- TikTok records a sharp fall in downloads amid the ongoing ratings fall. It has seen a drop of 34% & 28% respectively in the last 2 months.
TikTok records a sharp fall in downloads amid the ongoing ratings fall. It has seen a drop of 34% & 28% respectively in the last 2 months.
Fewer people downloaded short videos app TikTok in April and May compared to the previous two months, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reduced marketing and advertisement budgets, a persistent anti-China sentiment among users, and calls for it to be blocked in common app stores because of offensive content.
Data shared with ET by the Sensor Tower app intelligence company shows that downloads from the Chinese ByteDance-owned social media site dropped 34 percent in April and 28 percent until May 23, following an 8 percent rise in March and 7 percent rise in February.
Although TikTok was downloaded by 35.7 million users in March, according to Sensor Tower data, the number of users who downloaded it in April decreased to 23.5 million and further to 17 million till May 23. For TikTok, it was a double whammy of sorts.
While famous brands in the aftermath of the pandemic have reduced advertisement budgets overall and specifically apps like TikTok, the social media site itself has cut spending and backed away from the brand building in the last two months. Earlier, on other digital networks, including Facebook-owned Instagram, TikTok was a frequent advertiser, but that’s no longer the case, experts said, though it may be a temporary trend.
“It looks like a short-term phenomenon and by the festive season we’ll probably see some India-specific ads from TikTok,” said Karthik Srinivasan, an independent marketing strategist and former national media leader at Ogilvy. On the other hand, Instagram is spending aggressively at TikTok ‘s ads to attract new users, he said.
TikTok has been heavily criticized on social media over the past two weeks, amid a dispute between two content producers on opposite spectrum sides — TikTok and YouTube.
Netizens have demanded a ban on the app, with hashtags such as #banTikTokinIndia trending on Twitter. This has influenced its Google Play Store ranking, which fell to as low as 1.2 last week, with more than one million reviews critical of the application.
According to Vivek Bhargava, CEO of DAN Performance Group, an agency that monitors digital marketing, the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ drive, which aims to force local brands over foreign ones, particularly Chinese brands, is also not in favor of TikTok, although a full boycott is not feasible as brands and creators will continue to flock to the platform until there is an alternative.
“When TikTok strikes a deal with a celebrity or top creator, they promise these creators a certain reach and views,” said an advertiser on the condition of anonymity. “So, these creators are given a free hand to make content that will gain most traction on the platform,” he said.
TikTok has been a preferred platform for marketers and brands with its huge reach. The platform has over 200 million monthly active users in India alone, which also accounted for 44%, or 323 million, of total TikTok app downloads in 2019.
To be sure, TikTok is not the only one facing the heat.
Marketing spending on YouTube, Hotstar, and TikTok have fallen sharply together in categories such as banking and finance, retail, durables, automotive and computers due to the ongoing economic crisis, according to a survey by BARC India and Nielsen.
Digital media consumers also saw a fall in advertisement prices of 15-25 percent.
Also, several objectionable videos that have appeared on its website in the past two months have incensed users, including those of rape, acid attacks, and animal abuse, raising concerns about its content management policy.
To be sure, TikTok is not the only one facing the sun.
Marketing spending on YouTube, Hotstar, and TikTok have fallen sharply together in categories such as banking and finance, retail, durables, automotive and computers due to the ongoing economic crisis, according to a survey by BARC India and Nielsen.
Digital media consumers also saw a fall in advertisement prices of 15-25 percent.
Also, several objectionable videos that have appeared on its website in the past two months have incensed users, including those of rape, acid attacks, and animal abuse, raising concerns about its content management policy.
