Rob Fallon is the CEO of Bluewater, a converged Direct-to-Consumer Marketing Agency based in Clearwater, Florida.
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You may not recognize The Buggles by their name, but you might remember that back in 1979 they taught us all that “video killed the radio star” when their music video was the first ever to grace the MTV network. Since then, it’s clear that video didn’t stop just the radio star. Video has metastasized into an omnipresent part of our lives. It’s one of the most effective marketing tools on the planet and, frankly put, it’s a kingmaker. In fact, 30 years after the birth of MTV, video did just that for TikTok, effectively crowning the app “king of the internet” as the most popular domain globally in 2021.
But what is it that makes TikTok ... tick? Sure, it’s a video-based social media platform, but I submit to you that TikTok has capitalized on two things. One, it feeds the belly of consumers who are ravenous for content. There is a burning desire to fill the blank spaces in time with entertainment, and TikTok delivers on that promise. (With over a billion monthly active users, it’s no surprise that there are 167 million TikTok videos watched in an internet minute. It’s literally trying to fill an unquenchable audience with entertainment on demand.) Secondly, TikTok has met the consumer with the perfect delivery length for our narrowing attention spans. This is where TikTok really shines. When it launched, videos on the app had a 15-second duration cap, and as of February, it has increased the maximum length to 10 minutes.
As advertisers, we are always trying to find an audience, and there is no lack of audience on TikTok. But the gold standard KPI for digital marketers is return on ad spend (ROAS). And consumers of all ages are spending, thanks in part to the multitude of TikTok stars and influencers. My wife follows a woman who samples makeup and skin care products, then reports to her viewers what’s best. And my wife listens. I’ve got receipts. She follows another woman who buys clothes from different companies and shares her “clothes hauls,” including discount codes for her viewers to use. Quite frankly, it drives me crazy, but the fact of the matter is these TikToks are influential.
All that said, these videos aren’t just created for fun and without planning; there’s a formula to making successful content, and I think I’ve figured it out. Obviously, TikTok is capable of delivering some serious ROAS, but it’s also quietly delivering on another ROAS: return on attention span with the birth of the “new age sitcom.” Wait, sitcom? What did you just say? I’m not seeing Cheers, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Full House or any of my other favorites on TikTok, you might be thinking. Sure, you’re not seeing those, but you are seeing situational comedy from the same casts of characters, delivered to you on a regular basis and all served up in a snackable fashion that satiates our diminishing attention spans.
Take Zach King, for example, who delivers micro story-driven scenes, shot in studios and on location with crazy special effects with funny payoffs to his nearly 70 million followers. Or how about Spencer Polanco Knight, the modern-day Michael Winslow, who shows off his beatbox skills in funny scenes to his 55 million followers? And there’s my personal favorite, Khaby Lame, who has made a career out of oversimplifying ridiculous situations with the irony that keeps us coming back for more. He reminds me of a traditional sitcom dad who inevitably points out the simpler way of doing something to a child coming of age. Regardless, over 147 million people follow him and keep coming back for more entertainment.
That is, in fact, the point. We all want to be amused, and TikTok is bringing that to us in much the same way TV did and continues to do—just shorter and right to the point of the funny stuff. Hats off to TikTok; the platform is winning on all fronts. It’s capable of delivering winning ROAS—both return on ad spend and return on attention span.
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