TikTok For Business: What  It Is + How To Use (2023)

Learn how to effectively leverage TikTok for your affiliate marketing business and reach a wider audience with our tips and tricks. Get started now. 

Click Here To Learn How To Go Viral On TikTok And Make Commissions With Every Single Video.

TikTok For Business

How To Use TikTok To Start A Real Business From Home

What Is TikTok Used For?

TikTok is a phone app built for making and sharing short videos with others on the app. It is one of several apps that are popular for making and sharing short videos, including but not limited to Vine, Instagram, and Snapchat. TikTok has been especially popular with young people, who have used it to make and share humorous videos of themselves and their friends. The app has also been used for creative expression in other ways, such as by musicians and dancers. 

Can you make money with TikTok? 

In a word, yes. In fact, according to The Verge, top TikTok stars are making six-figure salaries for their creative content on the app. And that number is only going to go up as the app continues to grow in popularity. So if you're thinking of joining the TikTok community and turning your creative chops into cash, now's the time. But don't worry if you're not a natural: With some hard work and a little luck, you could be joining the ranks of the top media creators. 

TikTok For Business: Table of Contents

What is Tiktok for Business?

In 2023, TikTok (a video sharing social media app) is in the market for good quality content. That includes content from both individuals and online businesses... and those users that straddle the line between personal and professional. And in fact, the better you become at using TikTok as a content mash-up, the likely you are to garner a following.

The platform can work for any business, but favors artists and creators... or people who present their business offerings in a creative way.

Will TikTok pay you to share videos on their platform? As of late 2023, yes.

Rumor has it that TikTok Creators get paid between 2 and 4 cents per 1,000 views. 

That may not sound like much, but seemingly low numbers add up. If they didn't, banks wouldn't be hell bent on taking tiny fees from everyone. Think of yourself as a vessel for money to flow into. That could happen if you have what it takes to make the masses follow along with you on TikTok.

What's the best way to find out how well you can be paid by creating video content to share on TikTok? 

Get to know a TikTok Creator and ask them what type of compensation the platform has yielded for them. Then ask a few more different people, and sneak a peek at their video views and followers.

How much can a TikTok Creator get paid in 2022? 

The word Creator is capitalized here because it refers to a specific type of TikTok account that you must gain approval for as described above. 

Prior to meeting the requirements of minimum views and prior to being approved for a Creator account, you're still a "creator" but not official TikTok Creator.

TikTok Creators who accumulate 100,000+ followers can get paid anywhere from 200 to 1,000 dollars per month. 

Creators with 1 million or more followers can get paid $1K to $5K per month.

TikTok Creator Fund Countries

TikTok is going places. It's a great spot to be seen if you're growing a business or looking to get a side hustle going as an influencer. Ways you can profit from being on TikTok, aside from the direct payments they issue to their content creators, include the usual sources of web based income:

What's the TikTok Creator Fund?

In March of 2021, TikTok officially announced its "Creator Fund," which opened with 70 million in start-up funds to thousands of creators across European markets.

TikTok projects that the fund will rise to $300 million over the next 3 years. 

To apply, first meet the above requirements. 

Then, initiate your application by doing the following:

Navigate to Settings>Creator or Pro Account

*If you don't meet the prequalification criteria, you won't see an option to apply.

Assuming you do qualify, click on TikTok Creator Fund.

Confirm your age and sign the agreement.

Is TikTok An Appropriate Business Model For Me?

Wondering if you and TikTok will be a match? Thinking this platform could be a good way to get your business out there in front of more potential buyers?

The best way to find out if TikTok is the way to go for your business is to just jump in and try it. That's the beauty of social media. You can dip your toe in the water and get a feel for how things work. It's free to sign up, and you don't have to pay money to get your videos out there. In fact, TikTok might just end up paying you if it turns out you've got what it takes to become a TikTok Creator.

For now, though, you're just getting started and you probably aren't even sure what type of content you'd like to share. Or, maybe you do have an idea of what you want to do. That's great. 

But you'll want to first familiarize yourself with the platform itself and how things work.

The knowledge will come in time. For now, just get a TikTok account and start watching what others do. Jump in when you feel ready!

And also, let's just cover a list of the basics, to be sure this isn't a waste of your time.

TikTok will likely be a match for you if...

