Music social app: 📈128 videos, 92K likes, 1m+ downloads

Remember Pokémon Go and how, for a few weeks, it managed to get millions of people outside exploring the world? This founder is on a mission to recreate that phenomenon, but instead of trading Pokémon, you’re trading music. Here’s how Zibo Gao created a viral social app that hit number one on the App Store and achieved viral success through social media.

Background 📓

Zibo Gao is a serial founder who has had success building social apps like Sincerely and Friendship Bracelets. The main problem he kept running into was distribution. He knew that for his next product, he would need to master social media growth and embed as many viral moments as possible within his app. That’s exactly what he did with Soundmap. Imagine Pokémon Go, but instead of trading Pokémon, you trade music from the most trending artists. After receiving 1.3 million views on an early reel and over 1,000+ App Store reviews overnight, he knew social media was going to be key. Now, he just had to figure out how to create a scalable marketing machine.

Here are some of his most successful videos and how he did it 👇:

🎬 Drake walking around his mansion playing Pokemon go but for music: 1.3M Views, 58K Likes, 2.1K Shares

Hook: “pov: Drake walking around his 50,000 soft mansion playing Pokemon go for music but the only songs he’s catching are the Weekend Songs RIP”

Format: Drake clip + product demo + caption overlay

Why this video worked:.

• clips of drake + app clip = Illusion of popularity

• Brand association with Pokemon go

• Feeding on music drama = trending events

🎬 Bro thought: 749K Views, 25.5K Likes, 2K Shares

Hook: “Bro thought I was going to accept this trade 💀”

Format: Slideshow + app screenshot

Why this video worked:.

• Speaking audience lingo

• Tapped into a popular artists fanbases

• Hook creates mystery around what exactly they’re trading

🎬 Imagine if…: 350K Views, 7.8K Likes, 1K Shares

Hook: “Imagine if artists can get traded like pro athletes and you can trade Kendrick Lamar for Ice Spice + Kanye”

Format: Selfie POV + zoomed in app shots

Why this video worked:

• Rapid clip cuts

• Immediately answers question from hook

• Zoomed in app shots create mystery

• Hand over face shot = popular hook

Key takeaways from Soundmap 💡

• Embed viral shots within your app.

  Early on, try to imagine what key shots people might post about on social media. These should be either controversial or intriguing.

• Creating the illusion of “fan accounts”

  "Best of Soundmaps" is one of three TikTok accounts they use to promote their videos. It gives the illusion that a fan created the account, making it more appealing to users.

• Trying multiple formats.

  If you check out their videos, you can clearly see which formats worked early on and when they had to switch up the content. Specific formats will only work for so long.

What you can replicate from this format 💰

• Effective hooks:

  “Imagine if…”

  “Bro thought…”

  “POV: _____[Hand over face or mouth shot]”

• Describe your app by comparing it to a popular experience or product.

  “Pokemon go but for music” or “Trading artists like you can trade pro athletes”.

• Create fan accounts

  Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal power user. How could you create a viral series while promoting a fun feature from your product?

That’s all I got for this one. If you have any other viral consumer products you want me to break down my DM’s are always open.

Cheers!

Nick 🤝