New Report Suggests TikTok Will Surpass 1.5 Billion Customers in 2022

Despite ongoing challenges from competing platforms, along with regulatory concerns and even restrictions in some regions, TikTok continues to grow stronger. And according to the latest data from App Annie, the app’s growth momentum isn’t going to slow anytime soon.

According to App Annie’s Mobile Forecast 2022 report, TikTok will surpass 1.5 billion users in the next twelve months as its cultural influence continues to spread around the world.

That would put it way ahead of Instagram, which still has a billion active members, a number that was first reported in 2018 and has not been updated since. Which in itself is a bit strange. Has Instagram just stopped growing – and if so, what does that mean for the app’s wider popularity?

App Annie’s predictions have been solid in the past as well. Last November, App Annie predicted that TikTok would exceed 1 billion active users in 2021, which it did as early as September.

App Annie TikTok prediction

As App Annie (above) notes, TikTok’s growth rate is unprecedented as the app became a cultural force faster than any other platform in history. Some of this stems from established trends, of course – Facebook and Instagram had a harder time reaching their first billion users because they had to establish new habits that TikTok has benefited from as it rose.

Nevertheless, the rapid rise of the app is remarkable – and that without India, which with 200 million monthly active was once TikTok’s largest user market. It’s pretty safe to assume that if TikTok hadn’t been banned in India in June 2020, TikTok would now be closer to 500 million, which would mean that TikTok would have already hit that 1.5 billion user market by that point.

It’s amazing how TikTok has performed so well in an increasingly crowded social media market. Snapchat once seemed poised for similar massive growth until Instagram copied Stories and downright slowed down stocks from a rising potential rival.

But beyond that, YouTube added shorts too, Snapchat added Spotlight, and other apps tested similar TikTok-like tools. And yet, despite all of these competing tools, TikTok has remained resilient.

Instead of slowing it down, TikTok has only gained more audiences through these counter-growth efforts.

How did TikTok continue to win where others have stunted in the face of the established giants?

The key lies in algorithm matching, which is still far better than any other platform when it comes to delivering a never-ending stream of content that is highly tailored to your specific interests.

Anyone who has used TikTok a couple of times will know that the customized For You feed of videos you are likely to be interested in is very addicting and can be very well customized to suit your personal interests.

The advantage that TikTok has over other platforms is the full screen feed, which means that any action you take with each video showing on the screen will be indicative of your reaction to that particular clip. Quickly swipe past and the content of the video is clearly of no interest, watch the whole thing and that’s a strong signal, while tapping on an item also gives clear response data for its association.

Instagram doesn’t have the same thing as multiple posts are often displayed on the screen, and while Reels can be more finely tuned this way, its algorithm is not as good at detecting your interests as Reels are often too sensitive to trending content. then show more of it without considering the broader context.

TikTok’s system is much better at determining more intricate matches in response to your actions, which is why it’s so addicting for so many, and that has helped it keep adding users even after other apps have tried to replicate its key features.

Because they really can’t, or at least haven’t been able to. And while it looks like both Meta and YouTube should be able to figure it out at some point, the fact that neither has made any significant place so far could suggest that TikTok simply has better capacity and better Audience understanding than its competitors, again pointing to the continued success of the app, which is arguably the cooler place for creators now.

Monetization is the next step and offers top stars comparable opportunities to use TikTok to make as much money as possible with other apps. But that’s also progressing as the platform’s e-commerce and brand / creator partnership tools are rapidly evolving and offering more options on this front.

If you haven’t considered TikTok as a potential platform for your marketing efforts, it may be time to think about it in 2022. Not all brands are going to be successful with TikTok, and it requires a more dedicated, organic approach. So you need to know the platform-specific trends or work with developers who are consistent with them. But the opportunities for the right brand, with the right approach, can be substantial.

And they grow more every day, with their growth dynamics. At this rate, TikTok could have over 2 billion active users and even more cultural relevance around the world by 2023.

It may not be a platform that your promotions take for granted, and it may not be one that interests you yourself. But in 2022 it is likely worth checking out the latest TikTok trends and getting a better understanding of the app.

Download App Annie’s full app forecast report for 2022 here.

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