5 TikTok Challenges twitter and threads

TikTok’s groundbreaking text posts challenge Twitter. TikTok Challenges with Innovative Text Format  Text-only posts on TikTok with creative options are set to redefine content creation.

TikTok: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It’s Popular

With more than 2.5 billion downloads, TikTok is a precious app.

What Is TikTok?

TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create, watch, and share 15-second videos shot on mobile devices or webcams. With its personalized feeds of quirky short videos set to music and sound effects, the app is notable for its addictive quality and high levels of engagement.

• Amateur and professional creators can add effects like filters, background music, and stickers to their videos. They can collaborate on content and create split-screen duet videos even if they’re in different locations.

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 over 150 different markets, TikTok has offices in Beijing, Los Angeles; Moscow; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; 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 United States, 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 the videos is 15 to 60 seconds.

The format lends itself to entertainment and comedy. However, it is increasingly used for infotainment. Influencers who gain a steady audience on TikTok offer snippets of advice and tips along with self-promotion. Beauty, fashion, personal finance, budgeting, 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. It had about one billion active monthly users worldwide by September 2021. A 2022 marketing report by data.ai (formerly App Annie) predicted that TikTok would break three billion downloads worldwide, as well as users spending $3 billion across iOS and Google Play by the end of the year.

• Like all social media companies, TikTok has been the target of persistent 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.

TikTok LIVE allows users and creators to interact in real-time. Users ages 16 and older can launch LIVEs, and those age 18 or older may send and receive gifts during a LIVE.

TikTok Help Center. “What Is TikTok LIVE?”

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 began in late 2017, when it acquired a rival app, Musical.ly, and ported over its 200-million-account list to TikTok.

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. That would make it the most valuable startup in the world.

TikTok’s Business

Marketing on TikTok is still maturing, but many agencies are eager to help brands create 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 go 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.
• 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 had 10.2 billion clicks as of October 2023.
• The NBA signed up for an account and scored over 20.5 million followers as of October 2023. It aims to enhance global awareness of the NBA, particularly among young people.

TikTok has offices in Beijing, Berlin; Jakarta, Indonesia; London; Los Angeles; Moscow; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; Shanghai; Singapore; and Tokyo.

Other TikTok Revenue Sources

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

The company grossed $80 million from in-app purchases globally, according to a 2019 industry report. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, user spending reached an estimated $189 million globally—222% more than the app grossed during the same period in 2018. 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. As of June 2022, TikTok has earned an estimated $5.5 billion in total lifetime revenue.

TikTok only started running display advertising in 2019. 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 massive audience for the brand’s message.

TikTok’s User Base

TikTok is one of the world’s most popular social media apps, available in over 150 markets and more than 50 languages.16 The app has seen over 3.5 billion downloads worldwide, making it one of the most popular apps ever.

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

• About 40% of users are aged 18 to 24.
• 53.4% are female.
• About 117 million active users are from the U.S.
• Its users spend an average of 46 minutes per day on it.

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 countries.

TikTok is banned in Bangladesh.

Al Jazeera. “Bangladesh Blocks 20,000 Websites in Anti-Porn ‘War’.”

 It was also briefly banned in Indonesia for “pornography, inappropriate content, and blasphemy.” The ban was overturned a week after the company promised to take all objectionable content off the platform and set up a local office to monitor and sanitize content. 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 most significant civil penalty ever obtained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a children’s privacy case.

TikTok and the Trump Administration

Starting in July 2020, then-President Donald Trump launched a public attack on TikTok, threatening to ban it from the U.S. because 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.

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.

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. This may have been intended to alleviate concerns that China was using TikTok to gather data on Americans. Still, 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.

Meanwhile, Walmart agreed to buy a 7.5% stake in TikTok Global. It plans live-streamed shopping events hosted on TikTok. The remaining 80% would remain owned by ByteDance.

Numerous court challenges have stalled the tentative deal, and the future of the proposed agreement remains to be determined under the Biden administration. During a White House briefing on Feb. 10, 2021, then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied that President Biden had set any new policy on the app.

“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 U.S. data…including from TikTok, and we’ll address them decisively and effectively.” Psaki declined to set a timetable for when such a review would conclude.

Latest Developments

TikTok faces an uncertain future in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). Efforts by U.S. lawmakers to ban the use of TikTok outright have failed on several occasions due to the app’s popularity and aggressive lobbying efforts by the parent, ByteDance.

The app is under fire due to the potential for the Chinese government to mine U.S. users’ data and to potentially influence them through the “For You” function on the app. The fear is that the algorithm of the “For You” function, which remains a mystery, could be used to manipulate users’ behavior and potentially transmit political messaging, possibly interfering in U.S. elections.

The most likely outcome will be for ByteDance to divest a minority portion (20%) of its ownership to U.S. entities, with Oracle and Walmart frequently mentioned as the most likely U.S. partners. Such a proposal was made in 2020, where Walmart and Oracle would each buy 10% of a newly created entity called TikTok Global.

