Updated: January 20, 2023 
TikTok has become one of the most popular short-format video platforms worldwide. Its rapid growth and success have inspired entrepreneurs looking to build their own successful short-format video platforms.
Video social apps provide a unique opportunity for brands and businesses to connect with their target audience in a fun and interactive way. Through these types of platforms, businesses can create video content that is both informative and entertaining, ultimately driving more traffic and engagement than traditional text-based posts or articles.
However, building a successful short-form video platform like TikTok is more than just a cakewalk. It requires complex technical skills, an understanding of user engagement, and lots of patience and hard work.
This blog post will provide an expert guide on how to build a short-format video platform like TikTok from scratch. We will deeply cover building features such as hashtags and recommendations, user experience design considerations, and more. So, if you are considering entering the world of short-form video platforms, keep reading!
TikTok – A Brief Overview
TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create and share short videos on any subject. More than 75 languages and more than 150 nations are home to TikTok. This unique app has gained popularity since its release in September 2016 and is now among the most widely used social media networks in the globe. In October 2018, TikTok was the most downloaded iOS app in the world.
In addition to sharing user-generated videos, TikTok also offers a range of professional and celebrity content. Users can follow other users, as well as brands and organizations, to see content that interests them. The app also offers a range of editing tools that allow users to create unique videos.
While TikTok is primarily used as an entertainment platform, it has also been used for marketing purposes by brands and organizations. For example, in 2017, Nike released a series of short ads on TikTok featuring its athletes. In 2018, the National Basketball Association (NBA) launched its own channel on the platform to showcase highlights from games.
Competitors Of TikTok
1. Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels is a short-form video platform that allows users to create and share videos. The app is available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and France. As of June 2018, Instagram has 1 billion active users worldwide.
TikTok is a short-form video platform with over 500 million active users worldwide. The app allows users to create and share 15-second videos. TikTok is available in 150 markets, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and France.
Both TikTok and Instagram Reels allow users to create and share short-form videos.
However, there are some key differences between the two platforms. For example, TikTok has a built-in music library with millions of songs that can be used in videos. Additionally, TikTok offers a wider range of video editing features than Instagram Reels.
Which platform is right for you? If you’re looking for a wide range of music to use in your videos, TikTok is the better option. However, if you prefer a more streamlined video editing experience, Instagram Reels may be the better choice.
2. YouTube Shorts
As the name suggests, YouTube Shorts is a short-form video platform that is a direct competitor of TikTok. YouTube Shorts allows users to create and share 15-second videos with others on the platform.
Much like TikTok, YouTube Shorts offers a variety of features and functions that allow users to be creative with their videos. Users can add filters, music, and other effects to their videos to make them more entertaining and engaging.
YouTube Shorts also has a built-in editing tool that makes it easy for users to create professional-looking videos. The editing tool includes a variety of features, such as trimming, splicing, and adding transitions between video clips.
One of the unique aspects of YouTube Shorts is its integration with YouTube. This means that users can upload their Shorts videos directly to YouTube, where they can be viewed by millions of people.
Overall, YouTube Shorts is an incredibly powerful short-form video platform that offers users a lot of features and functions. If you’re looking for a TikTok alternative, then YouTube Shorts is definitely worth checking out.
3. Dubsmash
Dubsmash is a video-sharing social networking service that allows users to create and share short videos with others. The app was launched in November 2014 by two German entrepreneurs, Jonas Drüppel and Daniel Taschik. Dubsmash is a competitor of TikTok, another short-form video platform.
Both apps allow users to create and share short videos with others easily.
While TikTok has become extremely popular in recent years, Dubsmash has remained fairly niche. The reason for this is that Dubsmash is not available in as many countries as TikTok. Additionally, TikTok has been able to grow its user base more quickly due to its large marketing budget and partnerships with celebrities like Kylie Jenner.
Despite its smaller user base, Dubsmash has some features that make it unique and appealing to certain users. For example, Dubsmash offers users the ability to record videos using filters and special effects.
Additionally, Dubsmash allows users to duet with other users, a popular feature of the app. If you’re interested in creating short-form videos like those on TikTok, you should definitely check out Dubsmash. Even though it has fewer users than TikTok, it’s still a great platform for making and sharing short videos.
4. Vigo
Vigo is a social media platform allowing users to share short-form videos. The platform is similar to TikTok, with a focus on user-generated content and short-form videos. Vigo has been growing in popularity, particularly among teenagers and young adults.
While Vigo does have some similarities to TikTok, there are also some key differences. For one, Vigo is more focused on user-generated content than TikTok. This means that users are more likely to see videos created by people they know or follow rather than professional content creators.
Additionally, Vigo has a stronger emphasis on live streaming than TikTok. This makes it a great platform for users who want to connect with others in real time. Finally, Vigo offers more privacy controls than TikTok, which is important for users who want to keep their video viewing habits private.
Monetization Opportunities Offered By Video Social Apps
1. Advertisement Selling
If you’re looking to build a TikTok app clone, advertisement selling is a great option to consider. By offering users the ability to sell ads within their videos, you can create a revenue stream for your platform while also providing value for your users. Here’s everything you need to know about setting up advertisements selling on your social video platform.
Advertisement selling is a monetization opportunity where users can sell advertising space within their videos. This space can be used by brands or businesses to promote their products or services. Advertisement selling allows social video platforms to generate revenue from their user-generated content (UGC).
Advertisement selling tends to offer several benefits. The first and foremost benefit counts as its allowance to generate revenue from UGC without having to charge your users directly. This can be helpful in growing your user base, as many people are unwilling to pay for content but are happy to consume free content with ads. Another benefit is that it provides value for your advertisers by giving them access to a captive audience of engaged viewers.
