Will Douyin’s new direction accelerate its growth?

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Popular Chinese video-sharing app Douyin, also known as Tik Tok, has rolled out an art content channel to tell brand stories, Xinhua reported on Friday.

According to the report, the new channel, named "The Good Life Image," will feature artistic short videos capturing impressive moments or aspects of life using branded products.

Douyin plans to showcase 12 brands over the next 12 months, with videos about each product available on the platform for 12 days.

It is believed to be part of the platform’s updated strategy unveiled earlier this year, in which it launched a new slogan, “Recording the good life,” as well as a plan for promoting at least 50 events advocating “positive attitudes toward life.”

Two young women watch Douyin's advertisement on the wall. /VCG Photo

Launched in September 2016, Douyin allows users to create short music videos and is especially popular among young users. Initially featuring music and dance short videos, Douyin has expanded its reach with more diverse content, such as food, culture, family, and travel.

The social media platform has become an emerging marketing tool as tourist destinations, museums, and brands have partnered with it for commercial promotion.

It has 500 million monthly active users worldwide and has spread to more than 150 countries and regions, the platform said earlier this week.

However, the plan, since it was announced, has been questioned by users as well as insiders.

Some users said “I still prefer its former slogan, ‘Shake off the unhappiness’, which is cool.” While others have made comparisons to Douyin's main competitor Kuaishou, arguing the latter's slogan is better.

Douyin's logo. /VCG Photo

Insiders believed the new strategy is aimed at expanding the platform’s market, as well as competing with its rival Kuaishou, which has put “recording life” as its brand goal since the very beginning.

Previously, Douyin focused more on creating rather than recording. It presents the users with several video creation frameworks, from which they could produce their own pieces of short videos within seconds. Comparatively speaking, the contents on Douyin are more trendy and fashionable, but could bore users once they get too familiar with it.

It seems that Douyin has been repeating what Sina Weibo recently did: decentralization, so as to become an entertainment social media platform with “multiple centers.”

Earlier this month, five companies, including Douyin, were required to review their content, so as to remove videos considered vulgar or pornographic according to China's laws. The move came after a video clip suspected of insulting a martyr during the War of Resistance against the Japanese aggression caused controversy.

Meanwhile, the platform was also repeatedly criticized by Chinese media, including the People’s Daily, for emphasizing money, which sets a bad example for Chinese teens.

Apparently, Douyin has to meet the challenges from its competitors, the market, and the authorities’ requirements for online content, before it can have its own share of the pie in the rapidly developing industry.

(With inputs from Xinhua)