Chinese company TikTok was the most downloaded social media app worldwide in September 2019, with close to 60 million installs. The countries with the most installs of the app were India at 44 per cent of its total downloads and the United States at 8 per cent, according to an update from marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

With over 200 million users, India is the biggest market for TikTok. The app’s growth in India, on both iOS and Android, is significant, and could help fuel the ongoing growth. It could also provide advertiser appeal, and help the firm build the social platform’s business in the country.

Several brands have already made a mark on the social platform. For instance, Britannia for its new variant of the ‘Little Hearts’ biscuit, and Godrej Security Solutions’ #BilkulSafeHai campaign, as well as scores of others.

Facebook was the second-most installed social media app worldwide in September, with more than 50.5 million installs. India, again, took the lead among countries with the largest number of Facebook installs, pegged at 23 per cent, followed by Indonesia at 11 per cent. Instagram, Likee, and Snapchat rounded off the top five most installed social media apps worldwide for September.

TikTok, the ByteDance-owned short video app, which has run into trouble with Indian authorities on several occasions, has clocked its first ever profit in India. ByteDance registered Rs 43.7 crore in revenue and Rs 3.4 crore in net profit in India.

ByteDance has also announced that it will set up a data centre in India. The company said since the launch of its platform in India, it has stored Indian users’ data at industry-leading third-party data centres in the US and Singapore.

Brands jump on

For its newly-launched strawberry variant for the fastest-growing brand under the Britannia portfolio, Little Hearts, the biscuit major decided to leverage on the idea of breaking some hearts, in order to connect with the millennials.

The launch was supported by digital engagements on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

Vinay Subramanyam, Head-Marketing, Britannia Industries, said the company’s message of ‘Break some hearts’ “speaks to millennials who have a more dynamic and open perspective of love and take every aspect of it, including breakups and heartbreaks, in the right spirit”.

For the latest campaign of Godrej Security Solutions, #BilkulSafeHai, that aims to drive awareness and proactive adoption of security solutions, the brand decided to engage with millennials on TikTok and announced a dance challenge ― ‘Tijoriwaladance’.

Food delivery service Zomato also partnered with the app. Announcing the second season of its food carnival, Zomaland, featuring a diverse range of restaurant pop-ups and performances across 10 cities, Zomato co-partnered with TikTok to host ‘TikTok Theatre’ with creative performances from India’s most loved comedians and music artists.

Video-on-demand platform Voot has also collaborated with TikTok, in a bid to make B-town favourites sweat it out in its ‘Work It Up’ celebrity chat show.

Incidentally, India is part of over 100 TikTok markets taking part in the #ForClimate campaign, endorsed by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and National Societies globally. TikTok decided to raise awareness on climate change issues in a creative way, by partnering with IRFC and Red Crescent Societies, a global humanitarian network.

From September 16-30, TikTok users were urged to raise awareness of climate change by using three specially designed stickers depicting extreme weather conditions: rainstorm, snowstorm and global warming. The #ForClimate campaign has garnered more than 70 million views on TikTok in a single day.

Jemilah Mahmood, IFRC’s Under Secretary General for Partnerships, said in a statement, “TikTok’s social platform is perfect for getting a serious message across in a way that’s thrilling, inspiring, and energetic. We are looking forward to seeing young people bring their stories to a global audience.”