Everyone with a phone has heard of TikTok. So it comes as little surprise that TikTok has been downloaded three billion times from the App Store and Google Play Store, according to the latest data from research firm SensorTower. Most of the audience are teenagers. But there are also adult bloggers, as well as companies that actively promote their businesses through TikTok. In this article, I’ll try to tell you all about TikTok and even how to make an app like TikTok.
TikTok features that have made it popular
The app is a lot like Instagram. Here you can post, like, and comment on posts, as well as observe the creativity of other participants. But what distinguishes TikTok from the more familiar social networks is that short (up to 3 minute) vertical videos are posted here. They don’t disappear after a few days, but keep getting likes and views.
If we analyze a little bit why TikTok is breaking the record for popularity, we can highlight the following features:
Maximum simplicity
The social network was originally created for children and teenagers. Therefore, there is nothing complicated about it. With registration, functionality, and the video editor, everyone can figure it out.
A variety of multimedia tools
In order to make a boring video that will hit the recommendations, you can apply beauty masks, filters, and special effects. All this attracts the attention of viewers.
Limitations on the duration of commercials
Today, people don’t like to waste time watching long videos. Something fun, bright, and short is popular. Statistics show that, on average, each TikTok user spends no more than fourteen minutes a day online. If you watch one or two videos on other social networks during this time, on TikTok you manage to watch dozens of them.
TikTok gives you a chance to relax
It’s light entertainment content that gives you positive vibes. Thinking and concentrating on something is not necessary. This is exactly what is required for a modern person, tired of the overabundance of complex information.
Sophisticated algorithm of recommendations
On average, it takes no more than a day for the artificial intelligence to understand a new user’s preferences. And it immediately begins to show in a tape that interests the user.
Developing a TikTok clone
Psychologists say that the average person is immersed in one online platform for no longer than two years. Then he wants to diversify and switch to something else. Therefore, you can take into account these shortcomings and make an app by yourself. To do this, you need to go through these stages:
Research
Before you start developing, you need to study the business. This way, you can better understand the needs and tasks that need to be solved with the future tool. This is the only way to get the most valuable product.
The role of the development team here is to dive into the business as much as possible, to understand the needs, advantages, weaknesses and determine what solution is needed to make an app.
Writing the terms of reference
This stage allows you to formalize all your ideas, so that the developers are as clear as possible about what and how to implement. This is a very important stage, when you make an app, because here the accuracy of the requirements is important, as well as technical clarity.
Designing
Here, the structure, architecture, and operating logic of the future app are created, the user experience is thought through, and all the interaction paths are designed. When you make an app at this stage, it is important to take into account all the goals and objectives of the app and make their implementation as user-friendly as possible.
This is mostly a technical task, so the developers deal with it. At this stage, you need to approve the final version, as well as make changes if you are not happy with any element.
Design
It’s time to design the appearance of your future app. First of all, you need to provide examples and counter-examples for the development team’s designers, so they have something to fall back on.
Try to describe as accurately as possible how you see the future app. Designers create several variants of the interface, and you choose the one you like and make changes if necessary. When you make an app, at the beginning it will seem to you that this is the most basic thing.
Development
This is the stage of direct implementation of the app, which falls entirely on the shoulders of the developer’s company team. When making an app, don’t skimp on this step.
Testing
So, you make an app, what’s next? This is the stage of checking the quality and compliance of the software product with all the requirements. Every developer company engages its own QA specialists before handing over the product.
Your task in this case is to check the reporting and acceptance of the product. But it is also possible to involve third-party testers, as well as beta testing with you or your team. In this case, the organization of these processes is on your shoulders. When you make an app, you realize that this is the most interesting stage.
Launch of the app
This is also the responsibility of the developers.
Important details are ranking factors. They are conventionally divided into internal and external.
Internal factors include the relevance of titles, descriptions, and keywords to users’ search queries. This category includes the quality and functionality of the app itself as well as the design of the landing page (informative screenshots, effective promo videos, and attention-grabbing icons). Keyword promotion and landing page optimization are ASO (App Store Optimization) technologies.
Another category is factors related to the behavior of users using the mobile app. Important behavioral factors include:
- The total number of installations
- The dynamics of installations and deletions of the app;
- The number and quality of reviews, as well as the app’s rating;
- User comments;
- Link mass also has a certain influence on an app’s position in the Google Play store.
Now you know how to make an app, don’t be afraid to try. Some of the parameters listed above can be influenced by improving search results. Different channels are used to accumulate the necessary traffic. This and targeted advertising in social networks, buying motivated traffic, preparing reviews for popular bloggers, the publication of promotional articles on the thematic sites, and in the media.
The optimizer has several dozens channels for promoting mobile apps. Some of them provide thousands of downloads, while others contribute more modestly to overall traffic. In addition, the same tools are effective in one geographic region but completely useless in another.
The choice of specific tools and channels depends on the time allocated to the advertising campaign and the promotion budget. If there are limited timeframes, a competent optimizer will use primarily those channels that will familiarize a greater number of people with the product. On the other hand, it is important to consider that the number of channels involved increases the total traffic of visitors.
Other promotion channels include the publication of the program in alternative app stores, sending out promotional messages via Viber, etc. Only a comprehensive approach to the case will allow you to implement all the ideas and bring a new product to the market.
