Short video sharing has become popular after the advent of TikTok. Since then, the user base of TikTok has grown faster than any social media platform at the same point in its journey.
According to eMarketer, there are 813,721,199 TikTok users worldwide, and the numbers are still skyrocketing.
And there’s no better time than now to create an app like TikTok. But isn’t it hard to do it? Do I have to invest tons of my time and money into it?
Read through this article till the end to get answers to all your burning questions. Let’s get started, shall we?
How do TikTok-like apps work?
TikTok is a short video platform that lets users upload, share, and watch short videos. You can create, edit, add sounds, and upload videos natively.
TikTok’s home screen shows two tabs – ‘For You’ and ‘Following.’
The ‘For You’ tab displays an endless feed of videos by other creators on the platform and it is decided by TikTok’s algorithm based on your interactions with the videos, hashtags you follow, geography, and more.
You can also mark a particular video as ‘Not interested’ to tell the algorithm that the video is not relevant to you, and it won’t show you those kinds of videos the next time.
The ‘Following’ tab displays the videos of creators you follow on the platform.
How do TikTok-like apps make money?
TikTok makes money via advertising and in-app purchases. According to the latest report from eMarketer, TikTok’s ad revenues are set to hit $11.64 billion in 2022.
It offers virtual coins for users as in-app purchases, which users can use to buy virtual gifts. You can also include features like premium membership to get additional revenue from your users.
Features to include in your TikTok-like app
The features you offer in your app help you attract users, retain them, and monetize the platform effectively. So picking up the right features and prioritizing them helps you in the long run.
So here are a few features that you can incorporate into your TikTok-like app development process:
Onboarding
User onboarding is a vital part of the customer journey because it sets the stage for everything to come. They get introduced to your app and the benefits it offers. You have to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible for successful product adoption.
You can use social media or phone number sign-up to make the process easier and faster.
Create & upload videos
Video is the essential feature of the app as people are coming to create and upload their creatives to the platform.
You can use the mobile phone camera to let your users record videos and upload them to your platform. You can store the uploaded videos on the local server or cloud storage.
Profile updates
Let your users edit their profile settings like user name, profile picture, bio, and more.
Filters and effects
Filters make the app more fun and engaging. People are using apps like TikTok and Snapchat to use their crazy filters. So adding in-app filters like camera swap and face filters can help attract users to your platform.
Hearts, gifts, and comments
Let your users like, comment, and share their favorite videos with their followers and friends. Also, you can give them the option to send virtual gifts to their favorite creators on the platform.
Notifications
Users should be notified by push notifications for all the activities such as likes, comments, and shares of their videos, new followers, mentions, messages, and more.
Chat
Chat option would help your users connect with their friends on the platform and share videos with them.
Advanced features you can include
Premium memberships
You can add a premium membership option to let users enjoy premium features like custom video uploads and editing options and more in exchange for a subscription.
Live video streaming
Live streams help increase user engagement on the platform. Most social media platforms are moving forward to adopting this, and you can include this in your future TikTok-like app to get more users on board.
Language translator
You can enable a translation option for your users to view the messages they get in their own language to create a sense of belongingness. It will help you retain more users and reach a wider audience.
