Initially used only by the youngest, TikTok is the social network of the moment and is an app to create videos with lip sync that has conquered all audiences, starting from influencers to ending with the most famous TV characters in the world.
The time has come to try it and find out how to use it, how to use effects in videos, how to add music, as well as all the necessary information about privacy and security.
HOW TIKTOK WORKS AND WHY USE IT
What is the point of using TikTok? For starters, this social media app for creating comic sketches or singing in lip-sync is currently available in 34 languages, with over 150 million active users.
But who created TikTok? The app was launched by the Chinese company ByteDance owned by the Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, with the aim of making the Chinese video app Douyin international, drawing inspiration from the already famous Musical.ly.
Who invented TikTok and the differences with Musical.ly
In 2016 ByteDance launched Douyin and in 2017 transformed it into the most recent TikTok mobile application as an external version of the video app.
Until 2018 TikTok was called Musical.ly and vaguely reminiscent of Dubsmash, the app of a few years ago that allowed to make short clips in lip sync. In fact, in addition to lip syncing videos, TikTok allows you to add special effects, create musicals, dance, recite, make duets, presentations and many types of short videos. All this can be saved on the phone and shared on other social networks such as Instagram.
The difference between Musical.ly and Tik Tok is essentially in the duration of the video recording, which for the former was limited to 6 seconds, while for the latter it is 60 seconds so far.
Thus, starting from a platform for amateur music videos, TikTok has become a platform open to all types of short videos.
The company’s mission is to offer everyone the opportunity to express themselves and vent their imagination, hosting creative and fun videos. Like a real visual karaoke, TikTok cancels the limits of imagination and makes videos and music available to everyone. Hence the slogan Make Every Second Count.
Sign up and log in to TikTok
What’s so special about TikTok? It is liked because it stimulates talent and creativity, as well as it is a valid alternative to the old social networks active in entertainment and it has millions of subscribers, many of whom have become popular.
But let’s see how to sign up for TikTok and how this social network works. Once downloaded the free app on the phone, we will immediately see the icon of a musical note with neon colours on a black background.
At the first access we will see the videos uploaded by other users, divided into “Follow” and “For you”.
It is necessary to create an account to be allowed to share a video, by entering the email, the phone number or logging in through the most famous social networks.
Although the latter is a good shortcut, for greater security it would be better not to associate two accounts but to create a TikTok account from scratch. Just enter the date of birth and be over 13 years old.
The personal profile is very similar to that of Instagram, with a round profile photo and the feed of the uploaded videos. Not only that, the Settings icon is also similar, and you can see the number of followers, fans and hearts.
Community activity and videos selected according to user tastes and interests appear in the feed. There is also an icon for “digital well-being” which warns users who have exceeded 2 hours of use of the app.
Upload a video to TikTok
Filming a video on TikTok is very simple, just press the central button and allow access to the camera and microphone.
Choose the recording mode between normal and selfie and you can create a video or upload an existing video or photo to edit, just pressing the red button.
You can also choose the background music for the video from a series of playlists divided by category and cut the sound at any point in the video.
The playtime speed can also be changed, while to record the video you will need to press the central red button.
To insert the effects just press the icon of the three coloured circles and activate / deactivate the beauty effect from the icon of the magic wand. To add moving writing, filters, stickers, 3D effects, glasses, ears, animal faces and any other effect you have to press the Vlog 123 button located at the bottom left next to the red button.
With the timer function you can make videos without holding down the record button but also to delete it and create a new one at any time. Furthermore, you can activate features such as duet, video download, save to favourites, comments and live photos.
TikTok's rules and privacy
Although it is a platform dedicated to fun and entertainment, TikTok also has very specific rules contained in its official guidelines.
Like other social networks, even on TikTok, contents deemed inappropriate are automatically blocked, but it is always good to use common sense and avoid allusive, offensive or vulgar videos.
In terms of privacy, TikTok is open to users over the age of 13, since by default all accounts are public even for non-members.
Only approved followers can send private messages and users can react to a video, follow an account or send messages.
Still regarding privacy, there is the possibility to filter inappropriate content and to use the Off / Friends mode to be able to send messages only between connected users. With a private account, however, you can manage requests and limit incoming messages only to followers. Basically, even with a private account, some elements will be visible to everyone, namely the profile photo, username and biography.
EARN BY USING TIKTOK
In Italy there are about 2 and a half million subscribers to TikTok and, incredible but true, the social of the moment is ideal for those who want to become rich and famous by using internet. The app is popular among those born after 1995, the so-called Generation Z, targeted by modern marketing.
