Everyone is Copying TikTok’s Success – Hinge’s TikTok-Inspired Feature Drove 60% YoY Revenue Increase

TikTok might be a major concern for some governments globally, but for the younger generation, it’s a dream come true. Its popularity has led nearly every social media platform, including Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, to try to copy it to remain competitive.

According to a 2022 report by SocialMediaToday, the ByteDance-owned company’s reach extends beyond just amusement, as it’s carving out a formidable space for itself in the search domain.

Moreover, TikTok is not just about viral dances and humorous skits; it’s morphing into a key disseminator of news and information.

With features like in-app shopping, live streaming as well as branded hashtag challenges, TikTok is standing out as the best social media tool for brands to connect with consumers, the HootSuite blog explains.

TikTok is The Apple of the Social Media Space

While Apple is known for setting the trend in the technology market, especially with the iPhone, TikTok is quickly becoming the trendsetter for other social media platforms. Instagram, Spotify, Twitter, YouTube, and more are all copying various features like the ‘For You’ page and the continuous video scrolling format.

Launched in September 2016, TikTok has seen tremendous growth, boasting a user share of 41% and a solid position among the top five social media platforms.

A recent report by Statista revealed that “TikTok has a higher share of 18 – 29-year-old users than other social networks.” More than half of the platform users are of the female gender, roughly 55%, and appeals generally to users of the same income distribution.

Fashion and beauty have grown to be some of TikTok’s strongest pillars, with users concerned about being successful more than any other thing.

Companies marketing on TikTok tend to get more results with influencer marketing. The Statista report found that “28% of TikTok users bought products because celebrities or influencers advertised them.”

At least 17% of all TikTok users identify as innovators, or people willing to be early adopters of new products.

It has been established that TikTok users tend to interact with brands and companies more than any other social network in addition to frequently visiting other media types such as radio and TV.

TikTok has staked its claim as the most downloaded app in over 40 countries, showcasing its global appeal across more than 150 markets and available in over 35 languages.

In the year 2022, it took the silver medal for the most globally downloaded app, second only to Instagram, although it claimed the top spot on Apple’s App Store in terms of downloads, HootSuite reported.

Notably, TikTok is not just about large download numbers. It boasts an engaged user base in the US, with 150 million individuals using the platform monthly.

Furthermore, the average user isn’t just casually flipping through content – they are dedicating a substantial portion of their day, around 1.5 hours on average, to browsing through the app’s ceaselessly creative and engaging feed.

TikTok’s Influence on the Top 5 Social Networks

TikTok is a magnet for Gen Z as it massages their tiny attention span with visual content that is easily sharable to other social media networks and messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

Over the last few years, the top five social media networks have been playing catch up to TikTok, with spinoffs of their versions of features like the ‘For You’ Page.

As Forbes detailed in a report published in March, Instagram started copying the short video feature on TikTok with its Reels, which at the time, limited the videos to a maximum of 15 seconds. Instagram currently supports reels of up to 90 seconds.

After India banned TikTok in September 2020, YouTube quickly released its version of video sharing, with a feature called YouTube Shorts. With this feature, users could make 15-second videos supported by advanced and creative tools and dedicated music options.

Snapchat rolled out its Spotlight functionality in November 2020, a feature mirroring TikTok’s vertical video-sharing format, leveraging a similar algorithmic approach, The Verge wrote on the development. In an attempt to encourage creators to contribute viral content, Snapchat even dangled the carrot of millions in potential earnings.

Twitter also joined the bandwagon of TikTok’s copycats following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company. In addition to introducing paid-for verification badges, the microblogging platform debuted two user timeline changes: “Following” and For You”.

The former shows content from profiles the user has followed while the latter is an algorithmic “timeline that recommends tweets on topics users have engaged with,” Forbes outlined in the report.

TikTok’s Revenue Soars – Surpasses $1B in Consumer Spending

During the first quarter of 2023, TikTok set a record, becoming the first-ever app to exceed a staggering $1 billion in consumer expenditure within a single quarter.

The Honor of Kings, a popular gaming app, secured the second spot by raking in $570 million in worldwide consumer spending across iOS and Google Play platforms. Meanwhile, YouTube claimed the third position, generating over $530 million, data.ai said in the latest “State of Mobile App Revenue 2023 Report.”

TikTok is the sole non-gaming app in the top 10 ranking for single-purchase revenue in the United States, surpassing widely popular games such as Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, and Pokémon GO.

Owing to its expansive and dedicated user community, the social video titan has managed to steer clear of the predictability of a subscription model. Instead, TikTok found its revenue goldmine in the form of TikTok coins, amassing billions in the process.

Hinge, for instance, has emerged as part of a fresh influx of apps that differentiate themselves from Tinder. The app prioritizes meaningful relationships over casual encounters.

Hinge has experienced a meteoric rise in its revenue, soaring from a modest $8 million in 2018 to an impressive $284 million in 2022, a report by BusinessofApps said.

Part of this incredible rise in revenue was directly due to a new feature similar to TikTok’s monetization strategy. It sells one-time purchases called Roses, the parallel to TikTok’s coins and it’s revenue has jumped 60% year over year solely because of the new feature.

In the competitive landscape of online dating in the US, Hinge now stands as the third largest player, trailing behind industry titans Tinder and Bumble.

Although TikTok still falls behind platforms like Facebook and Instagram in terms of monthly active users, its success stems from the unique features it has integrated. Competition is not a problem TikTok faces at the moment, especially with the US considering banning the app due to concerns over national security and the privacy of its citizens.

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