TikTok popularity yields a thriving, opportunistic app ecosystem

Like sharks' success attracts opportunistic remora fish, TikTok’s wild popularity has spurred a thriving ecosystem of apps hoping to glean morsels of the platform’s lucrative catch.

The news: Developers across the globe have hatched nearly 1,000 apps totaling more than 1.3 billion downloads that aim to leverage TikTok’s popularity, per mobile analytics company Sensor Tower.

The context: TikTok, which now has more than 1 billion monthly active users, has grown unlike any other app ever. Buttressed by the home-bound users during pandemic lockdowns, TikTok ended the first quarter of 2020 with the most installs for any app ever in a single quarter. To date, TikTok has attracted 3.3 billion installs worldwide.

Rise of remoras: Sensor Tower reports that there are more than 900 apps on the App Store or Google Play Store that mention TikTok and two-thirds of them were launched since January of 2020. Since the first quarter of 2020, developers have launched more than 600 apps aiming to capitalize on TikTok’s popularity.

App categories: Sensor Tower reports that 49% of the apps mentioning TikTok are helping its users download videos to their phones so they can, presumably, share them on other social media platforms. The second-most popular category of Tik-Tok-focused apps — representing about 21% — provide analytics on followers, hashtags, and audience growth tools.

Opportunities ahead: The number of newly-created apps orbiting TikTok has slowed in 2021, according to Sensor Tower, but more businesses are turning to the platform for distribution efforts. About 44% of marketers plan to spend more on TikTok advertising in 2021, according to a report by analytics firm WARC.

Other niches: Sensor Tower notes a variety of app subcategories that hope to capitalize on TikTok’s growth. A few of these include video aggregators that amass popular videos on the platform and simulators, like (HypeMe)[https://sensortower.com/ios/us/from-scratch/app/hype-me-live-simulator/1554093131/overview] that offer users an experience of running a wildly popular TikTok account.

Watch out, Amazon: Indie hacker @zerotousers recently wrote a great rundown of how TikTok is becoming a popular shopping platform for Gen Z. That’s freaking out Alibaba and Amazon, which is jacking up fees on sellers, making search results pay-to-play, and manipulating search results to promote its own products.

Creator push continues: TikTok recently released a trove of features that aim to help creators monetize their following, and you don’t even have to be famous to use them. Creators seem to love TikTok, as a recent survey found that creators prefer using TikTok over any other platform, including YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

TikTok vs. Spotify? The Hustle recently reported how TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is targeting Spotify’s business with its own music streaming service: Resso.

Emerging markets: Spotify may have 381+ million users but Resso has steadily grown by focusing on emerging markets that Spotify needs — specifically Brazil, Indonesia, and India. For example, Resso grew monthly active users in India by nearly 600% in the year following its launch in August 2020, according to mobile analytics company Sensor Tower.

Race for Gen Z: About 75% of U.S. TikTok users discover new artists and 63% discover new music on TikTok. With its 1B+ users — many of which are Gen Z — TikTok hopes users look to Resso for music discovery rather than Spotify, which is the world’s most popular music streaming service.

What do you think about TikTok’s rise? How do you plan to capitalize in 2022? Share your thoughts below.