Tik Tok vs Instagram Strategic Advantage Discussion
for this assignment, you will listen to the first three episodes of Season 48 of the Business Wars podcast TikTok vs Instagram and answer the questions below. You are free to use any podcast steaming service, or follow the links provided.
https://www.stitcher.com/show/business-wars/episode/tiktok-vs-instagram-codename-1-79784262 (Links to an external site.)
https://www.stitcher.com/show/business-wars/episode/tiktok-vs-instagram-small-place-big-dream-2-79843376 (Links to an external site.)
https://www.stitcher.com/show/business-wars/episode/tiktok-vs-instagram-dance-dance-revolution-3-79957729 (Links to an external site.)
Q1: Why would rapid growth be a bad thing for a business?
Q2: Do you think a partnership is a strategic advantage?
Q3: Is copying the competition just part of business?
Q4: What is one single lesson you are taking away from this story?
Q1: Why would rapid growth be a bad thing for a business?
When it comes to a businesses growth, it can be argued that rapid growth, while exciting in the short term, can be detrimental in the follow years. Firstly, there could be a negative effect on your employees if the work load becomes too much and there is not enough time to hire more work. Not only does this decrease moral, but it can also decrease the productivity of otherwise, good workers. Additionally, not every company has enough funding to expand at an expeditious rate. Next, there is now an intense pressure on management to make decisions for the company and instead of being proactive and thinking about the future, they might tend to operate reactively. There are also a number of issues that would arise in a manufacturing firm, such as quality, that TikTok did/does not necessarily have to think about.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/growing-business/ways-grow/pros-cons#:~:text=Growing%20because%20of%20success&text=But%20if%20you%20expand%20too,as%20financial%20and%20management%20structures.
Q2: Do you think a partnership is a strategic advantage?
I do think that a partnership is a strategic advantage. Not only do partnerships eliminate competition, but they also add value to a brand through awareness and trust. Although this may not necessarily apply to Instagram and TikTok (because chances are if you have an Instagram, you have a TikTok or at least know about them), but partnerships allow businesses access to new customers and the opportunity to reach and enter new markets. If there were many (or any at all) downsides to a partnership, then it would not be so popular among many large brands and corporations that we know and love. There are many partnerships in which we may not know exist. Additionally, as we learned in our economics courses, a transaction would not occur unless it benefits both parties. The same can be said about partnerships.
https://www.business.com/articles/connor-blakley-strategic-partnerships/#:~:text=Strategic%20partnerships%20have%20mutual%20benefits,awareness%20and%20create%20brand%20trust.
Q3: Is copying the competition just part of business?
Copying is absolutely just part of business. If someone sees something that is working, then you better believe that they are going to do it as well. People follow success. Obviously, there are copyrights and patents that may help a business remain authentic and one of a kind, but there is truly no way to deter copying or adaptation. As the saying goes, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” However, just because something was successful for someone else, it does not mean that it is going to be successful for you as well. We saw this with Triller. Triller came out at the time everyone thought that TikTok was going to be banned. However, TikTok has not been banned and Triller (while it may be successful) is no where near TikTok.
Q4: What is one single lesson you are taking away from this story?
One lesson that I am taking away from this story is that although most business who experience rapid growth fail, if you are in a certain industry, and enter certain partnerships, then you can sustain that growth. TikToks numbers even over the past year have been insane and something that you rarely see. While they have, and still are, doing it, I do not think that everyone could handle the pressure as well as they have. However, they were prepared for this surge is some ways which is why they are continuing to grow