Let’s be honest here: we’re addicted to social media.
And I’m sure we’re all aware of the new social media platform that’s on the rise.
Yup. You guessed it. TikTok.
As someone who uses TikTok pretty much every day, it’s not hard to see why the app is so popular among people of all ages. Unlike YouTube, each clip is limited to one minute max, making the app super accessible.
Here’s what I mean. Whether we’re tucked in bed, walking through the halls during passing period, or hanging out with our friends, those short little clips find themselves within the gaps in our lives. Nobody likes to be bored, and watching those captivating clips is the perfect alternative to mindlessly scrolling through our phones.
While my junior year was filled with Instagram and Snapchat breaks in the middle of my homework, I now ditch my homework altogether and lie in bed on TikTok for hours. Having accumulated 100+ hours in the past four months, I’ve watched creators rise from average highschoolers into every teenage girl’s fantasy.
Josh Richards, one of those most famous TikTokkers
Chase Hudson, another famous TikTokker
To be honest, I’ve always been a bit jealous. TikTok not only gives you the satisfaction of worldwide attention, but it also pays you a pretty hefty amount of money for large amounts of views. According to igface.com, the biggest creators on the app are generating anywhere from $500-$20,000 per video, on top of brand partnerships that range up to $150,000.
Short GIF of another popular TikTokker. To me, it seems like he’s not doing a whole lot for millions of views.
For the most part, it seems as if these creators are hardly putting in any effort to earn their money. Nowadays, it seems as if dancing for 15 seconds in front of a camera is more than enough to impress millions.
Alright. I admit it. I totally wish I was in their position, and I know a part of you does as well. After all, who doesn’t like easy money?
With that said, I had to go ahead and strive towards TikTok fame myself. The trending page on TikTok is filled with over thousands and thousands of users, where their videos are shared with the entire community; in other words, the optimal place to get views. I spent every car ride thinking about creative ideas for clips, every weekend perfecting my dancing skills, every spare moment fantasizing about going viral. I posted video after video with high hopes.
Let’s see here… 80 views… 34 views… 70 views… What the heck? Out of 1 billion users, only a mere 0.000008% of them have seen my videos?
Needless to say, I was crushed. What seemed like an already grueling task just became one step closer towards impossible. How am I supposed to go viral when I can’t even get on the trending page?
Obviously, posting as many videos as I humanly could wasn’t going to work—I had to change my approach. Rather than spending my time brainstorming ideas, I scrolled through hundreds of videos a week, analyzing the patterns of the trending page. Maybe there was an algorithm that certain people figured out, allowing them to appear on the trending page time after time.
After visiting hundreds of profiles and thousands of videos, I had an idea. Excited, I called my friends with the plan. We got together, made the video, and posted it. Three days later, we went back and checked on it.
300k views.
All hell broke loose. My friends were laughing hysterically in disbelief while I stared at the phone with my jaw on the floor. I have yet to receive any college admission results back yet, but I can imagine that’s exactly what it felt like.
Call me mean if you will, but I won’t be sharing that brilliant idea in this blog (there’s already enough competition out there). What I’m actually trying to say is quite simple: go out and make your own TikToks.
No, seriously. In the technology-driven world we live in today, new social media platforms are gaining more popularity than ever before. Just like how YouTube gave thousands of people an opportunity to make a living, there’s no doubt in my mind that TikTok will do the same.
Here’s a short clip on social media marketing as it becomes more and more relevant. Perhaps you can apply it to your own social media endeavors?
So take advantage of the vast opportunities that social media offers you. Why be content with snapchatting a couple of your friends when you could be utilizing those apps to their full potential?
TikTok has offered me a great pastime activity and an excuse for procrastination, but more importantly, an entirely different perspective on social media. It’s undoubtedly a great way to remain connected to friends and family, but an even better way of preparing for the future.
The way I see it, gaining TikTok popularity is an accomplishment that requires the same skills as becoming a CEO or an entrepreneur. There’s no way to BS yourself to the top—creativity, innovation, and problem-solving is critical towards success.
And all of those skills can be honed, right at our fingertips. Social media is a limitless platform for us to get a head start on our future success. Sure, we won’t all get into Harvard Med School or whatnot, but we can all learn a thing or two by downloading a free app on the App Store.
So what are you waiting for? Close that dog-filter and go make some TikToks.
Oh, and make sure to keep an eye out for me on the trending (For You) page.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Works Cited
TikTok
https://igface.com/tiktok-money-calculator
Hi Minhao – hilarious post!
Although I don’t use TikTok in my free time, I can’t help but notice how it’s managed to take the world by storm. With each new social media or app that blows up, distinctions from the norm seem to be what put certain apps above the rest. Be it Snapchat with their self-deleting timed pictures and videos, or TikTok with it’s music overlay and short-and-sweet clip times, it’s amazing to see how technology is being used to enrich people’s lives down to the couple of seconds. Hopefully your TikTok’s wheels get rolling and your success manages to stay upright for a long time!
While I agree that TikTok can be fun (I don’t have it, but I’ve seen a couple of funny posts), I think it’s important to realize some of the context that could give anybody pause when reviewing this app.
First, it’s owned by ByteDance, which is a Chinese-backed firm that acts within the confines of the Chinese government. Considering that China doesn’t have the same Bill of Rights or privacy regulations as the U.S., all users of TikTok have to be somewhat wary that their data and videos could be possibly subject to nefarious purposes. In fact, many have already feared that anti-Chinese posts on TikTok could be removed or censored.
This also highlights a growing rift between the aim of social media companies like TikTok or Facebook, and their users. Privacy concerns dogged Facebook last year, and in the future, it might spread to other seemingly innocuous platforms as well.
Hi Minhao,
Your post was entertaining to read, and your narrative approach was interesting. I liked how you mentioned both positive and negative effects of social media. Sure, social media can eat up your time, but you dismissed that with a comic tone; after all, everyone needs some type of activity where they can have fun and spend their free time well, especially if in a controlled manner. I agree that the same creativity needed for Tik Toks can be translated towards larger scale objectives as well. Ultimately, a person can gain just as much from the small things that they do for fun as from other activities.
Personally, I did see the popular Tik Tok you mentioned, and I thought it was great: a simple physics class experiment turned into a short artistic masterpiece, perfectly synced with a funny, fitting beat. Originally, I thought that viral videos originate from internet famous individuals or by others with a lot of luck. However, you are right in saying that there are some factors which can influence whether your ideas spread or not. Learning how to analyze these factors can transfer into a mindset conducive to good entrepreneurship.