How to Make a TikTok Video: Everything You Need to Know

If you’re still waiting to dip your toe in the big tiktok lake, you’re not alone. Although there are over a billion tiktok users, half of the major brands still don’t have a presence on tiktok.

That could be because tiktok looks a bit intimidating. but we are here to tell you that making a tiktok video is easier than it seems! and you might even have fun doing it.

the best way to understand tiktok (and how it can benefit your business) is to dive in and create videos yourself.

go ahead. the water is fine!

how to make a tiktok account

1. download tiktok from app store or google play on your smartphone or ipad.
2. Open the TikTok app and choose how to sign up.
3. Enter your birthday. TikTok requires users to be at least 13 years old to create accounts and has other age-related restrictions on the platform to ensure community safety.
4. if you are using a phone number or email address to create a tiktok account, you will be prompted to enter it and create a password.
5. choose your username. If you’re a business, it’s a good idea to use the same username on all your social media accounts to help your customers find you. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s easy to remember. you can always change it later!

that’s it! from here, you can sync your contacts to find friends in the app. tiktok will also ask you to complete your profile by performing three actions:

1. add a profile photo.
2. add your bio.
3. add your name.

you can also add your pronouns and link your instagram and youtube accounts by tapping edit profile.



how to make a tiktok video

1. Tap the + sign at the bottom of the screen. You can also tap create video on your profile page.
2. use pre-existing video from your camera roll or start filming by tapping the red record button.
3. If you’re recording, you can choose to make a 15-second, 60-second, or 3-minute video. tiktok now allows you to upload up to 10 minutes of video.
4. Trim the length of your clips by tapping adjust clips in the menu on the right.
5. Add music by tapping the button at the top of the screen. TikTok will recommend tracks based on the content of your video, but you can also use the search bar to find other songs or sound effects.
6. add effects, stickers or text to your videos by touching the options in the menu on the right.
7. If your video contains dialogue, add titles to improve accessibility.
8. Once you’re done editing your video, tap the red Next button at the bottom of the screen.
9. add hashtags, tag other users, and adjust settings like allow duet (which allows other users to create a split-screen tiktok using your video) or allow stitching ( that allows them to edit clips from your video into their own). You can also tap select cover art to adjust which frame of your video appears in your feed.
10. click publish! you did it!

extra step: once you’ve made a few videos, put the best performing ones together into a tiktok playlist.

how to make a tiktok with several videos

1. touch the + sign at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap Upload at the bottom right. then select videos at the top of the screen to filter the videos in your camera roll. you can add multiple clips or include a mix of photos and videos.
3. select the videos you want to include, up to a maximum of 35 videos. tap next to continue.
4. Tap Adjust Clip to reorder your videos. You can also add music or sound effects. TikTok will suggest audio clips based on the content of your video and the length of your clips. You can select Default if you want to use the sound in your original video. Once you’re done, tap Next.
5. From here, you can add video effects, stickers, and text. try the noise reducer if your clips have a lot of background noise.
6. You can also add a voiceover. this will overlay the original sound in your video clips or the track you selected.
7. Add your caption and hashtags, tag other users, and manage your video settings.
8. click publish and start sharing.

how to make a tiktok with images

1. touch the + sign at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap Upload at the bottom right. then select photos at the top of the screen to filter the photos in your camera roll.
3. Select up to 35 images you want to include. Choose them in the order that you’d like them to appear— unlike video clips, you can’t rearrange them in editing.
4. Once you have all your photos, hit Next to add music, effects, stickers and more.
5. Your photos will be displayed in video mode, which means they will be played in order. You can switch to photo mode, which allows users to toggle between images like a slideshow.
6. you can select a song or sound effect by tapping the music button at the top or press voiceover to record an audio track to accompany your songs. images.
7. once you’re done, add your title and hashtags, tag other users, and edit your video settings.
8. click publish and start sharing.

how to make a 3 minute tiktok

There are three easy ways to make a 3 minute tiktok video. the first way is to save it in the application:

1. touch the + sign at the bottom of the screen to start a new video.
2. Swipe to select a 3-minute recording length. You can stop and start your recording by tapping the red Record button.
3. once you have 3 minutes of footage, you can add your video effects, music, voiceovers and more.

the other option is to upload video clips and edit them together.

