TikTok is a short-form video app that launched in September 2016 in China under the name Douyin, and expanded globally in August 2018 as TikTok after acquiring Musical.ly. As of 2023, TikTok has reached over 1.5 billion monthly active users globally, making it one of the most popular and fastest growing social media platforms in the world (BusinessofApps, 2023).
When TikTok first launched, it quickly gained traction, especially among Gen Z users. Within its first year, TikTok hit over 100 million downloads just from the iOS App Store (Demandsage, 2023). As of January 2023, TikTok has been downloaded over 3.3 billion times worldwide on both iOS and Android devices (BusinessofApps, 2023).
TikTok has seen massive growth in users every year. In January 2018, TikTok had about 54 million monthly active users. By January 2020, it surpassed 500 million monthly active users. And in the first quarter of 2022, TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users globally (Demandsage, 2023).
What is the Discover Page?
The Discover page on TikTok is designed to help users explore new content and discover trending videos, sounds, hashtags, and more. It provides a tailored feed of recommended videos based on a user’s interests and interactions. The Discover page replaced the previous Friends feed in early 2023.
To access the Discover page, simply tap the discover icon on the bottom navigation bar within the TikTok app. This opens up a page that surfaces popular and relevant content. The page is personalized for each user, but generally includes sections like Top Videos, Trending Sounds, Popular Creators, and more.
The Discover page allows users to easily browse through emerging trends, viral videos, top hashtags, and popular sounds. It aims to help users expand beyond just the people they follow and discover the wider breadth of content on TikTok. Overall, it serves as a central destination to explore new creators and content within the massive TikTok ecosystem.
According to TikTok (https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/discover-and-search), the Discover page provides a way to “search and explore the wide variety of content in the TikTok community.” It aims to showcase trending and recommended videos to aid discovery.
Recommended Content
The main way TikTok recommends content is through the For You feed. This is an endless stream of videos tailored to each user based on their interests and engagement. According to TikTok’s Newsroom, the recommendations are powered by an algorithm that ranks and surfaces videos most likely to be of interest to each user (TikTok Newsroom).
The algorithm looks at a variety of factors, including user interactions like likes, shares, comments, dwell times, clicks; video details like captions, sounds, and hashtags; device and account settings; and more. TikTok describes it as a “combination of user interactions and video information” (TikTok Help Center). The goal is to balance suggesting relevant content while also introducing diversity and new creators.
Over time, the recommendations get smarter based on ongoing user engagement. The more a user interacts with certain types of videos, the better the algorithm becomes at surfacing similar content. This creates a customized, unique For You feed for every user.
Popular Creators
TikTok is home to creators across many categories who have amassed millions of followers. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, some of the most popular kinds of creators on TikTok include:
- Dancers – Such as Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae
- Comedians – Like Khaby Lame, Spencer X
- Musicians – Like Bella Poarch, Dixie D’Amelio
- Athletes – Such as Zach King
- Celebrities – Like Will Smith, Dwayne Johnson
As of 2023, some of the top individual creators on TikTok by follower count include:
- Khaby Lame – 161.8 million followers
- Charli D’Amelio – 148.7 million followers
- Bella Poarch – 92.4 million followers
- Addison Rae – 86.9 million followers
- Zach King – 63.9 million followers
These top creators produce entertaining and engaging content in genres like comedy, dance, music, magic, and more. Their massive follower counts demonstrate their incredible popularity and influence on TikTok.
Trending Hashtags
Hashtags are an important part of TikTok, allowing users to find and contribute to popular trends and categories of content. The Discover page features a list of currently trending hashtags that you can explore.
Tapping on a trending hashtag brings up a page showing TikToks using that tag. For example, #FoodTikTok may include videos of tasty recipes, cooking tips, food reviews, and funny kitchen moments. Other common trending hashtags highlight dance moves, comedy sketches, travel destinations, animals, and more.
The trending hashtags list is tailored to each user based on the content they commonly view and engage with. Hashtags gain traction and appear on Discover by being used in many popular TikToks within a short time. Using trending hashtags can help your own videos be seen by more people with similar interests.
