TikTok – the popular video-sharing app, got banned by India in June, along with 58 Chinese apps; and the marketers set to work to find alternatives to TikTok immediately. If there wasn’t one existing already, they simply created one.
By October 2020, TikTok lost over 40% share to India-made short form apps. In this blog, we will explore the Indian alternatives to TikTok that marketers used to meet the goals they set for 2020.
5 Alternatives to TikTok Indian marketers used in 2020
Josh by Dailyhunt
Started by Indian content and news aggregator DailyHunt, Josh is a short-video app that apes the TikTok UI. The app has already garnered around 50 million downloads after 45 days of its launch.
Josh seeks to tap into the local language segment of India and cater to every dialect. The app is also a result of the Aatmanirbar Bharat App Innovation challenge.
Since launch, Josh has onboarded over 200 content creators, 4 music labels, and recorded a billion video plays per day.
MX TakaTak
With a strong 10 million active user base, MX TakaTak is a short video community app created locally by MX Media & Entertainment India. The app is a similar alternative to TikTok, where content creators can shoot short videos, trending music videos, and share on social media.
The app is available in over 10 local languages and hosts a plethora of influencer videos.
Roposo
Yet another Tiktok alternative proudly Made in India -Roposo is a free short video creation and sharing app. This app has gained over 100 million downloads since its launch this year and is available in over 10 local languages.
Trell
Known as the ‘Video Pinterest’ for India, Trell is a Bangalore-based app made for small-town content creators to share and upload videos in their local languages. Users can also share their reviews and experiences across various categories like beauty, skincare, travel, and more.
Chingari
Going by the tag ‘ Bharat Ka Naya TV’, Chingari is a video creation app that has over 20 million content creators using the platform. The relatively simple and easy to use entertainment app is growing in popularity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
How short-form content will change user behaviour
According to a report by RedSeer, all the Indian apps above have a cumulative time of 91 hours spent per user. Since the ban, these apps capitalised on the Indian market.
Businesses and marketers can make use of these apps to –
- Showcase their products and services using videos
- Raise awareness about upcoming products, events and offers
- Partner with micro-influencers to promote their brand on a larger scale
- Run paid advertisements
Short-form content currently caters to 45% of the 600 million internet user base in India. Thanks to millennials and GenZ short attention span, marketers are assured that short-form content will get more popular in the future.
“Indian players innovate to offer fresh quality content every day. Short-form engagement could resurge back to Jan and grow more than 4x in the next 5 years. However, the questions still remain on the monetization front for the players and potential change in dynamics if the ban on TikTok is lifted,” said Anil Kumar, Founder and CEO, RedSeer, for Financial Express.
Bonus – How to use Instagram Reels for your business
Instagram reels might not be India-made, but it sure has the largest user base in the country. An in-app creation similar to TikTok, Instagram Reels allows businesses to advertise their products and services via short videos.
Reels are a great way to allow your customers to learn more about your business and everything you offer, and not just about the products you sell.
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If you sell your products via Instagram, you can also set up payments for your customers to pay you easily simply with a click. Check out our curated guides on Instagram for small businesses here.
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These are the most trending apps right now after the TikTok ban.