What is the distinction between social media and entertainment, and where do the popular applications platforms fall? Are Is Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok social apps or platforms of entertainment?
Algorithms are largely determining the contents of what we see daily, it’s more about straight-up entertainment than it is about keeping up with your peers.
Does this imply that you should reconsider the stuff you generate and share? And, if so, how should you now perceive your whole digital marketing strategy?
Entertainment vs Social Media
According to recent study, TikTok has eclipsed Netflix as the second-most popular app among those under the age of 35. The platform is also on track to overtake Facebook as the most popular social media destination for video viewing this year, after trailing Facebook by just under a minute on average viewing time last year.
Its influence is recognized across the industry, particularly as social media businesses and entertainment brands attempt to mimic its style and structure.
This disparity was made plain earlier this year by Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s head of global business solutions: “They’ve created their algorithms based on the social network.” That is a fundamental factor. We are a platform for enjoyment. The distinction is crucial.”
New Era, new preferences
TikTok’s approach to its strategy is unique in that it appears to be more of a media corporation that distributes content than a social channel that allows person-to-person connection.
The popularity of full-screen, vertical-scrolling videos is driven less by who you know and more by what drives overall engagement and profitability across several devices. Some of TikTok’s functionalities are being adopted by other entertainment platforms. In its most recent app update, the NBA, for example, has introduced aspects such as vertical video and “For You” suggestions.
A large proportion of participants also stated that social networking sites were more enjoyable than music, game, and television firms. There are a lot of users on the platform that are seeking for and generating high-quality videos. The endless loop keeps you scrolling.
That formula is one of the main reasons TikTok is seen as more of a social media platform than a “conventional” entertainment platform. Those suggestions deliver the same dopamine surge that posts from friends and relatives used to, but now they also bring the joy of discovering something new.
In this way, TikTok shifts the paradigm from ‘who you know’ to ‘who you want to be,’ inviting people to participate in the creation process.
Different method, same purpose
This transition from social media as a connecting platform to that of an entertainment source is also apparent in industry language about who businesses want to deal with. The days of the “influencer” are numbered, and businesses are increasingly eager to collaborate with “creators.”
As explained by Nick Cicero, vice president of strategy at Conviva: “An ‘Influencer’ is more like a celebrity that you might have a relationship with. Creators must be more authentic and native – and people can see the difference when they’re not.”
One of the key reasons content creators are in such great demand as brand partners is because of this innovative approach. “The rate at which such material must be produced has prohibited companies from fully stepping in.” That is why they are seeking assistance from creators. There are so many artists now that marketers can easily locate creators that are connected with them.”
The platform features its own Creator Marketplace to assist marketers locate possible creative partners, as well as its own Creator Fund, which rewards participating creators with actual money based on content engagement. “Creators are inherently becoming their own brands, and there’s a push to get them to monetize their craft.” That’s good news for brands, because while marketers are used to creating staged, polished promos, TikTok is an entirely different animal.
This change in viewpoint about social media usage is significant, and marketers would be well to reconsider adjusting their success measures. “The most important metric for social media is attention.” TikTok focuses more on community building.”
In this sense, being on TikTok is about knowing and growing an audience, which sounds eerily like what traditional TV producers have been doing for decades.
It’s not about ‘social,’ and it’s less about ‘brand message,’ ‘personalization,’ and other buzzwords connected with this more engaging, communicative media. Now that the dynamic has shifted, your entire strategy should adapt.
