Earlier this week, Hootsuite came out with its 2023 Social Media Trends report. As part of that report, their very first trend: “TikTok will take over the world.”

And while that may be true from a user perspective (user numbers and time spent on TikTok continue to climb), from a brand perspective, the picture is more murky in my view.

Many midsized and large companies I’ve worked with over the years have big-time legal and privacy concerns about the app–to the point where that is absolutely what’s stopping them from using it.

Other companies see TikTok’s relevance, but just don’t have the people-power or skills to make it work. This is why you’re seeing some brand outsource TikTok completely to creators or solos who specialize in it.

Whatever the case, I’m definitely not ready to say TikTok is going to “take over the world” when it comes to brand-side marketing. Far from it, in fact.

While TikTok’s user numbers certainly don’t lie about how much time people are spending on the app these days, neither do numbers show how many companies are using the app in 2023.

I did some research of the bigger companies just here in Minnesota and found that just 28% of the companies (22) I reviewed had even remotely “active” TikTok accounts. And, only a small handful of those companies are really seeing big success with the app–only 5 had 100,000 or more likes on its videos.

Now, I only really looked at midsized to large companies based in Minnesota. But, that’s a fairly representative sample size. And I do think it reflects the tenor of what’s going on in the social media world with TikTok on the brand side.

Yes, TikTok certainly provides some significant opportunities for brands willing and able to share on the platform. However, there are so many barriers right now. Privacy concerns. Skill sets/experience to produce videos that will work on TikTok. There are also concerns TikTok will be banned in some states, and the U.S., in 2023!

So, if you’re thinking about exploring TikTok in 2023, I say go for it. Huge upside for those in a position to take that one. However, if you’re stuck on one of the hurdles I mentioned above and you most likely will not have an active account on the app, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. And you’re certainly not “behind.”