TikTok is Taking Over Search
How brands need to pivot in a video-first world
In this article, we explore how Gen Z is leading a shift in search behavior, preferring TikTok over Google. This creates an opportunity for future-focused brands to connect with consumers faster by prioritizing inspiration over information and relevance over reach. Given the outsized influence TikTok and Gen Z have on culture, we’re already seeing signs of wider adoption.
TikTok Takes The Lead
For the first time ever, TikTok toppled Google as the most visited website on the Internet. Add to this the fact that 40% of Gen Z consumers now prefer to search on TikTok and Instagram instead of Google, and the future of search comes into focus. Text-based lists of gamified search results and paid ads suddenly seem antiquated. Comparatively, bite-sized, creator-led videos are more compelling to watch, driving deeper adoption.
This shift to short-form video is no surprise to Google. It’s why they launched YouTube Shorts, which already has 1.5 billion monthly active users. Their $100 million YouTube Shorts creator fund doubles down on the power of video to communicate with cultural context, something TikTok delivers in spades. Even standard search Google search results are starting to change. Just add “TikTok” to any Google search and you’ll now see rows of videos pulled from the platform shown above standard text results.
Google = Information, TikTok = Inspiration
While some searches (medical questions, financial advice, legal, etc.) may still be better served via Google, as it indexes the entire web, TikTok comes out on top for categories like entertainment, food, fashion, beauty, and culture alongside common queries. Case in point? Finding the best lasagna in NYC.
A quick comparison of search results between Google and TikTok for “best NYC lasagna” provides an example. Google returns rows of restaurant listings, websites and magazine articles. Helpful, but quite a bit to take in. Taking a different approach, TikTok shows a selection of short user-generated videos, the first of which is a lasagna review from an actual guest. The camera zooms into a twelve-layer lasagna slowly being sliced while dripping with sauce and cheese. Clearly, we have a winner. UGC trumps branded content any day. And that video of melting cheese is enough to overpower the best-written line of copy a search result could return.
Relevance Over Reach
As video gains ground over text-based searches, brands will need to rethink how to best drive discovery. The Washington Post does this well through combining entertainment with education via idiosyncratic, engaging news segments. Seeing the growing interest in the topic of #studentdebt on TikTok with 217 million views, @WashingtonPost created a video of a dancing Joe Biden impersonator (i.e. Washington Post staffer) explaining what it all means in an easy-to-understand way. With 1.4 million followers and 290 million views on their videos, the strategy is transforming the 145-year-old newspaper into a Gen Z favorite on TikTok.
Just as Gen Z continues to influence older consumers, TikTok’s transformation of search hints at new habits forming for us all. To win in a future that favors watching over reading, brands need to go beyond reach as a KPI and double down on relevance and culture to create content that truly resonates.
TL;DR
Gen Z consumers prefer to search on TikTok and Instagram instead of Google. Brands need to consider the impact of this shift on discovery and awareness building. For unfiltered insights, marketers should enter their brand name in TikTok search, along with the names of their hero products and direct competitors to get a sense of how they are being discussed on the platform.
As TikTok’s role in search grows, gamified text-based results and paid ads will give way to engaging and entertaining user-generated videos that break through and build trust. To leverage this shift, brands should consider a TikTok strategy that includes a mix of always-on content, participate in relevant trends, and explore hashtag challenges – especially during strong sales periods.
To win in a world of video-first search, forward-thinking brands need to have a strong understanding of their target audience’s interests, then produce culturally relevant content that TikTok users can easily find by including 3-5 strategically selected hashtags.
Our next issue will feature Part Three in our three-part series “Why TikTok is the Future of Everything” exploring why TikTok is the Future of Shopping and how brands can leverage the platform's algorithm to drive revenue.
Qulture Case Study
Armani Beauty Lip Power TikTok Activation
Leveraging Lipstick's Popularity on TikTok
Qulture worked with Armani Beauty to build awareness and brand relevance among younger US consumers on TikTok for their Lip Power product launch.
For this activation, we leveraged the visual signature of the brand's television campaign to highlight the transformative effects of Lip Power with TikTok's trending "before and after" effects, underscored by Armani Beauty's signature brand color palette and a silhouetted profile.
The activation featured 16 leading TikTok content creators, reaching 33.5M followers and generating over 540,000 total likes. Videos tagged with #LipPower on TikTok now exceed 27 million views.