Is TikTok the new Google?

In short, kinda.

Let’s begin with “what is TikTok?”.

According to TikTok themselves, “TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video” (Source). What does that mean? It means that TikTok is the place for short, catchy videos. Their amazing (and slightly intrusive) algorithm is exceptionally accurate. Not just “I like cat videos”, but “I like watching cat videos in the morning”. Their algorithm isn’t like Meta’s (Instagram), which in my opinion is not nearly advanced. For example, let’s take my love of crocheting. On Instagram, if I like one video of crocheting, then that is all I see until I like a video of a different topic. On TikTok, regardless of what I like, I see a range of all my interests: some crocheting, some funny videos, some cat videos, etc.

TikTok videos range from 15 seconds (or less), up to three minutes in length, and cover a range of topics. In particular, this article will discuss topics that individuals may search for, such as product reviews, travel destinations and health advice (yikes!).

OK, so what is a search engine exactly?

Good question, according to Wikipedia, a search engine is “a software system designed to carry out web searches … in a systematic way” (Source). So the question is, can TikTok be classified as a software system? I would argue yes. TikTok does communicate with various computer components (Source), for example, the algorithm we looked at previously.

Next question, is TikTok a better search engine than the others on the market?

This depends on what you are searching for. Let’s run through a few scenarios.

Scenario 1: You have found an intriguing product online and would like to see what others think of it before you purchase.

Fun (and unethical) fact: Websites will on occasion hide poor reviews for their products or services. This may mean pushing them to the bottom of the list, not offering an option to sort reviews by rating or even deleting them entirely!

So if you view the reviews on the website you are planning to purchase from, you may only see a one-sided view.

People trust reviews from people they know. TikTok (and other forms of social media) allow buyers to find real reviews from real customers. Real customers who share their face and their lives with the internet. They can feel like you’re friends (mentally) even though you only know them from watching a video. Why do you think influencer marketing performs so well? People trust people.

Scenario 2: You are travelling to a foreign country and want to know where the best restaurants are.

Ok, so you could google “best restaurants in New York”. What comes up? For me, it was ads, TripAdvisor and New York-based food blogs. As someone who works in marketing, I know that ads are paid by the company (duh) and businesses can pay to have their restaurant on these “Top 10 restaurants” lists. Honestly, they aren’t too trustworthy. Just because a restaurant ranks highly and is popular, doesn’t mean it is popular with locals, authentic, or even sells good food.

However, if you search on TikTok, you will find real reviews from real people. Yes, these could also be paid, but personally I would trust a real person more than a copywriter from “I Heart New York” or “Visit New York” (company names are for comparison purposes only, no research has been done to ensure their authenticity or realness).

Scenario 3: You are concerned about COVID-19 and the vaccination mandates.

Without getting political, anyone can share anything on the internet. People can blatantly lie on the internet (and they have!). Some naive people have not learnt this lesson and will take medical advice from TikTok and other social media. This is, of course, not a good idea.

TikTok (and social media platforms) are an echo chamber. An echo chamber is where only a single perspective is shown (that is, your perspective), without letting you see diverse perspectives or differing opinions and their associated rationalisations (Source). This leads impressionable people to simply believe what they see, because that is all they see, without letting them use their deduction or reasoning skills to find what they truly believe.

TikTok as a company wants to keep users on their platform, so they will show users what they want to see. Very often, you will only see one side of the story, the side that you want to see.

Seek medical advice from a trained practitioner, not a TikTok influencer who claims to have a certification (whether that is true or untrue). All medical advice should be from a professional who can cater their advice based on your personal situation.

This phenomenon does not only occur for medical advice, it also occurs for political choices, consumer products, fashion, etc.

So, is TikTok the new Google?

TikTok is a search engine and so is Google. I don’t believe TikTok will replace Google any time soon, but we never know what the future may hold, especially with Gen Z and the future of the metaverse.

How do I get ahead of the game and capitalise on this?

Well, a little late now. TikTok is already super successful. They have over 1 billion monthly active users, are the fifth largest social media platform, and ads have the potential to reach over 7 million users in Australia (Source).

How you can use TikTok for your brand.

1) Make an account and employ a “TikTok expert” (or social media manager) to run it.

2) Follow trends, and quickly!

3) Interact with your followers, commenters and other similar accounts. Like and comment to make yourself seen, stitch videos and share UGC (user generated content) from your followers.

4) Repost your videos to Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts (Why not!?).

5) Don’t be afraid to use a different brand voice or try new things. TikTok is the place to do it in 2022!

Remember, only spend time on TikTok if your brand will benefit from it. A fashion brand, hell yeah! A video game, yep! A B2C tax office, maybe. A B2B accounting firm, maybe not. Look at your buyer personas and decide if they 1) use TikTok and 2) purchase from TikTok. Check out some demographics of TikTok users here.

Thanks for reading!

My name is Emily Bencsics and I am a marketer based in Melbourne, Australia. I have 2+ years of experience in digital marketing, social media marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) and email marketing.

Check me out on LinkedIn or reach out to me via email at bencsics.emily@gmail.com.