In the United States, TikTok is more popular than Instagram among younger Gen Z users born between 1997 and 2021.
The ByteDance-owned video platform reported over one billion active users at the end of September 2021. The platform is adding around 650,000 new users every day and has been growing rapidly since July 2020. Though viral challenges and comedy skits fuelled the platform's early growth, long-form analysis content is increasingly engaging TikTok users.
TikTok is the sixth-biggest social network globally, behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. However, the short-form video platform is more popular than Instagram among young American Gen Z users – with 37.3 million users versus 33.3 million users on Instagram.
Publishers looking to capitalise on this trend for more substantial content on TikTok must consider the unique aesthetics of the platform. They should deliver expert opinion content in a user-friendly manner unique to the platform.
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