The Netflix and Tiktok War is Unrealistic but It’s Getting Gruesome!
Netflix and Tiktok are at it again! The war of the streaming platforms is getting gruesome
The unmatched algorithms and unmatched reach of TikTok possess quite lucrative opportunities for founders and entrepreneurs. The only question is, in terms of content strategy and creation, what is the best way to do it? It’s an interesting idea when you notice an exponential increase in the amount of time you spend on TikTok, after canceling your Netflix subscription!
Correlation is not causation
Have you ever heard that gum sales plummeted after the invention of the iPhone and haven’t recovered since then? Allegedly, that’s because people started checking their phones, side by side at checkout, rather than grabbing delicious chewing gums. Of course, this could be a correlation rather than a causal one but that raises an interesting point. Netflix carcass-eating companies are getting more attention than Facebook and Instagram, combined, but content budgets are US$0, and Netflix and TikTok are US$17 billion.
What do the numbers say about TikTok’s growth?
While TikTok generated only US$4.6 billion in annual revenue compared to Meta’s US$117.9 billion in 2021 but based on popularity, TikTok has shown unprecedented growth since its launch in 2017. TikTok’s explosive 325% growth in 2020 is also growing faster than any other app per user per month, with a 65% increase, especially in the US alone, far ahead of Facebook. Besides, TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app in both 2020 and 2021.
And if you think it’s because you remove it and keep reinstalling it, it’s not. By the end of the second quarter of 2021, it had hit 1 billion users and set a new growth record for pre-installed apps. And it is expected to reach 1.5 billion users by the end of 2022. Also, the fact that their stock is not public has so far protected them from scrutiny from Meta and its friends.
Whatever your personal views of the platform are, two things are clearly true. TikTok is winning the war to get our attention. Netflix needs to make some changes, but that doesn’t mean the two are linked. As a streaming service, TikTok is a useful lens for startup marketing. The numbers don’t lie. Once you’ve found a product market that fits the 18-80 age segment, you and everything you sell should be on TikTok.
TikTok users spent US$2.3 billion on apps in 2021, compared to US$1.3 billion the previous year. Many brands and influencers are closer to streaming services than social media platforms. In particular, TikTok extended the video time limit from 3 minutes to 10 minutes in February.
It begins with Kim Kardashian’s infamous clip screaming at Courtney and moves on to a detailed art history lecture on the similarities and differences between reality television and 16th and increase 17th-century museum paintings. Leveraging the unprecedented power of TikTok, infamous algorithms to stream entrepreneurship, and remote work lessons to an audience of hundreds of thousands.
How to approach TikTok as a founder or entrepreneur?
TikTok entrepreneurs shared their advice, to view it as a streaming platform rather than social media. They said:
- Create original, genuine content.
- Understand the importance of good lighting (and good microphones).
- Always use the hook first (there is a cliffhanger bonus point at the end).
Don’t think of TikTok as social media. Think of it as a free streaming service for individuals or startup brands. In many respects, this is just an extension of what we have known for many years. The two social media platforms are not the same and treating them that way is a disaster recipe. The only difference here is that TikTok takes this trend even further. But what are the first steps to mastering the platform? Well, you do what you got to do!
