If we had a dollar for every time we saw the TikTok ad on YouTube, we would be Nigerian billionaires. The new video app is a new wave with over 500 million users across 150 countries. The short-form video app is fast becoming a social media sensation.
The app has a YouTube channel dedicated to the most viewed videos on it at the time.
The mobile app, a free short-form video app, was created in 2016 by a Beijing tech company known as ByteDance. It is now valued at 75 billion dollars. The app is known as Douyin in Beijing where it originated.
In the space of a very short time, TikTok has been able to generate a lot of buzz online. The app is used for creating and sharing short videos. It is gradually becoming a huge part of internet culture for millennials. Since ByteDance merged with lipsyncing app Musical.ly in 2017, TikTok has skyrocketed in the global market.
TikTok’s videos are usually about 15 to 60 seconds long, like on Instagram, but this time with a music undertone. It reminds us of the Vine, which was shut down by Twitter in 2017, and Kik. Like everything that excited the Generation Z, the app is filled with memes and challenges. Celebrities have also contributed to its popularity. Jimmy Fallon, who recently joined the app, started the #tumbleweedchallenge that had users rolling around on the floor for likes. Very millennial if you ask us.
TikTok videos are getting more audience even beyond the app, on Twitter, Instagram and even Facebook.