If you’ve heard of TikTok, chances are you’ve got a teenager somewhere in your life. The app, launched by Chinese company ByteDance in 2016, has been described as a mashup of Vine, Twitter, and Instagram, allowing its 500 million monthly users to create short-form, music-focused videos and edit them with lenses, filters, and AR features.
Originally known as Musical.ly, TikTok stepped neatly into the void left by Vine after its untimely departure in 2017 and has been steadily gaining the attention of young users and business owners alike ever since with its short, highly engaging content. Over 40% of the app’s users are between the ages of 10 and 19, making it a prime target for any brands seeking the elusive attention of Gen Z.