If you haven’t already heard of it, TikTok is the latest social media platform taking the world by storm. It first launched outside of China in late 2018, and has rapidly acquired users around the globe since then. It was the most downloaded app in the App Store in both 2018 and 2019, and has seen a massive boost in users during the covid-19 crisis as people stay home and turn to their screens for socializing and entertainment.

The app specializes in short-form video content, and in some ways could be seen as a competitor for YouTube more than other traditional social channels like Instagram and Snap. Rather than sharing what you’ve been up to in your daily life, it encourages you to create and share entertaining content in the form of viral songs, dances and challenges. It is full-screen, immersive vertical video, much like Snapchat and Instagram Stories. The huge success of this format on these channels and now TikTok shows its appeal. And the stats back it up too – TikTok has the highest post engagement rate of any social media channel.