Should influencers leave their depths and try something new?
Trends come and go all the time, especially in the 21st century, with the likes of the internet and social media blowing topics up instantly worldwide. Trends have now gathered themselves a reputation of lingering around for a few weeks or months and then disappearing off the face of the planet. It seems to be lightning in a bottle for a “trend” to come along and actually stay.
Over the last 12 months, the app Tik Tok has emerged and doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. With over 1.2 billion downloads, it's incredibly hard to not have heard about the Tik Tok phenomenon that seems to be taking over everything. Tik Tok allows users to create funny skits based on their favourite films or take part in funky little dances that follow a tune. The app was released in August of 2018 but started to really take off towards the end of 2019 with celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Jason Derulo re-posting their Tik Tok content on Instagram. With the ridiculously high followings that some of these celebrities hold, it then became impossible to scroll through Instagram without seeing at least 5 reposted Tik Tok videos.
Tik Tok really seemed to hit its all-time high during the COVID-19 lockdown. It seemed like a large majority of young Instagram users were giving Tik Tok a try because of the boredom lockdown had created. The viral “trend” only grew more and more into 2020 with many influencers broadcasting their Tik Tok accounts to their followers on Instagram. Tik Tok then began to naturally create their own “Tik Tok stars” that would go viral on the platform alone.
Should Instagram influencers join the Tik Tok movement? Or should they stay away from it and see if the “trend’ blows over?
At Powah we believe influencers should give Tik Tok a try and to see if they can increase their follower base on another platform. There is only room for them to gain and no room for them to lose or necessarily damage their reputation. In the next 3 years, Tik Tok could overtake Instragam and then influencers that made the transition will be ahead of the game.