Whether or not you’re curious about worldwide advertising and marketing, or simply need to study extra about how audiences all over the world work together with the web, studying in regards to the high world platforms may be an eye-opening expertise.

Under, you’ll discover 17 of the preferred social media platforms across the globe, together with TikTok’s origin platform — Douyin.

The 17 Greatest International Social Media Platforms

1. QZone and QQ

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• Proprietor: Tencent
• Origin: China (Obtainable globally, Chinese language language-only)
• Identify’s Origin: QZone and QQ have been shortened from the unique title, OICQ. The O stood for “open” whereas ICQ is an immediate message time period that appears like “I Search You” when stated allowed.
• Reported Customers: Over 600 million energetic customers on QZone with 574.4 million month-to-month customers on QQ.

QZone is a social media channel whereas QQ is a messaging app that hyperlinks to a QZone account. The 2 apps function an alternative choice to Fb in international locations like China and South Korea, the place the U.S. platform is blocked.

The platform’s story started in 1999 when QQ launched as a desktop messaging web site. QZone, a social media web site and app, launched in 2005.

In 2019, as mobile-first mindsets grew, Tencent remodeled the QQ web site right into a standalone app. QZone nonetheless serves as a social media platform whereas QQ is now much like the Fb Messenger app.

That can assist you higher visualize how individuals have used QQ and QZone, right here’s a fast analogy: When U.S. millennials have been youngsters, we raced house from faculty to message our pals on AIM.

Then, as we reached highschool, we ventured onto Fb, the place we might message individuals, create a profile, and publish updates.

In the meantime, in China, individuals in my age group might need messaged pals on QQ’s messaging web site as an alternative of AIM. Now, QQ customers may use its sister app — QZone — for a social media expertise that’s similar to Fb. Then, to message pals, they use QQ.

On QZone at the moment, customers are inspired to publish posts, movies, and even music. Like Fb, they will additionally join with pals, see a feed of updates, remark, share or react to posts, and replace cowl or profile pictures.

The QQ and QZone are nice examples of social manufacturers that gained traction lengthy earlier than platforms owned by U.S. tech corporations. QQ and QZone customers are so sturdy in China seemingly as a result of younger audiences adopted its messaging software and have been capable of take pleasure in its full social community in a while.

Though Fb launched 2004, one yr earlier than QZone got here out, Tencent had already captured the millennial demographic with QQ, discovered the right way to develop its product competitively with QZone, and continued so as to add options to drag in Gen Z audiences.

Whereas QZone and QQ appear to be Fb options, their historical past of development is pretty parallel. And, as one of many greatest social media platforms globally, QQ is value figuring out about for those who plan to market in Asian territories with heavy censorship.

2. WeChat/Weixin

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WeChat launched in 2011, earlier than opponents like Kik and WhatsApp. The messaging app was rolled out by Tencent, which additionally created QZone and QQ.

Equally to WhatsApp, WeChat permits free, text-based chats and voice calls. It additionally has a “Moments” characteristic much like Instagram or Fb Tales. Like many U.S. platforms, you may place enjoyable animated stickers on pictures or movies despatched throughout the app.

To affix WeChat, customers must know somebody on the platform and have them scan an activation code {that a} consumer receives when logging in for the primary time. Then, they will entry WeChat’s messaging characteristic, ship movies to pals, and host digital telephone calls.

Apart from utilizing the platform for friend-to-friend communication, customers also can reap the benefits of extra entertaining options.

For instance, whereas one characteristic permits individuals to play in-app video games stay in opposition to pals, others embody filters that can be utilized in chats or video calls.

WeChat additionally connects to quite a few third-party or Tencent-owned apps so {that a} consumer can tackle a number of duties. You possibly can hail a journey or pay pals cash, straight from WeChat.

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At this level, Fb, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and different main apps are utilizing an identical technique, pulling extra options into their platforms to maintain customers logged in longer.

For instance, many high messengers permit group video calls, provide in-app video games, or let customers ship cash.

