Navigating Social Media Trends: Insights on Short-Form Videos from Sensor Tower
Exploring Global Social Media Trends in an Interview with Sensor Tower's VP of Research and Insights, Seema Shah.
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This edition continues our Q&A series, diving deep into insights from data analytics firms and showcasing impactful data narratives. Note: These interviews are not paid placements (it is made clear when the text is a sponsored ad) nor an endorsement of one data vendor over another. This article is not investment research.
Interview Focus: How Short-Form Videos Are Changing the Social Media Landscape
The landscape for social media platforms continues to evolve, with short-form videos growing in popularity. This interview with Seema Shah, Sensor Tower VP of Research and Insights, explores their data to uncover any changes in trends. Seema discusses the daily and monthly active app user trends, cross app usage data, and digital ad spend data.
The Data Score: How has the popularity of short-form videos impacted user trends on social media platforms?
Seema Shah of Sensor Tower: The widespread popularity of short-form video over the past few years has led to a material increase in users for both newer apps in the space (TikTok) and more established social media players who added the medium to their platforms (such as Instagram with Reels and YouTube with Shorts). Through 2Q24, global mobile app daily active users (DAUs) for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube were up 26%, 23%, and 22%, compared to 2Q21, respectively.
The Data Score: Are there any changes in the popularity of the leading platforms?
Seema Shah: This growth is quite impressive for Instagram and YouTube, particularly given the fact that each have existed for well over a decade on both app stores and have a large base of active users.
Over the past few quarters, user growth for TikTok has slowed as the app has come up against rising competition in the short-form video space and saturation in key markets like the US. Per Sensor Tower estimates, TikTok global mobile app DAUs increased an average of 2% year-over-year, per quarter, from 3Q23-2Q24, compared to nearly double that for Instagram (+7%), YouTube (+7%) and Pinterest (+7%) in the same period.
Through the same period, Facebook global mobile app DAUs increased by 2% as saturation weighed on growth for the social media giant. Conversely, Snapchat (+11%) and Reddit (+17%) both experienced double-digit YoY growth in DAUs during that period, but off of significantly smaller bases. Both Snapchat and Reddit had fewer than ~400 million mobile app DAUs in 2Q24, compared to more than 770 million for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Further reinforcing this trend of slowing user growth, Sensor Tower data shows that TikTok saw the sharpest decline in US DAUs (-5% YoY) in 2Q24, compared to +24% for Reddit, +4% for Pinterest and flat for Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram.
The Data Score: Despite slowing growth, are there any positive trends in TikTok usage that stand out?
Seema Shah: Though TikTok has exhibited slowing user growth, the platform engages its users for far longer than other social media apps. Through 2Q24, worldwide users spent an average of 96 minutes per day on TikTok, compared to 79 minutes per day on YouTube, 63 minutes per day on Instagram, 52 minutes per day on Facebook, 23 minutes per day on Reddit, 20 minutes per day on Snapchat and 11 minutes per day on Pinterest. TikTok’s industry-leading engagement coupled with its savvy algorithm have made it a very appealing platform for advertisers and, in the event of an outright US ban, potential suitors.
The Data Score: If TikTok becomes banned in the US1, which social media platforms are likely to benefit most?
Seema Shah: In the event that TikTok faces an outright ban in January 2025, other short-form video-focused platforms such as YouTube and Instagram would be poised to inherit its traffic, engagement and ad dollars. According to Sensor Tower data, US TikTok users heavily rely on and use these apps, as 94% of US TikTok users registered sessions on YouTube in 2Q24, compared to 80% for Instagram and 68% for Facebook.
The Data Score: What lessons can be learned from the changes in social media usage following TikTok's ban in India in 2020?
Seema Shah: The Indian market may be a prime example of where traffic may flow in the event of a US TikTok ban. TikTok was banned in India in June 2020 over national security concerns around the platform’s ties to its China-based parent company. Pre-ban, TikTok was one of the fastest growing apps in India, boasting the highest download totals out of any app in the country in the eighteen months prior to its banning. Additionally, TikTok had nearly 150 million monthly active users (MAUs) in India, up more than 10x compared to June 2018.
Indian smartphone users went two places in the wake of the ban: global apps with short-form video platforms (YouTube and Instagram) and localized short-form video apps (Moj and Josh). Per Sensor Tower data, YouTube and Instagram mobile app MAUs in India through Jun’24 were up 55% and 87%, respectively, compared to Jul’20, shortly after TikTok’s banning in the country. The widespread availability and popularity of short-form video platforms in the US may make it less likely that localized players will pop up to fill the void left by TikTok once it's banned.
The Data Score: Has the trend to short-form videos been an overall positive for digital ad revenues? Which platforms are converting the trend to revenues most effectively?
Seema Shah: According to Sensor Tower estimates, platforms dominated by short-form video, such as TikTok, have accrued a decent share of US advertiser spend, demonstrating a significant interest amongst brands in leveraging the medium to reach consumers. Through 2Q24, TikTok had ~10% of US social media ad spend share amongst the top ten spending categories across all social media platforms, while peers such as Facebook (34%), Instagram (26%), and YouTube (25%) boasted a much higher share of US ad spend.
Per Sensor Tower data, the five top spending categories of advertisers on Instagram increased US ad spend by an average of 17% YoY in 2Q24. Comparatively, TikTok saw increases in 3 of the 5 top spending categories, while Facebook and YouTube each saw increases in 2 of the 5 top spending categories. This may suggest that Instagram is more successfully garnering advertiser interest than its peers, potentially driven by the recent popularity of Reels.
In the event of TikTok’s US banning, its share of advertising dollars would likely flow to one of its top competitors in the space, such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, potentially propelling demand for short-form video placements given how crucial the medium has become to advertisers’ media mixes.
Data Score: Can you br share more about the data source, methodology and any caveats to consider
Seema Shah: Sensor Tower mobile app and digital advertising estimates are based on our proprietary panel and data science models. They may not accurately represent metrics for any app or advertiser and should be used for directional trend analysis.
Concluding thoughts
Thanks to Seema Shah and the Sensor Tower team for taking the time to answer the questions and share their data. The Sensor Tower website is https://sensortower.com/
For questions related to the data in this article, please contact:
Seema Shah, VP of Insights, at seema.shah@sensortower.com
Abraham Yousef, Senior Insights Analyst, at abraham.yousef@sensortower.com
Kara Lee, Brand & Digital Advertising Analyst, at kara.lee@sensortower.com
Marco Scacchi, Senior Qualitative Insights Analyst, at marco.scacchi@sensortower.com
Yuwen Huang, Qualitative Insights Analyst, at yuwen.huang@sensortower.com.
For more information or for a product demo, please contact William Merchan, CRO, at william.merchan@sensortower.com.
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- Jason DeRise, CFA
“President Biden signs law to ban TikTok nationwide unless it is sold.” NPR April 24, 2024 https://www.npr.org/2024/04/24/1246663779/biden-ban-tiktok-us