Whether you love it or hate it, TikTok is increasingly hard to ignore. After a record-swell 2021, the app (and its audiences) are bigger than ever.

While many still call up of information technology as a Gen Z platform for dance challenges, TikTok has grown to embrace every kind of content and community. And with the launch of in-app shopping in 2021, it's become even more than essential to brands looking to connect straight with customers.

As you develop your 2022 TikTok marketing strategy, hither are the primal TikTok stats to proceed in heed.

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General TikTok stats

1. TikTok was the nigh downloaded app of 2021, with 656 one thousand thousand downloads

That's over 100 million downloads more than than the runner-up, Instagram, which was downloaded 545 million times last year.

Information technology'due south also the third yr in a row that TikTok has held the number-one spot. It was downloaded 693 million times in 2019 and 850 one thousand thousand times in 2020. Like many apps on the nigh-downloaded list, information technology experienced a major drop in worldwide downloads from the previous year, but held onto its top ranking.

According to Apptopia, TikTok was as well the number-one download in the United States, with 94 million downloads in 2021— a half dozen% increase over 2020.

TikTok likewise connected its streak as the superlative-grossing app, surpassing $2.v billion dollars in consumer spending in 2021.

2. TikTok has been downloaded more than iii billion times

TikTok hit iii billion downloads in July 2021. That'south even more impressive when you realize that they reached two billion downloads less than a year earlier.

Information technology's also the showtime non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion downloads. Since January 2014, the simply other apps to do so are Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

And even though it launched in 2016, TikTok is the 7th-most downloaded app of the 2010's.

iii. TikTok is the 6th near-used social platform in the globe

the world's most used social platforms

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Written report

It ranks just backside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and WeChat. Since 2021, it's surpassed Facebook Messenger to move into 6th identify.

Notwithstanding, there'southward another way to look at these rankings. The Chinese version of TikTok is called Douyin, which is number viii on this list. Douyin is really the original app launched by parent company ByteDance in September 2016, who rolled out TikTok for international audiences in 2017. There are small differences between the two apps, but they expect and function almost the same way.

Douyin boasts 600 one thousand thousand daily active users (nearly apps use monthly figures). When the two apps are combined, they reach fourth place on this list, ahead of Instagram and WeChat.

iv. The states adults have mixed opinions on TikTok

TikTok is not without its detractors: in the US, 34% of adults hold unfavorable opinions of the app, compared to 37% who take favorable views. This is more controversial than other platforms: Instagram is viewed favorably by 50% of adults and unfavorably past 24%. Facebook is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably past 39%.

share of adults in the United States who have a favorable opinion of TikTok as of November 2021

Source: Statista, Share of adults in the United States who have a favorable opinion of TikTok as of November 2021.

This varies by age, naturally. Fifty-nine percent of 18- to 34-year-olds view TikTok favorably, compared to forty% of 35- to 44-year-olds and 31% of 45- to 64-yr-olds. Mostly speaking, older demographics are more skeptical of the platform compared to younger ones.

This caution may reflect the platform's history with disturbing content. In Dec 2021, a viral hoax about schoolhouse violence spread apace across TikTok, alarming parents and children. Other hoaxes and harmful content, like videos promoting rapid weight loss, have proliferated on the platform and drawn criticism.

In response, TikTok announced updates to their Customs Guidelines in February 2022 to improve safety. They've committed to removing dangerous content from the platform, with particular attention to content promoting hateful ideologies, eating disorders, violence, or self-harm.

TikTok user stats

5. TikTok has over one billion monthly active users.

Information technology'due south an understatement to say TikTok is growing apace. 8 new users join TikTok every second, with an boilerplate of 650,000 new users joining daily. NBD, just the entire population of Helsinki signing upward each 24-hour interval.

Those numbers add together up fast. In September 2021, TikTok'due south parent company ByteDance reported that they had striking the one billion mark— a 45% increase since July 2020. Compared to Facebook and YouTube, which both took eight years to hit a billion users, TikTok made it in just five years. What'south more, TikTok is expected to reach ane.5 billion users by the finish of 2022.

vi. TikTok users are active on other social media platforms

Social media users are active on multiple platforms: those between the ages of xviii and 34 are using 8 platforms every month. TikTok users are no different, with 99.9% reporting that they're using other platforms.

You're most likely to find TikTok users on Facebook (84.6% overlap), Instagram (83.9% overlap), and YouTube (fourscore.5% overlap).

social media platform audience overlaps

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Report

seven. TikTok is at present more than popular than Instagram among Gen Z users in the U.s.

TikTok has now surpassed Instagram for popularity amidst Gen Z users (born betwixt 1997 and 2012) in the United states of america, with 37.iii million to Instagram's 33.3 million.

US Gen Z Instagram Snapchat and TikTok Users 2019-2025

Source: eMarketer, May 2021

Only TikTok is also making big gains in other historic period demographics: in the first quarter of 2021, 36% of TikTok users were between 35 and 54 years old, compared to 26% in 2020.

