1.

Staying on top of trends

Where the energy goes, currency flows. Generation Z users are masters of hashtags, challenges,
and trendsetters. If you can follow the trends, you can be one step ahead in your marketing game.

2. Engaging with your audience

Because of its social and community facet, the app provides simple ways to interact with your
followers. Whether it`s a new challenge, a duet feature, or the basic comment reply with a video
response, it`s safe to say that engaging with your audience is easy yet entertaining.

3. Growing brand awareness

A great platform to show off your brand’s personality. You can showcase your brand in creative
ways while exploring the app. Working with influencers can help your market positioning with
the younger public.

4. Advertising your products/services

The platform offers TikTok for Business that helps bring your brand affinity to the next level.
Consider creating a Brand Takeover via the Business feature and have your audience meet you
on their splash screen.

5. Get insights on your followers and how your content is performing If you have a
Pro account, you can use the app`s analytics feature. This can help you reach more people and
exponentially grow your account.

1. TikTok's Unique Algorithm Brings Forth the Relevant Videos

For example, if you watch an informative video related to health, you will find similar videos
appearing on your feed. The similarity will not be at the category level only—the content of the
videos will be similar too.

According to a research paper on the TikTok app by Jiang Xiao Yu, "Its content production and
channel distribution relies on big data mining technology and recommended algorithm of
artificial intelligence that push accurate information and provide customized services to the
user."

2. Content By Common Folk for the Common Folk

Another thing that sets TikTok apart from other apps is that common people create most of the
content and watch it. And those amateur content creators become celebrities over time due to
their popularity among the common folk.
This platform is ruling the internet due to this relatable quality. There are many examples where
ordinary people became internet sensations over time just because of the quality of their videos,
not because of their previous fan following.

For example, Khabane Lame is an ordinary person from a common background. Still, he has a
massive number of followers from all over the world on TikTok. It's because he manages to
attract ordinary people to his simple Mr. Bean-like funny content that has a universal appeal to it.

3. TikTok Is User-Friendly

There is no doubt about the fact that TikTok is user-friendly. The interface used by the app is
exceptionally effortless to use. It has an eye-catching theme, but at the same time, it also features
some easy-to-use components like home, feed, search, inbox, and personal profile.

TikTok doesn't contain too many features or components that might not be required or make the
app challenging to use. It keeps things simple so that even a kid can navigate through the app.

4. You Can Follow the Latest Trends on TikTok

TikTok community is a trendsetter. When a TikTok video goes viral, video creators all over the
internet follow that concept. TikTokers also use this platform to create unique challenges, like
dance challenges, which often become worldwide trends.

As far as fashion is concerned, people take inspiration from their favorite TikTokers and start
dressing up and behaving like them. So, TikTok influences people in every walk of life, and it
plays a significant role in setting the latest trends for this generation.

5. You Feel Like Being Part of a Community

While using TikTok, you'll feel like a part of a community whether you are following TikTokers
or have followers of your own. It's because the platform promotes interactions among people,
helping create a bond—a community.

This bond is further strengthened when TikTok influencers create physical events where people
gather and interact. In this way, TikTok helps create one big happy family that you can become a
part of and enjoy.

In 2020, many celebrities joined this community because they felt the need to interact with their
fans in times of COVID. These celebrities include Reese Witherspoon, Snoop Dogg, Dua Lipa,
and Kendall Jenner, among many others.

6. TikTok Offers a Lot of Tools for Creativity

TikTok is an all-in-one platform where you will find videos related to anything and everything.
The app provides you with many ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
If you are a fan of dance, you will find a vast collection of dance videos on the platform. If you
are an art or nature lover, you'll find the most aesthetic videos on this video-sharing network.

Whether you are a pet lover or someone who enjoys listening to cover songs, you will find tons
of content related to your interest on TikTok. The videos demonstrating life hacks are also
gaining much popularity on the platform, and many of these hacks actually work, making them
useful for the audience.

7. TikTok Is One of the Best Sources for Memes and Funny Content

Everybody loves good humor and some comedy every once in a while. And that's a specialty of
TikTok as it has some of the best funny videos and memes.

People with creative minds create unique content on TikTok that is sure to make you laugh.
Many people tend to use TikTok after a long, tiring, and busy day to rejuvenate and refresh their
minds and to get their daily dose of humor.

