{"id":602463,"date":"2023-01-29T07:50:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T13:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/29\/with-tiktoks-growing-list-of-issues-should-marketers-think-twice-about-the-platform\/"},"modified":"2023-01-29T07:50:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T13:50:08","slug":"with-tiktoks-growing-list-of-issues-should-marketers-think-twice-about-the-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/29\/with-tiktoks-growing-list-of-issues-should-marketers-think-twice-about-the-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"With TikTok\u2019s growing list of issues, should marketers think twice about the platform?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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January 25, 2023<\/span> | By Krystal Scanlon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tIvy Liu\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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For all the hype around TikTok among marketers, there are still some lingering issues on the platform that should give them pause \u2014 at least that\u2019s what one would think.<\/p>\n

Between the most recent news that TikTok executives can choose which posts go viral using the platform\u2019s heating feature, and the ticking time bomb in the shape of potential TikTok <\/strong>bans on both sides of the Atlantic, the sheen could well be fading on the well-polished narrative around the short-form video app. But as always, when it comes to TikTok, marketers seem unfazed <\/strong>and continue to be enthralled by the platform.<\/p>\n

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With that said, it\u2019s never a good look for any platform when the feature that supposedly makes it special is called into question.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn its own, the revelation [of TikTok\u2019s heating feature] isn\u2019t likely to cause much upheaval, but it certainly isn\u2019t great optics,\u201d said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at eMarketer. \u201cIt\u2019s also the first in a series of dominoes that will fall for TikTok this year, as the app will likely have to make some major concessions to appease U.S. regulators.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the idea that even a small number of TikTok employees can manually push content to users\u00a0suggests there\u2019s more going on behind closed doors \u2014 and it feels somewhat murky.<\/p>\n

Jamie MacEwan, senior media analyst at Enders, explained that TikTok execs\u2019 use of heating (which is boosting videos into users\u2019 \u201cFor You\u201d pages to achieve a more ideal number of views), confirms the TikTok team\u2019s awareness of some of the drawbacks of having a very aggressive personalization engine \u2014 its lauded special algorithm \u2014 and so this is a way for them to account for those drawbacks in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heating feature highlights that it\u2019s not as perfect a system as \u2018good content will always win,\u2019 but I don\u2019t think many marketers are na\u00efve enough to believe that money wouldn\u2019t play a part eventually,\u201d added Matt Moorut, director analyst at the Gartner for Marketing Leaders practice.<\/p>\n

After all, it was always expected that TikTok would give its closest partners the opportunity for <\/strong>a leg-up, such as by giving previews of upcoming products or, in this case, boosting videos, noted MacEwan.<\/p>\n

And in the grand scheme of things, this heating tool is still only a small part of total views on the app (though specific numbers have yet to be confirmed), so it\u2019s unlikely to impact marketers\u2019 organic content.<\/p>\n

But with a snafu like this coming <\/strong>to light, the credibility behind TikTok\u2019s algorithm doesn\u2019t feel as solid as it once was. Talk of banning<\/a> the app from political circles, on university campuses and potentially entire countries only fuels those underlying concerns.<\/p>\n

In fact, regulation is the real existential threat for TikTok, more so than this viral pushing by staff,\u00a0 according to MacEwan. As such, this news is unlikely to create any new TikTok skeptics among lawmakers or convince them TikTok has crossed a line in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, that could change if it turned out TikTok staff had been promoting problematic content or upholding editorial lines relayed by managers in Beijing, which might involve heating or other tools,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the outset, it appears marketers have had a higher level of skepticism for TikTok than other social platforms. But according to Moorut, that\u2019s largely because the app can supposedly provide incredible viewership but still hasn\u2019t managed to build analytics to truly trace that through to conversions in the same ways as other platforms.<\/p>\n

Yet despite those flaws, which have yet to be ironed out, TikTok will likely see this latest issue as nothing more than a bump on the road to greater monetization opportunities. But as a scaling short-form video app, it still has a long way to go until the platform works for regulators, policy makers, brands, creators and consumers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil there\u2019s a radical shift in the regulatory environment or a truly massive scandal, I don\u2019t see the compounding dissatisfaction affecting the fact that this will be an important channel for both brands and creators,\u201d Moorut said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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