3. Weibo (Sina Weibo)

Weibo, additionally referred to as Sina Weibo, is the largest Chinese language microblogging and social media platform. The social channel made information in 2017 when it reached extra month-to-month energetic customers than Twitter.

Since then the app’s continued to develop. Stories recommend that greater than 30% of Chinese language web customers now have an account on the platform.

While you go to the web site, it’s mechanically in Chinese language. Nonetheless, you need to use Google Chrome’s translator to transform the textual content to completely different languages.

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Like Twitter, Weibo presents a central feed the place you may see the newest or highest-performing posts. To toggle via several types of posts, you may click on a class on the listing within the left sidebar.

On the proper, you may see “Sizzling Subjects” much like Twitter’s “Trending Subjects.” In the event you proceed to scroll down, you’ll additionally see a field that permits you to seek for individuals.

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Whereas Weibo’s structure and microblogging mission are much like Twitter’s, the Chinese language platform emphasizes movies, pictures, and trending content material, whereas Twitter nonetheless places an emphasis on the accounts sharing the content material.

Though Twitter additionally prioritizes trending content material, you may simply see which of your followers posted, favored, or retweeted it earlier than seeing the content material in a tweet.

This permits audiences to subconsciously give attention to the one that tweeted one thing in addition to the tweet itself.

These barely completely different layouts may also recommend that the audiences of every platform want to eat content material in another way. Whereas Twitter’s viewers may want the human connection, these on Weibo may need to soar straight to the content material.

4. Douyin

• Proprietor: ByteDance
• Origin Nation: China (Obtainable solely in China; TikTok is offered globally)
• Identify’s Origin: Douyin loosely interprets to “shaking sound” or “vibrato.”
• Reported Variety of Customers: 613 million energetic customers

Douyin is the Chinese language-only counterpart to TikTok, which is owned by the identical firm. TikTok particularly is a merger of Douyin and the Musical.ly lip-syncing app. Each social media apps specialise in permitting customers to create, edit, and share short-form vertical video.

After Douyin launched in early 2018, it grew to 150 million energetic customers in yr one. ByteDance then bought an identical lip-syncing app referred to as Musical.ly and created TikTok, a worldwide app that merged the most effective options from every platform.

Since launching in late 2018, TikTok’s additionally seen viral development by gaining roughly 1.2 billion energetic customers. Like Douyin, TikTok additionally sees a lot of worldwide influencers from international locations like India.

Whereas Douyin and TikTok are very comparable short-video apps and are sometimes confused as the identical factor, they’ve a barely completely different units of options, are powered by completely different servers, and have completely different ranges of censorship on account of rules all over the world.

Douyin isn’t accessible for us to preview within the U.S., however information shops describe it as being much more superior than TikTok — notably in terms of ecommerce.

For instance, whereas TikTok rolled out promoting choices in 2020, Douyin already allowed customers to triple-tap a video with a product featured in it to go to a model’s ecommerce retailer. Customers also can use the app for digital excursions of lodges, shops, or journey places.

Douyin additionally reportedly permits customers to geotag themselves at a retailer or location. This might be useful for offering model consciousness to native manufacturers.

On the subject of what Douyin and TikTok have in widespread, each are apps the place customers can share brief movies that may characteristic musical overlays, enjoyable filters, and textual content.

From pictures I’ve dug up on-line, it appears to be like just like the platform’s design could be very comparable with some slight design variations. The screenshots beneath present a video advert and the platform’s search characteristic:

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As a comparability, right here’s what a video advert and the search characteristic seem like on TikTok.

Each apps are additionally centered round a feed that algorithmically reveals customers movies from followers or movies that they could take pleasure in based mostly on earlier content material they’ve seen.

When customers enter the app and see the feed, one video will start enjoying mechanically. To see different movies, customers merely swipe up on that feed. Right here’s what this appears to be like like on TikTok:

Apart from the shared options, each fast-paced social media channels are favored by youthful generations. Whereas over 92.39% of TikTok’s viewers is youthful than 34, it’s additionally been reported that Gen Z has flocked to Douyin.

