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Research Outline

Prepared for Paige H. | Delivered November 9, 2019

TikTok Competitive Landscape

Goals

  • To learn about TikTok and its competitors by learning about each apps user base, reputation/popularity, most used features, and competitive advantage.

Early Findings

  • A CNN Business article states that in March 2019, the market research firm, Sensor Tower, named TikTok as the most downloaded App Store app for five consecutive quarters and as the third most downloaded app worldwide during the first quarter of 2019.
  • TikTok, one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, allows users to do more than share generic content online. It allows users to create and share short, creative, personalized videos with music, filters, and other features.
OVERVIEW
  • TikTok is a social media app whose purpose is to allow practically anyone to create personalized videos containing music, filters, and other app-provided features. TikTok was created in China in September 2016, where it was -and still is- called Douyin. When it was first launched, the app was only available in China. In 2017, ByteDance, the creators of Douyin, launched the app internationally as TikTok. The platforms use the same software but operate on separate networks to comply with Chinese censorship restrictions. TikTok is available through both Google Play and the App Store.
MISSION STATEMENT
  • TikTok's mission is “to capture and present the world’s creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly from the mobile phone. TikTok enables everyone to be a creator, and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.”

POPULARITY/REPUTATION
  • TikTok has 500 million active users worldwide, 150 million of those users live in China and use the Chinese version, Douyin.
  • TikTok gained 188 million new users during the first quarter of 2019, making it the third most downloaded app during that time. Overall new users increased by 70% in Q1 2019 over Q1 2018. India was a huge source of new users, with an estimated 88.6 million new users joining. In the US, approximately 13.2 million new users joined the app during the same time.
  • TikTok was the most downloaded App Store app in Q1 2019, with 33 million downloads during that time. Q1 2019 was TikTok's fifth consecutive quarter as the most downloaded App Store app. TikTok was the third most downloaded Google Play app during Q1 2019.
  • TikTok is currently available in 150 countries and 75 languages.
  • Although TikTok is a wildly popular app that continues to grow in popularity, it has not been without controversy. Child safety concerns including exposure to pornography, sexual predators, false information, and people encouraging self-harm, have caused some to express concern about children and teens using TikTok. The Indian government briefly banned new users from downloading TikTok over these concerns in early 2019.
USER BASE
  • Approximately 41% of TikTok's users are between 14 and 26 years old.
  • This is exactly what creators, who were targeting teens under 18 when they developed the app, wanted.
  • Males make up 55.6% of TikTok's user base, while females make up 44.4% 
  • The average TikTok user spends 52 minutes on the app each day.
  • Approximately 14.3 million US adults have downloaded and use TikTok.

COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE
  • TikTok's competitive advantage comes from its ability to stand out from its competitors as an entertainment app instead of a lifestyle one. TikTok is really about creative expression and entertainment and nothing more.