Capitalize on TikTok Niche Opportunities

Long gone are the years where you learn American history through 300-page textbooks. Teens are looking to their fave app to do that: TikTok.

Some would argue that TikTok is just a glorified version of Vine, nearly a decade later. But the 15-second format (versus 6 seconds with Vine), which can be compiled into 60-second multi-clips, have allowed people to go much further than funny faces or potatoes flying around rooms. And during a time when people are stuck at home and looking for some combination of entertainment, social interaction, and hope, TikTok has gotten even more attention.

Even prior to the coronavirus pandemic, TikTok was growing fast (see its rise visualized here). But you might be surprised by what other TikTok niche areas are emerging on the social media platform.

Coronavirus: We’ll start with the virus. Both individuals and companies have been flooding the platform with anything from advice to how they’re surviving (thriving?) through quarantine. The hashtag #coronavirus has 21.5B views, while TikTok accounts like the World Health Organization’s have quickly gained over 800k followers, after joining the platform earlier this month.

While the virus is top of mind, the platform is still flooded with TikTok niche topics that are more rare on other social media platforms.

Personal Finance:

• TikTokers like Cole Kelley have leveraged TikTok as that latest platform to teach finance. Kelley’s video about real estate vs. the stock market has racked up 420k views, in addition to his other popular videos like paying for college (128k views), compound interest (243k views), and financing (260k views). His profile says his focus is, "Teaching kids about money in the classroom and on TikTok", which now has over 20k followers. But he’s not the only teacher on the ‘Tok. The hashtag #teachersoftiktok has over 475m views.

History:

• Teachers aren’t the only ones spreading #knowledge on the TikTok niche. Teens sharing history posts are going viral, highlighting their ability to use the medium to tell stories in more compelling ways.
• And history hashtags aren’t so niche… millions of people have watched videos on:
  • #history: 807m
  • #historylesson: 87m
  • #americanhistory: 5m

Sex Education:

• By now, you shouldn’t be surprised that doctors have also made their way onto the teen-heavy platform to give advice on sex education. MamaDoctorJones, for example, brands herself as "TikTok’s 1st Gynecologist YouTuber," with over 260k followers.
• Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, an OB/GYN with 400k followers, has built her following by covering taboo questions that many won’t touch, including what to use to clean your vulva (11m views), effectiveness of the birth control patch (5m views), "Are my labia normal?" (306k views), and much more.
• Dr. Leslie is another doctor that has racked up an impressive half-million followers, covering a wide range of TikTok niche topics. Meanwhile, Dr. Staci T has 243k followers.
• Similar to the history-focused teens, a younger crowd has also started creating videos about sex-ed for their peers or the "younger version of themselves."

Puzzles:

• TikTok, similar to Instagram, has seen a rise of #puzzleposts… literally videos of people working on or completing puzzles. The hashtag #jigsawpuzzle already has over 230k posts on Instagram, while it has 1.5m views on TikTok. Similar hashtags on TikTok are doing well, including #puzzle (940m views) and #jigsaw (81m).

Magic Tricks:

• Zach King was named TikTok’s 2019 Breakout Creator for his digital "magic videos." The tag #magic has more than 20B views (for perspective, #music has 18B and #beauty has 8B), while the tag #magictricks has over 300m.

One of the weirdest trends on TikTok? People racking up millions of views as people watch them… sleep?

The opportunity: Supporting an existing biz: Unlike Youtube, TikTok doesn’t have a profit-sharing system for its star performers. Haley Sharpe, under the name @yodelinghaley (previously @yodeling.karen), had over 100k followers as of October, but had made just $17 through the platform directly.

However, others are using the platform as a springboard for generating ca$h in other areas:

• ‘Lil Nas used it to shoot Old Town Road to the top of the Billboard 100.
• Companies like Chipotle are using TikTok as their next favorite marketing channel.
• Zach Zorn (@moneynomad on TikTok) used the platform to bolster his blog Money Nomad, where he teaches people about anything from dropshipping to flipping websites.
• And of course, many influencers work directly with brands to monetize their impressive followings. Top TikTokers make up to $175k per post and although TikTok doesn’t share their sweet ad profits, they do have a creator marketplace to connect influencers with brands.

Products: TikTok adjacent products, like TikTok LEDs, are a way to benefit from the surge of the platform, while staying off of it. Other digital-friendly products are targeted at people spending more time online, including people repurposing selfie lights for WFH calls. As one of our teammates said, "Someone I know just bought one of those selfie lights so she can look better on zoom calls. Absurd next level wfh commitment lol." But a shocking number of people are making the commitment. According to Jungle Scout, some products are literally selling hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.

Google searches:

• Selfie ring light: 27.1k searches/month
• Ring light: 450k searches/month
• Selfie light: 18.1k searches/month
• Selfie ring: 3.6k searches/month

Source: Keywords Everywhere

Amazon exact | broad match searches (last 30 days):

• Selfie ring light: 17,409 | 30,886
• Ring light: 149,211 | 432,550
• Selfie light: 15,868 | 59,731
• Selfie ring: 2,876 | 42,033

Source: JungleScout

Platforms: While the world is still catching up with TikTok’s impressive growth, there is still a gap in supporting platforms. For example, there are plenty of plats (think SocialBlade) which deliver information about particular accounts, hashtags, and trends on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. However, very few offer this functionality for TikTok. Others are struggling to understand how to effectively market with a tool with such impressive reach. TikTok marketing agencies and courses have started to crop up.