If you're hearing a lot about TikTok, you're not alone. The app launched in 2017 and has since grown to more than 500 million users with over one billion downloads. This large user base and the apps growing popularity have resulted in some other statistics that marketers should keep in mind when creating the perfect TikTok marketing strategies. These data points create a compelling story for marketers looking to build a presence on the app.

1. The Demographic Breakdown and Scale of TikTok’s active monthly users

The 500 million active monthly users that TikTok has worldwide have made it the 9th most frequented social media platform putting it ahead of Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest. 150 million of these users are from China; TikTok has also been warmly welcomed in many Asian countries like Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

To gain a better perspective on why TikTok’s user base a phenomenon, please note that six years passed before Instagram had 500 million active monthly users. It took Facebook four years to reach the same number of monthly users, whereas TikTok reached it in two years.

2.  You Can Enjoy TikTok in 39 Languages

With global reach, TikTok is available in 39 different languages. TikTok’s rapidly increasing user base can be of help to marketers who are looking to launch a marketing campaign aimed at increasing global reach. It’s availability in many countries also increases the chances of finding markets in places you didn’t expect.

3. TikTok is Popular in Three Core Areas – but that is Changing

Last year, TikTok wast downloaded more than 277 million times in India, this means that about half of the app’s total downloads that year came from India. In total, TikTok was downloaded 614 million times in India, which means that India’s accountable for almost a third of this app’s total downloads – even though TikTok was temporarily banned in India.

China has the second-highest number of downloads for TikTok at 173.2 million installations – this is around 11% of TikTok’s total downloads. The U.S. ranks third with 123.8 million downloads, making it accountable for 8.2% of this app’s downloads. These numbers are likely to fluctuate as the app gains popularity with U.S. brands and consumers.

4. Fifteen Second Videos, but Nearly an Hour Per Day

According to a 2019 report, the average amount of time that people spend on TikTok is 52 minutes each day. This means that people are using this video-sharing social media app to make, share and watch 15-second videos for about an hour every day.

TikTok’s daily usage is very similar to Instagram’s as users spend 53 minutes a day on average sharing and viewing pictures/videos on the Facebook-owned app. People spend more time on TikTok than on Snapchat, though, as its average daily usage is 49.5 minutes.

5. TikTok is Used Daily

About 75% of all apps downloaded in history get used once; TikTok, however, is part of the 25% of apps that get used frequently. 9 people out of 10 who’ve downloaded the TikTok app use it every day; these people are very active on this platform too.

Studies show that 68% of TikTok users like watching other people’s videos, while 55% of active TikTok users posted their videos on the platform.

6. The Audience Skews Younger

While older generations worldwide may not know anything about TikTok, many teenagers and young adults are using it. According to a 2019 report, 41% of TikTok’s user-base consists of people who are between the ages of 16 to 24.

The reason why young people are attracted to TikTok is that the app is designed with people of this age-group in mind. TikTok’s developers specifically chose to study the preferences and habits of people under 18.

7. More American Adults are Starting to use TikTok

At the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2017, adult TikTok users reached 2.6 million. After 12 months, that number increased to 7.2 million users. As of March of 2019, the number of adult TikTok users almost doubled to 14.3 million in six months.

This exponential growth in the number of US adults who use TikTok after September 2018 is largely credited to the app’s recognition on cable TV. The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon encouraged viewers to participate in challenges hosted on the app.

TikTok in 2020

While TikTok is showing some incredible growth and compelling statistics around their daily active users and downloads, brands are still learning how to interact with the app. Whether it's with TikTok influencer marketing or TikTok ads, there are a lot of opportunities to make a splash on the channel. As the platform grows, smart brands will start to keep a pulse on their hashtags, and especially user-generated content from users already sharing content about the brand on TikTok.

‍Michael Gorman is a highly skilled freelance academic writer and proofreader from the UK who currently works at UK dissertation. He covers a wide range of subjects, including business management, science, and technology.