More than 3.5 billion people have downloaded TikTok as of July 2022. Average user sessions on this platform last 10.85 minutes, making it the most engaging social media platform. Instagram user sessions last 2.95 minutes.
The “bold personalities, cultural experts, trend-setters, and pioneers” (as TikTok puts it) who have amassed millions of followers are largely responsible for this phenomenon.
Those who are influential on TikTok are in a position of strength. They attract brands because they produce high-quality content and have active communities. In particular, since over a third (35%) of users learn about new brands and products from creators. Over 3,500 hours of content were consumed from the 22 ‘Benefit Brow Challenge’ videos that were created in collaboration between Benefit Cosmetics and TikTok influencers to promote the launch of the company’s new Brow Microfilling Pen.
With no further ado, here is a rundown of the top 8 TikTok stars of 2023.
Lame Khaby
Khaby Lame, an Italian comedy video creator, has amassed millions of likes on his TikToks making fun of so-called life hacks, making him the platform’s most followed influencer. Videos of him debunking a magic trick (70.6 million views) and showing what happens when Valentine’s Day cologne is taken to an extreme are among his most popular (136 million views).
Jennifer Chen
Fashion TikTok influencer Vanessa Chen (or Vivacious Honey, as she is known online) has over 2.3 million fans. In the year 2020, the Boston-based app TikToker became wildly popular. In her TikTok bio, she clarifies that the person she refers to as “twin” is actually her alter ego, not her twin.
The Diet of Kev
The 28-year-old Kevin Noparvar of Los Angeles runs a food blog. While he was working as a real estate agent, he started using Instagram to share pictures and videos of the food he was eating, and soon he had 20,000 followers. He now has 2.6 million followers and an engagement rate of 14% on TikTok.
An Angry Blog Poster
TikToker Richard Chao, aka Hangry Blogger, is a fellow foodie. “Mad af when I’m hungry,” as he describes himself on TikTok, “Richard shares a mixture of restaurant reviews, weird and wonderful culinary creations, and fun “listicle” style TikToks like “5 ways to eat a pizza” and “top 3 most underrated food to get a the night market.”
In 2020, when Chao first began uploading to TikTok, he didn’t see much traction. However, in April of 2021, he posted a video that went viral.
T. Dunlap, Tori
One of the most popular TikTok users and financial educators, Tori Dunlap (@herfirst100k) frequently credits the app as a key factor in her meteoric rise to fame. Dunlap, at only 26, is already a financial powerhouse on the video-sharing platform TikTok.
Milk Shop
Although Milk Bar is a New York–based bakery company and not a “influencer,” the success the brand has had on TikTok cannot be ignored. The company promotes its most popular baked goods by posting recipes, how-to guides, and photos that will make your mouth water.
Milk Bar has more than 224.5k followers, and their most popular TikToks include the “add soak baking tip of the day” (viewed more than 2.1 million times) and their cookie recipe (1 million views).
Said Name: Hyram Yarbro
Hyram Yarbro, 26, has become one of the most popular “skinfluencers” on TikTok despite having zero experience in the field. A native of Arizona, he relocated to Honolulu at the age of 18 to pursue a career in the cosmetics industry, where he discovered his true calling: advising others on how to best care for their skin.
While many of his contemporaries got their start on TikTok, he was not one of them.
Underachieving Female Student
Miss Excel was a must-mention in any discussion of TikTok stars. Creating her first of many entertaining and informative Excel tips TikToks in June 2020, Kat Norton has since gone on to make many more. One of her videos had 100,000 views just four days after she uploaded it. On day six, the CEO of the company she was working for asked her to develop training materials for their G-suits. A video she uploaded three weeks later garnered 3.6 million views.
Since then, Norton has only been progressing upwards. Very quickly, she started developing her own online courses, which, by April of 2021, had earned her over $105,000.
Tracking the Number of Countries
The young and attractive Chloe and Jordan of Counting Countries want to travel to all of the world’s countries. They take their son, Lennon, around the world and use TikTok to record their travels. “Is the blue lagoon in Iceland worth visiting?” is one of their most popular TikToks. “the craziest McDonald’s in Europe” (4.2 million views) and “Anthony Bourdain’s favourite meal in the world” (2.7 million views) are among the most popular videos on YouTube (2.4 million views).
Avara, Stefana
Fitness influencer Stefana Avara has over a million TikTok fans. Avara doesn’t just post about her workouts and fitness advice. Videos of her daily life, recipes, and her adorable dog are just a few examples.
Her most-watched TikToks focus on the false nature of online profiles. Only one percent of the time (out of 4.6 million views) does she make a fitness influencer comparison, and the rest of the time she shows us her real, unfiltered body (3.8 million views).
Conclusion
To be honest, it was challenging to narrow the list of TikTok stars to watch in 2023 down to just 13.
There were a lot of talented people using the medium to spread their message, so the level of competition was high. In the coming year, we expect to see tremendous development in them.