Musical.ly: Is It More Than a Lip-syncing App?
For anyone over the age of 18 you probably are unfamiliar with the app Musical.ly. In fact, if you’re around my mom’s age, 55, you might think this is a new way to talk about up and coming musicals. Well, you’d be wrong, and you’ll probably want to learn more because according to DMR Business Statistics the app has 200 million registered users, and 60 million monthly users.
In simple terms Musical.ly is a video-sharing app. Think of it like Instagram, but only for video. What makes it stand out from other apps and social media platforms is the ability for users to lip-sync and dance to their favorite songs. If you’re reading and scratching your head, don’t fret that was me only a few short weeks ago.
I had heard of Muical.ly through my 16-year-old sister, according to Vice.com “50 million people under the age of 21, roughly half of teens and preteens in Amerca, are on Musical.ly.” What I got from the app was that you could lip-sync to Taylor Swift and belly dance for your followers. But, I wanted to see if I could do more on the app. I decided to experiment and see if doing a short three-segment pop-news style video would work on Musical.ly. In the following paragraphs I give you the dos and don’ts of trying to tackle Musical.ly and if the app is capable of having users do more than lip-syncing.
1. Think Like a Teen
When I first tried my news segment on Musical.ly I had the mindset that I needed to be really professional and stiff on camera. I held my face up close to the lens on my phone and spoke in a serious and monotone voice. You can add emojis on top of video and music to the first 15 seconds. Musical.ly is what I like to call a “happening” app and with the demographic being tweens and teens, according to Vice, your content needs to be exciting and fast-paced. I failed to realize this the first few times I tried out the app. In subsequent efforts I made my videos faster-paced, applied music and emojis, and made sure to add a brief description detailing what the video was about. Do not be afraid to use hash tags and emojis. They make the videos fun and easier to consumer.
2. Shoot For High Quality Not Quantity
Musical.ly gives you the option to upload video files from your phone. Take advantage of this feature and use a high definition camera and nice lighting to shoot your video and then upload it to Musical.ly. Almost all videos on Musical.ly look the same, this can be a chance to stand out and show what you’re doing differently on the app. If your video looks different people will click.
3. Learn About “Musers” and Musical.ly Culture
Popular Musical.ly users are called “Musers,” they set the tone for what’s done on the app. Many of them have tens of millions of followers and have great impact on what is popular on Musical.ly. Take time to learn who are the most popular Musers and study what they are doing. If something they are doing seems to resonate with their followers try it out and see if it works. Make sure to understand Musical.ly culture. Sometimes it’s hard to believe just how young many of the users are, tailor your content for that.
4. Double Post
Musical.ly is made for short clips and not longer videos. Take advantage of this and post multiple videos at one time. This means more videos in people’s feeds and more eyes on you. The app is just not compatible for longer videos, so stay clear of those. Musers also use the app for promoting their other social medias, as well as spons0rships.
5. Listen
The key to posting good content and staying relevant is listening. This means listening to your followers and the larger community. Pay attention to what’s working and what isn’t. If your followers tell you they don’t like something, try something different. Remember to follow popular Musers and see what their fans are saying. They can create and even end trends.
What Do I Think?
I think Musical.ly is a great app. It’s fun for people to lip-sync and dance to their favorite songs, however I don’t think the app is ready for anything more than lip-syncing and dancing at this time. The beauty of Musical.ly is its ability for short and fun videos, and with its large teen audience I think the app needs to grow and adapt much more in order to carry the weight of news segments and things alike. If you’re looking to reach a younger audience Musical.ly is great and can be very effective. Remember to produce short and upbeat content and cater to the age range you’re trying to reach. Listen to the community and have fun, that’s what Musical.ly is all about.