Douyin and TikTok’s success story is a superb instance of how one distinctive worldwide platform can change the best way we eat content material in different international locations. Previous to TikTok’s launch within the Western hemisphere, many People hadn’t seen something much like it since Vine.

Not solely did Douyin and TikTok change the necessity for Vine, however each apps additionally catered to Gen-Z and millennials, two mobile-first generations identified for brief on-line consideration spans and heavy consumption of video content material.

5. Kuaishou

Kuaishou is a short-video app that competes with Douyin. This platform began as a GIF-sharing web site referred to as Kuaishou GIF. It was like GIPHY within the sense that anybody might create, publish, and share GIFs on the community.

In 2012, Kuaishou dropped GIF from its title and pivoted to a brief video platform. Its interface is now similar to Instagram’s.

Kuaishou would not have a “Tales” characteristic like Instagram, however it options equally trying profiles and feeds the place customers share brief vertical movies reasonably than pictures or different content material.

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Like Douyin or TikTok, the video options of Kuaishou appear pretty comparable in that customers can leverage sound bites and primary enhancing instruments of their content material.

Like many social media platforms with movies, Kuaishou additionally permits customers to overlay textual content and stickers on pictures or movies.

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From quite a lot of movies which were uploaded to different websites from this platform, it looks as if many customers have used this app to spotlight their distinctive abilities and musical expertise.

Plenty of customers have additionally shared movies that spotlight and have fun points of rural China.

In 2019, Apple distinguished Kuaishou as a worldwide app that was defining cell video storytelling tendencies. This got here shortly after the app notably added ecommerce and monetization options that enabled creators in poverty-stricken rural China to generate profits from it.

Apart from its brief movies, Kuaishou additionally permits customers to stay stream content material on the platform. Just like the brief video characteristic, the stream has allowed customers to movie longer movies that spotlight their abilities.

6. VKontakte (VK)

• Proprietor: Mail.Ru Group
• Nation of Origin: Russia
• Identify’s English Translation: VKontakte loosely interprets to “in touch with.”
• Reported Variety of Customers: 67 million customers

VK, the largest social channel in Russia, is sort of a combine between Fb, YouTube, and the 90s unlawful downloading service LimeWire. This platform permits customers to publish and share text-based posts, pictures, video recordsdata, and music recordsdata with their connections.

On the subject of this platform’s consumer interface, it appears to be like eerily much like Fb, with some slight tweaks to web page layouts.

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Apart from permitting customers to share their very own content material, they will allegedly add and stream copyrighted materials, comparable to music and films. This has allegedly been ample on the platform since its launch, however authorized steps haven’t been taken in opposition to it.

The social platform is owned by Mail.Ru Group, a tech firm that owns Russia’s primary engines like google and OK.RU, a social platform famous beneath. Stories additionally recommend that this firm has affiliations with the Russian authorities.

Surprisingly, nearly all of VK customers are between the ages of 25 and 34.

This reputation might be on account of a number of causes, together with the platform’s potential to permit customers to share audio and video recordsdata between pals. The platform additionally encourages customers to increase their social circles and never restrict themselves to those they’re already in.

7. Odnoklassniki (OK.RU)

• Proprietor: Mail.Ru Group
• Nation of Origin: Russia
• Identify’s English Translation: Odnoklassniki interprets to “classmate.”
• Reported Variety of Customers: 33.8 month-to-month energetic customers

Odnoklassniki, or OK.RU, is a web site that makes a speciality of connecting individuals with their previous classmates. The social media platform is about up like a weblog, much like Tumblr, the place customers can share life updates, pictures, or movies, which then present up in different customers’ house web page feeds.

Together with their classmates’ content material, a sidebar reveals customers the preferred movies which were posted on the platform.

Under is a have a look at the feed. Whereas the positioning is in Russian, I’ve used Google Chrome to translate it so you will get a greater concept of what persons are posting.

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Like Tumblr, customers also can click on on the title or picture of one other consumer in a publish to search out that particular person’s profile.

