Why creatives are jumping on TikTok

We speak to an illustrator, a filmmaker and a lettering artist who are making waves on TikTok about what it offers creatively that its competitors don’t already, and their advice for other creatives thinking about getting on the app

While Facebook has been busy battling a series of ongoing controversies around privacy and political influence (as seen with its timely rebrand earlier this month), and Twitter user numbers have been falling off a cliff over the last couple of years, a new player has been making a name for itself in the social sphere: TikTok.

Founded in 2017, the app has been attracting new users in their droves, becoming the most downloaded iOS app of 2018 in the process. This is largely down to its winning combination of snappy, 15-second videos set to catchy music, Gen-Z friendly stickers and special effects, and its viral challenges that involve users dancing along to songs and even rolling across the floor pretending to be tumbleweed.

CR has already written about the pros and cons for brands considering jumping on the TikTok bandwagon, but what about for creatives? The app’s easy-to-use video editing tools and its focus on community might seem like an attractive prospect, but for the wealth of creatives already using Instagram as a shop window for their work, do they really need another social media presence to worry about keeping on fleek?