Social & Digital Update: Byte Challenges TikTok
Have you been trying to fill the Vine shaped hole in your day since it was shut in 2016? Well then, we’d like to introduce you to Vine’s spiritual successor - Byte (Or Vine 2.0). Byte, like Vine, is the brainchild of Dom Hofman and it’s here to challenge the titanic TikTok.
How many users world-wide?
Last reported figures are from March 2020, but Byte gained an impressive 1.3 million downloads in its first week. Beating both Vine and TikToks first week download stats.
How Does It Work?
“ok so basically it's these little videos you watch on your phone” - Bytes Twitter bio sums up the app more succinctly then we ever could. Byte, similar to its predecessor Vine, is a 6 second looping video app with a focus on comedic user generated content.
Byte Vs. TikTok
It’s easy to compare Byte to TikTok. Short form content with a focus on user generated content and making the users the stars rather than being driven by celebrities and influencers.
But the two have some important differences. For one thing, TikTok allows longer videos: 15 to 60 seconds. The short nature of Byte videos also sets it apart from Snapchat which offer 10 seconds and 15 second posts respectfully.
Also, while TikTok is most popular in Asian countries which account for a majority of the app’s downloads. Byte, on the other hand, will focus more on the US market and other western nations.
What do brands need to know
Partner program
Byte pays its top content creators via a revenue-sharing model once they start advertising on the platform. Every month they come up with a pool of money that they will distribute to the top 100 creators. Byte has launched a partner program where creators with the highest number of views will be paid.
news flash. next week we’re gonna start reaching out to cOnTeNt CrEaToRs for our partner program. some quick info on the first group of partners…...
— byte (@byte_app) February 28, 2020
💵 $250,000 in the pool
💯 up to a hundred creators
🥾 kicks off april 15
more details here: https://t.co/T21JPbwalS
Preroll or Retargeting
While Byte does have an advertising marketplace, it’s placements are still very much in their infancy and are not as robust as the behemoth that is the Facebook Advertising Platform.
Byte is piloting a different model of advertising than other platforms, promising no “pre-roll” ads or ads in your following feed. Byte has also promised not to do retargeting, which may be a regretful statement if they ever want to make moves into the ecommerce space.
Nike First Over The Line
True to their brand ethos, Nike launched the Byte Ad program. Its first ad appeared as a sponsored section within the app, distinguishing it clearly from the everyday uploaded videos.