While Snapchat is even so more popular than Instagram and TikTok among Gen Z, by 2025 all 3 apps are expected to have roughly the same number of users.

eight. TikTok'south user base of operations skews female

Worldwide, TikTok's user base is 57% female. That effigy rises to 61% for TikTok users in the Us.

While TikTok's user base is increasingly various, it's still true that the brands hoping to attain younger female audiences will likely come across the all-time results.

9. No user demographic prefers TikTok as its favorite app

Interestingly, only 4.3% of cyberspace users named TikTok as their favorite social media platform. That's less than a third equally many users as those who favored Instagram (14.8%) or Facebook (14.five%)

WhatsApp ranked as favorite social media platform by Internet users aged 16 to 64

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Written report

And despite TikTok's reputation for dominating the Gen Z market, it doesn't rank as the superlative pick for younger users. Users between the ages of xvi and 24 rank Instagram as their superlative choice: 22.viii% of males, and 25.6% of females. Simply eight.nine% of female person users in this age demographic selected TikTok as their meridian choice, and just 5.4% of males.

favorite social media platforms ranked by female and male users

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Written report

TikTok usage statistics

x. Android users spend 19.6 hours per month on TikTok

That'southward a 47% increase in time spent on the app compared to 2020, when Android users were spending thirteen.iii hours each calendar month.

average time per month spent using platform's app on Android

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Study

In terms of time spent, TikTok is tied for second identify with Facebook. YouTube is notwithstanding in the height position, property users' interest for an average of 23.7 hours each month.

Usage varies by state. UK users spend the nearly time on TikTok, with an average of 27.iii hours. Those in the US spend an average of 25.vi hours per month on TikTok, slightly more than Canadian users, who spend 22.6 hours each month.

TikTok average time spent using mobile app on Android

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Report

11. TikTok is the most engaging social media app — by far.

Anyone who has opened TikTok to spotter a single video and resurfaced an hour afterward tin adjure the app'south powers of engagement. In fact, TikTok is the most engaging of all social media apps, with an average user session of 10.85 minutes.

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That's more than twice as long equally the 2d-most engaging app, Pinterest, which clocks in at 5.06 minutes per session. It'due south also more 3 times longer than users typically spend on Instagram, at ii.95 minutes per session.

12. The majority of people use TikTok to find funny/entertaining content

When asked in the 2022 GlobalWebIndex survey how they mainly use TikTok, the majority of respondents answered: "to find funny/entertaining content."

Posting/sharing content ranks as the second nigh common behavior and keeping upwardly with news placed every bit the third most popular. For comparison, posting content was the top use for Instagram and Snapchat. So, it may be fair to infer that entertainment value is TikTok's key selling signal, specially in terms of consumption.

Other social sites people use to find funny/entertaining content include Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Twitter, and Snapchat. But TikTok and Reddit were the only apps where that use example ranked first.

fourteen. 430 songs surpassed 1 billion video views as TikTok sounds in 2021

Music is bigger than ever on TikTok. Compared to 2020, three times as many songs surpassed one billion views. 75% of TikTok users say they discover new songs on the app, and 73% of users associate specific songs with TikTok. Many of these tunes find conventional success too: in 2021, 175 songs trended on TikTok and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to the TikTok'southward What's Next Report 2022, 88% of users report that music is critical to the TikTok experience. Mayhap that's why 93% of top performing videos utilise sound.

15. Users are watching longer videos (and liking it)

Until recently, TikTok users were limited to 60 seconds for their videos. Only in July 2021, TikTok began giving users the pick of uploading videos upwardly to three minutes in length — and then in 2022, ten minutes.

In October, TikTok reported that longer videos (meaning anything over i minute) had already received more than five billion views globally. Longer videos are most popular with users in Vietnam, Thailand and Nippon, while users in the U.s., Great britain and Brazil are well-nigh engaged with them.

And with the introduction of TikTok TV in November 2021, TikTok is providing users with more than ways to watch video. Considering more than half of YouTube users view content on a TV screen, it's probable that TikTok will come across a similar increment in reach and engagement.

16. Finance TikTok grew by 255% in 2021

According to TikTok'south What'southward Next Report 2022, topics related to investing, cryptocurrency, and all things finance had a huge twelvemonth. Compared to 2020, views for videos tagged #NFT grew past a encephalon-melting 93,000%. The #crypto hashtag too exploded, garnering ane.9 billion videos. Financial topics are subject to TikTok'south wild tendencies, as exemplified by the #TikTokDogeCoinChallenge.

But there is also an active and chop-chop growing personal finance community on the app.

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Even if your brand has nothing to do with finance, the growth of FinTok demonstrates that any industry can find a foothold in the app if they're making quality content. Any your brand's niche may be, you tin guarantee your audience is on the app.

TikTok is often trivialized every bit silly entertainment, but it's also a platform that audiences— particularly young people— use to educate themselves. Short, accessible video content provides an entry point into topics that can otherwise be intimidating, like #aggrandizement (which also saw a 1900% increase in views last year).

