Flawless App Localization - The Secret to TikTok’s Global Success
TikTok’s sudden success is unprecedented, and it has spread around the globe faster than any other app ever could. You’ve most probably heard about it, with a lot of your friends already scrolling through the app or even sharing content on it. It has made its place among the league of the top social media giants, such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
What’s TikTok?
Millennials would be quick to call you a boomer over that question, but if you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the answer. TikTok is a social media app based on creating and sharing content, and it’s owned by ByteDance, which is a Chinese company. Users upload short and catchy videos about 15 seconds long, and it’s up to them to spice things up with a variety of available effects and filters, etc.
It has become the most downloaded app on the Google Play Store and the App Store. In mainland China, TikTok is known as Douyin. It’s not just the name that’s different; the content is also varied over there for China’s censorship policy. This discrepancy between the Chinese version and the global version is also an example of the sound app localization strategy they’ve employed!
What is Meant by App Localization, and How Did TikTok Nail it?
App localization means the procedure of catering and adapting an app for international users so it resonates with local audiences. It’s a crucial strategy that helps with goals related to expansion and targeting larger foreign audiences. It is absolutely essential for consumer-facing apps.
To get the detailed technical steps involved in app localization, check out this page
It All Begins with Translation
As a first step, having the user interface of the app translated is essential. While localizing content is a highly challenging task for many apps, it wasn’t as tricky for TikTok. The reason is, the consumable content on such apps doesn’t come from the developers, but from the users themselves, which they wouldn’t have to translate.
As a first step, having the user interface of the app translated is essential. While localizing content is a highly challenging task for many apps, it wasn’t as tricky for TikTok. The reason is, the consumable content on such apps doesn’t come from the developers, but from the users themselves, which they wouldn’t have to translate.
However, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t need a planned out app localization strategy in place. To make the uploaded content relatable to wider audiences, they had to think through different ideas to implement.
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Strategic Steps TikTok Took for App Localization
One of the examples is how different users can add to other peoples’ videos by setting their content side by side and playing around with continuity. They could make collabs with other creators while being half a world apart – and that was a great idea! TikTok went global through such on-point app localization tactics.
Here are a few examples;
They actively took part in the BLM movement that stemmed from America, displaying re-affirming messages on the app. (See image above)
They collaborated with local influencers of the target audience in different countries and used that to boost their reach.
They gained an in-depth understanding of the norms, trends, and culture of the places they were stepping into. For instance, they’d add relevant filters to allow people to switch into the trending personas in their country with the touch of a button – through filters and effects.
They introduced and highly promoted localized contests and challenges on TikTok for each target market.
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