Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok, owned by ByteDance, is one of the most important Chinese apps. Tiktok was bought out by byte dance about a year ago. Even though the apps are similar and both focus on users’ content, they are independent of each other. Douyin is specific to China.
Douyin: the millennial app
Douyin is an application to create and share short videos (about 15 seconds) with music in the background. It has 300 million users per month; 150 million users per day; 85% of users born in the 1990s and 70% of users live in tier 1 and tier 2 Chinese cities.
Brands invest in partnerships with renowned KOLs to increase visibility and develop brand loyalty. Chinese users find catchy short videos from KOL on Douyin. Douyin in China is an effective marketing means to reach users-consumers.
When you open an official account, you can put a profile picture and cover image, profile name, description, hyperlink (a link to the official website or to the e-commerce platform), location, and hashtags.
Read as well: Introduction to Douyin Marketing
Which kind of content are popular on Douyin?

Contents in Douyin must answer to three factors:
- curiosity,
- emotion,
- self-driven.
Storytelling:
It is important to create storytelling, to put catchy music, and creative editing. The definition of the brand’s goals on Douyin is fundamental. These can be:
- sales,
- brand awareness,
- brand credibility,
- building a loyal audience and much more.
Precisely define the audience of the channel:
- age,
- gender,
- origin
There are some taboos on Douyin:
- Display Ads – no storytelling;
- Excessive exposure to logos;
- Tattoo;
- Porn, vulgar content;
- Alcohol, lighters, cigarettes.
Collaborations and partnerships are important. Even just a collaboration with the right person can do a difference for a brand.
52.55% of users are boys, 47.45% are girls. 80 % of them are less than 35 years old. Half of the users are regular users, the other half are Kols and celebrities.
The most popular category of content on Douyin are:
- internet service,
- food & beverage,
- cosmetics,
- digital objects,
- automotive etc.
2020 Douyin data
Douyin just released its 2020 key user behavior data.
Since its creation back in 2016, Douyin has grown into a super social media app in China with a whopping 600 million daily active users, second only to WeChat.
Similar success can be seen around the world with Tiktok and its over 800 million monthly users. There are more than 400 million video searches occurring within Douyin every day.
When is the best moment for a brand to publish content on Douyin?
8-9 pm on Sunday is the most popular time to shoot Douyin videos in China.
How do different generations use Douyin?

- Gen Z prefers to shoot and watch animated videos.
- Millennials like making videos of babies and scenery while watching the news and fashion videos on Douyin.
- Gen Y loves sharing videos of lovely food whilst enjoying wedding videos on Douyin.
- Baby boomers enjoy sharing dancing videos with the world and absolutely love watching baby videos.
Douyin witnessed the recovery of Chinese domestic tourism through users’ daily check-in activities at national tourist spots continuing to climb since the 2020 Chinese New Year (February).
What are the main themes of the videos on Douyin?
- 600.000 videos concern a situation of abandonment;
- 130.000 videos concern a situation in which to persist in;
- 200.000 videos concern a situation of doubt;
- 100 million videos concern a situation of trust;
- 910.000 videos concern something difficult to do.
Douyin was used to share videos about the Covid-19 pandemic:
- 300 million broadcasting videos about the prevention and control of the epidemic situation;
- 010.000 people watched these videos;
- 1000 million doctors and nurses received support on Douyin.
Douyin launched its aid to Hubei’s recovery plan

On April 8, with the support of the Electronic Commerce Department of the Ministry of Commerce, the Hubei Internet Information Bureau, the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce, the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Douyin jointly launched The “Hubei Restart Douyin Help-Douyin Aid Hubei Recovery Plan”.
Douyin invested tens of billions in traffic, launched 100 live broadcasts and a series of measures to support Hubei’s efficient resumption of work and production.
In order to promote high-quality products and Jingchu culture in Hubei Province, Douyin will invest tens of billions of traffic to provide traffic support to enterprises.
At the same time, in order to help 13 prefecture-level cities and prefectures in Hubei Province, Douyin launched 13 live broadcasts of ” Mayor Shows You Hubei” to promote local agricultural products.
In addition, there were also 50 Douyin creators such as Tu Lei and “Lao Fan Gu” who were selling Hubei specialties through short videos or live broadcasts.
If you are a foreign brand in China, you must adopt a digital marketing strategy that includes also Douyin.

Gentlemen Marketing Agency is a digital marketing agency that is an expert in helping foreign companies to establish or strengthen their position in China. We can help your brand increase sales in China, thanks to our services like:
- Advertising
- Baidu SEO&SEM
- Social Media
- PR
- KOL & Influencers
- E-commerce and cross-border e-commerce
- Distribution