It’s no exaggeration to say that TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. However, because the social media platform is shrouded in controversies, many countries have already taken a stance against the app. Perhaps, that’s the reason why some influencers are looking for alternatives — and that’s where Triller comes in. So, what is Triller and why is it one of the biggest TikTok competitors? Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Triller?
The question on everyone’s minds right now would probably be: what exactly is Triller? Before you mistake it for a Michael Jackson song, let us explain what the platform is all about. Is it just another social media app that replaces TikTok and copies all of its features? Well, not exactly.
Triller may be a short-form video content creation app, similar to TikTok. However, there are major differences between the two (more on that later). Firstly, Triller started as a music video creation app that allows users to record short music videos. You could get started with the app and create your very own high-quality music video using the app’s built-in tools.
However, Triller didn’t stay like this forever. Over time, the app evolved into becoming more of a social media platform than a simple music video creation app. It even added a feed, much like TikTok’s “For You” section, to aid users who wanted more content exposure.
Things You Need To Know About Triller
What is Triller like for those of you interested? Here’s what you need to know about the app before you get started.
1. You Can Post Longer Music Video Clips
Triller may be a short-form video-sharing app. However, that doesn’t mean it restricts itself to TikTok’s measly 15-second restriction. Triller started as a music video creation app, and because of that, it allows longer videos by nature.
So, by default, the videos you can upload set themselves at 16 seconds. However, its maximum length can go up to 60 seconds, allowing users to record minute-long videos. Hence, you can get more creative and squeeze in more content if you have something longer planned. Moreover, since you can use longer snippets of sound, there’s a lot of leeway for content creation.
2. You Can Use Music From Spotify And Apple Music
One of the biggest benefits of using Triller is that, unlike TikTok, users aren’t limited to the app’s sound library. Of course, the app does have a sound library of its own. However, users aren’t restricted by that as they can find whatever song they like on Spotify or Apple Music.
This is only made possible because Triller has partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group. You can even listen to the full song right on the app without navigating to another music app.
People streaming on the app even count towards official Spotify streams. Hence, it truly cements itself as a music-oriented app committed to partnering with the music industry, instead of disrupting it.
3. You Can Create Group Videos With Other Users
If you’ve created music videos before, you might already know that doing it by yourself is only fun sometimes. It’s always more fun when you’re doing things as a group. There’s just double the energy when you’re with a group of people and it’s more exciting to create content.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has taken its toll on social gatherings and it’s not that easy to meet up to film. TikTok users can only film with friends nearby or with family members they live with. That’s why Triller’s group collaboration features are a life-saver for friends who want to collaborate on their videos.
With Triller, you can edit and create one unified music video with all your friends from all over the world. Just record your takes on the app, share them with your friends, and edit the videos together.
4. Has Auto-Editing Tool Driven By Artificial Intelligence
Triller uses a very unique algorithm that automatically edits a user’s videos for them without having to break a sweat. The app is powered by AI and will magically edit all your takes together into a polished video. Hence, you won’t need to worry about adding filters, adjusting the speed, or even adding texts.
Of course, some people might argue that this hinders a content creator’s creative freedom. However, that’s not exactly the case because you can still record any kind of video you want. The only thing the Triller app takes away is the cumbersome manual editing you usually need to do on TikTok. In one sense, it might sacrifice some creative freedom. However, for video-editing newbies, it lowers the barrier to entry.
5. Has A Lot of Filters And Effects To Personalize Videos
Like any short-form video editing social app, Triller has lots of effects in its library to unleash a user’s creativity. There are tools to add filters, overlays, adjust the speed, and basic texts. You can even write by hand and adjust your footage’s lighting, exposure, and more.
6. Sleek Interface
Anyone who has ever used TikTok will probably be familiar with Triller’s current Layout. That’s because they’re very similar when you first enter the app, especially on the Homepage. You can intuitively swipe up and down to move through videos on your feed. Moreover, it’s pretty easy to navigate and find the videos from people you follow or the ones currently trending.
