TikTok contributed $1.1 billion to Australia’s GDP and supported nearly 13,000 jobs in the last financial year, the inaugural TikTok Economic Impact Report conducted by Oxford Economics has revealed.
More than 8.5 million Australians on the platform were influenced to buy, visit, or donate to more than 350,000 businesses using TikTok, according to the report.
Investments in advertising and marketing on TikTok (FY23) generated $1 billion in direct revenue for Australian businesses, and with flow on impacts, the GDP contribution grew to $1.1 billion.
Tora Brophy, head of SMB at TikTok, told Mediaweek that the report’s results “paint an optimistic picture for the year ahead for TikTok, Aussie businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs.”
“I believe there’s a huge headroom for even more businesses to be successful by embracing their creativity and simply starting to make TikToks.”
Brophy noted the platform presents a cost effective way for businesses of different shapes and sizes to grow and connect with customers, without a hefty advertising budget.
“We know that businesses of all shapes and sizes, and within different industries, succeed using TikTok, as 78% of business owners said that the platform had a positive impact at expanding their reach, with an additional 76% attributing TikTok to growing their brand loyalty with existing customers.”
The report found that entertainment was the number one reason people across the country engaged with the platform. In regional centres, DIY and home were the top content topics, while metro audiences leaned more into the arts, sport, and politics.
TikTok For Business, the hub for advertisers on the platform, was embraced more by younger businesses, according to the study.
In the sectors surveyed, 54% of businesses aged between five and nine years reported using TikTok at least once a month for advertising and marketing purposes, followed by 42% of businesses under five years old. It found that 38% of users, or up to 3.2 million people, reported purchasing a product or service recommended on the platform at least once a month during FY23.
Meanwhile, 77% of businesses surveyed said TikTok allowed them to reach new Australian audiences.
3.5 million people, or 41% based on TikTok’s Australian user base, visited a TikTok-recommended restaurant or shop at least once. Meanwhile, 21%, or 1.8 million people purchased music or concert tickets after discovering music on the platform.
An Oxford Economics spokesperson said TikTok can act as a “signpost” to the real world, offering people a way to discover new places to visit and new products and services.
“In fact, millions of people have visited a restaurant or shop, or purchased music or bought concert tickets after watching TikToks. This means businesses can, and do, really leverage the platform to grow.”
Brett Armstrong, general manager of global business solutions at TikTok, noted how integral to Australia’s social fabric the platform has become.
“Our unique recommendation system focuses on engagement and interests, rather than follower numbers. This allows both new and established businesses to tap into popular trends and culture without the need for big marketing resources.”