TikTok vs Youtube: Comparison & Difference

YouTube continues to add features to its platform, but in 2021 TikTok far surpasses YouTube as far as recording and uploading videos on the fly.

As of this writing which takes place in fall of 2021, YouTube functions as a simple, video uploading and sharing platform that includes a few limited editing features. So if you want to get sophisticated with cinematography on  YouTube, you have to first record the video from your phone. 

Then edit your video using a video editing program with lots of options and special effects. Then, as a final step, upload the already-edited video to YouTube once the bulk of your recording and editing is complete.

TikTok is different - a powerful, multi-faceted video recording and editing app. In fact, it's truly amazing that such a program can function on our smart phones and actually work, without crashing constantly, sucking away all of the battery power and using up your data plan.

 Even if you have no intention of becoming a social media influencer, you should at least try making a few videos on TikTok to get a sense of just how much you can do using this one, tiny app.

 One way that TikTok is drastically different from YouTube is that there is a distinctly live presence on the platform. How so?

 As soon as you launch the app and log in, you'll immediately hear voices - talking, or singing, or you might hear music playing - from a random video that's begun playing on your "feed". 

And some things you come across actually ARE lives. 

Anyone can create a TikTok live for users worldwide to jump in on and start commenting in real time.

TikTok Benefits For Business: Tips & Advice

Here are some things to know about TikTok as you grow your presence on the platform.

"Home" on TikTok is your feed. In the same way that Facebook constantly has new posts from friends popping up that you must scroll through, TikTok has the "Home" feed of user videos. 

But there are a few differences.

One, a video will begin to play automatically as soon as you log in. 

There isn't a way to "shut off" the auto play aspect of TikTok other than pressing stop/pause on each video. This means one of two possibilities. You either get completely sucked in to whatever video is playing, or you might find the noise so intrusive that you immediately log out.

Word to the wise: don't log into TikTok while at school or work, unless you remember to keep the volume down and headphones on. Otherwise, people will definitely know what you're up to. Some TikTok users utter profanity, so there's that to consider as well.

Two, you can still add "friends" on TikTok which grants you and others the ability to follow and message each other. 

But "friends" aren't the people you see coming up in your feed of random videos that play continuously any time you're logged into TikTok. In the feed, you will see either random videos. Or, if you've actively been surfing and viewing on TikTok for a while, you're likely to be shown video content that's related to what you've either viewed or liked prior.

So if vegan recipes is your thing that you search for... when you log into TikTok, you'll probably see random vegan recipe videos that start playing.

There are a few weird features of TikTok videos and how they play. One is that every video is automatically looped. So as mentioned, if you're in the Home section of your account and a random video begins to play, it'll just keep on playing on a loop until you either press stop/pause, or scroll to a different video or section of your account. Then that video will begin playing on a loop.

This can be good in a way, because you might be distracted at the time something interesting shows up in your feed. Because the video is short and on a loop, you may have missed it, but it will play again which means you can catch the start of the video if you want to.

The videos in your own account will also play on a loop. If you navigate to the spot where they're kept in your TikTok account, your own video will play on a loop after you click it, and until you click away to something else.

You might even say that TikTok can be the recording app you use to MAKE high quality videos -- little mini movies, skits, tutorials, commercials, performances -- before uploading the very same video to YouTube. Because yes, you CAN do this with TikTok - and actually the quality of your videos will greatly improved once you get good at using the app.

About banned TikTok accounts:

TikTok Account Guide

Your main TikTok user profile and account serves as the control room for how your TikTok will function. So let's cover some basics of that.

Your general account set up will have you typing in a user name, providing some basic personal info and setting up password/signing the user agreement. You won't have to enter credit card or PayPal information because it's free to join TikTok.

Many people who seek to try out this platform may do so because they already have a web presence. Maybe you've got a website or blog, or a few of them, already. So now you want to know, will you be permitted to share your link from your TikTok user account?

You will if you upgrade to a Business account. 

This won't cost you anything, and again, you're not required to enter a credit card number or anything. If you designate your account as a Business account, you'll be able to see a spot that didn't exist before where you can share one link. It's actually pretty simple.

Some TikTok users who run multiple websites or are active on multiple social media accounts will want to share multiple links from Tiktok to their other pages/social media sites. To do that, some of them use a website called LinkTree.com.

Keep in mind that if you already have a website or blog, you can create your own "link tree." Just create a new page that you use specifically for this sharing purpose. Then introduce yourself, explain what you do, and then list out the links to your various websites or social media hangouts.

