What is Douyin? The Chinese version of TikTok

While TikTok has become a household name across the globe, its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, often raises curiosity. So, what is Douyin? Launched in 2016 by ByteDance, a year before TikTok, Douyin is video-sharing social network and operates as a separate entity made exclusively for the Chinese market, where content is not shared between the two platforms. The name "Douyin," meaning "shaking sound" in Chinese, emphasises its focus on music and sound-centric short form videos. Although Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, marketers looking to engage audiences in China need to understand that TikTok and Douyin function differently and require distinct strategies. If you have a TikTok official account, you’ll need a separate account for Douyin.

Table of Contents

• Why Douyin thrives in China?
• Douyin official accounts 
• What does Douyin have in common with TikTok
• Douyin vs TikTok - Key differences marketers should be aware of
  

Why Douyin thrives in China?

The rise of Douyin in China can be partly attributed to the "Great Firewall," which restricts international platforms, allowing unique homegrown Chinese social media platforms like Douyin and WeChat to flourish. This separation ensures that Douyin complies with China's stringent internet regulations, isolating its content ecosystem from TikTok.

The app also offers a frictionless user experience, with no need for new users to connect with others before engaging with content. The platform's algorithm ensures an infinite and personalised content flow, making it incredibly engaging and addictive.

Douyin statistics 

• The popularity of short-form video content is skyrocketing in China, with over one billion users—representing about 96% of the country’s internet population.  
• Douyin is used by a wide age group and is predominately used by young adults aged between 26 to 35, with 35% of users in this age range, looking to seek information, inspiration or excitement.  
• Due to user’s busy and hectic lifestyle, the demand for quick, engaging videos continues to rise, competition grows fierce.  
• Douyin has a vast user base covering cities throughout China, with majority of users coming in first and second tier cities.    

Douyin official accounts  

Douyin offers three types of official accounts: 

• Individual Accounts for people with a large social presence such as celebrities and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs).  

• Institutional Accounts for national institutions, media outlets, hospitals, and schools.  

• Business Accounts for organisations, which include features like links to product catalogues and Douyin stores to enable direct e-commerce interactions. 
  

What does Douyin have in common with TikTok?

Parent company

ByteDance is the tech giant behind both Douyin and TikTok. Its first product, Toutiao, was a news aggregator that personalises news based on user behaviour. This resulted in users spending an average of 74 minutes daily on the platform hence this algorithm became the basis of Douyin and TikTok’s success.

User interface

Both apps have a similar user interface, so it might be difficult to tell the difference between the two. They both utilise a vertical short form video format were users swipe up to watch the next video and the same user engagement features most people would be familiar with such as likes, comments, shares.

Video editing

Both platforms offer built-in video editing tools including filters, effectives, text overlays, and an extensive music library to allow users to create polished and engaging videos with ease.

Recommendation algorithms 

Both apps provide automatic recommendations based on previously viewed content genres as well as the users’ behaviours and interactions with the platform. This helps to enhance the user’s engagement with the platform.  

Advertisement 

Both apps provide opportunities for organisations to promote their goods and services. Different advertisement methods include in-feed ads, top view ads, hashtag challenges, sticker ads and search ads. These various types of advertisement are used to engage audiences and establish connections. 

Douyin vs TikTok

Douyin vs TikTok - Key differences marketers should be aware of 

E-commerce and live streaming

While TikTok offers live streaming and TikTok Shop, live commerce is far more common and popular in China reflecting the importance of having these features on Douyin. In China, live commerce reached, US $4,545 million in 2024 and it is forecasted to surge to US $24,062 million by 2030. 

Douyin's live streaming features are more advanced than TikTok's. Users can access Douyin’s live streams through more entry points. On TikTok, live streams are primarily accessed on the Live page or shown randomly on the For You Page (FYP). Though Douyin has these features, Douyin’s live streams can also be assessed at the top of the page and when dismissed a live stream counter anchors to the top of the page as you scroll through your following feed. Live streams can also be searched by category on the Live page.   

