Generation Tiktok, or celebrity reinvented in the era of instantaneity

It all started during confinement.Sarah-Jade, who accumulated 13 years of dance experience and who participated in the Revolution program, was looking for new challenges.A friend suggested that he share her talent on the social network.

What is Tiktok?

Launched by the Chinese company bytedance in 2016, this application allows you to create short video sequences (between 3 and 60 seconds) and to share them with its community.She crossed the milestone of the two billion downloads in the spring 2020.

Upon registration, his videos caught the attention of people subscribed to the app and the industry propelling it to a million subscriptions. Une explosion est aussi survenue à la fin du mois de juillet, lorsque Sarah-Jade a créé une danse en invitant d’autres TikTokers à faire un duo.To his surprise, Tony Lopez, a real star of the application with her 21.9 million subscriptions, broadcast a few days later his own version of the choreography accompanied by the original video.Lopez's publication reached 17.4 million views.

With this sudden popularity open the doors of an international career. J’espère maintenant aller à Los Angeles et collaborer avec plein de "TikTokers" pour créer des vidéos, dit Sarah-Jade Bleau avec ambition.

This dream could well become reality soon, since the dancer has already been approached by large artist agencies that represent the platform elite.Pandemic obliges, it will however have to wait for the opening of the borders for the realization of a project which it keeps secret at the moment.

Sarah-Jade Bleau is not the only Canadian to be in the industry.Daïna Lachance is only 14 years old, but she is already part of one of the largest agencies, EP Talent, which represent celebrities of Tiktok, like the Canadian Kristen Hancher (24.5 million subscriptions).

The one who dreamed of being an actress has been built in recent years a real online career with humorous videos.It was at the age of 10 that she took her first steps on the musical platform.Ly, where she managed to reach more than two million subscriptions.The application has since been bought by Bytedance and merged with Tiktok.Its Tiktok community exceeds 155,000 people subscribers.

The teenager already has several advertising contracts to her credit.She creates videos on Tiktok to promote products or songs.Like Instagram, Tiktok serves as an influence marketing tool;Thus, the stars of the application manage to draw an income.

Discreet as to income generated thanks to the application, the mother-daughter duo wants these efforts to allow Daïna to live from his passion.

Tiktok's secret

With various choreographies, humorous staging or artistic performances, the application has seduced the youngest generation, which now abandons the too licked aesthetics of Instagram or the old -fashioned Facebook.

Initiators of major trends, these people dictate what will appeal to the majority. Les ados demeurent le groupe le plus influent pour les tendances et les mouvements. Toute plateforme qui est capable de les cibler et de répondre à leurs attentes sera populaire , explique la stratège en communication Martine St-Victor.

No wonder Tiktok is considered a new musical successful incubator.Several of the great successes of recent years have hit the platform before reaching the general public.The case of Lil Nas X is a good example.Completely unknown before revisiting the Old Town Road room, singer Country Billy Ray Cyrus, the rapper rose to the top of the Billboard track record and was able to launch his career.

Other songs have become real classics from Tiktok.Think of Savage, from Megan Thee Stallion, or to Tootsie Slide, Drake.The Canadian singer has also included clear indications in his words to create a dance from the song.In the video video, Drake even performs choreography, which has become viral on Tiktok and taken up by large stars like Charli d'Amalio and Addison Rae.Besides, the keyword #Tootsieslides generated 188.3 million views.

Tiktok also stands out where the other giants are still struggling to break through, on the side of the commitment of people who use the application.Martine St-Victor notes that the commitment rate on Tiktok varies from 8.4 to 9.4 %, compared to Instagram, where a good rate is rather between 3 and 6 %.

A young audience;committed users;millions of views...The ingredients are united to attract brands and generate income.A lot of income.

For the first time this year, Forbes magazine has drawn up a list of income from the Tiktok celebrities.The seven best paid people on the platform have all won more than $ 1 million in the last 12 months.Combining 54.1 million subscriptions, Addison Rae climbs in the front row;It collects five million dollars thanks to Tiktok, its new line of cosmetics as well as partnerships with American Eagle and Spotify.These creators draw these amounts from the sale of products and content commanded by large companies.

Far from being a hobby

Tiktok is much more than a simple hobby for many people trying to break into it. C’est vraiment un métier. Le secret, c’est de créer tous les jours au moins deux ou trois vidéos , explique Sarah-Jade Bleau.

What does a typical day look like?The dancer respects a strict schedule.She gets up early, make up, prepares her videos in advance and manages her community online.She also decided to add a few strings to her bow by publishing humorous videos that ask her to improve her game.A way, according to the user, to vary her content and to expand her skills.

