TikTok

by Elisa Mahon 
​
The app released in 2016 known as TikTok has become wildly popular
especially in the last year. The app has gained attention from advertisers
everywhere due to its popularity and outreach capability to all audiences.
This platform has become a prominent element of today’s pop culture and
because of this it’s all anyone’s talking about. I created a profile about a
year ago and since then I have built somewhat of an addiction to it. What is
great about the platform is it’s “For You Page” feature. This feature
incorporates the algorithms of the platform and uses them to show videos
related or of interest to the specific viewer of each and every account. The
feature also makes it possible for any person, no matter how many followers
they have, to be able to go viral if they’re video gets enough engagement. It
is because of this feature and the possibility to create pretty much anything
you can think of that the app can become so addicting.
In the past few months, the ad share on the platform has become
more and more frequent. Advertisers will contact influencers, or users with
very high follower counts, and create brand deals with them essentially
offering products or discounts and in exchange they ask that the influencer
posts TikToks with their product. The most common company that I have
seen being advertised on TikTok is “BANG Energy.” The well-known energy
drink company has brought on so many TikTokers to their influencing team
that pretty much every time I open the app, I come across at least one video
in which a person implements the drink into their content. The same goes
for brands of every product you could think of and the advertising truly
works. Since the app became popular to the point where pretty much
everyone you speak to has some sort of understanding on it, I have heard
the phrase “TikTok made me buy it” or “I heard about it on TikTok” more
than any other response. I personally have ordered at least a dozen
different products just due to the fact that I watched a TikTok video where
someone either was using a product and I liked the result or they were
raving about how great a product they tried out was for them and I
immediately would purchase one for myself.
The advertising doesn’t stop there. The platform actually has a feature
called “TikTok For Business.” Businesses can pay the platform to broadcast
a sponsored advertisement for let’s say, a day, and every time a user opens
the app the first thing they see is a professionally produced short video and
if they click on a certain button, it takes them to the business’s website or
full video, whatever they’re trying to advertise. The last one I saw was a
couple weeks ago and it was sponsored by the NFL due to the new contract
signed between the social media platform and the National Football League
basically saying the league is back even through Covid-19. This brand deal
will increase viewership for both platforms while also spicing up the
entertainment produced by the NFL in featuring TikTok related
advertisements.
Advertisers have seen immense success through the TikTok platform
but I believe that there is some untapped potential specifically in relation to
politics on the app. Gen Z makes up a large portion of the voting population
and I think it would be helpful from both an educational as well as
promotional standpoint if politicians expanded their campaign to TikTok as
well. They can take several approaches ranging from videos that educate
the public on their standpoints to videos encouraging people to exercise
their rights, all of which would positively affect their campaign. I think my
generation especially lacks education when it comes to politics. This has a
lot to do with how controversial the political topic is in today’s day and age
so people often choose the route of disassociation because they would
rather ignore and be uninvolved and that causes a lack of knowledge. It is
because of this that I feel like politicians could use TikTok to their
advantage as an opportunity to get those who don’t want to be involved or
educated on the subject to become intrigued and in doing so more
motivated to get out there and vote.
Recently, there has been a fair amount of controversy surrounding the
platform dealing with security and privacy issues as well as concern with
the obsession that can be obtained especially with adolescents within the
platform. There is concern that creators and coders of the app are taking
personal information from user’s accounts and the U.S. government has
discussed banning the platform several times. Parents are also concerned
with the amount of time their kids are spending fueling their TikTok
addictions and watching possibly inappropriate content. The government is
now working with creators and executives of the platform to find solutions
and ensure that the app is a safe environment for all users so that the
banning of the immensely loved platform doesn’t have to occur. Every
platform has its own faults and issues, but I believe this one has the
possibility to create good and I know that it already has just due to the way
creators express how it has helped them personally.