With user-created videos that typically involve singing or dancing, the social network even gets credit for turning Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” into a hit.

It’s all the rage now, to the point where even the “Today Show” anchors have jumped on board. Nothing says “we’re mainstream” quicker than baby boomer Al Roker showing up on the app in a dance video.

Before the old folks scare the youngsters off the platform (Facebook, anyone?), let’s dig into the numbers behind TikTok to see if you should be using it for your book. Here are the TikTok demographics for authors.

Who is using TikTok?

• Worldwide, half of its users are younger than 34.
• 60 percent of its monthly U.S. users are 16- to 24-year-olds.
• In the U.S., 26 percent of users are between the ages of 25 and 44.
• Also in the U.S., 80 percent of users are 16 to 34.
• 60 percent of the U.S. users are female.
• Just over half – 56 percent – of all users are male.
• There are 60 million active monthly users in the U.S.
• There are an estimated 800 million monthly active users worldwide and 1.5 billion total (versus active) users.

Where are TikTok’s users located?

• The app is available in 154 countries.
• Over 500 million of its monthly active users are Chinese.
• Users in India account for almost one-third of its downloads – 467 million times.

How much time do users spend on the app?

• Most – 90 percent – use the app more than once a day.
• 29 percent open the app daily.
• Users spend 52 minutes on the app each day.

Should you be using TikTok?

The question to answer now is: Is it likely that your ideal reader is using this video platform?

If you’re targeting a young audience and have mastered the art of the short video, this might be a good fit for your book. If it is, don’t wait too long to figure out how to use it effectively. What’s popular today can lose favor by tomorrow.

EDITED TO ADD: A reader has reminded me that there have been security concerns about the TikTok app. He works in internet security; here is his wise message to all of us: “May I respectfully request that you advise your email list that TikTok may not be a safe app/site to use when personal information is kept on the same device.” Please keep this in mind.

Are you using TikTok? What do you like most about it?

Sources:

https://mediakix.com/blog/top-tik-tok-statistics-demographics/

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tiktok-stats

https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/