TikTok will generate more ad revenue than Twitter and Snapchat combined in 2020
TikTok’s advertisement revenue is likely to triple in 2022 to more than $11 billion, exceeding the combined sales of its rivals Twitter and Snapchat, Reuters reported, citing data from research firm Insider Intelligence.
Nearly $6 billion, or more than half, of this year’s ad revenue is expected to come from the US, according to the research firm.
Twitter and Snapchat are expected to generate $5.58 billion and $4.86 billion, respectively, in advertising revenue for 2022, with the combined value still less than the $11 billion projected for TikTok.
“TikTok’s user base has exploded in the past couple of years, and the amount of time users spend on the app is extraordinary,” said Debra Aho Williamson, analyst at Insider Intelligence, “It has moved well beyond its roots as a lip-syncing and dancing app. It creates trends and fosters deep connections with creators that keep users engaged, video after video.”
As of January 2022, TikTok, owned by Chinese tech hectocorn ByteDance, has 1 billion monthly active users, including 80 million in the US. The viral video app swept up a billion users in about four years, half the time it took Facebook, YouTube or Instagram, and three years faster than WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s user usage is also growing rapidly. According to data.ai, the average TikTok user spent 19.6 hours per month on the app last year, a nearly five-fold increase from 4.2 hours in 2018.
While TikTok is thriving, Meta remains the market leader– Facebook has 2.9 billion monthly active users, and Instagram has another 2 billion, with Insider Intelligence estimating their 2024 ad sales at $85 billion and $82 billion, respectively.
Due to its ties to China, TikTok was once dragged into the spotlight of China-US tech wrestling. In August 2020, Trump administration ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok amid US concerns user data could be passed to China. Though the executive order has been blocked by a federal judge, TikTok is still grappling with US regulators’ concerns about data integrity.
Last month, TikTok reportedly came close to a deal with Oracle to store its US users’ information without its Chinese parent ByteDance having access to it.