the First Quarter of 2020

Perhaps some people on your marketing team still feel uncertain about investing in TikTok because they think it’s a fad that will plunge in popularity before it gives you the desired return on investment (ROI). You could point out that Statista measured the worldwide number of first-time downloads of the app from Q1 2017 through Q1 2020. It found that the figure climbed significantly in the first quarter of 2020 — topping out at 315 million.

TikTok Quarterly Downloads
TikTok Quarterly Downloads

Image Source: Statista

Travel Videos Alone Earned More Than 1.7 Billion Views on TikTok

TikTok representatives learned that travel-related videos on the platform received more than 1.7 billion views, and more than 400,000 videos featured the #travel hashtag. In response, the brand launched a campaign to encourage more users to share their favorite globetrotting moments. Numerous tourism boards joined the initiative, and you may want to follow suit by offering TikTok travel content to keep people inspired and help them see new places from home.

The First Paid Ad to Hold the No. 1 Trending Hashtag on TikTok Received More Than 1 Billion Views

An aspect of advertising on TikTok that may appeal to you relates to the abundant opportunities to get people interested in what you sell by aligning your product with a challenge. The cosmetics brand e.l.f. did that by creating the first TikTok paid ad featuring original music. The results made the spot the first one of its kind to earn TikTok’s No. 1 trending hashtag, plus more than 1 billion people watched it while becoming interested in the #eyeslipsface challenge to win makeup.

TikTok Statistics to Guide Your Decision

This data about TikTok may make you feel differently about using the platform for marketing than you did before. Perhaps the statistics covered here emphasized what you already suspected and made you determine there’s no time to waste in utilizing it.

Besides diving into the data covered here and thinking about how it applies to your overall work and future campaigns, don’t forget to take a more personalized approach in the decision-making process. Do historical metrics indicate your audience responds well to short videos? Can you envision specific ways that your company could harness the power of TikTok to its advantage? Pondering the possibilities will get you well-equipped to come to informed conclusions.

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