Specialist
Former director at ByteDance Ltd
Agenda
- TikTok's mobile app and its significant growth drivers
- Differentiation in a crowded market, with offerings from Facebook and Instagram (NASDAQ: FB), Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) and Twitter (NYSE: TWTR)
- User growth and engagement vs monetisation
- Outlook for 2020 and beyond
Questions
1.
You mentioned the acquisition of Musical.ly by ByteDance in November 2017. There have been reports indicating USD 800m-1bn in consideration. What are your thoughts on TikTok as a business, and ByteDance, the parent company? What is the importance of that Musical.ly acquisition?
2.
How is TikTok’s mobile offering in the west different from the Chinese version of the app, Douyin?
3.
How has TikTok become so popular? According to Sensor Tower, it was the world’s second most downloaded mobile app last year, after WhatsApp. The company spent a lot of money on app-install ads on other platforms and other initiatives. Why do you think TikTok surged in popularity and engagement?
4.
What are your thoughts on other short-form mobile video apps? Vine was bought by Twitter and shuttered in 2016. There are other emerging properties in this category. What differentiates TikTok from those other apps? Is it just size and orientation? You mentioned TikTok is built around consumption and virality in a way other platforms can’t achieve so easily.
5.
You mentioned TikTok complements Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, but I think it’s fair to say people have a finite amount of time and advertisers seek audiences, growth and opportunities. Do they perceive TikTok as a competitor? Are these companies TikTok’s primary competitors? Who would you say TikTok is taking market share from?
6.
It seems TikTok is working on a more robust targeting and monetisation capability. Do you expect that will be more readily available and successful in 2020? Is that more likely to be a 2021 event? How would you characterise the focus and progress on monetisation, balanced against very strong user and engagement growth?
7.
What are your thoughts on the challenges related to ByteDance and TikTok being based in China? The company has overcome the hurdle of getting awareness, traction and growth in the west. You point out that, increasingly, there are questions about not only the ways companies and apps obtain and use data, but what is disclosed related to that, particularly for companies based outside the US. How would you characterise what ByteDance and TikTok have been doing to address these concerns? How successful do you think they will be in holding off legal and regulatory issues?
8.
What are your thoughts on TikTok’s growth strategy? The app had 1.65 billion downloads through 2019. How many users do you think TikTok has?
9.
What other countries does TikTok have significant penetration and usership in?
10.
What do you think is the user growth trajectory?
11.
You mentioned widening the demographic pool and changing perceptions related to TikTok. How do you think the business could address the notion that people outside the teenage and 20-something demographic shouldn’t use the platform? You mentioned the need for more professional and company creators providing content for the platform. How do you continue that momentum, but also provide content that people think they can’t get as readily or in as bite-sized a form as they can on TikTok?
12.
Could the novel coronavirus pandemic have an impact on how TikTok evolves and is adopted? On one hand, sports leagues have cancelled or suspended season, which has a negative impact on the amount of content resurfacing. On the other hand, TikTok’s key demographic isn’t in school, it’s at home and probably more free to consume content.
13.
As you mentioned, there is a separate app, Douyin, in China and then the US piece, and a number of other countries represent a majority of users. Are there different versions of TikTok for each of those countries? How are they different from one country to another?
14.
What do you think is next for TikTok from an operational perspective? You mentioned that the company is very focused on a global presence. It set up a new office in LA earlier this year, and is reportedly seeking a US-based CEO. I think it has a US-based General Manager, Vanessa Pappas, who was previously with YouTube. How important is that? Do you think, given the concerns related to Chinese ownership, that it could pursue an IPO where it lists in the US, for example? Could ByteDance become a minority shareholder?