According to The New York Times, "Memers are taking over TikTok." This platform is
currently one of the best sources for memes and funny content on the internet.

8. TikTok Has Content for All Age Groups

As discussed above, the content on TikTok has a universal appeal to it. Besides, the platform
boasts so much relatable content that caters to almost all age groups.

There are children making videos on TikTok for their age fellows. At the same time, adults can
also find thousands of hours of content related to their interests.

RELATED: 3 Easy TikTok Transitions: A Beginner's Guide

According to Wallaroomedia, "TikTok has about 80 million monthly active users in the United
States. 60% are female, 40% are male. 60% of the users are between the ages of 16-24. 26% are
between the ages 25-44. 80% are between the ages 16-34."

9. You Can Learn About New Places and Cultures

TikTok has tons of content to learn about new places and cultures. This is because people from
all over the world have joined TikTok, and you can get to know them and their culture, including
their language, lifestyle, food, and more.

You can also discover new places as nature lovers and vloggers post videos taking you to
different spots around the globe. You can enjoy learning about those places and even plan a visit.
10. TikTok Is a Platform to Showcase Talent and Reach the Masses

As discussed above, TikTok provides an excellent platform for showcasing your talent. If you
have a unique talent and want the world to see it, you can easily create an account on TikTok and
start posting your videos.

TikTok provides you with the tools you need to create solid content that highlights your talents.
It also presents you with an opportunity to reach a worldwide mass audience. So, the sky is the
limit here.

RELATED: 5 TikTok Effects That Will Take Your Videos to the Next Level

Let's give you an idea of its reach. CNBC reported that according to its parent company,
Bytedance, "It has 1 billion active global users, indicating steady growth of the short-form video
app."

TikTok Is Great, Contrary to Popular Belief

TikTok is truly a unique platform that you can use for many positive activities. It has gained
notoriety because some TikTokers have misused it at times.

However, instead of berating the service altogether, it is best to focus on its positive aspects. And
with this positivity, you can unlock its true power and spread some good in your own way.
Key Takeaways

 TikTok allows users to watch, create, and share short videos online.
 The app was launched in 2016 by the Chinese technology company ByteDance.
 Now available in more than 150 different markets, TikTok has offices in Beijing, Los
Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
 The app saw about 1 billion global daily users by early 2022.
 Despite political pressure to operate in certain places such as the U.S., it continues to gain
in popularity.

Understanding TikTok

TikTok is a social media app dedicated to short-form videos created for and consumed by users.
The length of videos is between 15-60 seconds.

The format lends itself to entertainment and comedy. However, it is increasingly used for
infotainment. So-called influencers who gain a steady audience on TikTok offer snippets of
advice and tips along with self-promotion. Beauty, fashion, personal finance, and cooking are all
popular topics for informational videos. Increasingly, the format is used to promote and sell
products.

Launched in its present form in 2018, TikTok joined the ranks of social media giants in record
time.1 It had about one billion active monthly users worldwide by Sept. 2021.2 The 2022
marketing report predicted TikTok will break three billion downloads worldwide as well as users
spending $3 billion across iOS and Google Play by the end of the year.3

Like all social media companies, TikTok has been the target of persistent if vague concerns
about the potential use or misuse of the private information it gathers about its users. The
difference is that the majority of TikTok is Chinese-owned.4

TikTok LIVE allows users and creators to interact in real-time. Users age 16 years and over can
launch LIVEs and those 18 years and over may send and receive gifts during a LIVE.5

TikTok's Launch

The name TikTok is meant to suggest the short format of the videos. Launched in September
2016 by the Chinese startup company ByteDance, it's known there as Douyin. Its stratospheric
growth in usage really began in late 2017, when it acquired a rival app, Musical.ly, and ported
over its 200 million account list to TikTok.1
ByteDance was reportedly worth up to $140 billion by mid-2020, based on the private sale of a
small stake in the company. TikTok alone was said to be worth about $50 billion.6 That would
make it the most valuable startup in the world.

TikTok's Business

Marketing on TikTok is still maturing, but a growing number of agencies are eager to help
brands create the kind of quirky content that gets clicks on TikTok. Conventional advertising that
stresses a product's superior qualities doesn't work. Light, fun campaigns set to music hit the
spot. The ultimate goal is to goal viral on the site and spur imitations by TikTok users.