These profiles are much like Fb’s structure in that they present a canopy picture, a consumer’s high followers (referred to as “members”), after which a feed of their very own content material.

Whereas this platform is much like each Tumblr and Fb, Russian residents don’t generally use these two platforms as a lot as OK.RU.

Moreover, with warnings that Fb, YouTube, and Instagram might be banned in Russia, it’s not stunning that tech firms on this area have innovated to create comparable various platforms.

As we’ve seen with the Chinese language platforms above, many world platforms have been impressed by or created as an alternative choice to U.S.-based websites that have been censored or banned.

These continent-specific platforms might be a theme we proceed seeing in several areas of the world.

In the event you’re a global marketer, it may be useful to determine segments of your viewers which may not be capable to entry the platforms you employ for social media advertising and marketing. Then, analysis any options that you may entry to advertise your content material in these places.

8. Telegram

• Proprietor: Telegram Group Inc.
• Origin: UAE
• Identify’s Origin: Named after the telegram system, coined by Charles Wheatstone in 1834.
• Reported Customers: 700 million month-to-month energetic customers

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging platform based in 2013 by Nikolai and Pavel Durov, who additionally beforehand based VK. Identified for its end-to-end encryption and give attention to privateness, Telegram tends to develop in reputation each time one other app experiences a safety breach.

The app was launched as an alternative choice to WhatsApp when the latter introduced it could share consumer data with its father or mother firm, Meta. Because it serves as a safe various to WhatsApp, Telegram’s interface appears to be like fairly much like the one we’re used to.

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At first look, you won’t be capable to inform the distinction between WhatsApp and Telegram as a result of they appear very comparable of their primary textual content messaging capabilities.

However Telegram takes WhatsApp’s options up a notch with chat folders that allow you to set up conversations, open API that permits you to construct your personal Telegram shoppers, and no sim sign-up to guard your telephone quantity from public view.

Open API additionally lets you create Telegram Bots that automate duties and reply to consumer messages.

What’s additionally fascinating about Telegram is its “Secret Chat” characteristic which permits customers to ship messages set to self-destruct after a sure interval and go away no hint on its servers.

The app additionally permits you to create chat channels with as much as 200,000 members, in comparison with WhatsApp’s present 1,024, and allows you to ship media with no limits on dimension or kind.

Beforehand fully free, Telegram launched its Premium tier in 2022. Options comparable to voice-to-text, doubled limits on channels, chat folders, chats, distinctive stickers and reactions can be found so that you can discover on Telegram Premium.

Telegram at present has 70 million energetic customers in India, 24 million in Russia, 19 million in Indonesia, and 18 million in Brazil. The app additionally permits sponsored adverts in some areas, so it’s value exploring for those who’re curious about increasing your presence in these international locations.

9. LIKEE

• Proprietor: JOYY Inc.
• Origin: China
• Identify’s Origin: Beforehand named Like, the founders modified the title in 2019 and added an additional “e” to convey the extra worth it provided after it was redesigned and rebranded.
• Reported Customers: 150 million month-to-month energetic customers

TikTok’s rise to fame might have been meteoric, however it’s not the one video-sharing social media platform on the block. Singapore-based Bigo Applied sciences (owned by JOYY Inc.) launched LIKEE in 2017 as a competitor to TikTok.

LIKEE is a brief video-sharing platform that’s gained large traction since its launch. It focuses on content material from younger customers and celebrities who use the hashtag problem characteristic to create viral movies for the app.

Like TikTok, the app options an AI-powered algorithm that recommends content material related to every consumer’s pursuits. LIKEE additionally has filters, particular results, and instruments to assist customers create content material.

In 2018, LIKEE was one in all 59 Chinese language apps banned in India as a result of rising tensions between the 2 international locations. Earlier than this, India was the largest marketplace for LIKEE, the place it was accessible in 15 Indian languages, together with Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, and Telugu.

LIKEE appears fairly much like TikTok on the floor, however what units it aside is its creator monetization instruments.

