Facebook, the social media platform owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB), has signed up for a TikTok account.
What Happened: Social media consultant Matt Navarra spotted the verified account created and Facebook has confirmed the account is real, TechCrunch reports.
“Brands leverage a variety of channels, including some of our social media platforms, to reach and engage with the people using their products and services every day,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Facebook’s TikTok account has 19,900 followers at the time of writing and has not created any videos. The account links to the download page for the Facebook app on Google Play instead of linking to the Facebook website.
The move comes as Facebook is transitioning to its parent company name of Meta Platforms, or Meta.
The company has stopped using its Facebook Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) account, instead focusing on a Meta Twitter account, which has 13.9 million followers. The TechCrunch report points out that there is no Facebook account on Instagram, a platform owned by parent company Meta Platforms.
Related Link: Meta Platforms (Facebook) Q4 Earnings Takeaways: Big EPS Miss, Revenue Beat, New Ticker
Why It’s Important: The launch of a Facebook account on TikTok could be done for several reasons. The company could use it to grow its following elsewhere and cross-promote its own social media platforms.
The account could also be used to launch ads and gain insights to trends on a rival platform.
“Our intent with establishing a brand presence and cultivating community on platforms like TikTok or others is no different,” the spokesperson said of community engagement.
Meta’s recent quarterly financial results showed that growth has slowed for the company, with its first-ever reported decline in daily active users.
“People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,” Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“TikTok is so big as a competitor already and also continues to grow at quite a faster rate off of a very large base.”
Meta has launched several short-form video products for Facebook and Instagram and attempted to take on TikTok in the race for Gen Z users.
Time will tell what Facebook has planned with its new TikTok account.
For reference, TikTok has a Facebook account with 25.3 million followers.
FB Price Action: Meta Platforms shares are up 4.62% to $200.90 on Wednesday.
Shares are down 41% year-to-date in 2022, knocking Zuckerberg out of the top 10 richest people in the world list.