Like TikTok, you can find the option to like and comment on a post at the bottom half of the screen. Moreover, you can also easily find the discovery page, music page, activity, search, and your profile through the bottom icons.
7. Shares Videos On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, And Other Socials
Of course, sharing any kind of content you have on one platform usually isn’t enough these days. You have to put yourself out there on as many platforms as you can. So, what is Triller like in terms of inter-app compatibility?
Thankfully, apart from posting on Triller, you can also download the videos you posted and upload them on other platforms. On the other hand, you can also easily share your videos to your other socials like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can even send your videos directly to your contacts via text or email.
8. Has TrillerTV For Broadcasting
One of the most unique features Triller has provided its users, thus far, is TrillerTV for broadcasting. However, it’s not exactly a live-streaming feature like you might expect.
Nowadays, people love to invest themselves in the lives of the people they love. This includes the lives of celebrities, musicians, artists, influencers, fashion icons, athletes, and more. As a result, Triller rode this trend and launched TrillerTV earlier this year.
The first rollout included weekly 30-minute clips by various public figures. TrillerTV premiered with shows by Jennifer Lopez, the D’Amelio Family, DJ Khaled, and many more. Of course, TrillerTV’s biggest focus is on music because of the nature of the app and apps like it.
9. Many Artists Are Using Triller
Lastly, a lot of the artists you love are already on Triller. Celebrities like Marshmello, Post Malone, and The Weeknd are all on the platform. Hence, it’s the perfect place to go if you’re already a fan of certain artists.
Moreover, Proxima Media has recently invested in the app and more are following suit. Big names like Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Wayne have all expressed interest in the app. It’s clear that with the way things are going, Triller will heavily focus on partnering with the music industry. The app could be a great place to bridge the gap between fans and their favorite artists.
How To Join Triller?
What is Triller like for new creators? Is it easily accessible to the average person? Thankfully, joining the Triller app is as easy as joining any other free social media app. All you need to do is download the app on the Google Play Store or App Store. Afterward, set up your account when you launch the app.
During this process, you can also choose between a user or creator account, depending on your preferences. Both of these accounts can create and share videos with others. However, only creator accounts can raise funds, whether that’s for a cause or personal gain. Regardless, make sure to know what you want before you even start creating your account.
How To Add A Post On Triller
After setting up your account, you can immediately start creating videos on Triller. Just launch the app and tap on the (+) symbol at the bottom. Afterward, choose the type of post you want to create. You can choose either a Music Video post or a Social post.
The only difference between the two is that the Social posts let you start recording a video immediately. On the other hand, Music Video posts require you to choose a song before you begin. Either way, you can augment your video by adding filters, adjusting the speed, zooming in, recording takes, etc.
For this example, let’s say you’re creating a Music Video post since it’s slightly more complicated. Once you choose Music Video, you’ll be directed to a library of popular songs. Pick the one you want and which part of the song you want to feature. The app should provide you a nifty little audio trimming feature to create a snippet.
Afterward, tap Film on the upper-right to start recording. From here, you can record different takes of the video you’re filming or upload a premade one from your library. If you recorded different takes, tap the Shuffle button on the top-right corner to edit your video. You can use all the tools Triller provides and play around until you’re satisfied.
Afterward, tap Finish on the top-right and add a description or caption to your video. Choose the category it falls under, add the location (optional), or make your video private (optional). Then, hit Post & Save on the top-right to publish your video.
