TikTok statistics show this key social platform is changing.
The audience is growing and aging; people increasingly use this social channel for news and shopping – not just entertainment.
We’ll give you all the essential data below.
We’ll also use our experience as a customer acquisition agency to show you how to leverage that data to reach your marketing goals.
Let’s dive in.
1. TikTok Stats: A Demographic Overview
TikTok, a global phenomenon in social media, boasts a presence in over 160 countries worldwide.
This social media app has captivated more than 1.1 billion individuals globally, with the United States accounting for a staggering 150 million active users, according to Backlinko.
Download Milestones and International Reach
- Monthly Active Users: TikTok’s user base is immense, exceeding 1 billion monthly active users. To put this into perspective, Facebook leads with 2.9 billion Internet users, followed by YouTube’s 2.2 billion, Instagram’s 1.4 billion, Snapchat’s 750 million, Pinterest’s 480 million, and Twitter’s 300 million. The Chinese version of TikTok currently has 600 million active users per day, and 780 million active users total.
- Global Downloads: TikTok has been downloaded 769.9 million times in the first three quarters of 2023. However, the app peaked in the first quarter of 2020 with 315 million downloads, setting a record for the highest downloads in a quarter for any app.
- Active Users: The U.S. market shows robust engagement with over 150 million active users. There are currently 53.4% female users and 46.6% male users on this short-form video platform.
- Video Length Expansion: TikTok has recently extended its maximum video length to 10 minutes, significantly increasing from its original 1-minute limit and a more recent 3-minute format. This change offers users more flexibility and creative space.
- User Engagement Time: TikTok leads in average user screen time, with an average of 26 hours spent per month on the app, surpassing its competitors. American adults spend 55.8 minutes per day on TikTok leading to an average time of 43 billion total minutes per day across the entire United States. Conversely, children below 18 spend an average of 2 hours per day on TikTok. To boost TikTok view engagement, consider creating interactive and engaging content that encourages users to like, comment, and share your videos, thus increasing overall engagement metrics.
- Daily Usage: Approximately 29% of individuals with TikTok on their phones use it daily, ranking just behind Instagram, which has a 39% daily usage rate. TikTok users open the app 19 times per day.
User Statistics
- Adult User Base: The platform has experienced rapid growth among U.S. adults, with a jump from 6 million in the previous year to 39.2 million in April. TikTok is also becoming increasingly popular in Asian countries.
- Age Distribution: The platform is predominantly popular among younger audiences, with 20.2% of users aged between 11-17 years, followed by the 18-24 age group at 23.9%, 25-34 years at 25.2%, 35-44 years at 17.1%, and those aged 45 and above at 13.7%. This current trend shows that TikTok’s biggest user base of Gen Z-ers is aging.
- Teenage Popularity: TikTok is a favorite among teens, with 67% using the platform. However, YouTube surpasses TikTok in popularity for this age group.
- Mobile Internet Users: 37.63% of mobile internet users in the United States use the TikTok app at least once per month.
What That Means For Your Company
We’re a customer acquisition agency. Paid advertising, social media, and TikTok influencer marketing are some of our top tools.
And TikTok has been one of our main social media platforms for years.
However, we’re seeing dramatic changes that could inform business owners to change their marketing strategies.
More TikTok users means more TikTok content creators, which means more content.
That means a lower average engagement rate per piece of content – because it’s virtually impossible to follow everyone.
And that’s true even if the number of people and their average sessions grows.
Neil Patel is one vocal expert who agrees with this assertion. In his own words:
Here’s what you can do to stand apart in this competitive market:
- Embrace age diversity: With TikTok’s user base aging up, tailor your content to a broader age range. Instead of focusing solely on younger advertising audiences, create inclusive campaigns that resonate across various age groups.
- Leverage data-driven insights: Use TikTok’s detailed user analytics to craft targeted campaigns. Understanding nuances in user behavior and preferences can significantly enhance campaign effectiveness. Plus, leverage reliable Airtable alternatives to organize campaign data and streamline workflows, ensuring that your marketing strategies are driven by up-to-date insights.
