Getting noticed is easy. How to go live on TikTok is a whole new level. Heck, it’s given birth to the “Platform-Specific Tool” mega-trend called the TikTok lights.
For many of us, the idea of making a TikTok was distasteful not very long ago. If you ask me, I thought it suited to people who had all the time on their hands. Unlike us, who are busy.
I guess I was wrong. I wish I was TikTok famous. The traction it can bring to your brand is off the charts! Full-grown businesses are yet to leverage TikTok for profit.
So for those who have been living under a rock, here’s how to go live on TikTok.
- Download and install the TikTok app on your phone if you haven’t already (duh).
- Open the app and click the ( + ) plus icon at the bottom of your screen to create your first ever TikTok.
- Add sound, eye-catching filters, effects, or text to your video and post it.
- Select relevant hashtags plus enable comments and duets.
- Congratulations, your TikTok video is ready to kick ass!
You don’t have to be a clown to gain followers on TikTok. Leave it for others who are having fun. Of course, you can have fun too. Make valuable TikTok videos if you are serious about branding.
That way you can gain some serious audience for what you have to say and they will listen to your advice. If you are a fitness expert, you can capitalize on users who are looking for a way to stay fit while staying at home.
If you are an expert on mental health, people could use your advice during the pandemic to get rid of depression.
But, if this isn’t your thing, and you are a dancer, you can make TikTok videos and show the world who’s the champion of dancing. If you always wanted to lip-sync to your favorite tunes and dialogues, TikTok is the way baby!
How To Go Live On TikTok Without 1000 Followers?
The burning question on everyone’s mind is, how do you go live on TikTok?
You won’t be able to go live unless there are 1000 people following your account which is true, for now. Yet, constant updates to the features and functionality of the app might change the way users go live.
For now, you need to have at least 1000 followers and must be 16 years or older.
Here’s how to go live on TikTok:
- Open the app on your Android or iOS device.
- Click on the plus ( + ) sign at the bottom of your screen.
- Only this time, you will have a “Live” button which you can press.
- Add a title to your live stream and select Go Live to begin as shown.
- Ta-da, you are streaming live!
Becoming Famous On TikTok Is A Fulltime Job
From what I have seen, and I am yet to make one of myself (camera shy), people roll out 5-7 videos daily. You can disagree all you want, but this is the best time pass I have had while working remotely in lockdown.
Not all videos have the same number of likes and comments. Some are better than others and provide much-needed entertainment.
Ways To Get More TikTok Fans and Followers
The first thing to do is get on TikTok and make one for yourself.
Read on, if you are someone who is posting quite a lot of TikTok videos yet is far from gaining a huge array of followers.
1. Original content
If you are going to keep churning what everyone else is, chances are you are not going to make it. The best way to learn about how to go live on TikTok is to first make original content for greater reach.
Something that’s not done before rarely gets made.
Now don’t get any ideas. Before you go to the DARK territory, the idea is to make positive TikTok videos that help spread smiles.
As they say, be yourself. To stand out, you have to be yourself.
2. Upload daily
Many people stop posting videos. They want quick results and when they don’t get the traction that they hoped for, they quit. It can be a mistake especially now when everyone’s in quarantine and watching videos on the phone.
Bring a part of your personality into the videos you make. And do it daily, to be precise. You will start noticing a steep rise in your following. I did the same with my Instagram, and it’s seen some rise, not much.
For some it’ll be fast, for others it will be a slow climb. It’s the way of the world.
3. Add trending music
Without a piece of good music, there is no TikTok. So add popular music to your videos. People feel comfortable with familiar things. Thus, when you incorporate a trending song into your video, you catch the limelight fast.
The more visible you are, the more followers and fans you get.
4. Allow duets
Duets are a popular feature in TikTok. I spoke of duets earlier when posting your TikTok videos. With the option enabled, people can lip-sync parts of the song or fill in dialogues that the other person is saying.
When they post, your TikTok username shows as tagged in their videos.
If they already have many followers, you are going to get some of them too as the video becomes viral. The only pre-requisite is that the content should be engaging for it to incite interest.
5. Learn from fellow TikTokers
When you log into TikTok, you see with a dedicated feed. You can keep scrolling up and continue to see videos from different people. There will be some TikTok sensations, some wannabees, and celebrity accounts.
You can take note of what things to avoid, what things to follow, and which prop or move sells the most. Make a list of do’s and don’ts, but nothing too serious (because most of us want to have fun on TikTok). And you can start off with a bang.
Before you know, there’ll be plenty of accounts following you. That’s how you go live on TikTok!
6. Use relevant hashtags
The use of hashtags is essential. The use of hashtags is essential. If you have the right set of hashtags when you post on TikTok, you can connect with the right audience. Meaning, fans, and followers straightaway.
7. Invest in professional equipment
Good camera phone for your TikTok cause is important, you know what else is?
TikTok lights!
These are lighting sets made for TikTok videos. Unlike the ring lights, TikTok lights aren’t designed to make you look good.
Instead, they are a strip of LED lights that change color from red to purple to green to blue very fast. Multi-colored LED strips are a popular type such as the one below.
They give any room a surreal look which is now the norm for many TikTok videos.
Furthermore, supporting equipment such as a phone tripod. We don’t always have steady hands and shaky video will feel like the work of an amateur. You want to make your videos the way a pro handles them.
If you’ve got the dough then above are the most bankable investments you will make for the traction you seek. Also, make sure the background is clean and does not capture the messy bedroom.
Well-lit rooms rather than dark lighting will increase your chances of visibility.
8. Follow accounts to get followers
It’s the surefire way to earn followers. Like the content, you see on TikTok. Follow their account or leave a comment of appreciation on the video. People will begin to follow you.
