Creating the perfect TikTok video should be easy, shouldn’t it? People have gone viral from their beds. No make up, no ring light, no editing, nothing. TikTok is a place that embraces the “authentic” content, i.e., rough, straightforward, unpolished, but that isn’t your only option.
That can be a perfect TikTok video, and it might even be your calling card when it comes to your content style, but there is a lot more that you can do with your TikTok content. There are a lot of options that will help you to stand out in the TikTok content market. If you’re looking to give your TikTok content a little something more, take a look at our guide to creating the perfect TikTok for some tips.
How to start
How you start all depends on the purpose of the TikTok video. What the small influencer trying to up their subscriber count is doing is going to be different from the brand looking to market their company. Even within that, the person trying to be funny is going to be different from the glamourous lifestyle blogger.
So, think about who you want to be and who you want to appeal to and then plan accordingly. Is this a one-man team? Do you want to get your costume on and make a full production of it? Or are you happy letting your post-production editing do the heavy lifting of making your point?
As for the practical, there are a few different ways you can go about making your video. You can capture straight from the TikTok app by simply pointing your camera and pressing the big button at the bottom. There are filters to choose from and a simple editing process built into the app. Additionally, you can shoot your film straight from your camera phone and edit it in whatever app you prefer and then upload it to TikTok.
Our one tip would be to get a tripod at the very least. A ring light will do wonders for your skin but if your camera is shaky, every commenter is going to bring it up.
What to add
Once you have your raw footage, you can add whatever you like to it. Maybe you want to play with the graphics or add a fun filter. Maybe you want your TikTok video to be taken seriously as a source of information so you can add screenshots and explanatory captions, etc.
Part of the editing process is doing all the little things that have made TikTok the more accessible place it is proud to be, like closed captions, links, hashtags, etc. Some of these things can be automated for you, but if you’re taking TikTok seriously, you should double check the subtitles or add them yourself. Closed captions often get things wrong so you sound like you’re going really in depth about a potato for example. You will confuse people who rely on them, defeating the purpose.
Then again you might also give someone a laugh. You can find out how to add captions on TikTok here.
Dos and don’ts
- Do edit out the Millennial Pause. Simply because you don’t want to hear about it in the commons. Apparently, it’s not cool to make sure the camera’s recording before you start speaking.
- Don’t forget that TikTok is all about entertainment first. You can be educational, serious, or marketing, as long as you are entertaining in some way to the viewer, you will be watched.
- Do get straight to the point. Even skits that meander to the punchline of their jokes are failing on TikTok. On the other hand, crowd work from professional standups is the thing that is going viral on TikTok. That’s because TikTok users have no time to waste. Get to the point and get there fast.
- Don’t forget that the ears are more sensitive than the eyes, which means that what your user is hearing is more important than what they’re seeing. Avoid the sarcastic, “I can’t quite hear the music over the speech” comments by being aware of some basic sound mixing.
- Do give credit to anyone who helped make your TikTok. That includes anyone whose TikTok you’re jumping off from. If you were inspired, want to elaborate on a point, or are responding, credit the creator.
Tips from the pros
If we’re honest, content on TikTok is so varied that the best piece of advice that the pros can give is to be yourself. The one thing all the biggest TikTokers have in common is a personality that shines through their editing, whether they’re in bed calling out class issues or putting on skits pretending to be a family of people with tiny hands.
The biggest tip is to simply be brave. If you have an idea, film it, and see where it takes you.
