TikTok isn’t becoming a search engine.
It already is one.
The power of the TikTok’s algorithm is helping users discover content that is highly relevant to their interests, even without searching explicitly for it. This algorithm considers user behaviour, preferences, and engagement, providing a highly personalised feed.
Let’s start with some facts.
87.5% of those using the internet are using search engines to, well, search. And putting that together with 87.4% of people watching video content on the internet, TikTok knows the platform they have built.
To top it off, on average, TikTok users spend 49 hours per month watching TikTok videos… Mind boggling, we know!
So how does this work?
Keywords, phrases and… the search bar. TikTok allows users to enter queries just like a traditional search engine (i.e. Google). When users type in a keyword or phrase, TikTok returns a list of relevant videos, users, sounds, and hashtags. So when you are creating content this is when you need to input your keywords so your video becomes ‘searchable’. Whether in the video itself or caption, you need to add hashtags/keywords that are relatable to the subject of your video.
This is how popular trends and challenges go viral. They often have associated hashtags, making them easily searchable and discoverable.
And as TikTok’s content is largely user-generated, you can pretty much search for anything! From tutorials, reviews to recipes! This UGC transforms TikTok into a hub of information, where one can find answers to almost any question. Not only that, the variety of content that comes back is also large. Another way of looking at it, would be that Google provides words and links, TikTok provides you videos.
Looking further into how TikTok operates, it has the ability to show localised content meaning users can find information that is relevant to their area, whether it's local events, food recommendations, or regional trends. Sometimes what’s trending in the USA may not be the trend here in the UK.
And it doesn’t stop there. The content and videos are forever growing. The platform’s features like video responses and duets allow for interactive content creation, where users can respond to or collaborate on videos. This can lead to the creation of more searchable content as discussions and themes develop around specific topics.
This is where influencers and content creators have become a large factor in building this hub of information on TikTok. We’ve shared how influencer content has a lot of value in building trust with audiences, therefore their content is a valuable resource for those looking for specific information.
Why TikTok and not your standard search engine?
TikTok’s short video format is highly engaging and can make learning about new topics more appealing. Complex information can be broken down into short and entertaining segments. A way in which we can consume and learn other than reading.
While Google remains the search engine world, TikTok is leveraging its engaging, addicting format, algorithm and UGC to function effectively as a search engine for the new generation. The more it learns, the more personalised it becomes, making searching for things easier and easier by the day, and delivering the content you never even knew you needed. This is particularly being used by Gen Z and younger audiences who prefer video content over traditional text-based search results. And no other social media channel has this capability.
To summarise, there are limitations of course around TikTok being a search engine as its limited to just the one platform, compared to Google which is cross platform (and still is the no1 search engine today), that’s not to say that TikTok won’t keep pushing the boundaries of its search functionality. And in terms of what / where people are searching, for marketeers we need to be thinking about creating visually inspiring, value driven content that can be discoverable across a range of platforms from Google, YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok and more! Good content, now more than ever, needs to be great content.
