Create engaging TikTok videos with our guide

TikTok is a popular social media platform and one of the most downloaded apps is in the app stores. This app has created a new way of creating and consuming content. It is the platform to reach more people with your brand and build a real community. With its typical short-form videos, catchy music and funny effects, it has become the favorite app of many people of different ages. For most companies, having a presence on this platform can certainly be an advantage. Find out more in this blog about how to get started on TikTok and how to edit videos.

How do you get started on TikTok?

Before you can start recording a video, it is a must to create a TikTok account and set up your profile completely. Be sure to provide a bio and profile picture. You can also connect with your other social media channels, making it easier for users to find you. It is also important to know who you want to target and what type of content you want to show on your account. For this, you can ask yourself some questions such as:

• Which topic best suits your company or brand? Fashion, beauty, baby, games, DIY (Do-It-Yourself), etc.
• Are there accounts in the same industry that do well on TikTok? And what of their content inspires you?
• Who do you want to reach, viz. Who is your target audience and what type of content will appeal to them? For example, tutorials, behind the scenes, day in the life, etc.

Based on these questions, you can determine exactly what type of content will work best for your target audience. Is it difficult to find an answer to this? Scrolling down the “For you” page you will come across several content creators. This way, you can also get inspiration for your account and decide what you want to display. After this, you can start recording videos.

How do you make a TikTok video?

You can easily record and edit your videos in the TikTok app, or you can simply shoot your videos with your camera and edit them in another app such as CapCut.

In app recording and editing

By recording your video in TikTok itself, you can take advantage of the various built-in features (recording tools).

• Look up sound in the library and select it for recording
• Switching between front and back camera
• Change the speed of your video to .3x, .5x, 1x, 2x or 3x
• Adding filters to your video
• Effects to add something fun to the video such as this or that, style my look, a particular effect/ filter that is trending at the time.
• Retouch, viz. getting rid of spots in the face, whitening teeth, etc.
• Timer: set a 3 or 10 sec timer and choose the end point of recording before you start recording (very useful for recording transitions!)
• Choose one of several effects before you start recording.

 

After recording the video, you can start editing. There are several tools in TikTok that you can use to best edit your video.

• Add text: choose from different fonts, colors, size, etc.
  You can also set a time to display the text on the image at a specific time and duration. Beyond that, you can also choose text-to-speech. Here you can choose from different voices that will read your text.
• Stickers such as polls, reply stickers, questions, gifs, emojis
• Filters: choose from a variety of video and photo filters
• Shortening the movies and changing their order
• Voice effects: if you use an audio you can add a voice effect on the voice, this way you can make a certain video even funnier.
  Also useful if you want to post anonymously but still want to talk to your viewers.
• Captions: automatically generated subtitles. You can edit this text in the captions editor so there are no errors. This is definitely a must for videos with a lot of text since there are also viewers who do not have their sound turned on.
• Voice over: recording your voice for the video.
• Noice reducer: to reduce the background noise of the video

After editing your video, it is ready to be published. First select your cover photo, optionally choose a cover design or text. Write your video caption and add hashtags. And there you go! Your TikTok is ready to post.

CapCut

It is also possible to edit your footage in another app and then import it into TikTok afterwards. The most well-known app for this is CapCut. This video editing app has high popularity among content creators. These are the key features:

1. Multi-layer editing

CapCut allows you to add different layers of videos, images, audios, etc. to your project. This gives you more control over the final result.

2. Text and sticker effects

It also has a wide variety of text and stickers that you can use to enhance your videos. You can make your project even more visually appealing by adding animated text, custom fonts and stickers. You can also adjust the position and timing of these elements to get the desired result.

3. Audio editing

You can very easily add and edit audio such as music and voice overs. You can adjust the volume, set a fade in and out, add sound effects, etc. This way you can easily create videos with good audio.

But how do you get started editing on CapCut? First, you will upload your recorded footage by creating a new project. Then you can select your photos and/or videos to import.

What can you do in CapCut?

• Editing your video such as clipping, speed, animations, background removal, stabilization, etc.
• Edit audio: mute, search sounds in library, etc.
• Adding and editing text
• And so much more

CapCut has almost the same specifications as recording and editing in TikTok itself. The only thing that is not possible is recording with certain effects, such as the ‘style my look’ effect. After editing your video, you can easily import it into TikTok. Then you can put a trending sound on it and all the other specifications like caption, etc.

Whether you use TikTok itself to edit or CapCut depends on your own preferences. Personally, I prefer to use CapCut when I need to edit longer TikToks shot with the regular camera such as team building activities. For shorter trending TikToks, I record them & edit them in TikTok itself. Sometimes I also use Premiere Pro for editing TikToks.

How do you find trends?

The for you page is the ultimate place to find trending sounds. If you come across a sound a few times, chances are it is trending. But how can you really tell if a sound is trending? By clicking on the sound and seeing how many people used it. When a sound has more than 500,000 users, it is probably trending.

We cannot 100% recommend using such sounds as there are high chances that you will disappear among the other users. But if this sound is perfect for your account, you can of course use it. It is best to take a trending sound from 1,000 users, or even less. The faster you join a trend, the more views a video will have.

There are also many trends where a template already exists in CapCut. This is also indicated on the TikTok. You can then very easily go to the template by clicking on it, add your images and then export back to TikTok. By using such a template, you no longer have to set the duration of your clips.

Certain trends will also require selecting your sound first and then recording it in TikTok such as lip syncing. Because you have to talk/sing to the sound of the trend so that it fits nicely on the video.

Stories on TikTok

TikTok stories are just like regular TikTok content. They also show up in your feed, people can also comment and like them. The only difference is that a story is only available for 24 hours. Making a Story is just like making a regular TikTok video. After recording and editing, just click ‘add to story’ instead of clicking next and entering a caption.

TikTok tips

Everyone wants his/her content to do well, but how do you create good engaging content on TikTok? Here are some tips!

1. Target a niche audience.
   Niche audiences are also known as dedicated fans.
2. Be authentic.
   TikTok is all for experimentation, but it’s also important to find what works well for your account that feels authentic and not forced.
3. Engage with your target audience.
   Comments are important for your growth on TikTok. So responding is definitely a must, that way your target audience will feel that you are engaging them.
4. 9:16 ratio
   Make sure you always film in the 9:16 ratio because vertical content does best in TikTok.
5. Be original.
   Trending audios are good for greater reach, but it is also important to put your own spin on trends.
6. Use the tools offered by TikTok.
   Because people can also search for certain effects, this way they can also come across your content. So it can definitely be useful to use this in videos.
7. SEO.
   TikTok SEO is a fact! TikTok is going to scan your content to see what it is about in order to show it to the right people. So be sure to add text to your video to show what it is about.

 

Now you can get started with your TikTok channel! After reading this blog, do you still have questions about TikTok or are there certain points we have not raised that you would like information on? Let us know. More information on the other social media channels? Discover it in our blog. Be sure to keep an eye on our channels for our latest blogs.

Lead On(line)!