But connecting with your audience can be tricky on TikTok, which prioritizes discoverability through hashtags and the "For You" page. Fortunately, we can teach yous how to navigate the TikTok algorithm.

TikTok for business organisation statistics

17. TikTok is the acme app for consumer spend

According to AppAnnie, TikTok is the number-1 app for driving consumer spending, surpassing Tinder for the top spot.

AppAnnie TikTok ranking consumer spend between January and December 2021

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Report

Consumer spending on TikTok increased by a whopping 77% in 2021. Overall, users spent $2.iii billion dollars in the app, compared to $ane.3 billion the year earlier.

eighteen. TikTok ads reach 17.9% of all cyberspace users age 18+

That'southward 884.9 million people, or 15.9% of the worldwide population of people over eighteen.

TikTok advertising audience overview of users aged 18 and over

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Report

TikTok'south reach is highest for Gen Z users, reaching 25% of female users aged 18-24 and 17.nine% of males.

Reach varies past land: a TikTok ad can potentially reach l.3% of adults in the Usa, or 130,962,500 people. Countries with the largest potential advertizing audiences include the Usa, Indonesia, Brazil, Russian federation, and Mexico.

Learn more about advertising on TikTok here.

TikTok ad reach ranking by countries and territories

Source: Hootsuite Digital 2022 Report

19. TikTok's perceived effectiveness is growing among marketers

As marketers consider where to invest their express advertizement budgets, TikTok is making big gains. Hootsuite's 2022 Social Trends Survey found that 24% of marketers considered TikTok constructive for reaching their business organisation goals, compared to just 3% in the previous yr— a 700% increase.

Information technology'south withal ranking far behind the advertising juggernauts of Facebook and Instagram. Nonetheless, both platforms saw a pregnant decrease in perceived effectiveness between 2020 and 2021: Facebook barbarous by 25%, and Instagram past a hefty 40%.

These changes indicate that the ad mural is shifting, and brands demand to adapt to run into their customers where they are on each platform. TikTok has growing communities for everything from books to fridge organization, allowing marketers to hone in on their audiences with highly-seasoned, targeted content.

20. Partnering with creators boosts view-through rates by 193%

Creators, the official influencers of the TikTok marketplace, are one of the greatest assets for brands on the platform. Brands tin partner with over 100,000 creators through the TikTok Creator Marketplace to create content that reaches their target audiences. This benefits users as much as brands: 35% of users discover products and brands from creators, and 65% enjoy when creators post about products and brands.

In i case study, beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics partnered with creators for the Benefit Brow Challenge to promote their new Brow Microfilling Pen. The 22 resulting videos, fabricated by Gen Z and Millennial creators, generated one.4 million impressions and over 3500 hours of views.

21. TikTok is transforming shopping with the "infinite loop"

TikTok content has long had a powerful upshot on users' shopping habits. For evidence, wait no further than the TikTok Feta Result. Just until recently, that influence was indirect: users would larn of a product through the app, so head elsewhere to make their purchase.

That all changed in August 2021, when TikTok and Shopify appear a new integration to allow in-app shopping.

But that change is bigger than simply click-to-buy. TikTok sees the retail process as an space loop, not a marketing funnel. In other words, the journey doesn't "end" with a purchase— it loops back on itself, with users posting nigh their purchase, offer feedback, and spreading awareness to their own family unit and friends. Following a purchase, one in 4 users has made a mail service about their new production, and i in 5 has made a tutorial video.

22. 67% of users say TikTok inspires them to store— even when they weren't planning to do so.

TikTok users like connecting with brands, with 73% reporting that they experience a deeper connection to companies they collaborate with on the platform.

TikTok's own research into user behavior reveals their ability of their influence over users' shopping habits. Xxx-seven per centum of users detect a product on the app and immediately want to buy it. And 29% take tried to buy something from the app, only to find it was already sold out— that'southward the TikTok Feta Effect for you. No wonder the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt amassed over 7.four billion views in 2021.

Learn more well-nigh TikTok Shopping.

23. The highest performing videos are between 21 and 34 seconds long

Videos in this sweet spot have a 1.6% lift in impressions— modest, just significant. To hone your videos with precision and skill, check out our comprehensive video editing guide.

24. Adding captions increases impressions past 55.7%

Including text in your video is more than just a best practice for inclusive pattern. It also offers meaning benefits compared to videos that don't brandish captions or a call-to-action on screen.

Another growing trend on TikTok? Vocalism effects. TikTok'due south text-to-speech feature creates an auto-generated voiceover of displayed text, in videos with the feature enabled. Videos captioned with #VoiceEffects had 160 billion views as of December 2021.

While voice-to-text is an exciting feature that increases the accessibility and reach of videos, a lot of users hate the vocalisation. The takeaway is that brands should invest in quality captioning and voiceover to ensure their videos have maximum reach and entreatment.

Bonus: Become a gratis TikTok Growth Checklist from famous TikTok creator Tiffy Chen that shows you lot how to proceeds 1.6 million followers with only 3 studio lights and iMovie.