With more than 500 1000000 monthly active users, TikTok is taking app stores by tempest and serving as a worthy competitor to apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

While Gen-Z has flocked to the app, brands like Chipotle and The Washington Post are as well starting to experiment with TikTok'southward video marketing opportunities.

The best way to learn more virtually the app, its user base of operations, and the blazon of content that engages audiences is to start producing your own posts on a personal or business concern account.

Free Ebook: The Marketer's Guide to TikTok for Business [Download Now]

Yet, if you're a marketer that'due south never used a niche social platform before, TikTok tin be pretty hard to navigate. Even I -- a social media-obsessed millennial blogger -- had trouble figuring out how the heck it worked when I first logged on concluding year.

If y'all place with that struggle, don't worry! I somewhen figured it out -- and you lot will too!

To assist y'all conquer the app, I've put together a quick guide to bear witness yous how to utilise it.

Here's a list instructions -- with pictures -- that volition walk y'all through setting upwards your profile, filming your first video, adding special effects, and using challenges or duets to engage with other users.


Setting Up Your Business relationship

1. Download the app and sign upwardly.

Become to the App Store or Google Play and download TikTok. When yous open it, TikTok makes it pretty easy to sign upwardly. You tin can exercise an instant sign up with Facebook, Gmail, or Twitter, or add together a standard username and countersign if y'all don't desire any of those accounts connected.

2. Fix your profile.

In one case yous're logged in, you'll instantly be brought to the feed of videos. I'll show you how it works in footstep 3. Only showtime, tap the icon in the lower right that looks like a person'south outline to see and edit your profile.

Navigation bar at the bottom of TikTok app screen

Once you enter your profile, tap the Edit Profile button, then select a profile photo or video. You lot should as well add your username and bio information. If you want to evidence off your other social media profiles, y'all can link upwardly your Youtube and Instagram pages. If yous're a business, this could exist a helpful manner to advertise your other visual platforms.

Finding Videos and Engaging with Users

3. View the video feed,

At present that yous've gear up up your profile, tap back to the first tab which shows y'all the video feed.

TikTok Feed

Think of this feed like Twitter's, but where video is the primary content. If you don't have any followers all the same, the app will send you random trending videos. As you lot begin following and interacting with more people, your feed volition go more personalized to your interests.

iv. Like, comment, or share videos you lot savour.

When you find a video you like, yous can tap the centre to similar it or the voice communication bubble to comment on it. To share the video, press the forward sign underneath the comment symbol to encounter your sharing options. These symbols are all located on the right side of the video.

Video on TikTok showing like, comment, share and follow buttons

If you really like a video and desire to run into if the user has more posts yous'll enjoy, swipe left to toggle to their profile.

Swiping left on a TikTok video to see the creator's profile

five. Search for videos.

Tap on the second tab, or magnifying glass, to enter the app's search area. On this tab, you lot can either search out accounts or videos, or you tin can await below the search bar to see videos by trending topic.

Finding TikTok users through search feature

6. Follow users via videos, search, and TikCode.

If you want to continue up with a great video creator, yous tin can follow them by pressing the icon that includes their contour picture show and a plus sign above the eye push on their video.

TikTok screen with follow icon

If you lot already know of a TikTok account or person that you want to follow, you can search for them in the search bar and then press the "Users" filter. You can likewise detect them by scanning their TikCode. This can exist helpful for brands or people that want to promote their TikTok aqueduct on other websites or in the physical globe. It can also be bully if you run into a friend in-person who wants to add yous.

To detect your own TikCode, go to your contour and tap the icon with four squares in the top right.

TikCode on TikTok profile

To scan some other TikCode, get to the search tab and tap the square scan push next to the search bar.

Top of TikTok search page which shows search bar and square TikCode scanner

When the browse screen opens, concur it upwards to the TikCode you desire to browse. The scanning process will begin instantly so y'all don't have to printing whatever other buttons. Within seconds of a successful scan, you'll be sent to that person's profile. If y'all have a screenshot of a code, you lot tin can besides press "Photos" in the pinnacle corner of the browse page to upload and scan the code.

Scanning a TikCode on TikTok

How to Post on TikTok

seven. Set upwards your shot and pick out special effects.

Tap the center tab to enter camera style. To confront the camera in the right management, tap the Flip icon in the superlative right. On the right side of the screen, you'll also see icons for the following:

  • Speed: Allows you to record your video in boring movement or sped up.
  • Dazzler: An AR filter that can hide blemishes and smooth out your skin.
  • Filters: Lets you change the color filter of the camera.
  • Timer: Allows you to set an auto-record countdown if you want to picture easily-complimentary.
  • Flash

Camera screen view of TikTok app

Music and Effects

On the top center of the camera screen, you'll as well see music notes with "Add a Audio" side by side to them. Tap this to cull the musical overlay or sound effect that you desire to work with.

