Various sources confirm this, citing a decline in overall TikTok downloads during April-May 2020 compared to the previous two months.
The natural anti-China sentiment, objectionable content, and lack of ad campaigns in the lockdown are some prime reasons for TikTok’s gloomy picture in the Indian market.
According to the date by a business intelligence firm Sensor Tower, TikTok downloads declined by 34 percent in April 2020 and 28 percent as of May 23, 2020.
The app has seen a minimal growth of 7-8% during the February-March 2020.
From 35.7 downloads in March 2020, the number came down to 23.5 million y April 2020 and further to 17 million by May 23, 2020.
Meanwhile, the brand itself stayed away from digital promotional activities in the last two months.
“It looks like a short-term trend, and we will likely see some India-specific campaigns from TikTok by the festive season,” says Karthik Srinivasan, a communication consultant and former national lead of Social media at Ogilvy.
Meanwhile, Instagram is eyeing to garner more users by investing in ads on TikTok.
Adding to the app’s downfall, netizens have been debating between YouTube and TikTok over the last week, with #banTikTokIndia hashtag trending on Twitter.
This eventually has hit TikTok’s rating in Google Play Store, taking it down to 1.2 after millions began criticizing the app.
On the other hand, the Indian Government’s push for ‘Made in India’ initiative also has a significant impact on TikTok, especially due to the fact that it is a Chinese app.
Meanwhile, the BARC India and Neilson report say marketing spends on YouTube, Hotstar and TikTok have together declined sharply, especially in banking, finance, retail, computers and automotive sectors.
“We cannot wash our hands off after creating content. As creators, we are also responsible for such disturbing videos and for sharing them,” says Paras Tomar, an influencer.
Another content creator on TikTok, Shivani Kapila, says, “I got 8 million views for my video in a day, at a time when people were asking for a ban on the app. No way will I be quitting the platform anytime soon.”
Shivani has 9.3 million followers on TikTok.
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