The Clock Ticks on TikTok
ISAIAH CROOKS | OCT. 23, 2020
TikTok’s recent claim that competitors are attempting to steal their followers by utilizing similar, popular features from their app should come to no surprise to anyone. While TikTok did not name any social media platforms, it is clear that one of the platforms they are referring to is Instagram, who has a history of implementing features that are similar to those used by competitors.
Instagram’s tricks may be slimy, but they are unfortunately common in the business realm. One tactic that has always existed in business has been to:
take a competitor’s feature
improve the feature
implement the feature into their own mix
After that, it is the marketing team’s responsibility to market the feature as new and improved– and vastly superior to their rivals.
Ultimately, Instagram is following the business handbook, but they may not succeed this round in dethroning their competitor. If TikTok is serious about maintaining their “It Girl” status, they need to learn from Snapchat’s mistakes and show that their app is vastly superior to Reels (which it is).