Why else might you want to share multiple links? 

If you become established on TikTok, you may want your viewers to explore different business offerings you have going on. Maybe one of your links leads to your coaching services. Maybe another link leads to ebooks and courses that you sell. Still another link could go to your Etsy product page.

One perk to TikTok is that you can change your username at any time, and you can also run multiple profiles from one account - like a toggle between TikTok identities.

What else can you do from the profile area of your TikTok user account?

This is the video control hub. Every video you make will be stored here. When you navigate to this specific area of your account, you'll be able to see every video you've made and kept. You can also delete videos, or download your TikTok videos to your device before deleting.

Why would you do this? 

Because, as mentioned, TikTok is a powerful recording and video editing platform. If you enjoy making videos that you'd rather not share with the public, you can still use their robust video creation platform, then download to your device for personal use. 

You can also use TikTok to make videos which you then share on your YouTube channel or Facebook page, in addition to or in lieu of, sharing your videos on TikTok.

Can you hide certain videos of yours from public view after they're recorded and have saved to your TikTok account?

Yes. To do this, click on the specific video that you'd like to change the privacy settings on. You'll see three dots beside the video. Click the dots, which will then open up the option to change video sharing options on that particular video. You can either set the video to share with everyone, share with friends only, or share with "only me" which will make the video private.

Just remember, though, that once you make a video or videos private or "me only," they will show up in a different section of your user account. One day you might navigate to the list of videos inside your user area, in search of a particular video. 

You could then discover that the video has gone missing, only to realize after some confusion that the video is actually hiding in the "private" area of your account which is under a different tab that features an image of a lock.

How to Record a Video on TikTok

Thinking you'd like to try creating a video on the fly and uploading to TikTok?

To do this, log into your account. You'll immediately see and hear someone else's video start to play, which can be confusing at first. This is totally random, and a feature of the TikTok content feed.

If the audio is distracting to you, hit the pause/stop button on their video. You actually don't need to navigate away from their video to start recording your own video. But if it helps you stay focused, maybe navigate to your own user profile.

Ready to record? Just press the + button at the bottom of the screen. This will bring up a round, red record button. When you're ready to present your video for recording, hit that button. You will also get the option to choose how long you'd like your video to record for.

Your choices for recording length are 15 seconds, 60 seconds, or 3 minutes.

Keep in mind that if you record for longer than the amount of time you selected, your video will cut off the middle of recording.

But if you select a longer recording time, you can still stop your video before the full number of minutes. So for example, if you choose 60 seconds but record for only 45 seconds, you just simply hit the red button again to stop recording.

To keep things simple for your very first video, just record whatever you'd like to share, then press the red button to stop. Next to that button is a smaller, red checkmark. Click on that to be taken to a page where you can fill in more details about the video you just recorded. You can add a variety of elements, which we will cover in more detail in the next article.

For now, let's just focus on typing in a short description, and a few hashtags to help your video get found by topic. On this page, you get to designate some sharing settings, like whether or not you'd like to share with everyone, friends only, or "only me." You can also check off whether people will be permitted to make comments, duet the video or stitch the video.

Duet and stitch are social sharing options. If you like, you can make duet and sharing permissible, then encourage other TikTok users to add their own comments or do a viral video.

However, since we're only just covering the basics of video recording, uploading and sharing, we can skip over those features since they're a bit more complicated.

TikTok Video Recording Tips

One really cool feaure of TikTok is the ability to start and stop recording in the middle of a single video recording session.

You're essentially making a storyboard. So if you're recording a 3-minute video and you decide to stop and start the video recording of that single video six times, then you'll have six mini videos, or clips as they're called, living in frames inside of the one main recording.

To stop recording, hit the red button. The button changes to a square. Notice the thin blue strip up at the top of the screen. This strip shows you the recording progress you've made. You'll notice the strip getting longer as you're recording. Keep an eye on the strip as you're recording, this way you'll know if you're running out of recording time and need to wrap up.

When you stop and start recording to create storyboard frames, you'll notice that this blue line gets a little white divider line added to it each time you insert a stop point in your video before hitting record again.

So if you stop/start six times to make six clips, you'll see six little white lines across the blue strip of the video you're making.

