TikTok’s not for the young anymore

Stop Calling TikTok Gen Z’s App.

We get asked fairly regularly (by our count, at least 250 times per day) whether or not a business or personal brand should be on TikTok, because their audience is ‘older’.

It’s been widely known that TikTok grew in popularity with Gen Z, but this is no different than any app before it. New technology is usually adopted by the younger generation before the older generations finally join them and adjust the original use of the platform (remember when Facebook was only for college students?).

Now, there’s data to back up that over ½ of users on TikTok are over the age of 30.

We also know that users of all age groups are picking their platforms and sticking to them. Most TikTok users do not have Twitter accounts.

What this means for you: If you’ve avoided getting onto TikTok because you’ve bought into the belief that your audience ‘isn’t there,’ or that ‘they can get your content on a different platform,’ you’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with your target audience.

We’re not in the business of telling people what to do, but at least we can all put this argument to bed and move on to more important debates :).

🎥 What's Trending

The creator chose to respond using an incredibly captivating title, “Weird Side Hustles That Make Bank,” while leading the powerful visual of counting out money.

We never see the creator's face, or voice, but as she counts and separates the money (a very strong visual) we follow the captions around the best side hustles she recommends. With over 100,000 saves, it’s clear that this simple piece of content is full of value for many TikTok users.

Your takeaway: How can you leverage comments or questions from your audience to make more content? How can you take their questions and turn those into captivating hooks? What visual can you add to your answer that people will find appealing? Thinking through these will help you make stronger content that your audience wants to watch.