Some of the successful marketing campaigns on TikTok:

 The Chipotle restaurant chain ran a Halloween "Boorito" coupon giveaway campaign
encouraging TikTok users to dress up for the holiday and post their images. The campaign
scored four billion views.7
 e.l.f. Cosmetics teamed up with a few social media influencers to create an online reality show
and contest called #eyeslipsface. The ad campaign has 9.4 billion clicks, as of July 2022.8
 The NBA signed up for an account and scored more than 15.8 million, as of July 2022.9 Its aim is
to enhance global awareness of the NBA, particularly among young people.

TikTok has offices in Beijing, Berlin, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, Seoul,
Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.10

Other TikTok Revenue Sources

Like many other social media sites, TikTok also makes money from in-app purchases. Users can
buy coins priced from 99 cents to $99.99 and use them to tip their favorite creators on the
platform.

The company grossed $80 million from in-app purchases globally, according to a 2019
industry.11 In Q1 2019, user spending reached an estimated $189 million globally—222% more
than the app grossed during the same period last year. That amount ballooned to more than $2.3
billion in 2021, helped in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased social media usage
amid lockdowns and other restrictions.12 As of June 2022, TikTok has earned an estimated $5.5
billion in total lifetime revenue.13

TikTok only started running display advertising in 2019.14 Instead, brands open user accounts
on TikTok and, just like any of its users, create and post mini-videos. They can pay to promote
their videos to other users. The ultimate goal is to go viral and spur takeoffs, drawing in a huge
audience for your brand's message.

Since January 2014, more than 900 apps have launched worldwide hoping to capitalize on
TikTok's popularity.15
TikTok's User Base

TikTok is one of the world's most popular social media apps and is available in more than 150
markets and over 35 languages.16 The app has seen more than 3.5 billion downloads worldwide,
making it one of the most popular apps ever.17

Here's a breakdown of some of the app's most notable demographics:

 43% of users are between the ages of 18 and 24.

 56% are female.
 About 136 million active users are from the U.S.18
 Its users spend an average of 46 minutes per day on it.19

TikTok and Politics

Like most social media sites, TikTok is not immune to controversy. TikTok and many other
Chinese-made apps were banned in India in mid-2020 as a danger to the nation's sovereignty.
The move came amid growing tensions between the two nations.20

TikTok is banned in Bangladesh.21 It was also briefly banned in Indonesia for "pornography,
inappropriate content, and blasphemy." The ban was overturned a week later after the company
promised to take all objectionable content off the platform and set up a local office to monitor
and sanitize content.22

In February 2019, the company paid $5.7 million in the U.S. to settle allegations that it illegally
collected personal information from children. It is the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a children’s privacy case.23

TikTok and the Trump Administration

Starting in July 2020, then-President Donald J. Trump launched a public attack on TikTok,
threatening to ban it from the U.S. on the grounds that the Chinese Communist Party could use
data gathered on its users to spy on U.S. citizens. He demanded that TikTok be sold to U.S.
interests to eliminate the threat.4

Concerns about social media companies' use and misuse of private information is a bipartisan
issue in Washington, so the concern gained some traction. However, by September 2020, Trump
had declared that he had solved the problem. TikTok's U.S. operations would be severed from its
Chinese owner, ByteDance, and incorporated as a U.S. company.24

The proposed deal would have created a new spinoff company, TikTok Global. Oracle would
own a 12.5% stake in the company and become its cloud provider in the U.S.25 This may have
been intended to alleviate concerns that China was using TikTok to gather data on Americans,
but apparently, the real change is minimal. TikTok data on U.S. users was always held in the
U.S., so it's just moving from one cloud to another.26
Meanwhile, Walmart tentatively agreed to buy a 7.5% stake in TikTok Global. It plans live-
streamed shopping events hosted on TikTok.27 The remaining 80% would remain owned by
ByteDance.26

The tentative deal has been stalled by numerous court challenges, and the future of the proposed
deal remains uncertain under the Biden Administration. During a White House briefing on Feb.
10, 2021, press secretary Jen Psaki denied that President Biden had set any new policy on the
app.28

“So it’s not accurate to suggest that there is a new proactive step by the Biden White House,”
Psaki said. “I will note, broadly speaking, we are comprehensively evaluating...the risks to US
data,...including from TikTok, and we will address them in a decisive and effective fashion.”
Psaki declined to set a timetable for when such a review would conclude.28

What Company Owns TikTok?