When you're finished recording all of your clips, click the red circle with the check mark in it. You'll be taken to the editing section of TikTok. One of the most important features to know about, especially if you've recorded multiple clips, is the Adjust Clips option.

Here, you get to change the order of your video segments, trim the contents of each clip, and shorten the amount of seconds per clip if you need the video to progress to a set rhythm, one frame per second, for example.

Once you're satisfied with any adjustments you've made on your video clips, click on the check mark to proceed with the next edit you'd like to make.

You can also decide to scrap any edits you've made, by clicking the trashcan button on your video edits, or hitting Cancel, or pressing the back arrow to go back to the prior screen.

TikTok is careful to preserve your content. So if you click something by mistake, you'll be asked to confirm if that's the action you'd like to take, before your content reverts back to a prior draft or is deleted. Videos that you stop in the middle of recording, or record but then stop in the middle of editing and changing the settings, stay in the Drafts folder of your TikTok account. If you log out and then log in later, you'll be shown your Drafts so you can continue to work on them if you so choose.

TikTok videos play as you're editing the content and settings on the video.

It's important to note here, that, as is the case with your main feed or the Home area of your account, once you record a video and proceed to editing mode, your video will start playing automatically as you're editing it. This can be overwhelming or confusing, especially if you're just getting to know how things work on TikTok. You can always press stop/pause on the video while you get acquainted with the different editing features. Another option is to lower the volume to avoid being distracted by the audio if you're not currently working on that aspect of your video.

Keep in mind that since we're discussing editing video clips... you won't be able to splice out one long, continuous recording that you've made on TikTok. That is, you can't record one single video and then go back and delete sections of it.

So, it's a good idea to do several stop/starts (clips) when recording a single video. This way, if you stammer and want to delete it, or if you ramble on and decide later on to edit out the extra words, you'll be able to do that by deleting or trimming individual clips on the recording.

TikTok Video Options

Most new TikTok users probably aren't aware of the amazing options they have to manipulate sound in their TikTok videos.

Let's start with an overview of your video's sound. You've just recorded a video. So if you were speaking on that video, the main "sound" is the words you spoke.

That's referred to as the "original sound" of your video, and you'll see that referenced if you click on the volume area of the editing screen. But it doesn't end there.

TikTok also gives you the option to "add sound". You can do this either at the same time as you're recording your video... or you can do this:

Record the video. Press stop to finish. Click the checkmark to move to the next screen. Then click Sounds in the lower left corner to add a sound that overlays any pre-existing audio that you recorded with the original.

If you opt to include the "added sounds" with the original recording, you can also have the sound show up in time with a specific clip. Then if you press stop/pause you'll be able to cease the added sound before you proceed with recording the next clip, and so forth.

The "sounds" come from the TikTok library of short musical clips and sound recordings. Users can also add their own recordings for other users to access when making their own videos.

So let's say for example, that you recorded yourself telling a knock-knock joke.

Another user who views your video can click on the little record symbol at the bottom of your video, capture the sound recording of you telling your joke, add it to their favorites, and then use the sound that they captured, in a future video of theirs that they record themselves lip-syncing to.

In that regard, TikTok can be scary. If you're posting sensitive information that you'll regret sharing with the world later, you definitely want to keep in mind that your words can actually be used in a recording by other TikTok users, with them lip syncing. It's a "thing", so be aware.

This is likely the reason why TikTok asserts in their legal agreement that they "own" any content you upload to their website. If they say they own it, then that means they can put a share of this type up on the site that lets people leverage all the best content, the most powerful messages, very easily.

You can also select prior sounds from your own videos that you recorded, to use with new videos you create in the future. Here's how:

Record your own video and include a sound that you'd like to use in a different video. Save the first video. Then navigate to it, and play the video. Go to the bottom right, and click the little record icon. Add the sound to your Favorites.

Close out the video of yours that you just played. Start a new video. After you record, click on Add sound and then select the sound you wanted, from your Favorites list. Fix the volume so that your added sound is the dominant audio that will play. (More on that in a bit.)

Copyrighted music, and sounds licensed for commercial use.

Be aware that, while TikTok is known for helping to increase exposure for upcoming musicians and recording artists, there may be potential copyright issues that prevent use of recorded songs and snippets of songs, in your TikTok videos.

Let's use a real-life example. Suppose you're a thrifter and you want to put your thrifty finds up on your account, to share with the world. You decide to "Add sound" on one or more of your videos, and you choose rap artist Mackelmore's Thrift Shop ("I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags").