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The LIKEE Official Creator program, for instance, provides creators entry to completely different advantages, comparable to invitations to unique occasions and promotions on the LIKEE in style web page based mostly on their “crown” degree.

The app additionally focuses on stay streaming. LIKEE creates a extra immersive stay streaming expertise by permitting creators to create personalised 3D avatars of themselves and permitting them to create and be part of on-line communities.

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Whereas TikTok remains to be main the cost as the preferred short-video-sharing platform, LIKEE is slowly gaining floor and may be the following huge factor.

10. LINE

If there’s a powerhouse app that appears to be doing every little thing, it’s LINE.

The South Korean messaging app was launched as a response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to assist customers talk with one another regardless of community outages.

It shortly gained traction, turning into one of many greatest messaging instruments in Asia.

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The messaging software integrates with a set of companies starting from funds with LINE Pay, telemedicine with LINE Physician, and music streaming with LINE Music.

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The app’s stickers are their very own cultural phenomenon. They’re so in style that you may truly purchase real-life merchandise of them on the LINE Pals Retailer.

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The Creators Market additionally offers customers with a platform to monetize their sticker creations and promote them on the LINE Sticker Store, LINE Theme Store, and LINE STORE.

LINE’s main web site is in English. A lot of its subsidiary web sites, together with LINE for Enterprise and LINE Information, are in Japanese.

LINE’s integration with different points of its ecosystem is an effective way for companies to succeed in new audiences and construct loyalty with current ones.

It additionally eliminates the necessity for customers to change between an array of apps, making a streamlined expertise and lowering distractions.

11. Douban

• Proprietor: Beijing Douwang Expertise Co., Ltd.
• Origin: China
• Identify’s Origin: Named after a hutong, or slim lane, in Beijing. The literal translation of Douban is “an embryonic leaf.”
• Reported Customers: 300 million customers

Douban is a well-liked social networking platform originating in China. It was created by Yang Bo in 2005 and has since grown to be one of many largest on-line social networks within the nation.

The platform permits customers to speak, share their pursuits, and charge movies, books, music, and different content material. On Douban, customers can comply with one another, create a profile, publish and touch upon dialogue boards, uncover new content material, and get suggestions.

Douban is offered in Chinese language, however right here’s a translated preview of its homepage.

Dubbed the “Chinese language model of IMDb” on account of its give attention to films and movie critiques, Douban can be identified for being one of many few Chinese language social networks that enables political discussions, though censorship remains to be enforced.

The platform hosts many occasions and actions, comparable to meetups, lectures, movie screenings, and festivals. It additionally has a web-based radio station referred to as Radio Douban which permits customers to tune in and take heed to music from completely different sources.

Douban boasts a energetic on-line neighborhood for younger and educated Chinese language customers engaged in literary and movie discussions. It’s additionally confirmed in style amongst younger individuals because it permits them to precise their views, keep related, and uncover new content material.

In 2022, the app tightened its insurance policies and now requires abroad customers to register with a mainland cell phone quantity or official identification doc to proceed utilizing the platform. Briefly, anybody who needs to make use of Douban should show their identification.

Beijing’s growing censorship could also be difficult to navigate for manufacturers making an attempt to faucet into this educated and prosperous demographic, but it’s nonetheless potential to have success on Douban if completed proper.

12. Baidu Tieba

• Proprietor: Baidu
• Origin: China
• Identify’s Origin: Baidu Tieba — the phrase Tieba is solely the pronunciation of the Chinese language phrase “贴吧”, a made-up phrase that interprets to “Let’s Put up.” The phrase Tieba has its which means prolonged to the phrase “discussion board” or “group” as effectively.
• Reported Customers: 45 million month-to-month energetic customers

Tieba is likely one of the largest Chinese language dialogue discussion board networks. The father or mother firm, Baidu, additionally owns one of many greatest engines like google on this planet, with 3.3 billion searches per day. Established in 2003, Tieba is a forum-style interactive neighborhood the place customers can share content material and focus on subjects of widespread curiosity.

