Will 2020 be TikTok’s year?

 

The short answer is, probably not.

 

If you want to stick around for the long answer, keep reading…

 

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Obsessing over “the next big thing” might not be solely connected to just digital marketing, but certain elements of our industry have a real hang-up about it.

 

With that, there are always scavengers and explorers hoping to strike gold on the horizon before anyone else.

 

Right now, a lot of their eyes are trained firmly on TikTok.

 

TikTok

 

The Chinese-owned mobile app, which lets users share video-based content, has exploded over the last 18 months in terms of user numbers.

 

While users are generally younger (think tween, teen, and early 20s), marketers don’t ignore platforms with 100s of millions of active and engaged users.

 

On top of that, Morning Brew (and others) yesterday announced that TikTok are now experimenting with the adding of links, social shopping, and an overall swing towards more monetisation.

 

That would suggest the brains behind TikTok want to rival the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Google, when it comes to digital ad spend.

 

So, is 2020 set to be TikTok’s year?

 

As hinted in the short answer, probably not.

 

If we look at those previously mentioned social media channels, it takes years for full maturity, especially in terms of the user-base, and also the advertising platform offering and connected ad spend.

 

Facebook launched business pages in 2010 but full marketing/advertising maturity arguably didn’t arrive until 2015-2016.

 

Likewise, Instagram was launched in 2010, and bought over by Facebook in 2012, but didn’t properly explode (users-wise) until 2016 and beyond.

 

Some would argue Twitter never truly fulfilled it’s potential as a marketing and advertising platform (industry dependent).

 

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What do you think?

 

Will the start of the new decade see the rise of a brand new social media powerhouse, and not just another Vine or Snapchat?