TikTok Global would be U.S.-based and subject to U.S. laws and regulations. The belief is that such an arrangement would safeguard the potential for data mining and influence exerted by the Chinese government. As of 2021, the deal is still under review by the Biden administration.

TikTok is also facing scrutiny by the EU and needs to come into full compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which seeks to protect users’ private data vigorously. The EU has set a Sept. 1, 2023, deadline for TikTok to comply with the DSA rules and regulations.

Failure to meet the EU’s deadline could result in a ban on TikTok in the EU, according to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton. The EU has some of the most stringent privacy rules, and TikTok will be subject to audits of its efforts to stem potential data manipulation and filter content to protect the lives and safety of internet users. Failing an audit could cost the company up to 6% of its total revenue in fines and a potential outright ban in the EU.

In short, TikTok’s popularity has made it a target for digital privacy monitors in multiple jurisdictions, not the least of which are the U.S. and the EU.

What company owns TikTok?

The majority owner of TikTok is ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. In late 2020, following pressure from the then-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. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal is on hold pending review from the Biden administration as of February 2021.

How do I invest in TikTok stock?

You don’t because TikTok is privately owned 100% by ByteDance. The prior deal to create TikTok Global remains on hold. This includes any plans for issuing an initial public offering (IPO).

Is TikTok a publicly traded company?

TikTok is not publicly traded as of this writing. Stay tuned for the announcement of an IPO for TikTok Global.

Is TikTok banned?

As of 2022, TikTok is banned in India and Pakistan.2032 It was briefly banned but restored in other countries, including Indonesia and Bangladesh.

TikTok was threatened with a ban in the United States by then-President Donald Trump in 2020. Still, 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.

When did TikTok come out?

TikTok was first released in September 2016.

The Bottom Line

TikTok is an astronomically popular web app with over 3.5 billion downloads worldwide. TikTok allows users to make short videos, roughly 15–30 seconds in length, and distribute them within the app’s following. Most of the videos are based on entertainment, hijinks, and comedy. The site is particularly popular with the under-24 crowd, with about 40% of its users in the 18–24 age range.

Currently, TikTok is wholly and privately owned by a Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which has raised fears of TikTok being used to collect and manipulate users’ data by the Chinese government or related entities. TikTok is banned in India for national security concerns and on U.S. federal and most state governments’ web devices.

The U.S. and the EU are cracking down on TikTok over privacy and ownership concerns, potentially resulting in a ban on the app in those jurisdictions. TikTok has indicated that it will make every effort to meet EU guidelines. At the same time, the situation in the U.S. revolves around the ownership by a Chinese company, suggesting that ByteDance may have to sell a portion of TikTok to yet-to-be-determined U.S. partners.

Amateur and professional creators alike can add effects like filters, background music, and stickers to their videos, and can collaborate on content and create split-screen duet videos even if they’re in different locations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

TikTok, the renowned social media platform celebrated for its captivating video content, photo video, and text revealed its plan to introduce text-only posts, and text-based content, joining the ranks of tech giants and providing an alternative to the struggling Twitter and Threads

What are TikTok Challenges?

Challenges are the main way in which TikTok creators encourage people to join a discussion or interact with their content. In other words, they challenge people to create videos performing a specific action or task. It’s a kind of trend that is accompanied by relevant hashtags that give them visibility and sometimes virality.

Even if you don’t use TikTok, the chances are that you’ve heard of TikTok challenges before. News articles will occasionally talk about TikTok challenges that their people, especially teenagers, to do things that are unwise or destructive. For instance, the “devious licks” challenge encouraged young people to steal items from public spaces. It was a major problem in school districts a file back, but fortunately, it’s no longer popular.

With that said, most TikTok challenges are fun, amusing, or otherwise harmless. The inappropriate challenges that go viral are in the minority.

What are the Main Types of TikTok Challenges?

There are several different TikTok challenge types, each of which has its own character. Challengers suggest a different kind of task based on the challenge type and the sponsor if any.

Community challenges: Start from a viral question or trend that’s doing the rounds in TikTok. They are completely organic, niche-specific, and do not usually go viral across the platform. You can expect the actions in a community challenge to be appropriate for the niche rather than being a generalized topic.

Niche challenges: Communities (tied to specific interests like beauty, fashion, gaming, etc) within TikTok have their own unique challenges that go viral with their audience. They might also mention a brand or product when the item is especially useful to that constituency. However, the challenge is not centered around the brand

What are the Benefits of TikTok Challenges for Your Brand?

While it’s easy to talk about TikTok challenges and how easy they are to make, it’s a little different to understand. However, this is very important because who wants to put resources into something that won’t help very much? Let’s look at the different benefits of starting a TikTok challenge.