When you search the music collection of shareable music files on TikTok, you likely won't find this song because it's protected by a copyright. But there are ways around this, and you can end up temporarily uploading the song to one of your videos if you can locate and record it another way.

But just know that once TikTok catches up with your activity, the video that shares a copyrighted song will be removed from TikTok. So your clever, thrifting video stands a better chance of survival on the platform, for more clicks and views, if you choose an alternate piece of music from the TikTok sound/music library.

If you come across "sounds," meaning audio clips of music or spoken words from other TikTok users, that you know you'd like to share in your own videos in the future, you can save the sounds in your Favorites collection. To do this, navigate to the TikTok video that contains the song or the other type of sound, and click the little spinning record that shows up at the bottom of the video.

Again, the "TikTok content ownership" clause applies here. But still, it's always good online etiquette to ask permission from a user before sharing a sound that originated from their TikTok video recording.

TikTok Real Time Live Aspects

Okay, so if you're ever attempted to record content for the internet, especially at random, like if you're cooking in your kitchen and you want to suddenly share the recipe, then you know how life has a habit of interrupting you in the middle of shooting.

Maybe your kids walk in, or the doorbell rings, or your phone starts making an alert noise while you're recording your video.

Can you stop in the middle of recording a TikTok video, then record again later?

Yes. In fact, not only can you simply put the video recording on hold by pressing the red button at the bottom of the screen, but you can actually switch to using another app and then return to your video recording project later.

For example, you can stop recording to answer a fairly urgent text. Then you can go back to the same TikTok video again, to find that your video was conveniently left off at the last recording point.

So, as mentioned, if life throws you an interruption, just pause your video recording session, and go back to it later at a more convenient time. Also, if something like your kid walking into the room showed up on the recording but you'd like to edit that out, you can do so using the Trim or or Adjust Clips feature before publishing your video.

Of course, no app is without the occasional glitch. It's possible you can lose a video in the middle of recording, in which case you'll have to start over. Inconvenient, but not the end of the world. Always check your Drafts folder in case your video recording ended up there.

You can download the video that you already published, and then re-upload it. You won't be able to change the original recording, but you can add to it by applying a variety of effects.

How to upload video to TikTok from iphone

How to Upload a Video that You Recorded Using Your Phone's Camera App, to Publish on TikTok:

TikTok users have several options for getting their video content from their phone to TikTok. Like any other commonly used app, you get the choice of either starting to record from inside the TikTok app, or  recording your video first using your phone's camera, and then uploading what you already recorded. So you have a few different ways to share videos from your TikTok account with other TikTok users.

If you started out just recording directly from the TikTok app, you may not have realized that you can also upload videos that were already recorded from your phone. This is easy to do. Here are the steps:

#1 Launch TikTok.

#2 Press the + at the bottom of the screen.

#3 Instead of pressing the red record button, choose the option to upload a video. 

You'll now be prompted to choose a video from your phone's storage. Please note, you will not be able to navigate to your Google photos or iPhotos from TikTok. So if you'd like to upload a video from there, you first must save the video directly to your phone's memory.

#4 Navigate to the area of your phone where videos are stored. Upload.

Adding sound to your TikTok videos:

You'll have the option to add your own sound to the recording that you uploaded. By switching the volume of the original sound and the volume of the added sound, you can control which sound will be the predominant audio heard by the end user who listens to your video.

Later on, if you want to preserve space on your phone, delete the video that you saved to storage. A copy of it will still be in your photo app such as Google photos. Assuming that your TikTok upload worked correctly, you'll also have the video available via TikTok, inside of your account.

After your photo uploads, you'll see many of the same choice that you'd get if making enhancements to a video. You can add music, type in words to use as a title (works well if you want to list the ingredients). You can use the filter feature to change the appearance of your food photo, add a voice over or apply special effects.

How To Trim Your TikTok Video Clips

Guide For Trimming Your TikTok Video Clips:

If you use TikTok as a spectator for some time, you might notice that some TikTok users are especially good at publishing videos with various stop/start points. It's not just a single video recording, but a group of video clips that they somehow fuse together.

How do they do this? They stop/start in the middle of recording a single video. Then they edit each clip by trimming off the ends to create a seamless transition from one clip to the next. It comes out like a storyboard, the way that a TV commercial would.

