TikTok has brought affiliate content and direct links to TikTok Shop throughout their app. To understand potential advertising patterns on the platform, our team at Insider decided to watch 1,000 TikToks. The popularity of TikTok is evident from how much time people spend on it, particularly Gen Z watchers who spend 79 minutes each day. The average American adult over 18 also spends 56 minutes on the app daily.
While TikTok spokesperson reported that ads are supposed to be a small portion of the content users see on their For You Page (FYP), users have taken notice of an increased amount of ads and promotions. TikTok introduced an affiliate commission program earlier this year, allowing creators to promote products through links on their videos or slideshows. This has led to some concerns from users who feel they are being inundated with ads on their FYP.
To better understand this issue, two of our team members, Hannah and Sebastian, watched 500 TikToks each to see how much advertising is consumed on the platform. They discovered that over one-third of the content they saw was related to a product, whether it was an ad or a review. Some users have complained about multiple ads appearing on their FYP, while others have expressed concerns about promotions dominating their feed.
While TikTok does not explicitly label all promotional content as ads, users can still be exposed to a significant amount of content encouraging them to make purchases. Ultimately, our team’s research shows that TikTok’s advertising is becoming increasingly prevalent, with sponsored and affiliate content making up a significant portion of the videos users see on the platform.
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