The Reality Of TikTok 💁🏼‍♀️

Here's the reality of TikTok...

The hype has finally died down, and it's given us time to conduct our research on what the best platform of 2023 could be - and it's not what you think. 

Everybody is chasing the big numbers, crazy follower growth, and viral success that TikTok can give. But, is it wasting time?

Marketers, you're going to love this one. 

Before we dive in, here's a quick recap at what's happened this week at V21:

• New adverts for a new Video Editor to join the team are now live. If you're local to us and would love to work in a uber-creative environment, get in touch 📩

• Results came back for a project we filmed last year, and they've blown our minds! So much so, we made an entire video about it:

• We've signed 4 new clients on our brand new video essentials subscription (Our brand new service that we'll be marketing soon!).

• Our new website is a few weeks away from launching, after almost 8 months of development.

• We've just completed a next-level Meet The Team video for a new client, and will show soon! (BTS Below).

High fives all around, it's been a crazy, crazy week 🎉

Now that's over with, let's dive in! 

Is TikTok Worth It?

That's the question a lot of you will be thinking about.

It's a great question to ask at this point in the year, as you're setting the foundations for your marketing strategy, and it needs to be right.

With competition increasing, more brands creating videos, and social media becoming noisier, it's important that you know where to spend your time for the maximum return. 

Here's why we feel that YouTube still reigns King of all social platforms, and why TikTok isn't worth your time, money, and energy (right now). As always, we'll break this down into bite-sized chunks 🎉

One of the most important goals of any video is that you want viewers to watch your hard work for as long as possible.

That comes with its own challenges, and you can learn how to create a great video through our course, Converted. Check it out here!  (Use code 'GLITCHED20' for 20% off because you're subscribed to the newsletter). 

Although TikTok has huge viral potential, the average retention rate on a video is a poor 16.23%. That's about 3-seconds per video. 

Comparatively, YouTube stays at a strong 50-60%. 

Sure, TikTok gives you a viral dopamine high, with videos reaching millions of people in a matter of days. But what's the return that you receive for your hard work? Millions of unengaged viewers watching your videos for just three seconds, scrolling past, and forgetting who you are immediately.

Sounds great! Sign me up.

We'd argue that 1,000 YouTube views beat 100,000 TikTok views.

The viewers are higher engaged, better educated, and start to develop a relationship with the brand that they're consuming content from the longer they watch.

The question we ask you is can you build a brand's reputation in just three seconds? Realistically, no. It takes multiple videos, and hours upon hours of entertaining, educating, and informing a viewer to gain their trust - not a handful of viral videos. 

When you create a video, you want a viewer to be able to find it, right?

That's why YouTube is so powerful - it's the second-biggest search engine in the world after all. 

Ask it anything, and because of the in-depth SEO tools and other geeky functions, the right video will come up 95% of the time. 

TikTok does have search functionality, but we've found the results when trying to find a very specific video hit and miss. Only giving us the right video around 40% of the time. Whilst it does give the right content every now and then, the specificity and educational return are miles behind YouTube. 

Search for "how to make a video on TikTok", and YouTube will suggest videos that break down the equipment, software, scripting, grading, audio, export settings, and everything else you need to know.

TikTok? It'll give you a quick 15-second video created to grab your attention, and lightly covers the surface of the information you actually need.

Being able to create a searchable video that your audience can find, watch, and learn the exact information they need only builds your brand reputation and trust. 

At the end of the day, we're here to make money.

Whilst TikTok has a $1B creator fund that it distributes to its top creators, YouTube yet again holds the title for the most attainable revenue. With a CPM (Cost Per Thousand Views) ranging anywhere from $3-$45+. TikTok on the other hand gives a poor $0.03-$0.04 CPM. 

If you're considering on creating videos to generate another source of revenue, we'd recommend thinking twice about where you invest your time.

The added benefit of YouTube is that your content generates 'passive income' because the videos you create never stop being searchable, and often grow with age!

We've seen videos posted in 2018 that have suddenly blown up in 2022 and continue to generate thousands in revenue every month. 

The reality is, you need brand power to succeed online.

Sure, you can flaunt your 1M+ viewed video on TikTok, but we can guarantee that maybe 0.01% of those viewers actually looked at who you were, what you did, and checked out your website.

The power of YouTube is that you build brand power in the market.

Not only do you establish credibility, give a taster of what you do, and position yourself as the authority, but you also build trust through viewers watching 10+ minutes of your videos, instead of a quick scroll, dopamine high, next.

Think about the last video you watched on TikTok, and ask yourself these four questions:

• Who was the creator?

• What product or service do they offer?

• What content do they regularly create?

• Where can you find them?

Chances are, you have no idea.

Now ask yourself the same questions, but for the last YouTube video that you watched.

Exactly. You know them personally, you know what they sell, what their content is about, and where you can find them. That's brand power, and it's what you need to create this year to get ahead in this increasingly competitive space. 

Recap ⤵

Look, we're not saying TikTok is bad. 

There's huge influencer potential, sponsorship deals, users spend longer on average on the app than any other platform, it's quick and easy to make content, and so much more. But is it commercially viable?

Currently, we don't think so. 

If you're striving for influencer status, want thousands of views, or want to grow a large following quickly, then go for it. But from our experience, the community on TikTok just isn't engaged enough for us to recommend spending hours of time, and investing lots of money into creating specifically for this platform if you're a professional company.

Think twice about where you're currently spending your time, and weigh up the return of your investment. You may find that it could be better spent elsewhere ⏰

Don't Forget About ⤵

Our brand new video training course is live, and we're about to launch four new modules! Check it out here. (Use code 'GLITCHED20' for 20% off because you're subscribed to the newsletter). 

We're looking for a Video Editor to join our growing team, and if you'd like to apply for the position check out the job description on LinkedIn, here! 

See you all next week 🎉