Here are some things you can do with clips, within a single TikTok video recording:

Keep in mind that TikTok is set up so that you must edit your clips first, then add text or stickers or change the filter on your video, not the other way around. So if you wanted to add a rotation transition to your video, you'd have to edit all clips first. Then, play with the transition to get it to something you like.

How To Edit Videos On TikTok

Video Editing in TikTok: Huge Creative Potential for Making Professional Quality Videos 

Once you record a video, you have many options for manipulating the video on TikTok to create cinematic effects. At first, you may not connect with the huge value this can bring in terms of creating content for a niche website, or as an influencer online, or on behalf of your business.

Eventually, though, once you get familiar with TikTok's editing features, you'll soon realize that there is massive creative potential living in this little bitty app.

Let's take a quick overview of the different video editing options that are available. The easiest way for you to explore these for yourself is to take a quick video. After recording, you'll get the option to edit before uploading. 

Time to tinker. 

Get to know each editing feature. Press each button located in the right sidebar and across the bottom of your screen, to see what it does.

So you've recorded a video and now you're ready to edit. Click the check mark at the bottom of the video that you just recorded. This will take you to the editing area. Start at the top right.

Filters.

The filter feature is pretty straightforward. This changes the lighting and color of your video. You'll see  a wide array of choices. Scroll through your options by running your finger to the left, across the bottom. You'll even see filters that enhance the appearance of food and product videos, or still life shots you have set to video.

Adjust clips.

After you've explored the filters, hit the back arrow which is top left. You'll return to the list of video editing features. The next one in the list is "adjust clips." This will only work if you've done a stop/start several times over the course of a single recording, i.e. if you've recorded in clips.

To cut the beginning or end of a specific clip, click on that clip and then move the red bar to trim. 

The blacked-out part is the section of the video that will be cut. 

The red is what you're trying to save and use. 

The thin white line is the spot where you want to press play from, so you know what you're saving versus which part of the video you're eliminating. 

You can move the white line before pressing play, to test your video while still in editing clips mode. This way, you don't have to view the entire video each time you make a change. 

Once you're through editing a single clip, press the checkmark to save the edited version of that clip. If you mess up and want to start over, press the refresh button. To trash an entire clip, touch the trash can icon while actively editing that clip. When finished, click the checkmark. You'll return to the prior screen where you can choose to edit or delete a different clip if you like. 

Voice Effects.

Voice effects provide a good dose of amusement and add creative flair to your TikTok videos. If you've recorded yourself speaking, you can change how your voice sounds.

Click that option in the right sidebar and a list of choices opens up. The current (2021) voice options are None, Chipmunk, Baritone, Mic, Megaphone, Robot, LowBatt, Vibrato, Electronic, Echo, Synth, Helium, and Giant.

Not only will these likely provide some comedic value, but they're also useful if you're making a mini movie of sorts where you need different voices for different characters that either you or a recording partner are playing. The voice effects feature can also serve as a way to disguise your own voice if you prefer not to reveal what you actually sound like on the internet.

Additionally, if you find that for whatever reason, your real voice doesn't carry well in your videos, you might try the megaphone effect and turn up the volume on that sound, to improve clarity on the audio.

Voice Over.

The Voice Over feature in TikTok is what you might expect. You've recorded a video, now you want to create an announcement effect that overrides other sounds that might have occurred while you were recording.

So let's say you took a video of your dog barking, but now you want to cancel out the sound of the barking. You plan to do a voice-over which introduces a product that stops dogs from barking incessantly.

To do this from the video editing screen, first you'd click on the Voiceover feature. You're taken to a screen where you can still play the original video, but now you get to long-tap or press hold on a white record button that will allow you to record your voice as an overlay to the original audio.

You'll also notice while in this setting that you can either check or uncheck the option to keep original sound.

After you save your voiceover, you'll get the option to adjust the volume on both the original sound if you opted to keep it, and the volume on the voiceover or Added Sound. So if you want to have the barking be more of a faint background noise while the announcer talks about the product, adjust the video to achieve this, using the described features.

Captions.

Next down from the top right is the Captions feature. This is a quick and easy way to turn your spoken words that you uttered when you recorded your video into captioned text.

Unfortunately, the current captions feature doesn't give the option to relocate placement of the captions as they come up on the screen. So the captions could end up covering the speaker's face, or blocking an important part of the video.