Selecting a sound on TikTok

On the bottom of the camera, you'll also see an Furnishings icon to the right and an upload button to the left -- in instance you want to tape your videos outside of the app.

When you lot tap the Effects button, you lot'll see a giant lineup of AR filters and other special effects that can broaden your confront or your surroundings. Y'all can also pick out a video overlay-styled filter here.

Previewing AR bunny face filter on TikTok

In the black bar under the photographic camera, y'all can prepare the time limit for your video or tap Photo Template to create a photo slideshow instead of a video.

Using time bar under camera screen to set video length on TikTok

8. Record the video.

Once you're fix, printing and concur the red record push. Yous can either record your video all at one time or in pieces.

Recording a video with a face and color filter on TikTok

If you lot want to fit different shots in each video or record it in pieces, only concur the record button for each segment, and then allow go, so press and hold it again when yous're ready for your adjacent shot.

Don't desire to hold your record button the whole fourth dimension? Before yous enter record mode, you tin also utilize the timer to give yourself enough time to prop up your telephone and pose in front of it before it starts automatically recording.

Setting a video recording timer on TikTok

ix. Brand last edits and add a caption to the video.

When you're done recording the video, you'll yet be able to add a musical overlay, filters, and other basic special effects. You can as well add stickers and text overlays on top of the video.

Adding stickers and other effects to a video before posting on TikTok

When you're done, press Next. You'll be directed to a page similar to Instagram'southward post folio where you can add a caption, relevant hashtags, and business relationship handles of others. You can besides ready the privacy of the video, turn comments on or off, let duets or reactions, and tap "Save to Album" to download it to your smartphone's photos.

Adjusting post settings and adding a caption on TikTok

If yous aren't fix to mail yet, only printing the Drafts push at the bottom left to save it for subsequently.

10. Duet with other users.

See a musical mail service that yous love? Want to join in with the person who fabricated it? TikTok allows y'all to reply with a Duet video. To use this former Musical.ly feature, find a video y'all want to duet with, press the Share button to see sharing options, then printing the "Duet" option on the bottom row in the center.

Using share options to start a Duet on TikTok

Your camera screen will appear side by side to the video. From there, you can press record and sing along, dance, or do whatever you desire to the music.

Recording a duet on TikTok

To show yous what a finished production looks like, here'south one great instance:

If you brand a post and don't want anyone to duet with you, yous can tap the "Duet/React Off" button on your Mail page before publishing.

11. Participate in a challenge.

Similar other social media platforms, you'll occasionally see videos with hashtags for "challenges." A challenge is when a video post, visitor, or person encourages users to moving-picture show themselves doing something oddly specific -- similar flipping the chapeau of a Chipotle to-become bowl with no easily. Participants then film themselves doing the action and hashtag the claiming name in their post captions.

In that location normally aren't whatever winners in a TikTok challenge, just hashtagging it might help y'all get more followers or views every bit people find you when searching the hashtag.

To give you a quick idea of what participating in challenge entails, here's a video of someone doing the above-mentioned #ChipotleLidFlip challenge:

A Few TikTok Takeaways

Yes, TikTok may seem similar a pretty odd platform right now, simply it might exist a bang-up tool for engaging and spreading awareness to your younger audiences subsequently. Because it is merely 1 year one-time, it is also a great place for early video experimentation.

As you're brainstorming or filming your offset videos, here are a few tips to help you create unique and engaging posts:

  • Have fun with the special furnishings. In that location are a ton of ways to zest up your video, and audiences on TikTok expect information technology. Then play effectually and experiment with them.
  • Cover the music. Most videos on the platform have some type of song or audio effect in the background.
  • Flick a few videos with multiple shots. This will make information technology feel more than interesting and active.
  • Don't be afraid to show a lighter side or a sense of humor. People come up to this platform to be entertained.
  • Use trendy hashtags and endeavour out a claiming video. So, include relevant hashtags in your post caption so your video shows up when people search it.
  • Wait at what other brands are doing. While your company might not need to bound on TikTok but yet, videos posted past other brands could inspire some ideas for your own strategy.

Want to learn more most TikTok's backstory and what it might mean for brands? Check out this post. If you're interested in checking out other emerging platforms, we've as well got this dandy guide for you.

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Originally published Sep 2, 2019 seven:00:00 AM, updated March 04 2022