- Focus on authenticity: Given TikTok’s culture, prioritize authenticity in your content. Collaborate with influencers who align with your brand values and can genuinely connect with their audience. Encourage creative freedom in your campaigns to capture the platform’s dynamic and engaging environment. Remember to stay authentic whether you leverage dance trends or popular hashtag challenges.
- Work with an influencer agency: Advertising agencies like ours work with highly skilled influencers who know how to create engaging content. Using TikTok creators is cheaper than advertising but can help you fight ad fatigue and considerably decrease CPAs.*
*Side note: Our case study for Genomelink proves this. We powered their ads strategy with highly engaged creators, thus decreasing their customer acquisition costs three times in only three months.
2. TikTok Stats: Usage Trends
TikTok’s evolution as a rapidly growing and highly influential player in the social media landscape is further highlighted by its user engagement statistics.
The platform’s appeal spans various age groups, countries, and purposes, emphasizing its significant role in today’s digital business world.
- Current Trends for Gen Z Search: Internal Google data shows that over 40% of Gen Z TikTok users prefer this channel for search purposes, moving away from traditional search engines like Google.
- Popular Content Categories: The most popular content category on TikTok is entertainment.
- News Consumption: According to Pew Research, a third of TikTok users, or 33%, report regularly receiving their news from the app, highlighting its growing role as a news source.
- Live Shopping Feature: TikTok is currently experimenting with live shopping capabilities, testing this feature in real-world scenarios to enhance the shopping experience on the platform.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Importance: The significance of SEO on TikTok cannot be overstated, with the platform experiencing tens of millions of searches daily. This underscores the necessity for brands and content creators to focus on optimizing their TikTok content immediately.
- E-Commerce potential: According to Root Digital, TikTok’s e-commerce features are booming, with 55% of TikTok users buying products advertised on TikTok. 50% of TikTok users bought products seen on TikTok Lives. Statista explains that TikTok has 33 million social buyers in the US, representing a share of 37% of users buying on TikTok. Health and Beauty Care is the most purchased category.
What That Means For Your Company
Observing the evolving usage patterns on TikTok, it’s clear to us that the platform is transitioning from merely an entertainment app to a multifaceted tool encompassing search engine capabilities and product discovery.
Users are increasingly turning to TikTok not just for entertainment but for news and information.
This shift marks a change in how people consume content, relying on quick, visually engaging formats for their daily information.
With a significant portion of Gen Z using TikTok for search purposes, the platform is challenging traditional search engines.
Users benefit from a more interactive and visually rich search experience.
Besides, integrating e-commerce, especially live shopping, transforms user experience by offering a seamless transition from discovery to purchase, all within the app.
Here’s how to harness those changes:
- Content strategy shift: Brands need to adapt their content strategies to cater to a platform that is not just about entertainment but also information dissemination and search. Content should be informative, SEO-optimized, and engaging.
- SEO Optimization: The emergence of TikTok as a search engine necessitates a focus on TikTok SEO. Brands must understand and leverage the unique aspects of TikTok’s search algorithm to maximize visibility.
- E-Commerce opportunities: The TikTok e-commerce statistics highlight the immense potential for sales through the app. You should capitalize on this by integrating their e-commerce strategies with your TikTok presence – and take it from us; leveraging influencers is one of the most lucrative ways to do this.
- Engagement with news consumers: With a third of users consuming news on TikTok, you can engage with social media users in a more informative and educational manner, perhaps aligning marketing efforts with current events or trending topics. Remember to create entertaining content to align with the platform’s short-form videos.
- Live Shopping Innovation: As TikTok beta tests live shopping, you can be an early adopter of this feature, leveraging real-time engagement to drive sales and strengthen customer relationships.
- New Features for Talent and e-Commerce: TikTok has introduced a Talent Manager Portal for negotiating brand deals and is testing an in-app checkout system, which could significantly benefit e-commerce brands.
- Future e-Commerce Goals: TikTok aims for $17 billion in U.S. e-commerce volume for 2024.
Our case study for NielsenIQ proves all this is doable.
We helped them create influencer ads in over 15 languages to fuel their panel acquisition strategy. And it was much more affordable than posting Google Ads but with similar SEO behind it.
