TikTok Forecast To Continue Its Phenomenal Growth

TikTok is forecast to continue it’s phenomenal growth by smashing one billion monthly active users by 2021.

Mobile data and analytics company App Annie has predicted that TikTok will join an elite club of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, YouTube and WeChat – who all have one billion average monthly active users (MAU).

However, TikTok won’t just reach that milestone, it’ll storm past it and end up on an incredible 1.2 billion MAU – says App Annie’s forecast.

Success Amid The Challenges

TikTok’s achievement is incredible when you consider that short form video app isn’t even allowed to operate one of the world’s largest markets, India.

There are clouds of pessimism moving over the bright rays of the app’s success, however, as America is yet to decide whether it’ll ban TikTok or not. Donald Trump certainly wanted to, but he’s no longer in power.

Joe Biden holds the keys to the White House, but he hasn’t indicated if he’ll take a softer approach to the platform or not. In September he called TikTok ‘a matter of genuine concern’, reported Reuters, and TikTok could still be in for a tense few months as Biden gets his feet under the table.

Despite the Indian ban and American threats, TikTok is doing incredibly well, with COVID boredom and lockdown proving a boon for the app.

Mobile Is More Important Than Ever

App Annie’s data also shows people are spending more and more time on their phones, than ever before. As the home continues to be the most important place in our social and working lives, we’re seeing this trend accelerate. That means apps like TikTok and digitally focused marketers are in a prime place to capitalise.

Lexi Sydow, App Annie

“In 2021, we expect “at-home” activities to dominate the landscape — with mobile taking over a greater share of our lives in facilitating these activities. Time spent in key “at-home” categories is expected to top 1.3 trillion hours on Android phones alone in 2021.”

M-commerce is going to become more important than ever before, and TikTok is a place where brands and marketers can really take advantage of that. TikTok is the #2 non-gaming app by consumer spend, and this is what sets TikTok apart from the other social media networks – who can only dream of generating revenue in this manner.

One of the interesting things about their platform is their ability to earn money via ads, yes, but also through in-app transactions such as tipping creators. This creates a lovely feedback loop as creators respond to fans who tip, fostering a sense of community and driving the wheel of commerce.

App Annie expects total live stream hours to top one trillion in 2021, on Android alone, and this will leave TikTok in rude health.

The surge in app-based activity will continue, and brands and marketers will need to keep that in mind moving into the next year. TikTok can be a key part of the strategy, especially with the integration with Shopify.

Explosive Ad Revenue Growth

As we mentioned before, adverts are an important way for TikTok to raise revenue. The following forecast will plaster smiles over the faces of social media execs all over the world: mobile ad spending will hit $290 billion in 2021. This is an increase of $100 billion from 2019.

Lexi Sydow, App Annie

“A large portion of this growth is expected to come from strong m-commerce growth and the further shift from offline advertising to digital — another mobile trend accelerated by 2020 — while OTT platforms have the potential to create headwinds from eating into mobile’s share of growth.”

Average daily time per user spent in now at four hours and 20 minutes, said App Annie, which is a 20% increase from 2019. This means users are looking at their phones for 25% of the time that they’re awake – that’s a massive window for you to get your product in front of their eyes! Average time spent on apps is up 25% as well.

More eyeballs on mobile means there’ll be more money spent on mobile ads, which is what is driving this forecast increase.