1. touch the + sign at the bottom of the screen.
2. tap upload and select your clips. you can choose clips longer than 3 minutes!
3. On the next screen, tap Adjust Clips. You can trim and reorder the individual videos from here until you’ve got 3 minutes in total.
4. From here, you can add video elements such as text, stickers, effects, and more.

Lastly, you can upload a pre-edited 3 minute clip. there are a number of great video editing tools and external tiktok templates that offer features like custom fonts and unique effects.

how to schedule a tiktok video

using hootsuite, you can schedule your tiktoks for any time in the future. (native tiktok scheduler only allows users to schedule tiktoks up to 10 days in advance).

to create and schedule a tiktok using hootsuite, follow these steps:

1. record your video and edit it (adding sounds and effects) in the tiktok app.
2. When you’re done editing your video, tap next in the bottom right corner of your screen. then select more options and tap save to device.
3. in hootsuite, tap the create icon at the top of the left menu to open the composer.
4. select the account you want to post your tiktok to.
5. upload the tiktok you saved to your device.
6. add a title. you can include emojis and hashtags, and tag other accounts in your caption.
7. adjust additional settings. You can enable or disable comments, stitches, and duets for each of your individual posts. note: your existing tiktok privacy settings (configured in the tiktok app) will override these.
8. preview your post and click publish now to publish it right away, or…
9. … click schedule for later to post your tiktok at a later time. you can manually select a post date or choose from three custom recommended best times to post for maximum engagement

and that’s it! your tiktoks will appear in the planner, along with all your other scheduled social media posts.



more of a visual learner? this video will walk you through the process of scheduling a tiktok (from your phone or from your computer) in less than 5 minutes:

7 things you should know before creating your first tiktok

1. use popular songs or audio clips. music is a big part of tiktok, and many users explore the platform and discover video through audio. likewise, original audio is often the basis of a tiktok trend (like this “cha-ching” effect). adapting it to your own content can help you reach a larger audience.
2. Start strong. The first few seconds of your video are the most important. Either users will keep scrolling or you will capture their attention. According to TikTok, 67% of the best performing videos have their key message in the first three seconds. so be sure to cut to the chase!
3. add hashtags. hashtags are a big part of how content is organized and discovered on tiktok. it’s harder to find trending hashtags now that tiktok has replaced its discover tab with a friends tab. but you can find some in the tiktok creative hub or by exploring the app yourself.
4. Don’t stop at one! posting regularly is the key to success on tiktok, so don’t drop a video and wait for the gen z tastemakers to come to you. tiktok recommends posting 1-4 times a day to find out what content resonates with your audience. If you really want your daily posts to count, check out the best time to post on tiktok.
5. don’t aim for perfection. tiktok is all about authenticity and relevance in the moment. users prefer their content a bit raw; in fact, 65% of users agree that professional-looking videos from brands are misplaced. on our own journey to grow our tiktok following to 12.3k followers, we learned that our less polished videos performed better!
6. make it agile. While tiktok videos can now be up to 10 minutes long, brevity is your friend. In early 2022, there was a #sevensecondchallenge trend showing that very short, text-heavy videos were getting massive engagement. we tried the seven second tiktok challenge ourselves, and it worked! While it doesn’t have to be that short, the best length for a tiktok video is 7-15 seconds.
7. learn the lingo. what is “cheugy”? why does that funny video have so many skull emojis in the comments? figuring out how to speak like a tiktoker is key to fitting in. luckily, we made a vocabulary cheat sheet for you.

If you want more tips, we’ve put together 12 tiktok hacks for beginners to help you get started. happy creating!

grow your tiktok presence alongside your other social channels using hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance, all from one easy-to-use dashboard. try it free today.

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