The modern digital environment and, more specifically, social networks have completely transformed our way of interacting with the world.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp have become platforms for users to communicate not only with their friends and family, but also with brands and organizations, creating an ecosystem that is already part of our society.
In this context and over the last few years, TikTok — a social network launched in September 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance for the international market, with the aim of creating and sharing short videos — has become one of the most used applications in the world, especially among young people.
TikTok was the most downloaded app in the world in 2020, and in the United States, its popularity has overtaken Instagram among Gen Z. This data demonstrates the rapid growth of the short video platform industry.
The increased use and popularity of these tools has made them a phenomenon to be studied. One of the most frequent lines of analysis of social networks, both in the academic and professional fields, is adherence. This concept includes the idea of how, in the digital world, one tries to attract users, motivating them to stay longer and longer on the platform.
What attracts us to video platforms
Previous research has shown that there are three variables that directly influence the amount of hours a user spends on this type of platform — that is, the level of adherence to them.
The first variable studied is the existence of a constant motivation, understood as what leads the user to continue using the platform. This constant motivation is directly related to the satisfaction experienced when using social networks, as well as that generated by receiving positive comments, likes or other available rewards.
The second factor that enhances the use of social networks is the desire to share experiences.
When we use social media, we are not just looking to consume content. We also wanted to create it, because this act of sharing gives us a sense of belonging to the community, with the offering of our collaborations. If collaboration between the community is encouraged, users’ adhesion to the platform grows.
Finally, in the case of platforms that offer the option of generating video content, it is also necessary to consider the ability to produce quality clips. For this, we analyze how users tend to make more constant use of the social network, as they realize that they have the ability to create good video content.
Differences across generations
As explained above and considering that those who invest more time in social networks are the Z generations (people born between 1995 and 2011) and millennials (people born between 1981 and 1995), we conducted a survey to analyze whether these variables influence, and to what extent, the use that these generations make of TikTok. A total of 1,419 participants from generation Z and 882 millennials took part in this survey.
Our study concluded that, although all of them claim that the three variables directly influence their adherence to the platform, the weight of each one varies depending on the generation.
the millennials demonstrate a strong relationship between the level of adherence and the fact that they can share behaviors or create videos, while generation Z manifests more relationship with the possibility of constantly receiving a motivation that leads them to use the social network more.
As we are analyzing the case of TikTok, it is important to point out that the influence of the capacity perceived by the community in the creation of these videos was also demonstrated. When users notice that they are able to create good content on TikTok because others approve of them, the feeling of adherence to the platform is greater.
Therefore, it can be concluded that sharing behaviors, being able to create videos and receiving constant motivation directly influence the ability to adhere to TikTok of Gen Z and millennials.
opportunity to share
It has been shown that the most influential variable on the adhesion generated by this type of video platform is the possibility of sharing content.
Users’ desire to share content, in addition to having other experiences or receiving reviews, leads them to make more constant use of TikTok. These results make clear the purely social character of this type of platform.
Knowing what directly influences the feeling of adhesion expressed by users of social networks is essential. This knowledge is not only useful for designing successful advertising, marketing and communication strategies, but also for reducing and addressing the negative effects, such as addiction, that can result from its use.
Therefore, the results of this research may be of interest to different sectors, such as marketing and psychology.
*Patricia Durán-Álamo is a professor at the Department of Marketing and Market Research at the University of Alcalá, Spain.
Pablo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez is a professor of Marketing at the University of León, Spain.
Pedro Cuesta-Valiño is a professor of Marketing at the University of Alcalá, Spain.
This article was originally published on the academic news site The Conversation and republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original Spanish and French version here.
– Text originally published here.
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