Social Media News South Africa

Surging user base and downloads push TikTok's brand value to over $65bn

TikTok is the world's most valuable brand, with a brand value of $65,7bn this year - nearly $7bn more than Facebook and $18bn more than Instagram.
Source: © Ron Lach  A surging user base and downloads have pushed TikTok's brand value to over $65 this year
Source: © Ron Lach Pexels A surging user base and downloads have pushed TikTok's brand value to over $65 this year

Over the past six years, TikTok climbed to the top of the world as its user base rose five times to over 1.9 billion, and its revenue and downloads skyrocketed.

According to AppMagic data, the app was downloaded nearly half a billion times worldwide in the first six months of the year, or 32% more than in the same period a year ago, pushing its lifetime downloads to 4.4 billion.

This has helped the video-sharing app grow its brand value 3.5 times in three years.

This figure will continue growing in the following years, as TikTok's surging popularity shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

Thanks to the surging number of users, marketers are willing to dig deep into their pockets to promote on TikTok.

TikTok ads can open many doors to companies, especially those wanting to reach a young audience. Plus, videos posted on the app can go viral and reach millions of users practically overnight, something no other social media app can offer.

Brand Finance Media 50 ranking

Brand Finance analyses 5,000 of the world's biggest brands across all sectors and countries each year and ranks them in the annual Brand Finance Media 50 ranking.

Last year, TikTok was the third largest social media brand in the world, behind Facebook and WeChat, worth $59.8bn.

However, after its brand value increased 11% year-over-year to $65.7bn, the Chinese short-form video platform jumped two spots and became the most valuable social media brand globally.

Besides outgrowing much bigger competitors like Facebook, TikTok also won the title of the fastest-growing media brand out there. In just three years, the brand value of the video-sharing app has surged by an impressive 250%.

The rise and the fall

While TikTok's brand value continued rising, the world's largest social media platform, Facebook, saw its valuation drop 41% year-over-year.

According to Brand Finance data, Facebook's brand is now worth $58.9bn, or $6.8bn less than TikTok. Chinese social media app WeChat ranked third on this list, with a valuation of $50.2bn, almost 20% less than last year.

Three spots below TikTok, Instagram ranked as the fourth largest social media brand, worth $47.4bn in 2023. YouTube and LinkedIn follow, with $29.7bn and $15.5bn, respectively.

The Brand Finance survey also showed Twitter's brand value has plunged 32% since Musk's takeover and now stands at only $5.5bn.

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