There’s no doubting TikTok’s hold on audience attention, with an entire generation of consumers now spending hours each day scrolling through the app’s addictive ‘For You’ feed.
That’s led to entirely new habitual consumption behaviors, which has forced virtually every other app to add its own TikTok-like features in order to keep up. Because it’s not just a new app, the rapid speed of TikTok’s short clips, along with its finely tuned algorithm, has changed user attention spans, which means that if you’re not aligning with this shift, you’ll eventually lose out.
TikTok acknowledges this in its latest consumption trend report, noting that:
“In the past, audience attention was predictable, with scheduled television programs making it easy for advertisers to gauge prime times to capture consumers’ focus. Now, technological advances have made heaps of information available at any time and in any part of the world, and keeping up with consumers’ always-on digital presence presents a daunting challenge.”
The solution, TikTok says, is short-form video, delivered via its app, where engagement is strong.
“Our users are uniquely plugged into the TikTok experience, with 46% engaging with content on TikTok without distractions or multi-screening. The platform offers up endless discovery of new voices and ideas, a diverse community that embraces vulnerability, and a highly-inclusive culture of influence that is causing users to spend less time on other platforms.”
Indeed, TikTok also notes that 35% of its users have indicated that they are spending less time watching TV or video content since joining TikTok.
For marketers, going where attention is focused is the key, and based on these insights, TikTok is currently that place, for many, many users.
To glean more insight on this, TikTok has shared some new stats and notes on usage trends, and just how engaging its never-ending feed to short video clips is.
Some key considerations for your strategy – and your holiday planning.
