Why TikTok is a game changer for Higher Ed
2020 may have been the year of quarantine, but it was also the year of TikTok.
In November, the app reported over 100 million active monthly users in the U.S. Only one year earlier, that number was just over 39 million.
While TikTok still trails other giants like Facebook and Instagram, its popularity among Gen Z and Millennials makes it a prime opportunity for higher educational institutions to market their campus and engage students and alumni alike.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media platform specializing in short-form mobile video. Users can create videos ranging anywhere from five seconds to a minute with an extensive library of filters and music to choose from. Given its popularity, other apps have released their own versions, most famously Instagram’s new Reels feature.
Why TikTok?
Attention spans are shorter than ever. As people spend more time at home and socially distanced, they’re also spending more time on their phones.
Short form videos, like TikToks, capture viewers’ attention quickly and don’t require a large time investment. The model also lends well to trends, giving creators a unique opportunity to go viral overnight – literally. Nathan Apodaca became famous just a few hours after posting a TikTok of him skateboarding to Fleetwood Mac while drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice. Today, the video has over 35 million views. Mick Fleetwood has also recreated the video, Ocean Spray gifted Apodaca a new truck, and “Dreams” shot to the number one spot on iTunes more than forty years after its release.
All because of a TikTok.
Impact on Higher Ed
TikTok is a total game changer for higher ed. Why? Because almost half of all TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
As the go-to social media destination for Gen Z, TikTok presents new, and frankly unprecedented, opportunities for colleges and universities to engage students – current or prospect – as well as recent alumni. Many schools have already capitalized on it, including Top 10 universities like the University of Florida.
UF has always had a strong social media presence, so it was only natural they would become one of the first schools to adopt the platform. Like their Instagram, UF’s TikToks highlight the school’s campus, sports, and students, including a now famous TikTok of two students moonwalking and a gymnastics routine set that’s racked up over 500,000 likes.
That being said, smaller schools can benefit from the platform just as much, if not more so. TikToks are a great way to highlight the advantages many community colleges have over large universities, including a strong sense of community, increase flexibility, and affordability, while offering schools an easy means of collecting user-generated content. Rather than the college explaining the benefits of attending school there, why not let current students? This will not only engage current student populations, but it will create an increased impact for recruiting new students.
We’ve written before about higher ed ever being quick to change, but we have. As the landscape continues to shift, we’ll be here to help our clients and partners stay agile, proactive, and competitive.
Good things await. Stay tuned.