Douyin vs TikTok || Spot the Difference Between Tiktok and Chinese TikTok

Chinese Tiktok vs Tiktok vs Douyin || What’s The Deal? (2023)

Do you know about Chinese Tiktok?

Any idea on the differences between Douyin 抖音 and Tiktok?

We are here to help. But first… if you haven’t already heard…

TikTok was blocked in India on June 30, 2020, and now you can’t use it there.

There are several countries considering doing a similar thing.

Following US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s July 7 (2020) statement that the US is “considering the ban on TikTok in the US”, former American President Trump also confirmed that “the US government is considering banning TikTok in the US”.

Speaking of no more Tiktok, in July 2020, Tiktok is no more in Hong Kong either. Even WITH a VPN, Tiktok cannot be accessed in Hong Kong.

Times are changing fast!

Have you ever used Douyin or TikTok? What do you think? Noticed any differences?

Douyin vs Tiktok || What’s in Common

Douyin vs Tiktok || Installing Them

Douyin vs Tiktok || Using The Apps

Douyin vs Tiktok || How to Earn Money?

Douyin vs Tiktok || FAQs

Douyin vs Tiktok // What’s in Common

They are both short video Apps.

They both belong to Bytedance company. So actually, what many people don’t know is that Tiktok is also Chinese-owned!

In October 2017, ByteDance bought Musical.ly for up to $1 billion. After the acquisition, ByteDance merged the Douyin International version previously launched in Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea with Musical.ly and unified it into TikTok.

For better understanding, you can just think it this way: Douyin and TikTok are brothers sharing the same father.

However, there are still some differences between Douyin and TikTok.

Let’s discover some of those now

Douyin vs Tiktok // Installation

HOW TO DOWNLOAD CHINESE TIKTOK OR DOUYIN?

Well, there’s nothing groundbreaking here… but there is an interesting footnote which is why we bring it up.

You can go to its website to download and install.

More commonly though, you can also go to the App store to search for the name and download it.

My phone is an Android, and I am in China. When I search for Douyin, I can see it has millions of downloads already!

For TikTok, the same applies. You can also go to its website to download and install.

Likewise, and more commonly you can also do so on your phone.

In January 2018, TikTok became No. 1 in the App Store in Thailand. In May, Tiktok won the top two overall rankings of Vietnam’s Google Play and App Store.

Today, TikTok is now available in more than 150 countries and regions and 75 languages.

On April 29, 2020, Sensor Tower, a mobile application data analysis company, released a report stating that TikTok has exceeded 2 billion downloads. TWO BILLION!

So How Does Installation Differ?

THE KEY DIFFERENCE? Douyin is aimed at domestic users in China, whilst TikTok is aimed at overseas users.

This also means that you cant install and log into TikTok in China even with VPN.

If you are in China, try downloading Tiktok now. You won’t be able to, even with a VPN!

Likewise, try downloading Douyin outside of China. Again, not possible.

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Douyin vs Tiktok // Using The Apps

How does Chinese Tiktok differ from Western Tiktok?

Well, internally, most things are the same truth be told.

TikTok uses tags and trends heavily. Each video becomes a story, and people try to jump onto these trends to try and gain exposure.

A common method “influencers” use is to jump onto a common trend and hope to feature in a popular hashtag. By doing this, it increases the chance of exposure.

Of course, the same applies to Chinese Tiktok, Douyin.

The interface of TikTok in each region is the same as Douyin, the only difference is the content.

So hashtags on Douyin would vary from Tiktok.

“It doesn’t matter whether the product is localized. Our strategy is to globalize products and localize content” – Owner’s of Tiktok/Douyin

The content recommendation is similar, which is based on user preferences to make algorithm recommendations.

That’s why if you watch crosstalk for the first time and then you will find more and more crosstalk videos.

This is commonly used across all social media of course – in a bid to provide you with the most relevant content possible. Because we are all different after all!

• COMMON TRENDS ON DOUYIN – videos like learning English, landscape videos, or food videos, cute pets videos, and also funny videos made by “influencers”. Downloads for Chinese Tiktok are not just restricted to younger people either, with a growing number of users above 40 coming into Douyin!

• COMMON TRENDS ON TIKTOK – Tiktok is still much more driven towards 18-25 year olds, with the downloads showing that. Young people prefer videos generally related to dancing and travel. Of course with the pandemic, people have been getting largely creative with home videos also.

QUICK FACT – with just 3 clicks you can actually buy a product on Chinese Tiktok

This is one example of where Douyin is a tad more advanced than it’s brother.

You can actually also book hotel stays through Douyin and take global tours of restaurants.

No doubt Tiktok will follow suit in the future, but for now, Douyin comes off stronger.

Douyin vs Tiktok // How to Earn Money on Tiktok and Douyin?

One of the biggest drives to kick-starting a social media platform these days is the chance to earn money from it.

This is possible on most platforms these days, with YouTube, Instagram and now these two apps being hugely popular with millions of people trying to strive for success.

• HOW TO EARN MONEY ON DOUYIN – the way to monetize on Chinese Tiktok can include selling goods on Taobao and Jingdong through Douyin. This is currently the most popular way to earn money using Chinese Tiktok.

If you want to make money from Douyin, the best way to do this is build a following by consistent posting, building trust and focusing on one thing, well, rather than trying too many things.

When you have followers with more comments or views. This can lead to other companies discovering you to make an advertisement or you can do liveshow to earn money.

• HOW TO EARN MONEY ON TIKTOK – selling products is the best way forward, like Douyin. As with Instagram these days, you see large profiles selling products on their page, to many brands. Once you build a strong following, you’ll have brands coming to you.

Keep sending cool videos to attract your followers. You can cross-promote you other accounts.

Maybe you have thousands of YouTube subscribers, you can use this to build your Tiktok quickly!

While most of the MCN (multi-channel networks) are still studying how to sell more products on Douyin, quietly, more and more Chinese companies have extended their fronts overseas, wanting to get a slice of that Tiktok cake!

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So there it is – Tiktok vs Douyin – the differences!

As you’ll see, many things are the same but there are some significant differences you should know about!

Do you use Tiktok or Douyin?

What’s your username? Comment below and we’ll follow you – we are still new to Tiktok and would love to grow our community!

Douyin vs Tiktok || FAQs

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