Google Search vs. TikTok
In a recent report from Business Insider, according to Google's internal data: 40% of Gen Z uses TikTok and Instagram rather than Google and Google Maps for search.
Now this may be a surprise for most, personally being a part of Gen Z, I’m not shocked at all. I have worked in paid advertising since graduating college and even I find myself gravitating towards Instagram and TikTok for more than just food recommendations. There’s apartment walk-throughs, hidden gems in cities I’ve yet to visit, travel recommendations and much more.
TikTok's advertising revenue will overtake YouTube by 2024.
Digital trends shift and grow in the blink of an eye and it is important to stay ahead of the curve for continued success. Google has plans to expand its capabilities in an effort to connect with a younger audience, including the ability to search the engine by using a camera instead of typing in search terms.
💡 Related: Why More Companies Should Leverage Video Content
TikTok As A Competitive Advantage
Example: Crumbl Cookies
Have you ever heard of Crumbl Cookies? Founded in Utah during 2017 with one store, they now have over 300 stores across 36 states and are still growing! Every week they offer 6 different cookie flavors with hundreds of people on TikTok reviewing them for millions of people to see.
They found that people enjoyed reviewing their cookies on social media and made it a part of their strategy. This is one small business that took off partly because of social media and going viral on TikTok.
It all comes down to engaging with the consumer where the consumer wants you to meet them. Brands need to understand how to curate that experience.
Take this story and use it for your own business, big or small.
Watch what your audience is doing and use it for your advantage! At the end of the day you hold all of the data on your customers and combining that with social media could be a huge success.
What This Means For Your Digital Strategy
Google has always been and still is the primary search engine but with data suggesting more and more of Gen Z users using TikTok as a search engine, marketers need to take advantage of and make the changes to current digital strategies. Don’t panic! There is still time to get ahead of the TikTok trend and mold digital strategies.
💡 Related: How Can Brands Leverage TikTok for Marketing?
Google is already making changes to their platform to keep up with the way Gen Z uses search, which will benefit digital strategies, especially SEO and PPC.
What’s Next for Digital Marketers
With digital transformation growing rapidly everyday, keeping up with the latest trends is a key to success for any industry. It’s important to understand your audience’s behavior and adapt as new platforms enter the digital space.
Ways to stay up-to-date with Gen Z:
- Utilize and expand efforts on TikTok!
- Posting on social channels frequently and consistently
- Providing relevant and engaging content to capture the users attention
- Be creative! There are many ways to publish content on social profiles beyond just pictures. Users can now post video reels, interact with polls, answer quiz questions, create story highlights, create live videos, and more.
- Keep an eye on the competitors. Note their strong suites and the types of content that get the most engagement.
- Attend webinars, Subscribe to newsletters, etc.
Other than building a presence on social media, it might make sense to rethink how and who we target through Google Ads.
These are things paid search and organic advertisers should consider when planning and implementing digital strategies.
- What are users searching on Tik Tok that they don’t search on Google?
- What do they like about searching on TikTok that Google doesn’t offer?
What other questions should digital marketers be asking? Let us know on Twitter (@SeerInteractive)!
