TikTok is dominating the market right now, and that should not be a surprise. This change happened in 2021, according to Business Insider, with TikTok boasting an average of 25.7 hours per monthly user. As of right now, Facebook users only spend about 16 hours a month on the platform. With audiences of all ages leaning towards a more entertainment based social media, TikTok is shifting in how people want to spend their time on social media. Statistics show over 40% of TikTok users are 30 years and older with 20 somethings in second place at 22% and 10 to 19 year olds at 25% viewership.
With TikTok being a relatively new social media platform compared to others, it’s becoming more tempting to join the craze if you’re not already involved. It begs the question, is it time to switch over to TikTok from older social media platforms such as Facebook/Instagram?
Trends
If you want your food-related content to be seen, or are looking for inspiration to grow your channel, TikTok is ideal. TikTok, with its engaged audience, seems to always be the first social media platform to see new trends grow. This could be related to the number of times the app is opened in a day, which happens 2% more than the number of times people open Facebook according to a recent Sensor Tower Study. What better way to grow than to stumble upon an incredibly popular trend and make your mark known while the topic is still hot?
If you are on the side of TikTok where creators show off their recipes, this is the perfect example of hopping on a trend. Now, instead of googling recipes, TikTok may be the go to spot for your next family meal. The difference between seeing a recipe on TikTok and Google is that TikTok directly links to a video, and a recipe in the caption if the creator provides it (which they usually do). Most people are visual learners, and TikTok recipes are the best way for people to be truly interested in a recipe. It’s easy to save, and the videos usually are quick, and easy to follow along with which is perfect for our society.
Fads are always passing by. One day it will be the hot topic on everyone’s mind, the next, it might be completely irrelevant to the new trend that pops up. TikTok is great at showing people the current trends through their discover page, meaning you don’t have to physically click follow on a certain page in order to to be served a video that’s relevant, engaging and popular. You don’t have to follow specific people in order to be shown a video that is popular and engaging. It helps content creators capitalize on the opportunity before it slips past them.
Facebook has made a point to revamp their services in order to provide more access to reels that are eerily similar to the TikTok format. The difference is that at heart, Facebook is focused on connecting friends and family. If you are surfing your Facebook page, you are more than likely catching up with people’s personal lives, reading updates on statuses and viewing photos. The true purpose is more sentimental than entertainment based. Facebook doesn’t have the identity necessary to compete with TikTok in the entertainment category because their algorithms are so different.
Screentime
Influencers are not going to be turning to Facebook as the main channel of their content. TikTok is dominating the market of usage time, as users spend an average of 68 minutes per day on the platform, while Facebook only pulls in people for about 33 minutes a day. Facebook has roughly 103 million more users than TikTok. However, TikTok is pulling in about 1.4 billion more minutes of screen time from users across the globe. TikTok users are consistently more engaged and interested in the content all through the platform, and in turn, your potential content will garner more genuine interest.
If you make special homemade pizzas or a delicious girls-night cocktails, your content will most likely benefit from creating a TikTok. Most people can appreciate a post that showcases delicious looking food, as it’s the perfect eye-catching post that will garner attention and screen time. This includes the difference between social media platforms of enticing sounds, music, short clips, and again, easily digestible content. TikTok was the first to implement the use of trending audios in order to increase reach on a certain video. Users can click on a popular audio reel and see multitudes of videos that use the format. The way the TikTok feed is structured is that it takes up the entire screen when you scroll to a certain video, making it have a higher chance of catching a person’s attention.
Facebook has recently attempted to switch over to TikTok’s style of feed, but people have taken notice and seem to be resistant to the change. They prefer Facebook to stay a friends/family-oriented social media page, instead of a new entertainment center that’s desperately trying to keep up with the growth of TikTok.
TikTok’s Influence
Because TikTok offers a lot in terms of food content creation and has popularized this style of video/genre, there is a ton of advertising potential. The amount of publicity gained from doing a sponsored ad with a popular content creator and having them praise your product is endless. There are very established and well-known influencers within the scene who have almost amassed a cult following, and their praise speaks volumes to the people that follow them. According to an article from Fanbytes, Chiptole is leading the charge when it comes to successful ads from influencers. Loren Gray (@lorengray) and her #guacdance has over 500 million views. Creators such as @how.kev.eats on TikTok does quick food reviews to an audience of 2.4 million. Getting your restaurant noticed by creators like this would be an incredible boost to traffic.
In addition, people are more likely to buy something or eat something if they see real people testing and approving it. According to a recent study from Gable’s Marketing, 40% of Gen Zers are turning to TikTok to discover how to pick a restaurant for a meal, as it is video proof of people trying it and giving reviews. It makes the information more personable and authentic, which is what people truly appreciate.
TikTok’s emphasis on visual content has created a brand new train of thought that runs through people’s heads when making a decision. Sure, you can read all the online reviews you want about a restaurant, but once you see exactly how the dishes look, instead of them being completely edited for a cookie-cutter advertisement, you get the truth about good products.
Take Charli D’amelio, (@charlidamelio), for example. She became famous on the app, and often had a Dunkin’ product in her hand. The franchise became so popular through her organic videos, that they decided to incentivize her as an influencer to promote more. The brand, in turn, received millions of impressions and so they paid homage to Charli by naming a drink after her in 2020 called, “The Charli.”
TikTok was able to reach 1.2 billion users in Quarter 4 of 2021, and they are expected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2022. While Facebook has always been the juggernaut of social media, boasting 2.9 monthly annual users, user growth stalled in Q4 of 2021, only growing by about 43 million users over a year. TikTok continues to rapidly grow, and they show no signs of slowing down.
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