Tieba presents a variety of options for customers, comparable to customizable avatars, particular results, and instruments that will help you customise your posts. There are additionally an in depth array of filters that assist you to seek for posts by key phrases or tags.

Each Tieba, or particular person neighborhood, has its main coordinator, often known as the “administrator” or the “moderator” in English. This coordinator is answerable for maintaining the discussion board secure and orderly.

Tieba’s user-generated, content-driven nature makes it a super platform for companies to have interaction with their clients, construct relationships, and discover out what their clients suppose.

The platform makes use of two points — expertise factors and account degree — to evaluate the standard of its customers. The extra you have interaction on the platform and work together with different customers, the upper the account degree and the extra expertise factors you’ll achieve.

Baidu Tieba had collected over 300 million month-to-month energetic customers, and its registered customers skyrocketed to 1.5 billion by 2015.

By 2021, nevertheless, the Reddit-style platform misplaced 90% of its customers on account of points comparable to lack of administration and extreme commercialization. With 45 million energetic customers, it nonetheless has appreciable potential to ascertain itself as a significant participant out there.

The web site is in Chinese language, and also you’ll have to make use of Google’s translate characteristic to entry its content material.

The central feed shows scorching subjects and discussions. Customers can scroll via these subjects to search out related data, take part on current conversations, or create new ones.

The feed additionally shows information on the high, which you’ll be able to click on on to remain up to date with latest occasions.

13. BeReal

• Proprietor: Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau
• Origin: France
• Identify’s Origin: The title pertains to its give attention to customers importing unpolished pictures.
• Reported Customers: 73.5 million month-to-month energetic customers

BeReal, a French anti-influencer social media app launched in 2020, solely permits customers to publish photos and movies which are unedited and unfiltered to advertise “authenticity.” The app discourages customers from curating a model of themselves that’s unimaginable to realize.

BeReal notifies customers to take an image in two minutes utilizing their back and front cameras concurrently with a location and non-compulsory caption.

Whereas different customers can’t like or dislike a publish, they will remark. You can too react to posts with a “RealMoji,” which is an image of your personal face.

The app is hottest within the U.S., adopted by France and the U.Okay. BeReal’s month-to-month energetic customers elevated by greater than 300% in 2022.

Gen Z, at present the most important technology on Earth, appears to have a liking for BeReal’s extra real looking method.

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In a latest article, Meredith Mueller, a sophomore on the College of Kansas, highlights how, not like Instagram or Snapchat, BeReal presents a pressure-free expertise.

“Snapchat is extra such as you’re sending this to 1 particular person, for those who publish in your story, you’re making an attempt to look good,” she stated. “Whereas that is like … wherever you’re at, no matter you’re doing, you cease within the second and all your mates can see it. It’s extra like a down-to-earth app. I might say it’s like a judgment-free zone.”

BeReal at present doesn’t provide any promoting or monetization alternatives for manufacturers. Manufacturers like e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chipotle launched model accounts final yr and constructed followings with low cost codes.

Nonetheless, with the app’s spontaneous nature and BeReal’s willpower to take care of its philosophy of authenticity, it could be fascinating to see how manufacturers undertake it.

What’s clear is that Gen Z loves this authenticity, and types have to be progressive to create a presence on the platform.

14. Moj

• Proprietor: Mohalla Tech
• Origin: India
• Identify’s Origin: The title is a spin on the Hindi phrase “mauj,” which suggests leisure.
• Reported Customers: 120 million month-to-month energetic customers

Thirty hours after India banned 59 Chinese language apps on account of ongoing tensions with China on June 29, 2020, the Indian social media platform ShareChat launched Moj.

The app was designed to copy TikTok, thus providing an identical consumer expertise with options, comparable to 15-second movies and particular results. Inside three days of its launch, Moj amassed 50,000 downloads.

India, the nation with the most important inhabitants on this planet, has 22 official languages. Moj helps over 15 languages, together with English, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Like TikTok, customers can lip sync, create digital artwork, and use AI-powered results. The app additionally options interest-based content material suggestions and stay streaming.

