By Riko Yamamoto
Do you like surfing webs? I love web surfing because I can get what I want without going out. It is not just me, but young people these days often shop online. One of the reasons is that a number of businesses promote productson SNS such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter. Opportunities to see various products are increasing by using those SNS. As companies that want to sell products have started to enter SNS, a large market that anyone can easily visit has begun to develop. In this essay, I will mainly consider the role of Tik Tok as a product market, what social media is, and the benefits of advertising on Tik Tok from the company’s point of view and the effect from the consumer’s point of view.
According to Yoko (2019), SNS is an abbreviation for social networking service, and it is a service that has the function of communication and connection between users in the Internet award. Among many SNS, Tik Tok is a has shown rapid expansion in recent years. Ikkaku (2021) said that while Instagram is required to look good like a magazine, Tik Tok is equipped with short videos that can be viewed quickly and abundant video editing functions.
Companies that want to sell products can boost sales by using celebrities who use Tik Tok to promote their products. Viewers would be more likely to buy if their favorite entertainers introduce product that they were wondering whether to buy. Eiko (2002) said that by emphasizing with the way of life and way of thinking of celebrities and artists through the media and imitating them or setting goals, people gain psychological satisfaction, and objective and instrumental satisfaction. As they subconsciously want to be like their favorite celebrities, they want to buy products that celebrities introduce. So, by using celebrities who have a lot of fans, mass consumption from their fans can be expected.
Another advantage of using Tik Tok is that consumers who want to buy products can get more information about the products they are trying to buy. On general online shopping site, only a few photos are posted, and it is difficult to understand what kind of texture and what kind of size a product will be. For example, when we buy a clothe, even S size differs depending on the manufacturer, so it is difficult to tell whether the clothe are really small S size or large S size by simply looking at the labels. However, if we use Tik Tok and search the clothe or its brand name, we would be able to see the shoppers’ reviews of the clothe. We can get more information there and ask questions in the comments section. In addition, we can also have the video taken again for even more detailed part. In this way, there are great benefits for consumers.
Tik Tok is a video distribution app and we can watch a lot of videos easily. And many companies and celebrities have cooperated to introduce a lot of products. Also, Tik Tok is making us less anxious about buying products. We may have worries about SNS, but in this way, SNS improve our quality of life!