Mar 4, 2025
This weeks newsletter includes
🚨Update: New URL for newsletter is now Playkit.xyz/newsletter
FocusTree’s TikTok strategy overview ✅
FocusTree’s Toolkit to replicate format in minutes ✅
Exclusive access to 10K MRR handbook. If you’ve been looking to understand the basics of social media & figure out the right strategy to grow your consumer app to 10K MRR organically this is a must read ✅
+ discount code for premium subscribers ✅
Strategy overview 📚
FocusTree is an app that is designed for people to block addictive phone habits by setting a temporary wall on the usage of apps for a pre-determined time. Their core TG primarily consists of students whom they help by blocking off Tik-Tok and other apps during a study session.
Interestingly, they do not publish content through their own account or even a single account. They publish content (almost everyday) through one account at least.
Let’s take a look at how they managed to gain 4.5M views on a single tik-tok, which wasn’t even posted from their account.
Here are some of their most successful videos and how they did it 👇:
🎬Control Yourself
4.7M+ Views, 750K+ Likes, 130K+ Saves
Hook: “Control Yourself”
Format: Text Overlay + Background song + App demo
Why this video worked:
It starts with a hard metal narration of what is written on the text overlay, which is ‘Con-Trol-Your-Self’ in this case
The song almost screams, forcing the user to increase focus on the video
The entire app demo is completed within 7 seconds.
It clearly displays a problem we all face and its straigh-forward solution, clearly evident by the 130K+ saves
🎬Study with me
240K+ Views, 50K+ Likes, 5K+ Saves
Hook: "Study with me”
Format: Text Overlay + Background vlog
Why this video worked:
The video has a very softcore approach and does not directly sell anything.
It is more, ‘a day in the life of’ vibe (think ugc) than a ‘check this out’ one.
The humming sets it apart from what could be popular or upbeat songs, it tricks the viewer into thinking that they are watching an actual vlog bit.
While going after being softcore, the video is in no way unpolished, it has high aesthetic value that is simply pleasing to watch through.
🎬Best app for academic comeback
400K+ Views, 30K+ Likes, 5K+ Saves
Hook: “I just found the best app for your academic comeback this 2025 😳📚”
Format: Text Overlay + Background video
Why this video worked:
This is a spin to the first tik-tok, the hook has been changed.
The music has become more mellow and vibey.
Instead of an aggressive stance of ‘control yourself’, this video takes a helping hand path that has worked in this format.
Superb timing of hook during the exam season and the new-year comeback.
The latter part of the tik-tok, the demo, is absolutely unchanged, goes back to demonstrate reusability of content.
Key Takeaways from this Content Strategy ⭐
Piggy-backing approach: Instead of building authority in the domain by creating and growing an account from scratch, they piggy-back on the authority built by other pages and people which is picking up a lot of traction in recent times.
High-frequency posting: Focustree, with its many affiliated creators is pushing insane amounts of content per week, around 100 videos a month. Each with a different spin: hook, music, etc.
Low production cost: They use the same product demo plugin in each of their videos, only the problem context and background music changes. This allows them to push more content than earlier planned
Consistency in Quality: Maintaining a consistent theme and style across videos helps in building brand recognition and trust among viewers. The app subsequently registers itself as study-buddy, just because of the repeated eye-balls it gathers.
Doubling down: Focustree has often reuploaded videos after a break of a month or so which have already worked for them in the past. Instead of chasing a new formula, FocusTree doubled down on content that worked without any innovation and got more views with incremental effort.
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