TikTok Takes On Twitter: Launches Text-Based Posts to Challenge Social Media Rivals

TikTok's latest feature, allowing users to post written content, is likely a strategic move to expand its platform beyond video sharing and compete with Twitter Inc's text-focused format. 

By offering text-based posts, TikTok aims to provide its users with more creative opportunities and increase engagement on the platform.

Also Read: Meta Platforms Faces Limited Upside Potential Amid TikTok's Momentum and Revenue Headwinds, Analyst Says

The new text-based posts on TikTok resemble Meta Platforms Inc META Instagram stories, allowing users to share written content along with music or a sound, stickers, and location tags. These posts can still be interacted with in the same way as videos or photos, like duetting and reposting, Forbes reports.

Meta's Threads, an Instagram offshoot, was the first to threaten Twitter's text-based app dominance. 

Threads gained traction upon its launch, but its daily active users declined significantly after its peak, leaving room for other platforms like TikTok.

TikTok's move comes amid Twitter's challenges since being acquired by billionaire Elon Musk. Changes made by Musk to the Twitter platform have faced flak from users, and the social media platform has dealt with issues like outages and layoffs. 

TikTok's introduction of text-based posts could intensify user attention and engagement competition.

TikTok's user base has grown significantly, with 150 million Americans using the platform in late March, making it a significant player in social media.

However, TikTok battled concerns about data security and privacy due to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Some states in the U.S. have banned its use on government devices.

On the other hand, under Elon Musk's vision, Twitter is undergoing significant changes, including a shift to an all-in-one "everything app" concept. 

Photo by olivier-bergeron via unsplash

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.