Vine vs. TikTok: Why One Died and The Other Is Thriving

Once upon a time, Twitter created a short-form video platform known as Vine and launched a video meme craze that may have changed the internet forever. When the service was shut down tragically early (in January of 2017), many wondered if another platform could ever take its place. Now, it seems like the app TikTok, created by China-based Bytedance, might be the one to do it. 

TikTok is another video-making app that allows users to create short videos with some form of music or audio in the background. The app very quickly became known for being a haven for Gen Zers looking to share their embarrassing videos. Yet, much to everyone’s surprise, the app has continued to thrive, reportedly generating 800 million global downloads and growing. Now, even major franchise brands are taking notice. 

Over the last few months, TikTok has been the talk of the town in marketing, especially as brands explore new ways of reaching the lucrative yet allusive demographic of Gen Z consumers. So, is TikTok destined for a different fate than its predecessor Vine? 

Well, firstly, Vine was never able to get advertising quite right. For a while, brands were happy to pay Vine stars directly to make ads and share them to their millions of followers. After Snapchat and Instagram grew into hundreds of millions of daily users, marketers’ interest in Vine was basically nonexistent. Unfortunately, since the founders resisted monetization from day one, Vine didn’t have the resources to come through with any marketing options.

Unlike Vine, TikTok has hit the nail on the head right away and found a smart, innovative way to monetize its platform for advertisers through various strategies, including the highly-successful promoted trending hashtags. In the age of Twitter feuds and viral marketing, brands need to create a unique, personalized social media approach to reach a large audience. Since TikTok is so quirky by nature, these trending hashtags have allowed brands to be creative without out even having to try. 

TikTok’s promoted hashtags work by asking users to engage with the ad messaging in a more creative way than just a typical brand pushing a piece of marketing content out and seeing what sticks. By encouraging users to create alongside paid creators, it results in authentic, playful and extremely watchable content for brands. 

Chipotle recently took advantage of this strategy and became the first and only major restaurant to have a TikTok account. The decision seems to be paying off for the brand, which embarked on a six-day #ChipotleLidFlip campaign (ironically with the help of ex-Vine star, David Dobrik), that ran in early May and generated 104 million video starts.

The brand’s foray into TikTok doesn’t stop there. Last summer’s #GuacDance challenge generated 250,000 video submissions and 430 million videos—TikTok’s highest performing branded challenge yet. The hashtag brought results in the real world as well, with the chain’s avocado usage jumping 68%. The brand also included another branded hashtag challenge as part of the annual "Boorito" Halloween celebration.

Chipotle knows its audience—the chain was recently ranked among the five most popular restaurant brands for teens, according to Piper Jaffray's semi-annual "Taking Stock With Teens" survey, making TikTok a key marketing channel for the chain. Clearly, other franchisors should take notice. 

In addition to these promoted hashtags, TikTok has developed a monetization strategy that includes formats such as brand takeovers, in-feed native videos, top view and branded lens.

While Vine struggled with growth, TikTok’s growth is exploding. Considering that the app generated $7 billion in revenue in the first half of 2019 alone—which dwarfs the revenue of Vine's parent company, Twitter—the company seems to be destined for a more stable future. In terms of marketing, the app continues to innovate and recently launched improved ad targeting which may just be what positions it for longevity in the eyes of marketers. 

TikTok is yet to be quite as iconic as Vine was in its heyday, but in terms of advertising the app is lightyears ahead. Social media is proving to be one of the most powerful marketing tools available to franchise brands. Only time will tell what the future holds for the video-sharing app, but don’t be surprised if we start seeing a lot more #challenges from some of the franchise industry’s biggest players.