Daïna Lachance is impatiently awaits her 15th birthday.His mother, Nathalie Lachance, explains that her daughter was still very young for Tiktok and that this anniversary will mark her real entry into this competitive market.According to her, teens stand out more when their age is a little higher on the platform, which has set the minimum age of its users and users at 13.

It is Daïna's mother who has managed her daughter's account since the start of this adventure. La recette de leur succès? La persévérance, le talent et l’imagination.Like any work, you have to persist. Il est essentiel de publier souvent et de créer des contenus de qualité , dit Nathalie Lachance.

For Daïna, Tiktok is only the tip of the iceberg.His experience in creating content allowed him to find his true passion: the game.However, she does not turn her back on influencer marketing business opportunities that the platform offers her.

Gabriel St-Jean launched in the arena last March.Artistic skater on cruise ships, he had no choice but to stay on earth, pandemic obliges.First intrigued by the application, the young man decided to invest his time to create humorous videos.Some Disney princesses imitations later, he can now count on a little more than 151,000 subscriptions.

The smile in his voice, he explains that the sudden popularity of his videos motivates him to explore other avenues. J’ai toujours voulu être humoriste ou animateur , raconte-t-il.Already, Gabriel wins paid partnerships with certain brands, including the alcoholic drink Beach Day Every Day.

The influential marketing industry explodes.In a few years, the value of this sector increased from 1.7 billion US dollars (in 2016) to 6.6 billion (in 2019), according to the influence marketing analysis report (new window)2020 of the body influencing hub marketing.

This true flambé of industry appeals to young people until influenced their vision of success.In the United States, just over half (54 %) of people aged 13 to 38 would become influencers or influencers If the opportunity arose, demonstrates an American Morning Consulting poll carried out in 2019.Quietly, a large base of people subscribed to social networks becomes a prerequisite for acquiring cultural, economic and even political capital.

Creativity and authenticity as a watchword

Down with the quest for perfection and licked aesthetics: on Tiktok, people sulk Instagram codes to adopt an authentic style.The main signature of its large stars remains creativity.

I was fascinated by the creativity of young stars of the platform.In two minutes, strangers met and created fascinating content.On Tiktok, the content prevails on the container. – Aurélie Sauthier, cofondatrice et présidente de l'agence en marketing d'influence Made In

In the United States, the collective The Hype House hosts content creators in a mansion located in Los Angeles. Conditions d’admission : les jeunes doivent compter sur un grand nombre d’abonnements et s’engager dans la création quotidienne de vidéos en collaborant avec d’autres locataires de la maison.This initiative has propelled the stars of the application like Avani Gregg (23.7 million subscriptions).

The Tiktok community inspires Sarah-Jade Bleau, which finds a positive space where people encourage themselves and support each other. Je suis tellement reconnaissante de ce qui m’arrive en ce moment.I am dazzled by the love I receive and the space of creation that I agree.

Interpreter and choreographer of contemporary dance, Aïcha Bastien N’Diaye observed the Tiktok wave from afar, in the corridors of the dance schools where young people made choreographies for the application.

Curious, she began to create content there last spring.She moves away from the main Tiktok dance trends to present more authentic numbers, and it works: the dancer now combines just over 133,000 subscriptions on her account.

La jeune femme note que l’algorithme de TikTok pousse les utilisateurs et utilisatrices à entrer dans des boîtes et à faire des choix qui sont toujours les mêmes.

Aurélie Sauthier, on the other hand, considers that Tiktok remains a fun and accessible space despite her great popularity. Depuis la genèse d'Instagram en 2010, le réseau social a abandonné sa touche plus authentique pour devenir le royaume de l’esthétisme aspirationnel, décrit-elle.

However, the expert notes that brands are still reluctant to engage in major advertising campaigns on Tiktok, as they were in the early Instagram.

Sur TikTok, les contenus affichés sur la page d’accueil proviennent principalement de comptes auxquels l’utilisatrice ou l’utilisateur n’est pas abonné, un peu comme l’option explorer d’Instagram.This feature brakes the brands to invest, according to Aurélie Sauthier. Aussi, les mesures de performance offertes par TikTok ne permettent toujours pas aux entreprises de mesurer clairement leur retour sur investissement, ajoute-t-elle.

Tiktok fascinates.Its users create a space as fun as they are only.Now the application is not just dance and humor.She now pierces the political sphere.

Threatened with being prohibited in several countries for security related problems, especially in the United States and Australia, Tiktok flows a lot of ink on the side of governments.The members of the young generation organize and create political content to assert their positions.With millions of views, young people's concerns can now be ignored.