Founder Playbook · Sub Club by RevenueCat
10 tactics from Maddie Kirby
Marketing Your App on TikTok
Watch the full episode“We got number one in the app store that day for the first time ever and it just blew the other numbers away dramatically. Now we're able to see these little spikes every month when a TikTok is posted from somebody.”
A single TikTok drove #1 App Store rank — and left traceable monthly download spikes per country
One Second Every Day's duet on a trending video drove the app to #1 in the App Store the same day — something paid campaigns had never achieved. Even more useful: each subsequent viral TikTok from a user anywhere in the world shows up as a download spike in that specific country. The tracking requires no attribution tooling and proves TikTok's direct business impact to skeptical stakeholders.
“I like to think of them as content buckets or pillars and you pick three and stick with those for a bit — try a few ideas in each bucket, see what's working what's not. Scrolling through the app is the best way to keep on top of things and then you have to be able to think really fast and post really fast because these trends come and go.”
Structure TikTok content into 3 pillars, test within each bucket before abandoning
Rather than posting randomly and hoping something lands, Maddie Kirby structures One Second Every Day's TikTok strategy around three defined content pillars — e.g. behind-the-scenes, app walkthroughs, trending formats. Testing inside each bucket isolates what's not working without abandoning the format entirely. Rapid iteration is key: TikTok trends have very short windows.
“I think the biggest thing is don't try to make anything that you don't understand already — like don't try to guess. Don't try to be Gen Z if you're not Gen Z. It's being yourself, knowing what you know and not trying to guess at it.”
Only make content you genuinely understand — guessing at trends reads as fake instantly
TikTok audiences have an immediate filter for inauthenticity. The classic brand mistake is trying to replicate a trend without understanding why it resonates — the result is cringe that poisons the brand. Maddie Kirby's rule: if you don't natively understand the format you're attempting, don't attempt it. Authentic content in your actual register outperforms performed trendiness.
“There's really nothing to lose with it because it doesn't cost money to be on there and try things. It's brainstorming, trying things, seeing what sticks and if it doesn't stick then try something different.”
TikTok organic costs nothing — test it before committing budget to any other channel
TikTok's zero-cost floor makes it uniquely suited as a channel for experimentation before budget commitment. Maddie Kirby frames it as a discovery process: post across content types, measure what gets traction, then double down. The risk of not trying is missing a distribution channel that has driven #1 App Store rankings for apps with zero ad spend.
“People even thought that we made the app because of her idea — they thought it was a new cool app. I feel like it's a great thing when people have no idea it's coming from a brand even when it's posted on a brand account.”
Best brand TikToks feel like a random user posted them — not a company
One Second Every Day's most successful TikTok duet generated confusion — users thought a random girl had invented the app on the spot. Maddie Kirby treats that as the gold standard: when brand content is indistinguishable from organic user content, it earns the same trust. Anything that looks like an ad is filtered out; anything that looks like a person sharing an experience gets watched.
“I was randomly scrolling through TikTok and a girl had made a video — it hadn't even been at one million views yet — and so I was like: I gotta do a duet right now. I just filmed a duet where I was walking through the app as she's explaining the idea.”
Duet a viral video before it hits 1M views — early responses ride the wave, late ones disappear
Timing matters more than polish on TikTok. Maddie Kirby spotted a video describing something that sounded like One Second Every Day before it went viral and immediately filmed a response — no script, no approval process. The duet surfaced One Second Every Day to everyone who later found the original 13M-view video. Late responses to viral content are invisible; early ones become part of the wave.
“It wouldn't have gone as well if we didn't have a presence on the platform too. You shouldn't be just jumping on — just imagine if they already had a presence and people would want to be posting about them more.”
Build a TikTok presence before you go viral — you cannot amplify a wave you are not on
When the viral duet opportunity appeared, One Second Every Day could respond instantly because they were already on the platform with an established account. Without that pre-built presence, a potential #1 App Store moment might have passed with no one to amplify it. Being on the platform before you need it is the prerequisite for capitalizing on any organic viral moment.
“Definitely making sure that there's no paywall with that is important if you want to make hay off of organic or viral. The only ones I've ever had be successful are the ones that are like core to the product — you have to think about it early.”
Viral sharing features must be free and core to the product — paywalling them kills the loop
Every share-to-TikTok, export, or social feature that sits behind a paywall breaks the viral loop before it starts. One Second Every Day's monthly giveaway — where users share their month video for a chance to win — works because sharing is frictionless and free. The product insight: viral mechanics need to be designed into the core product early, not bolted on later as premium add-ons.
“We had over 200 applications for people to join our brand ambassador team. We narrowed it down to 26 people — they get connections with us and can have impacts within the app as well as free merch, and we get some content from them in exchange.”
Turn superfans into brand ambassadors — merch for content beats paid influencers
One Second Every Day's brand ambassador program received 200+ applications because the community was already full of people who wanted to help. The exchange — exclusive merch and early feature access for organic content creation — costs almost nothing but generates authentic, high-trust content from genuine users. This outperforms paid influencer content on cost, authenticity, and audience trust simultaneously.
“We had TikTokers that influenced product changes — just the ability to flip and mirror their video — we made that change and people were really happy. We definitely listen to everybody on social about stuff.”
TikTok community feedback drove a product feature — mirror button shipped from user requests
One Second Every Day added a video mirror button after TikTok users kept requesting it to match a viral effect on the platform. The feedback loop — TikTok trends create product requests, product ships the change, users share the result, more users discover the app — is one of the most efficient development-distribution cycles available to small app teams.