What is Douyin App?
Douyin is a Chinese version of TikTok that allows users to create, edit and share short videos and live streams with lots of filters, effects, audio, and music. This app contains many short-form user videos, from genres like trending music, dance, entertainment, pranks, stunts, tricks, sports, vlogs, jokes, and more with durations from 15 seconds to ten minutes.
Douyin was launched under the name of A.me before rebranding to Douyin (抖音 literally “shaking sound” in Chinese) in December 2016. Douyin app was developed in 200 days and within a year it hit 100 million users and more than one billion videos viewed every day.
TikTok is an international version of Douyin, which was originally released in the Chinese market in September 2016 by ByteDance(TikTok) owner Zhang Yiming. After that only TikTok was launched in 2017 outside of China for iOS and Android. After merging with another Chinese short video social media platform, Musical.ly, on 2 August 2018, it became so popular and available worldwide.
How To Download Douyin or Chinese TikTok
You can download this Douyin social media app direct from their official website by scanning the QR code or installing the package on your device. This Douyin Chinese app is available for PC, smart tv, iOS, and Android app store.
iPhone users can download the Douyin app by using this link – https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/%E6%8A%96%E9%9F%B3/id1142110895
Chinese Android users download the Douyin APK here – https://s.toutiao.com/UsMYE/
Download Douyin PC version (抖音电脑版) – https://www.douyin.com/downloadpage/pc
If you are in china and you want to use TikTok, you can download this app on the TikTok website straightway.
Is Douyin the Same As TikTok?
Even though both the Tiktok and Douyin china (抖音中国版) platforms are owned by the same Chinese tech company Bytedance, both have a very similar user interface but no access to each other apps content and features completely different. The main difference is users can’t interact with each other. The Chinese and international versions of this TikTok app douyin have very different registration processes, policies, and content. The same search words result in completely different content and profiles on both apps but it is very successful due to their algorithms that recommend content to their users on the “For You” page.
Their servers are based in the market where the respective app is available. Douyin contains an in-video search feature that can search by people’s faces for more videos of them and this app also have features such as booking hotels, purchasing products, and making geo-tagged reviews. Also, Douyin app offers to send messages to other users so that you can use it as a messaging app.
It doesn’t matter whether the product is localized. Our strategy is to globalize products and localize content” – Owner’s of Tiktok/Douyin
Recently TikTok is the top preferred search engine option for Gen Z users. While speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2022 in July, Google’s Senior Vice President told that the company has its eye on TikTok: “In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. For DouYin in 2022 Q1, it established a search engine with 550 million active users.
Difference Between Douyin and TikTok
Users Comparison and Video Creation on Douyin vs TikTok
TikTok – As of June 2022, TikTok U.S. users aged between 10-19 have a Tiktok account which is 37.2% of whole users of this app and 64% of users are under 30 years old. So we can call it a Teen App because the content is mainly shared by these young people daily, with native content being the mainstream. Generally speaking, young people in Europe and the United States tend to be cool, Middle Eastern users show off their wealth, and Southeast Asia looks simpler and rustic.
Top 5 most followed TikTok accounts
- Khaby Lame
- Charli D’Amelio
- Bella Poarch
- Addison Rae
- Will Smith
Douyin – Compared to TikTok, Douyin has become a universal app in mainland China. With the rapid-fire growth of users, another significant change in Douyin is reflected in the content position, which is also changing towards a more mainstream and diversified direction.
Initially, TikTok’s video length is just 15 seconds after the tremendous growth in usage they extended the post videos length up to 3 minutes and now users can upload videos of up to 10 minutes.
The longest video Douyin’s international edition (抖音国际版) can post is a 15-minute video.
Content on TikTok vs Douyin
TikTok (Douyin – 抖音）algorithms are 10x more powerful and addictive than other social media platforms. The most popular posts shown on your profile are completely different between the two platforms (Douyin vs Tiktok). Douyin videos are more focused and content-driven than TikTok. This Chinese international version of Tiktok’s most videos has a computerized automated voice that narrates in Chinese. In contrast, TikTok generally relies on the creators explaining their own videos which given a trend, and many TikTok celebrities, singers, dancers, and artists become famous through this.
Douyin provides a wide variety of videos all on the recommended pages that include film, music, skills, health tips, foods, pets, travel, television clips, etc. Whereas TikTok gives more priority to pushing content from various regions through big data algorithms.
But in Douyin search fully depends on keywords, the more fans and likes the account ranks on top, and the keywords of pushing more views to your videos.
Live Stream on Douyin vs Tiktok
Livestream videos are more popular in the Chinese e-commerce industry, and Douyin is on top of that. A small tv icon on the top left corner of the app screen directs users to its live broadcast feature. The live feature will help to build brand awareness, for small businesses looking to promote content and sell their products directly.
TikTok also offers live streaming features but it’s also popular among its users.
In a recent survey,
- 50% of TikTok users purchase after watching Tiktok live.
- 50% of users are more interested in branded live content than normal TikTok users.
- 1 in 5 live streaming users watch TikTok LIVE and of that group, 62% watch it every day.
Recently July 2022, TikTok Drops Plans for Expanding Live-Stream Shopping in the US.
In-app Purchases: Douyin vs Tiktok
One of the most notable features of Douyin is its in-app store which helps the user to purchase just a tap away. Users can Purchase small cosmetics items to larger home appliances products like Facebook marketplace products. So that many companies use user-generated ads and directly link products to their profile.
KOLs (Key Opinion Leader) feature products on their “suggested products” page. They also have links to the affiliated Taobao Store or the in-app Douyin store on their profile.
In contrast, TikTok KOLs cannot access the “suggested products” feature and may only mention the sponsored products or attach a link in their Tiktok profile bio.
Conclusion
While Douyin and TikTok are both short-form video platforms but they are very different from a social media marketing viewpoint. The major differences between these two are market region and content. Both the apps are good features in their own way which surely helps to build brand awareness, and promote your products, services, and content.