The best way to know if you're going to be happy with the end result of using the captions feature is to try it out. Then you can either save the captioned video, or hit the back key and cancel your captions.

Trim.

The Trim feature gives you the option to cut off the beginning or end of a single video recording that you made. However, if you've recorded your video as clips that stop and start, this feature won't be available. Instead, use the Adjust Clips feature.

Volume.

You get two options to alter the volume of your recorded audio on TikTok videos that you create. One, you can raise or lower the original sound. And two, you can raise or lower any sound that you added.

So for example, if you recorded yourself speaking and you also want to add background music, then you can add music by choosing a song from the TikTok sound library. 

Then you can click the volume button and raise the volume on the original sound, so that your voice is audible. Lower the volume on the Added Sound, so that the song doesn't overpower the sound of your spoken words.

Or, if you originally recorded yourself singing but now you want to remove the sound of your voice but still have the actual song that you added play, you can do that by turning the volume of the original sound (your voice) all the way down, then turning the volume of your added sound (the song you chose), all the way up.

Sound.

Speaking of sounds, let's talk about the Sound feature all the way to the bottom right of the screen. Click on that. You get the option to choose from a library of sounds. 

These are commercial sounds, sourced from amateur musicians who have uploaded their audio recordings to TikTok with permission for users to add the sounds to the videos they share on the TikTok platform.

You might learn that a song you wanted for your video is unavailable. This is because the song may not have been licensed for commercial use, therefore the song is not listed in the library of choices.

Categories of sounds in the TikTok library range from "TikTop" popular trending songs, to Electronic, Vlog, Happy, On the Road, Cute, Hip-hop, Chill, Pop, Fashion, Gaming, Instrumental and more.

So for example, if you had uploaded a video of baby geese, you might click Sound and then explore whatever sound are listed under the Happy category. There, you might find an uplifting tune that seems to fit with geese marching along.

Effects.

To the right of the sound feature you'll find Effects. This is one of the most fun ways to manipulate your TikTok video. Click the word and you will be taken to a menu of choices.

Effects>Visual

The first tab under Effects is Visual. 

As of 2021 the choices in visual video effects that you can use to make changes to your videos include Smoke, Flower, Smog, Bling, Old TV, Film, which is basically a black and white movie, Water, Rainbow, Heart, Butterfly, 70s Movie, and too many more to list here.

To apply a special effect of this kind to your video, take a look at the video as it plays on the screen above. As the video plays, hold down your finger for however long you'd like the effect to apply.

So if you want to make it look like it's snowing for the entire video, you would just keep your finger down on the snow button. Or if you want it to rain gold flecks for just the end, then you could hold your finger down at the end of your video, with Gold selected. When finished, click Save. Whatever effects you applied will take effect.

Please note that you can switch between visual effects for the duration of the video. So you could have hearts coming down the first two seconds, then change it to a 70s movie screen which lasts for a total of one second, then make it look like the video was filmed underwater for 3 seconds, and so forth.

Effects>Effects

If you don't care for how your effects came out, you can press cancel. TikTok will ask if you would like to discard the effects that you used. Indicate that you do, and you will be returned to the prior screen.

The next tab under Effects is simply called effects which doesn't really make sense considering the logical hierarchy of the tabs...  but that's what it's called. A few popular choices have been made available under this tab.

One, you can change the view to nine small screens instead of one, giving a sort of retro feel.

Next effect is Blackout Eyes, similar to a creepy alien look or the ways that the robot eyes looked in the Stepford Wives movie. After that, you get the option to change color contact lenses. 

Select this effect and the eye color will change from blue to green to gold to purple with each blink.

You'll also find a Long Face option which distorts the faces in the video to look like Shrek. And finally, the last option is a horizontal three bar split screen.

Effects>Time.

Looking to reverse the video recording, repeat a section on a loop or do a slow motion? 

You'll find that option under the Time tab in Effects. Like the other options, you can either save or discard any changes you've made and return to the prior screen using the back arrow.

Add Text.

Want to add a title or written explanation to your video? 

Would you like to add simple steps that viewers can read from the screen? 

This is accomplished using Tiktok's text feature. It's the third option along the bottom and all you have to do is click on Text. The app will bring up a cursor for you to start typing or dictating.

Once you have typed a line of words, such as a title for your video, you can do things like change the font, change colors, change the alignment from left to right to middle and back again, and you can even apply different styles.