The majority owner of TikTok is ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. In late 2020,
following pressure from the Trump Administration, ByteDance agreed to create a new company,
TikTok Global. In this proposal, ByteDance would continue to own 80% of TikTok Global, with
Oracle and Walmart as its minority owners and U.S. partners.26 According to the Wall Street
Journal, the deal is on hold pending review from the Biden Administration, as of Feb. 2021.29

How Do I Invest in TikTok Stock?

TikTok is not publicly owned (privately owned 100% by ByteDance) and the prior deal to create
TikTok Global remains on hold. This includes any plans for issuing an IPO.

Is TikTok a Publicly-Traded Company?

TikTok is not publicly owned as of May 2021. Stay tuned for the announcement of an IPO for
TikTok Global.

Is TikTok Banned?

As of 2022, TikTok is banned in India and Pakistan.3020 It was briefly banned but restored in
other countries including Indonesia and Bangladesh.2221

It was threatened with a ban in the U.S. by then-President Donald Trump in 2020, but he backed
off after an agreement with owner ByteDance to spin off TikTok as a separate entity, TikTok
Global, with minority ownership held by U.S. companies Oracle and Walmart.31

When Did TikTok Come Out?

TikTok was first released in September 2016.1

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Microlearning — instruction delivered in short, bite-sized chunks — has become increasingly
popular in the corporate world for in-service training. Although the term was coined back in
1963 by Hector Correa in his book “The Economics of Human Resources,” microlearning didn’t
really catch on in education until the 1990s, when the internet brought education online. The
popularity of cell phones and tablets caused another growth spurt, as did the COVID-19
pandemic and the resulting shift to emergency remote teaching.

While there’s no hard definition of what exactly constitutes “micro,” it’s generally understood to
be less than an hour and can be as short as a few minutes or even less than a minute.
Microlearning is also generally accessed by learners at their own pace, on their own schedules —
a flexibility that pairs well with social media.

Proponents of microlearning point to advantages such as speed (both to deliver and to absorb
information), affordability and flexibility. Several studies, such as Luminita
Guirgiu’s “Microlearning: An Evolving Trend” in 2017, have also shown that microlearning can
aid in the retention of information.

Microlearning is also generally accessed by learners at their own pace, on their own schedules –
a flexibility that pairs well with social media.

Microlearning is also on the rise because of the ways in which young adults learn and
communicate. Blake Beus, Director of Learning Solutions at Allen Communication Learning
Services, describes some of the distinguishing characteristics of what he calls the iGen — those
currently in middle school and high school. They share some characteristics with millennials,
especially their degree of self-motivation and self-awareness, but they tend to be more educated,
more diverse, and more pragmatic. Not surprisingly, then, they’re dedicated not only to learning
but to experimenting to find the most effective modes of learning.

Another consideration is iGen’s degree of connectivity to the cloud. Their near-constant access
to mobile devices makes e-learning natural and accessible. “This connection, coupled with a
shorter attention span and increased ability to multitask means that companies will need to shift
from traditional programs, like seminars, lectures or full-day trainings, to compact initiatives,
like shortened bursts of learning,” notes Beus.

Commonly cited disadvantages of microlearning read more as caveats — a danger of

fragmentation, the need for intense (if brief) focus, and the lack of suitability for absorbing
complex information from a single event. However, instructors who deliver in-person and online
classes can offer microlearning chunks as reinforcement for material studied more in-depth in
class.
While there’s no evidence to suggest that microlearning is the best way to learn a complex topic
such as a foreign language, there’s plenty of interest in using its advantages to supplement more
traditional study methods. Especially in the pandemic and post-pandemic worlds of online
education, it has become one more way for learners to access education.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at two popular social media platforms used in
microlearning, Instagram and TikTok.
TikTok

TikTok is one of the newer kids on the social media block, launched in China in the fall of 2016
and globally the following year. By July of 2020, TikTok had 689 million active users outside
China, where it operates under the name Douyin. That’s enough to make it the seventh most
popular social media network, ahead of older platforms such as Twitter and Snapchat. TikTok’s
users are known to skew young — in the United States, most users are below 30 — but its
platform has attracted both teachers and learners.