The biggest hurdle for camera-shy folks is to get past the barrier which is themselves. You need to capitalize on the force that is TikTok or how else do you go live on TikTok?
9. Polish your photography skills
Photography skills will always come in handy when making videos on TikTok. If you lack them, it’s high time you learn and polish them. Nothing better than getting good at something during lockdown when most folks have plenty of time.
10. Add links to social profiles
TikTok allows users to connect their YouTube and Instagram accounts to their profile. Be sure to add them. It inspires confidence in your potential followers. They see you as a real person with an existing online presence.
Nobody follows you if you have a handful of videos on your account and few views to show for it. In this case, your other accounts that have visibility and followers rushes to save the day.
What Works On TikTok?
Anything and everything cringy as well as comedic. So the type of content could be baking videos, makeup tutorials, and brands promoting their product or service. You can read more about brands leveraging TikTok here.
Influencer marketing rules TikTok with some of these people having millions of followers. This should answer why people go live on TikTok.
Because if you are a brand, you can partner with these influencers to get the word out about your product/service. It drives sales since 1 in 3 people trust an influencer’s opinion according to statistics.
Other than influencer marketing, what works on TikTok is the content that can go viral.
In short, unique and stylish content usually works on TikTok. Also, ads DO NOT YET work on TikTok. You must think that a platform such as TikTok should be a goldmine for advertisers. For some reason, things haven’t turned out that way.
The kind of ads that do run includes brand takeovers, in-feed ads, and hashtag challenges. Again, Influencer Marketing is king on TikTok. Otherwise, why would you go live on TikTok?
What Are Some Bad Things About TikTok?
Well, to some it would be that it’s a Chinese owned which is not my concern. The app spy on people, as many would like to think is incorrect. Privacy concerns and that it can exploit stored data are valid but by that definition, every photo app does the same.
Either you stop using these apps completely or exercise vigilance when allowing permissions on your phone. But, that’s a topic for another day.
There is nothing wrong with the app. The closest concern is the underage user sign-ups that have grown. After Music.ly shut down and suggested its users to instead switch to the newer app, it saw a surge of underage users.
We all know what can happen when underage users sign up. Without supervision, teenage girls can receive creepy and upsetting messages from older men. There is some questionable content too, such as explicit language and suggestive themes.
You won’t find terms like “porn” and “sex” on TikTok thankfully, and won’t be able to search for them either. That’s the platform’s policy. People dressed up in revealing clothing and dancing in a certain manner is objectionable for some.
Any leading social media platform can become your worst nightmare if left unchecked. It is why supervision by a parent or a guardian is recommended.
Kids can sign up by lying about their age. Consequently, they may become prone to bullying, unwanted, and unhealthy comparison to gain likes. It can further lead to TikTok addiction, mental health concerns, and eating disorders.
If you are a parent, it is your responsibility to track your child’s safety. As an adult you can undertake the following measures:
- Know the username of your child and follow their account.
- Make teens and tweens set their account privacy to private.
- You can take advantage of the TikTok’s “Family Pairing” feature.
- Have an open conversation about the type of videos your child watches on TikTok.
- Tell them about following social media best practices.
Once you have taken care of the above, your TikTok experience is going to be both safe and exciting!
Why something as brain-dead as TikTok is popular than other things in life is anybody’s guess. Take a look at the infographic below and see the unstoppable force that TikTok has become.
Source: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics
Still, wondering how to go live on TikTok? Well, now you know.
What is ‘For You’ on TikTok?
‘For You’ is for you. TikTok videos tailored to your needs. It is not known what goes into deciding which content is best suited for a user. Because as soon as you log in, you will have a For You section.
Although, once you become familiar with how to go live on TikTok, personalization sets in.
Your feed will be a mix of similar accounts that you follow and the type of videos that you have liked in the past. These interests make up For You.
There are several theories, how TikTok does it. Fans and gurus alike are trying to figure out the algorithm behind this feature. Nothing has materialized yet. Which is why TikTok has an edge over other video platforms in such a short span.
If you want to dig in deep or are a conspiracy theorist, check out some wild theories.
How Do You Go Live On TikTok & Become Famous?
If you talk to the TikTokers out there, you will notice, they all have this to say:
- Post daily and worry about the reach later.
- Be a trendjacker and pounce!
- Develop OG content.
- Use the in-app tools as much as you can.
- You need to keep the momentum going which can get overwhelming. No off days.
- Allow the sharing of your TikTok videos.
- Being weird is the mantra for famous (if they cringe, let them. Stop worrying!).
Can You Make Money On TikTok?
For that, you need to know how to go live on TikTok. After that, you can make money on TikTok via donations from your followers.
You should be over 18 years. Those watching your live stream can then tip you by sending emojis or digital gifts via TikTok coins. Sorry folks, there is no direct money involved.
Of course, when converting them to cash, TikTok takes its cut of 20%.
Your following ought to be large for this to work.
For those of you seeking to buy coins:
- On your TikTok profile, click on the “Balance” button, as shown.
- Buy as many coins as you like.
As mentioned before, if you are an influencer, you can earn moolah on TikTok. I am sure it answers, how do you go live on TikTok and earn.
Brands pay money for advertising their product through your account. The same rules apply – a big enough following (100k usually) and quality content.
You can’t sell your products or do affiliate marketing on the platform. The method isn’t very straightforward. Meaning, you can’t post links in your videos. On some accounts, links are allowed on profile.
You can post the webpage in text format for promoting a product or referral link.
Did you know, TikTok editor is a thing? A professional 3 to 15 second video designer for the TikTok social platform.
Thanks for reading!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
I’ll respond to each one.
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For a selfie ring light with tripod and stand out from the crowd on the TikTok social platform.
