How To Build An App Like TikTok Top Features, Cost And Tech Stack

The social media platform TikTok is without a doubt one of the biggest winners of the corona crisis. No other social media channel has been able to grow so rapidly in the past few weeks and present such impressive reach. While many a few months ago, people smiled at TikTok and labelled it as a dance film channel for teenagers, it is now clear that the platform should become a serious matter for all those responsible for online marketing.

Due to the similar nature of the target group and similar features, TikTok is often compared with Snapchat and the question is even asked whether Snapchat content cannot also be adopted one-to-one for TikTok. Today, we will show you that it is worthwhile to take a more differentiated look at both platforms.

If you don't yet know exactly how TikTok fits into your social media strategy and how the channel differs from Snapchat in general, you've come to the right place. In the following lines we compare the two platforms directly and show you the most important key insights.

Snapchat and TikTok at a glance

At first glance, the two channels Snapchat and TikTok actually appear to be very similar. Both platforms share certain features and the target group largely overlaps. However, the two social media platforms have different value proposition. While TikTok stands as a video sharing app for short video clips, Snapchat positions itself as a photo and messenger app, where everything revolves around so-called snap stories and short-lived formats.

TikTok - the most important things in a nutshell

What is TikTok?

As already briefly explained, TikTok is currently the fastest growing video sharing platform in the social media sky. The app was founded in 2017 by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. The app recently recorded a total of 2 billion downloads, which is an absolute record - until now only Facebook could do that.

How is TikTok used?

The users on the platform create and publish short videos, mostly tailored to the extensive library of music and sound material.

The content focus is often on humorous topics or special talents, which are displayed in so-called challenges. It is mainly about entertainment as the topic categories show. The videos often revolve around dance choreographies, lip syncing, hashtag challenges and reaction videos.

Target group

A large part of the target group is made up of very young users who are between 13-17 years old (Generation Z).

Advertising

The advertising options on TikTok are currently still in their infancy and are not yet available in all countries or for all users. The TikTok advertising platform is therefore still in the beta version.

However, the following advertising formats should be available in the future:
• In-Feed native Video Ads
• Brand-Takeover Ad
• Hashtag Challenges
• Branded filters
• Topview Ads (similar to brand takeover ads, but published in the in-feed content)
• Influencer / brand partnerships

Also Read | Ways To Outsource Suitable Mobile App Development

Snapchat - the most important things in a nutshell

What is Snapchat

In a little more detail, Snapchat is a mobile messaging app similar to WhatsApp for sharing text, photo, and video messages with friends. The app was launched in 2011 with the idea of sharing photos with a visibility of 10 seconds, which then disappear again. The platform is now more about short-lived video content in the form of snap stories, which is also displayed via the discovery function.

How is Snapchat used?

Snapchat is mainly used to chat with friends and to stay informed about the latest news and trends. An important benefit aspect is certainly the short life of the content (visibility 24 hours). Since this key feature was copied from Instagram by Instagram Stories, Snapchat is currently focusing heavily on so-called “lenses” (AR tools) in order to offer users and brands even more options (this function has also been copied by Instagram in the meantime).

Target group

Almost half of the app's target group is made up of users of the millennial generation who are currently between 18-24 years old.

Advertising

Due to the age of the app, Snapchat already has more sophisticated advertising options than TikTok, and brands can place their own ads via a self-serve ad platform. The following display formats are available:
• Snap Ads (displayed between Snap Stories)
• Branded filters
• Branded AR lenses
• E-commerce component (shoppable ads, personalized targeting, native check-out feature)

Which platform is better suited for your company or your brand?

What is your goal?

First and foremost, as with any other communication channel, you should also think about which goal you want to achieve. Both TikTok and Snapchat offer great ways to interact with your target audience.

TikTok is ideal for campaigns in which brand awareness is to be increased primarily through user-generated content in the form of brand challenges, reaction videos or filters. Due to its young age, the platform is still very experimental, which is why you as a company should also want to try different things in order to find your successful path.

Snapchat, on the other hand, already shows with original series and stories from various brands what works in the community and currently offers even more sophisticated advertising options (including shop and native check-out feature).

Developing an app similar TikTok

Before considering the development of a mobile app, you must first have an idea of what you want. And when you’ve decided that you want your app to have similar functionalities to TikTok, you’ve taken the first step to achieving your goal. However, there are other steps that must be followed. You need to talk to a mobile app development agency such as Hyperlink InfoSystem. We are a leading mobile app development agency. We will help you handle your projects. Once we communicate with you and determine how to go about your projects based on the features of your apps and the technology that you want us to use for the development, we can then tell you the final cost.

Conclusion

A top mobile app development company such as Hyperlink InfoSystem can assist you with the development of a top mobile app similar to TikTok. We will assist you with the integration of all the necessary features and functionalities to ensure that your mobile app goes viral. We are well experienced as we have helped many of the biggest brands in the world with the development of excellent solutions.