Users commonly access the Douyin Shop via live streams, where products are showcased, and viewers can purchase items without leaving the app with features like picture-in-picture live streams, allowing users to shop while watching. Furthermore, creators can link their own products to other stores shops and users can manage orders, track shipments, and process returns all within the app. Whereas, it is more common to access TikTok shop on videos via the FYP, particularly in the West. This seamless integration, along with the real-time interaction between viewers and KOLs, drives higher engagement and trust resulting in the popularity of live commerce in China. Viewers can ask questions about products and get immediate responses, boosting their confidence in making purchases.

Furthermore, in March 2024, Douyin launched a separate shopping app that syncs with the main Douyin app for personalised product recommendations to continue to compete with major ecommerce players in China like Tmall and Pinduoduo.   

Douyin livestream and Douyin Shop

Mini programs

Douyin’s mini programs are lightweight applications accessible via the platform, similar to WeChat mini programs. These apps offer a range of functionalities, such as e-commerce, games and traditional services like ride-hailing and food delivery. These mini programs enhance the user experience by providing additional services without leaving the Douyin app, creating a more integrated and versatile platform.

Algorithm differences

Douyin’s algorithm tends to favour professional user generated content (PUGC) and high-quality content from major brands and established KOLs, making it a more media-centric platform. This contrasts with TikTok’s algorithm, which promotes smaller, local creators, allowing for a more community-driven content landscape. Douyin’s keyword search algorithm also prioritises accounts with more followers and verified enterprise accounts, giving them more exposure. This makes Douyin particularly well-suited for KOL marketing in China, where large accounts dominate the For You Page (FYP). However, creating high quality videos and partnering with KOLs can be costly, so if you are serious about marketing in China but find the content creation cost too high, we recommend building your digital marketing foundations with a WeChat account first.

Douyin search 

Douyin’s search interface highlights trending topics, celebrities, livestreams, and music, contrasting with TikTok, which only shows search history and recommendations. This gives brands an opportunity to increase their exposure by creating trending content.  

Content focus

Douyin’s content often leans more towards educational and skill improvement videos, with over 160 million users on Douyin were interested in education content in the first half of 2023. This contrasts with TikTok, where the content is generally more entertainment-focused, including dance challenges, comedy skits, and viral trends. The educational content on Douyin attracts users interested in self-improvement and learning new skills, contributing to a diverse content ecosystem. 

Douyin actively encourages creators to craft visually captivating stories, whether for education or entertainment. By leveraging engaging storytelling, creators can keep viewers engaged and cultivate a sense of connection, trust and loyalty.   

New features

Douyin often tests new features in China before rolling them out globally. For instance, Douyin Shop was launched before TikTok Shop. Furthermore, in March 2024, Douyin launched a separate shopping app that syncs with the main Douyin app for personalised product recommendations to continue to compete with major ecommerce players in China like Tmall and Pinduoduo.   

Additionally, in 2019 Douyin beta-tested in-video search capabilities, where facial recognition technology was used to identify products and people in videos and show related content, however this feature was not as successful as it never officially launched across the platform.

Douyin's in-video search

Another advanced feature Douyin has is image search, which allows users to take a photo of an item and the platform’s search engine can identify relevant content based on Douyin. Marketers can ensure they optimise for this feature on Douyin by ensuring their videos showcase their products so if anyone searches for their product in this way, they can easily identify what the product is, information about the product and any reviews of the product on the platform.

Douyin's image search 

While Douyin and TikTok share a common ancestry under ByteDance, they cater to different audiences and operate under distinct internet landscapes. Douyin’s adaptation to Chinese cultural and regulatory frameworks makes it a unique phenomenon in China’s digital space, while TikTok continues to captivate a global audience with its diverse and dynamic content offerings. Each platform exemplifies how localised content and features can significantly influence the success of social media platforms in different regions.

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