TikTok is positioning itself as a leading destination for search discovery, touting its community-driven approach as a key differentiator from traditional search engines.
New knowledge. Tik Tok published new ideas emphasizing the platform’s role in driving discovery through the marketing funnel:
61% of TikTok users discover new brands/products on the app, 1.5 times more than other platforms. 1 in 2 users go to TikTok to research products or brands. 91% of those inspired by TikTok search followed up with an action. TikTok users are 1.5x more likely to immediately discover and buy something.
Why we care: As TikTok evolves into a lifestyle platform that combines entertainment, community and commerce, its ability to facilitate discovery along the consumer journey makes it an increasingly effective touchpoint for strategies of digital marketing that would leave a huge void if TikTok were to be banned.
between the lines TikTok highlights three core “modes of discovery” that power its search ecosystem:
Swipe to discover (the For You feed) Tap to discover (likes, follows, video details) Search to discover (text-based queries)
TikTok claims its community-driven visual approach delivers more entertaining (41%), authentic (28%) and concise (25%) search results than traditional engines.
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why now TikTok is not happy with the US government. TikTok and parent company ByteDance have filed a lawsuit challenging a new American law that would ban the popular video-sharing app unless it was sold to an approved American buyer, arguing that the law unfairly singles out TikTok and is an unconstitutional attack on free speech.
The lawsuit claims that the law vaguely portrays Chinese ownership of TikTok as a national security threat without evidence and that requiring a full sale and breakup of ByteDance is technologically impossible.
TikTok claims the law leaves it with no choice but to shut down the United States in January 2024, as it cannot operate independently of the global platform.
The general picture. As the fight to maintain its current structure unfolds, TikTok is vying for a central role in product discovery by showing how its community-driven recommendations can effectively inspire audiences and drive conversions throughout the funnel .
