Just as the industry understands Facebook, it’s time to think about TikTok. Far-fetched? Consider that Meta/Facebook’s market cap lost ¼ of its value, ¼ trillion dollars in one day last week. That drop is attributed to disappointing earnings, to a near-halt of new users. Why? Increased preference to TikTok.
TikTok’s valuation reached $280 billion last August. It boasts over 1 billion users, including 100 million here. It has more users than Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. 37% US of mobile users check TikTok, an eight-fold increase in less than two years.
As anticipated, users skew to the young: Nearly half of US users are between 10 and 29. Yet, adult users increased by nearly 6X in less than two years.
Why all the fuss? Think back to Facebook’s origins: remember Mafia and farm games? Our industry tends to be laggards related to media. Yet, in 2019, the AVMA observed, “Tech-savvy millennials already comprise a major animal owning group today and generations of pet owners to follow will certainly demand high-tech solutions for much if not most of the pet care they will seek. This trend will favor practices that are more technologically and temporally connected to animal owners.”
All industry players, particularly those in pet care, should consider how they can adjust to and capitalize on this rising medium.
Jeff Santosuosso
English (United States) 
Portuguese