Making a short video app like TikTok: 10 things you must keep in mind

A recent HubSpot marketing report declared short-form video as the most popular and effective social media content format this year! It also said that as per its research, 33% of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video than any other type of social media strategy.

 

It seems that the fever of short form videos does not end with marketing specialists but reaches developers and businesses as well. Today, the explosive success of TikTok has inspired many developers to start the journey of the creation of similar apps. But let us all accept it, building a short video app is no small task and it comes with a range of technical challenges.

 

In this blog, we'll look into 10 key things that you should consider as you begin the journey of creating a short video app.

 

1. Scalability and performance: Short video apps are known for their viral nature, which can lead to fast user growth and increase in concurrent users. While building a short video app, ensure that your app can handle this load without compromising performance. Use robust backend architecture, make use of content delivery networks (CDNs), and implement efficient caching mechanisms to manage high traffic loads.

 

2. Video uploading and processing: Enabling users to upload and share videos with ease is at the core of a short video app. But do not forget that processing and transcoding videos in real-time can require a lot of resources. Implementing a reliable video processing pipeline that handles various video formats, resolutions, and aspect ratios is a big challenge. You can think of utilizing cloud-based transcoding services to offload some of this processing.

 

Did you know? Short-form videos are 2.5 times more engaging than long-form!

 

3. Content discovery and personalization: One of the reasons for TikTok's success is its effective content recommendation system - that is, which videos are going to be recommended to which audience. Developing a similar system requires complex algorithms that analyze user behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. Collaborative filtering, content embeddings, and machine learning models can be a great way to create a personalized content discovery experience for your users.

 

4. Real-time Interactions and notifications: Short form videos depend a lot on user engagement — likes, comments, shares, and real-time interactions — because this is how the end users will interact with the videos. Therefore, making arrangements for real-time features, such as live comments, notifications, and in-app chat is important. Use a robust backend infrastructure for this and take the help of integration of technologies like WebSockets or MQTT to ensure seamless communication between users.

 

Did you know? Short-form video ad revenue is expected to surpass $10 billion in the coming years

5. User-generated content moderation: Maintaining a safe and welcoming environment is very important in any social app. Ensure that you develop an effective content moderation system that detects and filters out inappropriate or violating content. Combining automated AI-based content analysis with manual review processes can help create the right balance between automation and human checks.

 

6. Cross-platform compatibility: Short video apps aim to reach a wide audience across various devices and platforms. Keep in mind to build an app that delivers consistent user experience on iOS, Android, and the web. This will require careful consideration of responsive design, platform-specific optimizations, and maintaining feature parity across different platforms.

 

Did you know? 73% of customers prefer watching a short-form video to find out about a service or product

7. Video storage and delivery: Storing and delivering a vast amount of short-form content efficiently is a technical challenge. Choose cloud-based storage solutions that provide scalability and low-latency access to videos. CDNs play a crucial role in delivering videos quickly to users, regardless of their geographic location.

 

8. Monetization strategies: Implementing effective monetization strategies while keeping the user experience intact is a delicate balance. Advertisements, in-app purchases, and premium features are common approaches. Integrate these into the app with careful planning and consideration of user preferences.

 

Did you know? In 2023, 90% of global advertisers will increase their investment in short-form videos.

9. Data privacy and security: Short video apps collect a considerable amount of user data, including personal information and engagement patterns. Ensure that you meet robust data privacy and security measures, comply with regulations like GDPR or CCPA, and safeguard user data from breaches; this should be a top priority throughout the development process.

 

10. Intellectual property and copyright concerns: User-generated content means intellectual property and copyright challenges have to be taken care of. Build a mechanism to detect and resolve copyright infringement while respecting user rights. Integrate features that allow content creators to control the use of their content and provide clear guidelines for users to understand copyright policies.

 

Did you know?

96% of video marketers say video marketing has increased user understanding of their product or service.

How api.video enables you to build a short-form video app

1. All-in-one platform that provides everything in one place

With api.video, you get all the important tools required to build your app at one place — player, encoder, a strong content delivery network (CDN), storage, and analytics — so that you don’t waste time in hiring a resource for integrating each of the above. This saves your manpower cost, time, and effort.

2. Easy to implement documentation

Get a clearly written, easy-to-understand documentation that can be used by developers to integrate videos and live streams to any section of your website, or app without much hassle! Read how to get started with VOD In 5 minutes.

3. Cost effective at scale

With api.video, you are not charged any platform fee and you pay for what you use. With volume discounts, your costs decrease when the volume of videos increases.

4. Gives you the ability to white-label your videos

Api.video lets your users share videos with their watermarked logo on each video. You can also add branding within your app by adding your logo to the video player, or using a domain of your choice.

5. Integration with your favorite platforms

Use api.video with Bubble, Strapi, Contentful, and 10+ marketplaces to build video solutions on desktop and mobile without writing a single line of code.

6. Video tech that scales with you

More users = More videos + More streaming. With api.video, you get scalable servers to ensure that you reach millions of users across the globe.

7. Real-time analytics

With api.video, you also get a complete overview of your users, videos, and live streams with real-time analytics by location, date, device, browser, time, and more.

 

In conclusion, creating a short video app like TikTok presents you with some technical challenges that require careful consideration and strategic planning. By choosing the right platform to build your app, you can reduce these technical challenges to a large extent.

 

So, are you ready to create your short form video app that has the potential to rise like TikTok?

 

Sign-up for a free sandbox account to try out the product, or digg into our short-form use case.