Renowned app ranking site App Annie has just published its annual ‘Review Of The Top-Performing Apps by Downloads and Revenue’, once again underlining the sheer impact and dominance of TikTok in the broader social media space. Though you didn’t have to App Annie to figure out that TikTok would’ve been the likely candidate for #1, having it on official listing only further highlights TikTok’s evolving and highly influential presence that’s transforming digital consumption as we know it.
App Annie explains:
“[TikTok’s] influence on the 2021 data is obvious. It ranked #2 in the breakout app spend chart (this chart ranks apps that have registered the biggest change in spend over 12 months), and it also propelled CapCut to the top of the breakout downloads chart. Why? Because CapCut is an editing tool for TikTok, which rolled out globally in April 2020.”
King Of The Hill
There are multiple lists, and it would seem that TikTok and CapCut rank high in each one. While I’ve never heard of CapCut, it must be performing really well (in its own right) if it can go toe-to-toe with TikTok. Instagram remains strong in terms of active users, while Facebook plummets down to the bottom of the top 10. Hey, at least it’s still #1, in a way.
On an interesting note, it’s not just TikTok’s own apps that highlight its influence. Funny enough, TikTok replica apps, such as India’s MX TakaTak and Moj have also gained traction. Even funnier (and more ironic ) is the fact that these apps gained popularity because they stood as replacements for TikTok, which the Indian government decided to permanently ban back in June of 2020.
TikTok’s meteoric rise and significant sway over audience use-cases is exactly the reason why almost every other app is trying to come up with their own TikTok-like features and elements. While the broader social media shift currently happening isn’t solely based on TikTok’s personal rise, it’s heavily influenced by the habitual behaviors and trends that TikTok inspires on other platforms, which is something that users are now engaging with in other spaces.
So, does that mean that all apps would eventually look like TikTok? Yeah, probably. I mean, Twitter’s utilizing a TikTok-like display with its new explore feed, and Instagram is also testing out a new vertical Stories format. Truly, the world is becoming a #TikTokNation.
Even Pinterest’s Idea Pins are looking more TikTok-like, and Snapchat’s Spotlight feed already makes use of a full-screen, swipeable UI. As far as trends are concerned, the TikTok style seemingly is the future.
The Wrap
When it comes to app spend, App Annie also notes that TikTok has seen its biggest jump in terms of YoY increase. That, of course, spells well for TikTok’s expanded eCommerce push. More monetization seems to be the current critical focus for TikTok, since this is perhaps the area where it lacks the most, especially when compared to more established players like Instagram and YouTube. Content-wise, TikTok is without a doubt the undisputed short-form king, which makes direct creator monetization the only thing left to cross out in order to truly be the cream of the crop.
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