During the pandemic, TikTok launched a $50 million Creative Learning Fund, part of a larger
$250 million initiative to support communities, that specifically “supports creators with the
production of learning content, provides resources for learners, and introduces emerging teachers
to the TikTok platform.”

It is not without controversy, however. K-12 schools are leery of the potential for online bullying
and they worry that the anonymity of posters, who don’t form networks in the same way that,
say, Facebook users do, can lead to people feeling less accountable for their behavior. As an
example, the platform allows for dual videos, and there have been cases of a user adding a video
next to someone else’s that mocks or attacks them. For their part, TikTok has responded by
adding anti-bullying resources to their website and encourages users to report any harassment.

During the pandemic, TikTok launched a $50 million Creative Learning Fund, part of a larger
$250 million initiative to support communities, that specifically “supports creators with the
production of learning content, provides resources for learners, and introduces emerging teachers
to the TikTok platform.” Engaging such well-known figures as Bill Nye, Tyra Banks, and Neil
deGrasse Tyson, the company noted, “The joy of learning on TikTok is that the content offers
instructional tips and takeaways in a creative format, teaching something useful, and inspiring
users to seek out more information in a way that is fun and engaging. Our community has been
drawn to videos that highlight unique science experiments, useful life hacks, creative math tricks,
easy DIY projects, and motivational messages and advice.”

Not surprisingly, teachers and learners of English are on TikTok too.

Short bursts of culture and language

“How To British” on TikTok focuses on teaching culture and vocabulary

In May 2020, Darcy Littler and Anita Chen launched the popular “How To British” social media
platform (@how_to_british) for the media company Nouvelles d’Europe, which already boasts
more than 121,000 followers on Instagram — and 625,000 followers on TikTok. Content
creators rather than teachers, their experience on social media started shaping their output and
even their careers. “We initially started out as entertainers, but with the huge number of
messages relating to language learning, we have now found ourselves being pulled into the
English language learning field. Hence, we are collaborating and working more and more with
professional English teachers, who are able to provide services to those who would like to follow
a more structured and in-depth learning experience,” explains Littler. Currently, they are
collaborating with International House Manchester on an online teaching project.

So, what can you teach in 15 seconds? Quite a lot, as it turns out. “How To British” focuses on
culture and vocabulary. “Our content usually consists of introducing British slang words,
comparing British and American English, and teaching homonyms in a comical way.” The use of
humor is key to engaging learners, especially younger ones. Yet the content is carefully planned.
“Our students/followers subscribe to our platforms because there is consistency. The video
format allows the reenactment of dialogues that have been very useful to learners. As these
videos are short, they can be watched over and over again. Our students are usually intermediate
to advanced levels, and we try to make the language as little ‘textbook’ as possible.”

“How To British” saw a jump in users from the start of the pandemic, mirroring TikTok’s own
analysis of its use during this time; some of their videos have enjoyed millions of views.

What Lies Ahead?

While it can be difficult to forecast what will be the most popular channels ten or even five years
from now, what is certain is that social media will continue to play an important part in
education, whether as a means for teachers to add variety and interest to their in-classroom
lessons or online courses, or even to serve as the classroom itself.

Have a 30-minute bus ride? Ten minutes in the dentist’s waiting room? Five minutes before
dinner? That can now be study time — especially when study is blended with entertainment.

On the part of learners, social media provides a way to interact with not only their own teachers
but instructors and content providers anywhere in the world. The minimal time commitment of
short videos also allows for more chances to study. Have a 30-minute bus ride? Ten minutes in
the dentist’s waiting room? Five minutes before dinner? That can now be study time —
especially when study is blended with entertainment.

Not quite sold on 15-second TikTok videos and Instagram posts for teaching English? Next
month we’ll look at social platforms such as YouTube that are hosting whole courses and lessons
of more traditional lengths.

Additional reporting for this article was done by Catarina Chase Aleixo. 
If you’re new to teaching, you’ll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL
certificate. You can explore our online TEFL courses to get started!