The “TikTok” app (also called “DouYin”) is one of the most downloaded apps of all, along with Facebook and WhatsApp. Read here what the application is all about and how it works. TikTok became the straight competitor of YouTube. Keep in mind that YouTube algorithm started promoting short (mini) videos to compete with TikTok’s dominance in the short-video industry.
TikTok aka DouYin: What kind of app is it?
The free app TikTok or DouYin (year of publication: 2016), as it is called in the country of origin, has been leading the download charts on the iPhone for a long time. However, this is mainly the case in China, not in the EU or the USA.
It’s a social network, similar to Instagram. Instead of pictures, however, short, self-made videos are accompanied by music. There is often dancing or singing along with it.
In the western world, users relied on Muscal.ly before TikTok . This is a similar app to Douyin, but it was launched in 2014.
At the end of 2017, TikTok bought out competitor Musical.ly. The more than 200 million users were worth a billion US dollars to the company.
TikTok: The Instagram for music
Today’s stars of the social media world have not only achieved their fame through YouTube or Instagram, but now also through Tik Tok. In addition to the largest market in China, Tik Tok is now increasingly gaining ground in the USA and Europe.
Similar to Instagram, the content is entertaining and easy to digest. Since the videos are usually limited to a length of 10 seconds, the user is constantly bombarded with new impressions.
As with YouTube and Instagram, the stars of Tik Tok can also make a profit from their followers. TikTok is basically free, but users can donate money to their idols in live streams. The Twitch streaming platform follows a similar principle.
How your videos go viral on TikTok
To be featured on the For You page, your videos need to stand out. We have summarized for you how you can do this and what other tricks there are:
Quality: TikTok rewards users with attention whose videos stand out in terms of quality, have extraordinary effects and are particularly well edited . Get creative and be inspired by other TikTok users about what is possible with the app.
Hashtags: Always put the appropriate hashtags under your video so that users who are interested in this type of video can find you more quickly. Hashtags that a particularly large number of users look at are, for example, #trending #memes #foryoupage #tiktokmemes or simply #tiktok. Add hashtags that describe your video, for example #funny #cat #fashion or #girl.
Challenges: There are always different challenges on TikTok. Following them, producing your own videos and using the appropriate hashtag can also help you land on the “For You” page. Here, too, there are endless ways to draw attention to yourself. Implement the respective challenge in the most unusual and creative way possible.
Tip: Try to find challenges and hashtags that you find exciting, that have a good idea for implementation and that have not yet been attended by thousands of users. If you are one of the first to upload a good video to a challenge, your video may be shown as a suggestion for the relevant hashtag. This is also how many more users become aware of it.
Music: Use popular music for your TikToks as many users will recognize it and find it good. You can also use the song title as a hashtag so that users will be aware of your clip when they search for clips with the respective music title.
Interaction: Like and comment on videos from other users to make friends on the app. They will surely watch and comment on your videos again and again!