The result is that NielsenIQ got high-quality panelists worldwide:
And we drove 5 million impressions for e-commerce brand Soylent:
Get the most out of your paid media with inBeat TikTok Ads Agency
3. TikTok Ad Spend
Considering all of the information above, let’s see what other brands are doing on TikTok.
- Business Engagement: Over 5 million businesses in the U.S. are actively utilizing TikTok. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is worth $268 billion.
- Increased Ad Spend by Top Advertisers: The top 1000 advertisers are significantly boosting their spending on TikTok, where ad impressions are notably more cost-effective: 50% less expensive than Instagram Reels, 33% cheaper than Twitter, and 62% more affordable than Snapchat.
- Ad Pricing Range: Brand takeover ads on TikTok cost from $50, 000 per day. Hashtag dance challenges can cost $350, 000 and branded effect ads $45, 000/month. By comparison, in-feed ads reach $1, 000/day.
- Accessible Campaign Options: Our experience leveraging influencer marketing shows that engaged TikTok micro – influencers request $25-$200 per post. Nano-influencers can request as little as $5-$25. Even mid-tier influencers are accessible enough, with fees starting at $100 per post.
- Ad Capabilities: TikTok ads can direct users to a brand’s website, an app page on the app store, or promote a branded hashtag challenge on the platform. You can also create custom AR lenses, filters, and stickers for users to integrate into their videos.
- Emerging AR Ad Format: TikTok is testing a new augmented reality ad format, which brought Smashbox a 50% engagement rate within 10 days of launching this.
- Self-Serve Ads and Ad Credits: Self-serve ads are now an option on TikTok, with the platform also offering ad credits for new advertisers – a $300 ad credit and a $2, 000 ad credit for those eligible.
- Global Ad Revenue and Growth: TikTok earned $205 million more than Snapchat, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter) on in-app purchases in 2023.
- Platform Value for DTC Brands: Triple Whale claims TikTok is the most valuable advertising and influencer platform for Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands. Brands with an annual revenue of $1 million to $5 million are thriving on this popular platform.
What That Means For Your Company
Analyzing the evolving ad spend highlighted in the TikTok statistics, we can observe several key trends and their implications for users, brands, marketers, and other social media platforms.
The international version of TikTok is quickly becoming one of the largest markets for product discovery across all age brackets.
Implications for Users
- Increased commercial content: Users will likely see more sophisticated and varied advertising on TikTok, ranging from influencer partnerships to interactive AR experiences. This could enhance the user experience by providing more relevant and engaging content. As a result, consumer spending will show an upward trend, which means more business opportunities for companies.
- E-Commerce integration: TikTok’s focus on e-commerce, particularly live shopping and in-app checkout, give a majority of users a more seamless journey from product discovery to purchase, all within the app.
Implications for Brands and Marketers
- Cost-effective advertising: The lower cost of ad impressions on TikTok compared to other platforms like Instagram Reels, Twitter, and Snapchat makes it a highly attractive option for you, offering a better return on investment.
- Diverse advertising options: You have a wide range of advertising options, from brand takeover ads to hashtag challenges. You can also leverage nano- and micro – influencers to reach more specialized and engaged audiences and still get a good ROI. You don’t have to engage massive influencers like Charli D’Amelio, Khabane Lame, or Zach King to succeed on this platform.
- Higher Engagement Rates: With TikTok’s ad spending rapidly increasing and its high user engagement, brands can capitalize on this by creating more interactive and engaging campaigns.
Wrapping Up
The shift in TikTok’s user statistics and ad spending patterns indicates a dynamic and evolving landscape for digital advertising.
For users, this means more integrated and engaging content experiences.
At the same time, other social media platforms will need to innovate and adapt to keep pace with TikTok’s growing influence.
This development presents a lucrative opportunity for brands and marketers to leverage a platform with high engagement, diverse advertising options, and cost-effective strategies.
Remember, TikTok content creators can help you leverage those opportunities, significantly decreasing your customer acquisition costs.
If you want to learn more about this and other high-performing TikTok strategies, let’s schedule a free strategy call to discuss your future.
Want more examples of successful influencer marketing strategies? Check out our case studies.
Love these statistics? Discover more must-know digital data statistics for 2024 here:
UGC (User Generated Content) Statistics