Triller Vs. TikTok: Major Differences
Based on the initial description, you might mistake Triller as a blatant copy of the TikTok app. However, the major differences between the two truly separate them and make Triller more of a TikTok alternative. So, what makes Triller stand out as against TikTok? Here’s a run-down of the two apps’ major differences.
| Triller | TikTok |
|---|---|
| Limited video editing tools with most of it being powered by AI | User-made video editing with added effects and embellishments like text, overlays, filters, etc. |
| Users can use sound snippets from the Triller library, Apple Music, and Spotify | You can only use the sounds from the TikTok library |
| The algorithm prioritizes what’s most popular overall, includes showcasing popular content in leaderboards, various genres, popular hashtags, and promoted campaigns | The algorithm is based on a user’s preferences for a personalized feed |
| Only 65 million users globally | Over 800 million users globally |
Video Editing
TikTok is famous for its video-editing prowess. However, most of it is still manually done by the users using the app’s built-in editing tools. On the other hand, Triller focuses on an AI-powered video editing tool to automatically edit videos. Hence, it takes away the burden of adding overlays, effects, editing the speed, and adding text.
Of course, this means Triller users have less control compared to TikTokers. However, this also means that Triller videos appear more polished and well-edited compared to the shabbily edited TikTok video.
Music & Sound
As most people know, TikTok users are only allowed to use music from the TikTok library. The app itself takes care of all the copyright and license issues with various music labels and companies. Hence, they have a large library of music and sound that users can utilize. However, TikTok users can only take 15-second snippets of a track to use in their videos.
On the other hand, Triller users have a bit more leeway in terms of sound and music. That’s because Triller allows users to listen not only to snippets but full tracks from other apps. Currently, Triller has partnerships with Spotify and Apple Music, so users can take sounds from those two apps.
Algorithm
A social media app’s algorithm is what determines the type of content users discover. Hence, influencers need to understand it well to utilize the app to their heart’s content. TikTok, like other social media platforms, tracks a user’s behavior to personalize their feed. This means the app tracks the videos you engage with, what you watch, etc. Then, TikTok promotes more of the same content to you.
On the other hand, Triller makes sure to promote the newest and most popular videos in users’ feeds. It doesn’t factor in your past behavior, interaction, or engagement. Hence, the app’s more friendly toward promoted campaigns, leaderboards, and most popular content by genre.
Influencers And Triller: What Is Triller Like For Internet Stars?
As you may already know, Triller is a great place for artists and celebrities who want to connect with fans. However, being a celebrity-friendly app doesn’t always mean it’s good for aspiring influencers.
With this in mind, it’s not surprising that Triller isn’t exactly the place for social media stars. However, the app has recently brought in famous influencers onto its platform. For example, the famous TikTok star Josh Richards, with north of 20 million followers on TikTok, recently came over.
Of course, this is one case, and not all influencers are brave enough to migrate their fans. Not all fans will be loyal enough to download an entirely new app for their faves. Moreover, since Triller’s user-base is still growing and is relatively small, it’s not as marketable to influencers as other social apps.
Advertisers And Triller: What Is Triller Like For Companies?
Of course, one of the biggest money-makers in social media is the existence of ad revenue. So, what is Triller like for advertisers? What is Triller doing to make money and help its users earn?
Unlike most other social media platforms, Triller didn’t initially focus on ads. Instead, Triller functioned like a crowdfunding platform, allowing influencers and creators to raise money from fans. Of course, creators and influencers were also free to raise money through partnerships and ad sponsors as well.
However, they’ve recently created more direct ad opportunities on the app. Notably, the app partnered with Consumable, an ad-tech startup, to include programmatic ads between videos. In the future, Triller also seems interested in creating a self-serve ad platform, although we haven’t seen it in action.
Regardless, Triller is very much a viable place to earn money through ad revenue. In fact, it’s fairly easy to grow your fanbase and audience on the app, considering its small user base. Moreover, you can easily carry over your fans to other platforms even if you blow up on the app itself. A lot of influencers have already successfully built a following on the app then branched out to Twitter or Instagram.
A Worthy Competitor
TikTok may have taken the world by storm in the past couple of years. However, that doesn’t mean it’s invincible and will stay on the top forever. Triller is one of TikTok’s main competitors, and with all of its handy features, it might lure TikTok users away. Despite its relatively small size, the app is growing in popularity among artists and fans.