2. Banner Ads (CPC, CPM)
There are a number of ways to monetize a short-format video platform like TikTok. One popular option is banner ads. Banner ads can be either CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per thousand impressions). With CPC, advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad. With CPM, advertisers pay each time their ad is shown 1000 times. Banner ads are a great way to monetize a short-format video platform because they can target specific demographics. For example, advertisers can target users based on location, age, gender, interests, and more. This ensures that the ads are relevant to the users, which increases the likelihood of users clicking on them.
Another advantage of banner ads is that they are relatively unobtrusive. Users can continue watching videos without being interrupted by long commercials. This allows for a better user experience, which could lead to more users signing up for the platform.
3. In-feed Video Ads
This unique monetization opportunity involves integrating short videos into the user’s feed that are paid for by advertisers. These videos are usually shorter than traditional ads and appear as part of the regular user experience within the app.
In-feed video ads offer a great way to monetize apps like TikTok while still providing an engaging, enjoyable user experience. They provide an effective way to reach out to customers without disrupting their flow with long, intrusive ads. Moreover, they allow brands to target a specific audience and create highly relevant content that resonates with their target demographic.
Steps To Develop An App Like TikTok
With the proliferation of media & entertainment app development, many people are driven towards developing apps like TikTok. However, as easy as it may sound, making a video social app is not a piece of cake. Some of the common steps involved in building such an app are listed below. Let’s take a look at them!
1. Do Ample Market Research
The first and most important step in developing a TikTok app clone is to conduct extensive market research. This will help you determine the feasibility of your app and what features it will need to have to be successful. There are a number of ways to conduct market research, but some of the most common include surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
Once you’ve conducted your market research, it’s time to start planning your app. You’ll need to decide on its purpose, target audience, and features it will need to have. All of this planning will help ensure that your app is successful once it’s launched.
2. Choose A Suitable Monetization Model
There are a few different monetization models that you could choose for your TikTok clone app. The most popular model is the freemium model, where users can download and use the app for free, but there are in-app purchases available for those who want to upgrade their experience.
Another option is to offer paid subscriptions, which would give users access to exclusive content or features that they wouldn’t be able to get with the free version of the app. You could also offer advertising space within the app, though this may be less popular with users.
Whichever monetization model you choose, make sure it aligns with your overall business goals and that it will be sustainable in the long term. You want to avoid alienating your user base by implementing a model that is too intrusive or doesn’t make sense for your app.
3. Choose an Experienced App Development Team
In order to develop an app like TikTok, it is essential to choose an experienced app development team. There are a few things to consider when choosing a team:
- Make sure the team has experience in developing similar apps. This will ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to develop your app successfully.
- Consider the size of the team. A larger team can work on your project more quickly, but it will also cost more money. A smaller team may take longer to complete the project, but it will save you money.
- Analyze their responsiveness and ease of communication. This is important because you will need to be able to communicate with them throughout the development process.
3. Go For The MVP Product Development Strategy
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) strategy is a product development technique in which a new product is developed with just enough features to satisfy early customers and no more. The MVP strategy allows startups to validate their product hypotheses quickly and efficiently by releasing a bare-bones version of their product and measuring customer feedback.
If you’re looking to develop a TikTok app clone, the MVP strategy is a great way to get started. By releasing a minimalistic version of your app with only the most essential features, you can validate your concept quickly and efficiently. Plus, you’ll be able to gather valuable feedback from early users that you can use to improve your app before it goes live.
Factors That Affect The Cost Of Your Short-Format Video platform Like TikTok
When it comes down to the cost part, you should consider some essential factors. Some of the most prominent ones include:
1. Type Of Platform
The type of platform chosen highly affects the cost of making an app like TikTok because different platforms have different development costs. For example, developing for iOS is generally more expensive than developing for Android because there are fewer iOS developers, and the platform is more closed off. Therefore, if you want to develop an app like TikTok on a budget, you should choose to develop it for Android.
2. App Design
The design of your app will have a big impact on the cost of development. A simple, clean design will be much less expensive to develop than a complex, custom-designed app. Similarly, using existing platforms and technologies will also help keep costs down.
When it comes to TikTok, the design is actually one of the most important aspects of the app. The user interface is extremely simple and straightforward, which makes it easy and fun to use. This is one of the reasons why TikTok has been so successful. So, if you’re looking to develop an app like TikTok, make sure to keep your design simple and focus on creating a great user experience.
3. Features
When building a video social app, make sure to decide what features are most important to your app. For example, do you need video editing capabilities? Do you need augmented reality filters? The more features you add, the more expensive your app will be.
In addition, consider whether you need any custom hardware or integration for your app. For example, TikTok uses facial recognition technology which requires special hardware and integration. If you don’t need this level of complexity, it can save you money on development costs.
4. Development Team
The development team you choose will have a big impact on the cost of making an app like TikTok. If you want to save money, you can go with a less experienced team or even outsource your project to a country with lower wages. However, this will likely result in a lower-quality app. If you want to ensure that your app is of the highest quality, you’ll need to invest in an experienced and reputable development team. This will obviously cost more money, but it’s worth it if you want your app to be successful.
Wrapping Up
If you are on the lookout for a reliable mobile app development company that can assist you with the entire development process of your short-format video platform, then we at RV Technologies have got you covered. With our highly skilled developers, we can help you take your brand to the next level seamlessly.
Speak with our experts today!
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