Secret reasons why TikTok users are growing is so fast

TikTok is different from other social media platforms. It has grown immensely in the last few years, and this article will explain why that is.

A guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

If you’ve paid any attention at all during the last 10 years or so you know that when a social network catches on, it grows fast. That’s been the case for everything from MySpace to Facebook, but none of those are anything like TikTok. Right now the platform has a bit over 1 billion active users, but a new study predicts that TikTok user growth will skyrocket to 1.5 billion in 2022 alone.

What’s especially interesting about this is this massive user base comes without a single user from India, where the platform is banned. When it was still active in the country, TikTok had 200,000 users and most analysts think that it would have risen to around 500k by now, already putting it at the 1.5 billion point.

The Tech Reasons For Growth

There are a number of reasons why TikTok has grown so quickly. The short attention-span fun videos that users can digest in huge numbers is primary. The fact that a whole generation of users view TikTok as their own is another.

But under the hood TikTok user growth comes from a number of clever tech implementations. Probably the biggest is its AI-driven algorithm matching, which is far better than anything available on any other platform. This means that users will see a continuous stream of content that is finely tuned to their specific interests.

Another often overlooked tech element is TikTok’s user interface. Since it’s full screen, every action you take is only a response for that clip. It’s design means that you can swipe through clips at a rapid rate, which is the usual way users consume the content on the platform.

Yet another reason is monetization. The capacity for its top stars to make about the same money as on other apps is attractive, and the platform continues to expand those options with its move into e-commerce and branding tools.

Put this all together and you find the reasons why TikTok user growth has exploded and will continue to explode in at least the near future. While other platforms have seen their growth slow or plateau, TikTok keeps on rolling merrily along.

Bobby Owsinski is a producer/engineer, author, and coach. He has authored 24 books on recording, music, the music business, and social media.