Since Moj is a TikTok duplicate, its interface appears to be like virtually the identical as TikTok. It has a house web page, which shows trending and up to date movies, and in addition permits customers to browse content material in several classes.

Customers can browse the app with out having to register. To start out creating and sharing content material, nevertheless, they have to enroll with their telephone quantity or Fb account.

“Moj for Creators,” a program launched in April 2022, goals to assist creators earn Rs 3,500 crore by 2025 with new monetizable options.

These options embody performance-based weekly rewards, model collaborations, creator programs, an unique creator membership, and a devoted creator supervisor to assist creators develop.

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Apart from this, Moj Reside additionally permits customers to earn cash and rewards by stay streaming their content material. Creators can have interaction with their viewers in real-time and ship digital items.

Regardless of its efforts, Indian creators suppose native options like Moj come nowhere near the extent of recognition that TikTok provided.

However, Moj has gained immense reputation in India and presents world companies a gateway to a various and fast-growing market.

15. Xiaohongshu

• Proprietor: Xingyin Data Expertise
• Origin: China
• Identify’s Origin: Xiaohongshu interprets to “Little Purple E book.”
• Reported Customers: 158 million month-to-month energetic customers

The Chinese language reply to Instagram, Xiaohongshu (often known as Little Purple E book or RED) is a content-driven, ecommerce platform that connects native and worldwide Chinese language customers to manufacturers.

Xiaohongshu was created by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao in 2013 and has since turn into a pacesetter within the user-generated content material (UGC) house.

When it first launched, WeChat and Weibo dominated the Chinese language social media panorama. Xiaohongshu tapped into the younger Chinese language city girls’s market by offering a platform for them to learn product critiques, share consumer experiences, and uncover new merchandise.

The app at present focuses on magnificence, style, way of life, and journey. At the moment, 70% of its consumer base are girls.

RED’s give attention to merchandise and procuring makes it in style among the many Chinese language elite. Chinese language consumers will make up 40% of all luxurious customers by 2030. The app faucets into the shopping for energy of prosperous Chinese language millennials and offers helpful insights into their procuring habits.

Xiaohongshu’s primary feed has three tabs: Comply with, Discover, and Close by. Despite the fact that the app is much like Instagram, its “Close by” characteristic is exclusive and permits customers to find new locations, merchandise, and tendencies round their location.

The app’s publish software additionally presents extra enhancing options than Instagram, together with beautify.

The Discover tab contains classes comparable to weight reduction, manicures, cosmetics, mother-baby, and emotion, displaying how RED makes use of historically female-focused subjects to create participating content material.

Xiaohongshu permits manufacturers to have their storefronts on the app, which customers can entry to search out out extra in regards to the model and buy their merchandise.

RED’s give attention to a distinct segment feminine demographic, ecommerce capabilities, and distinctive content material make it a helpful platform for manufacturers seeking to attain the Chinese language market.

Manufacturers can companion with native influencers to unfold consciousness, promote merchandise, and have interaction with the viewers.

16. Yubo

• Proprietor: TWELVE APP
• Origin: France
• Identify’s Origin: The app was beforehand named Yellow and it has since rebranded to Yubo.
• Reported Customers: 60 million customers

One other French social media app that’s rising in reputation amongst Gen Z is Yubo. Launched in 2015 by Sacha Lazimi, Jérémie Aouate, and Arthur Patora, the app goals to create an area for younger individuals to satisfy new pals and discover their neighborhood.

Yubo, previously often known as Yellow, was created with an emphasis on security, openness, and inclusiveness. The app is aimed toward youngsters and encourages customers to create teams, share pictures and movies, chat with pals, play video games, and even stay stream.

For a while, Yubo was often known as the “Tinder for Teenagers” on account of its swipe-based interface. Customers can select who they need to join with based mostly on their pursuits and profiles.

The platform makes an attempt to maintain its youthful and older customers separate with two disconnected communities — one for younger individuals aged 13 to 17 and an grownup neighborhood for individuals aged 18 and above.