TikTokers are also called Muser (from Musical.ly) and the most famous have become real influencers and earn not attractive figures.
Even if TikTok does not pay content creators, talented young musicians and artists have discovered that it is possible to earn on the platform through influencer marketing and extending their social presence also on YouTube and Instagram.
But how much does a famous TikToker earn? The figures are around 300k for a sponsored post, but the most popular profiles also earn thanks to sponsorships and product placement, as happens with Instagram influencers.
The most famous TikTokers in the world and in Italy
Users with millions of followers, real teen idols, get rich not only thanks to advertising in videos, but also thanks to TV appearances, participation in events, branded merchandising, books and partnerships with famous brands.
Baby Ariel is the most famous TikToker in the world, with nearly 30 million followers and multiple collaborations with major brands, a branded product line, several published songs and an estimated net worth of $ 1 million.
Among the most famous Italian TikTokers there is Elisa Maino, with more than a million followers and a documentary film about her life.
There are also those who do not need to earn thanks to TikTok, but who do not give up having fun in this social network. Think of Will Smith, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon, the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, Cardi B, Vanessa Hudgens, Camila Cabello and Chiara Ferragni and many others.
How to increase followers on TikTok
To increase your followers and be successful on TikTok surely you have to choose the right music, the right hashtags and filters. Here are some simple tips:
- Make sure your profile is complete with all the necessary information about you, so you are more likely to get followers. Your profile must reflect what you publish or risk losing credibility and followers, because users must find what they expect on your profile;
- Follow your Facebook and Instagram friends on Tiktok to start with a small follower base, perhaps by posting a story with a photo of your personal QR code on TikTok and inviting your followers to follow you in this social network. Insert a slide with the references of your TikTok social profile on each video you post on YouTube;
- Always use the right hashtags for your video content, in order to have visibility in the search results of people looking for content similar to yours and who have the same interests as you;
- Making videos in lip-sync does not guarantee you success, because the contents on TikTok tend to resemble each other. Original and fun content makes the difference, so work hard to be more creative;
- Posting regularly will help you get new followers on TikTok, a rule that generally applies to all social networks. The important thing is not to choose the quantity at the expense of quality;
- Choose the music clip that best suits your video, as music is crucial to users' appreciation;
- To create your valuable community on TikTok, start interacting with other profiles, preferring comments to likes. By doing so, others will land on your profile and become your followers. A good technique would be to start following those who follow you. Always reply to comments on your content with mentions and avoid the classic and insignificant Woooow or Nice Videos that seem too fake;
- By connecting the TikTok account to Facebook and Instagram, it will be possible to share the video on multiple platforms and expand its user base.
The TikTok bot
Starting on the right foot on TikTok is a good starting point to grow rapidly, but also for TikTok there are the so-called TikTok bots that help increase followers and views.
The bot performs actions automatically instead of you, such as putting like to videos, commenting, following and unfollowing to interact with other profiles.
The TikTok bot gives you a 5-day free trial bonus and a guide to set it up as well as possible. Today many social users use bots to grow and this can penalise profiles, since it is easy to find out if the interactions are authentic or fake.
TIKTOK FOR BUSINESSES
Companies are also starting using TikTok to promote by inserting advertisements in the flow of users’ videos, launching hashtag challenges to sponsor the challenges and obtain brand awareness, but also with native videos in the feed, that is, the jumpable videos that last up to 15 seconds. These videos may contain call to actions that refer to external sites or apps and offer customised masks and filters to users.
How to take advantage of TikTok if you are a company
To date, however, there are still few companies present on TikTok. The fact that TikTok is a young social network with odd contents does not mean that the platform cannot be a suitable space for companies too.
But why haven’t companies populated TikTok yet? Probably for three reasons: the predominant presence of Gen Z, the specific user niches and the fact that the channel is not yet saturated.
A company that decides to use TikTok can take advantage of the platform in various ways:
- Through hashtags and challenges, discover the trend hashtags and you can position yourself among these to be reached by a large number of users. Based on the hashtags it is possible to launch challenges and generate greater engagement and awareness, which make the content viral;
- Thanks to user-generated content, users can be encouraged to create content related to products / services using specific hashtags and increase brand awareness;
- Influencer marketing campaigns can be effective, after defining the objectives, the target and the influencers;
- TikTok Ads is its advertising platform and works like other campaigns on other social networks. You choose the target, the placement, the timing and everything related to it. It is very advantageous to be first-mover and take advantage of the reduced costs of the novelty.