Brand Awareness

The first benefit is brand awareness, and in some ways, it’s one of the most valuable. This is true, especially when you consider that learning about something is the first step in the sales funnel. Making TikTok challenging to boost brand awareness is easy, and it can involve a lot of creativity. In fact, you can ask people to portray your brand or product in ways that are funny or creative. Then, you can take other steps to move people further down the sales funnel.

These days, many brands that want to reach GenZ are turning to TikTok for content marketing. And the ones that haven’t are probably considering it. One reason for this is that, as a heap of analytics data has demonstrated, TikTok is wildly popular with younger consumers.

However, working on TikTok is much different from interacting on TikTok. Not only is it an import from Asia, but it has a very different culture. Then, the content parameters are rather different from the ones you’ll find on their competitors.

Taken together, the challenges of working on TikTok mean that many brands struggle to garner the engagement that they need. While working with influencers is one way to cope, even influencer-backed brands need their own organic engagement.

Here are 5 TikTok Challenges to Generate Engagement in 2023

Now that you understand the potential benefits of TikTok challenges let’s look at the different types of challenges that you can create. Each of these options has different features and benefits for your brand and its community alike. In addition, the tone ranges from funny all the way to very serious.

• Core Memories Challenge
• Journaling
• Learn Something New
• Share Something that Makes You Happy
• Do Something Different Every Day

One of the best ways to incite engagement on TikTok is by issuing challenges. Not only are they effective, but challenges are the original method of interacting with other creators on TikTok.

TikTok Text-only Posts: How It Works?

TikTok, widely recognized for its captivating video content, has recently announced. The platform will now offer text-only posts, stepping into the arena of Twitter and Threads, which has been facing its share of challenges.

As per TikTok, With text posts, sharing text content has never been simpler. Let’s take a look at how this works efficiently:

• Creating a Text Post: When you access the Camera page, you can choose from three options: photo, video, and text. By selecting text, you’ll be directed to the text creation page, where you can type out the content of your post.
• Enhancing Your Text Posts: Upon reaching the Post page, you’ll find familiar options to customize your content. These include adding Sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing Duets. These features make your text posts more dynamic and interactive than any video or photo post.

As the battle for social media supremacy continues, TikTok’s foray into text posts signals a new chapter in the ongoing competition among tech giants.

Features to Try Text-only Posts On TikTok

According to TikTok’s Newsroom, Text posts offer a range of features that empower you to make your text-based content stand out. Here are some highlights:

• Stickers: Enhance your text by selecting stickers related to your content and add some pizazz to your post.
• Tags and Hashtags: Just like in video or photo posts, you can tag other accounts and add hashtags that relate to relevant topics or trends.
• Background colors: Choose from various background colors to make your text pop.
• Adding Sound: Sounds are core to the TikTok experience, so we’ve incorporated them into text posts. You’ll be able to add tunes that readers can groove to as they peruse your writing.
• Draft and Discard: Similar to video or photo posts, you can save and store your drafts with other unpublished posts for later editing or discard them entirely.

Innovative Approach: TikTok vs. Instagram’s Threads

Unlike Facebook’s approach with Threads, which was launched as a separate product, TikTok has taken a unique path by integrating its text-only feature directly into its existing app. This move sets it apart from other contenders, including Instagram’s Threads and smaller platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Substack Notes, who have sought to challenge Twitter’s dominance but have yet to dethrone it.

TikTok’s text posts will have a distinct visual appeal, allowing users to experiment with colorful backgrounds, music, and stickers. With its massive user base of around 1.4 billion monthly active users, as reported by Business of Apps, TikTok’s foray into text-based content is bound to disrupt the content creation landscape and capitalize on the creativity exhibited in comments and captions.

How to Find New and Trending TikTok Challenges?

There are a couple of ways that you can find the latest TikTok challenges. The easiest way is by searching for the hashtag #challenge. You’ll get a wide variety of trending challenges and maybe even get some inspiration for your own.

The other easy way to find challenges is by scrolling through your FYP. Each user’s feed is customized, so you’ll mostly see challenges that are related to things you already watch. In the case of a brand, that will often be their industry.

Finally, you can sometimes find out about challenges when other people mention them. That isn’t necessarily going to be an appropriate challenge for your brand, however.

Conclusion About Text-only Posts on TikTok

• The new text format is expected to push the boundaries of content creation for all TikTok users, fostering a new wave of innovation and providing a fresh alternative to Twitter’s traditional approach. As Twitter faces a significant decline in advertising revenue, TikTok and other potential challengers now see an opportunity to reshape the social media landscape and offer users a different, engaging experience. 
• TikTok challenges are the bread and butter of this emerging platform. They are also a great way to reach out to your audience and create both brand awareness and engagement. In fact, anything that can help build the kind of brand community that your company needs is worth trying. What’s your favorite type of TikTok challenge?

TikTok Challenges FAQs