Some examples of hashtags that have trended globally on TikTok include #LearnOnTikTok for educational content, #TikTokTravel for beautiful travel footage, #Foodie for food videos, and #BookTok for book reviews and recommendations. Local trending hashtags also emerge based on location and events.
Tapping into current trends is a great way to make engaging content. The Discover page provides an overview of what’s heating up on TikTok right now so you can stay on top of what’s new and popular.
Sounds
Music and sounds are a huge part of what makes TikTok videos so engaging. The Discover page highlights many of the top trending sounds being used in videos across the app. TikTok has licensed a vast library of music that creators can use in their videos without worrying about copyright issues.
TikTok’s commercial music library contains over 100,000 tracks across many genres that are pre-cleared for use. Creators can browse sounds by mood, genre, themes, and more to find the perfect music for their videos (source). Using these licensed tracks avoids copyright issues and having videos taken down.
For creators wanting to use popular music or viral sounds not in TikTok’s official library, they need to obtain the proper licenses and rights first. TikTok has a process for verifying you have the rights to use music by certain artists or labels in your content (source). This protects creators and allows them to use music legally.
Challenges
One of the most popular features of TikTok is participating in challenges. Challenges are viral video trends that encourage users to create their own videos around a central theme or concept. Some of the most viewed challenges include dance challenges like the Renegade, which has amassed over 38 million views (Source). Other challenges like the Tumbleweed Challenge, where users let themselves fall to the ground like tumbleweed blowing in the wind, have also gone viral on TikTok (Source).
Challenges are a huge driver of engagement on TikTok. They encourage participation from users, who can put their own creative spin on popular trends. Even major celebrities like Jimmy Fallon have gotten involved in viral challenges, showing just how far reaching they are on the platform (Source). However, some challenges have raised safety concerns, like the Skullbreaker Challenge that resulted in injuries (Source). But overall, challenges continue to be an integral part of the TikTok experience.
Effects
TikTok offers a variety of built-in effects and filters that users can apply to their videos to enhance the visuals. Some of the most popular built-in effects include the Green Screen effect, Anime filter, and Invisible filter. The Green Screen effect allows users to replace the background behind them with anything they want. The Anime filter stylizes videos with thick outlines, large eyes, and bright colors reminiscent of anime art styles. The Invisible filter makes part of the subject transparent so that the background shows through.
In addition to the built-in effects, there are many third-party effects and filters that TikTok creators can download and use in their videos. Some of the most popular third-party effects come from apps like CapCut, VintaCam, and FILMORA [1]. These apps allow for advanced editing and visual effects like glitch distortions, 3D landscapes, split screens, and more. TikTok also has an effects store where creators can browse and purchase new effects to elevate their videos.
Effects and filters are an integral part of creating engaging TikTok videos. Both the built-in and third-party options allow creators to apply stunning visual styles that capture viewers’ attention. As new effects are continually being developed, TikTok offers an ever-expanding palette for creators to experiment with.
Livestreams
TikTok allows users to live stream video to their followers in real time. According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, live streams on TikTok have access to robust analytics like unique viewers, new followers gained, comments, shares, hearts, and more (TikTok Creator Portal). This allows creators to assess performance and optimize future live streams.
Live streaming is highly popular on TikTok. Research shows that in June 2020, around 26% of TikTok users watched a live stream (Live Streaming Statistics). Some of the most popular TikTok live streamers include Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Spencer X who regularly garner over 100,000 concurrent viewers.
Conclusion
In summary, the Discover page on TikTok is a great place to find trending and recommended videos and creators. It offers a tailored feed of content based on your interests and engagement. The page surfaces popular hashtags, sounds, effects, challenges, and live streams. It’s a hub to stay on top of the latest viral trends.
The benefits of the Discover page are discovering new creators and community trends. It helps users expand beyond just who they follow, opening up more of TikTok’s vast content. For creators, it assists with growing an audience by getting content recommended. Overall, the Discover page enables users to fully immerse themselves in everything happening on TikTok.
By utilizing the Discover page, TikTok users can enhance their experience. They can find new creators and videos to follow and like. It helps both viewers and creators tap into trending content to remain relevant. For anyone looking to get the most out of TikTok, the Discover page is an invaluable resource.