Separate communities stop customers in a single neighborhood from interacting with customers within the different neighborhood.

Prior to now, Yubo confronted backlash on account of its safety points, together with the flexibility of adults to create and use pretend accounts.

Nonetheless, Yubo has since applied measures comparable to partnering with digital identification supplier Yoti to assist vet suspicious customers and handle ID verification. In 2022, Yubo additionally rolled out age “estimating” know-how to higher determine minors.

Customers can use the in-app forex, YuBucks, to make purchases, comparable to including an additional variety of new pals or boosting their profile to get extra visibility. Yubo additionally options adverts, which customers can decide to skip or watch in change for YuBucks.

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Yubo has a partnership with Snapchat revolving across the Snapchat Digicam Package, which permits the platform and its creators to make use of Snapchat’s filter system and options. Yubo additionally creates recreation filters you may play with, like on Snapchat.

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17. Rakuten Viber

Viber is a free messaging and calling app created in 2010 by two Israeli brothers, Talmon Marco and Igor Megzinik.

Viber shortly gained reputation on account of its intuitive interface, seamless syncing throughout units, encryption, HD audio and video calls, and an in depth array of stickers.

In 2014, Rakuten, the world’s third-largest ecommerce firm acquired Viber for $900 million.

Since then, the app has made vital enhancements, comparable to introducing video and voice messaging, funds, video games, and even its personal forex referred to as “Vibes.”

The platform has customers in 190 international locations, and its registered customers have surpassed 260 million month-to-month energetic customers. Right here’s a preview of Viber’s feed.

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As you may see, you even have a “My Notes” tab that permits you to write notes and memos.

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Viber additionally has an in depth array of options that make it nice for enterprise use. It offers collaboration instruments comparable to polls, surveys, and doc sharing, amongst others.

Viber Enterprise presents a spread of instruments to assist firms attain their clients, comparable to permitting transactions, providing real-time buyer assist, and sending related messages and promotions.

In January 2023, Viber launched a Enterprise Inbox, which lets you set up and filter messages from business companies comparable to supply companies, shops, and banks.

The app’s mobile-focused options, comparable to a fast registration course of, simple contact updates, one-tap calling, and built-in mission companies, make it a superb choice for companies seeking to have interaction with clients on the go.

The Similarities of International Social Platforms

Regardless of their crucial variations, social media industries all over the world have some fascinating similarities to that of the U.S.

For instance, whereas a lot of North America’s most outstanding social media apps are owned by Fb or have been created in Silicon Valley, most outstanding world platforms have been created by Tencent or different main tech corporations based mostly in China. Equally, the 2 greatest Russian platforms are owned by the identical firm.

Though most of the apps above have been created and launched in extremely censored areas, they don’t appear to be falling behind on innovation on account of these rules.

As a result of worldwide social platforms have advanced on an identical timeline as many widespread U.S. platforms, it looks as if these geographies are constructing their very own parallel social media industries, reasonably than simply racing to create options to our personal platforms.

One factor main distinction is that most of the examples on this listing emphasize direct communication greater than content material.

In the meantime, our personal platforms emphasize content material and consumer expertise. Whereas each social media platform we use at the moment does have messenger with numerous options, only some of them are or have been ever standalone messengers.

For instance, QZone and WeChat constructed their preliminary audiences as messenger apps and broadened their options from there. In the meantime, Snapchat and WhatsApp are the one high platforms that began as direct messengers.

Whereas Fb Messenger is likely one of the most outstanding textual content messaging platforms, it’s an growth of Fb’s authentic Information Feed-centered platform.

Going International

In the event you’re curious about reaching worldwide audiences, it is best to take note of the social media platforms they mostly use, and what they use them for.

This provides you with perception on what forms of content material these teams have interaction with, what motivates them, and what methods might persuade shopping for choices.

If you wish to faucet into a global viewers, however can’t entry a few of the platforms on this listing, you may alternatively take into account testing out a marketing campaign on a globally accessible platform like WhatsApp and WeChat.