To change the style of your text, repeatedly click the letter A inside the box. Doing this will toggle through how the text looks, in terms of whether it is plain, outlined, placed in an opaque box or a translucent box.

Adding multiple lines of text:

What if you want more than one line of text to come up on a video? 

You can do that as well. 

After you're finished typing and styling your text, click the top right. Now you can move that line of text into any position that you want with a simple finger drag.

To delete a line of text, drag it up to the top of the screen. A trash can will appear. When the trash can highlights red, the line of text disappears.

Add another line of text by clicking the text button again and repeating the same set of actions.

You can also do things like have a single line of text appear for a short amount of time within the video. Let's say that your video features typed-out song lyrics. You want the lyrics to show up in time with the actual song that's playing.

Let's say the lyric you want to type is Go, and it only is uttered for a second. Type the word "go" and style it as you wish. Then click on the line of text that you just styled. One of the options that comes up will be duration. If you click on that, you'll be taken to a screen which allows you to change the amount of time that this particular line of text remains visible while the video plays.

If you have more than one line of text showing up at certain intervals in the video and then disappearing, you will be able to see those right in the edit text screen, because the video plays as you're editing the duration of a single line. You can time your current line of text with any other lines of text that you have changed to a shorter duration in the video.

As you become more familiar with these and other features, you'll be able to quickly edit TikTok videos to your exact creative plan. 

What Recording Effects Can You Apply in TikTok?

Some effects, you can edit in after recording a video on TikTok. Others, you can pre-set to happen while you're recording. What type of effects can you apply as you're recording? Let's cover that in some amount of detail here.

Time lapse/slow mo.

One thing you may wonder about is how people do a time lapse or slow-motion in their TikTok videos. These features are especially useful if you're recording yourself preparing food for a recipe. Or, maybe you're showing your audience how to pot a plant, and you want to speed through some parts of the process.

To explore the various TikTok time lapse features, press the + sign to start recording a video. Look to the top right. The second option down from the top is Speed. This allows you to control how quickly the video records. Set it to a low speed, and your video will record in slow motion. Set it to a high speed, and your video will do a fast forward type of recording.

Beauty filter.

You can set a beauty filter before recording your TikTok video. This basically gives a smoother facial skin tone to help wrinkles, blemishes and other skin imperfections become less visible. While some people rely solely on the beauty filter, others feel that it distorts the truth of how they actually look in person.

Light effects.

In the recording screen you can also apply the same light filters that we explored under the visual effects tab.

Countdown timer.

Finally, you can do a countdown timer which means you'll get extra seconds to get yourself situated prior to starting your video recording.

TikTok Video Content Ideas

What Types of TikTok Video Content can You Create?

TikTok has a decidedly different flavor and formula for creating videos. This may be due to the origin of having a younger audience. If you're generation X or older, you may not entirely understand the way that millennials and younger people express themselves on social media. 

They have a knack for combining different elements, including music, borrowed quotes, sound effects, facial expressions, lip syncing, visuals and more.

Someone might choose to convey a mood or sentiment rather than offer a long-winded explanation. Or they might express themselves by sharing a sound bite from a song, paired with a scene that doesn't seem to match the song... or does it?

Modern social media communication does seem to break every rule that you ever though you knew, and TikTok is definitely the medium to accomplish this.

What about using TikTok for your business communication?

You may be used to people who have an online business or a following on the internet posting specific types of content such as tutorials, Q&A, commercials, or slideshows filled with tips.

What you'll typically see on TikTok is people combining different elements to create a short, seemingly disjointed message that conveys an emotion more than makes a statement. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what's a slogan mismatched with an image, set to unrelated music? 

Who knows, but that's TikTok.

Some bold users are daring to go where no one would think appropriate - like the Texas attorney who posts criminal law facts while dancing to '70s disco music.

With so much entertaining content and so many intriguing, creative, and yes, good looking people on TikTok, it can be tough to stand out from the crowd using a traditional advertising approach for your business. 

But with more users flocking to the platform, it's possible that the dancing teenagers and hip-hop moms of TikTok will be a long-forgotten relic as TikTok goes mainstream, and a fear mentality eventually takes over.

The Creativity Potential of TikTok Filters

One feature of TikTok that deserves its own article is the Filters you can apply when recording your video. The potential to manipulate what's on the screen is vast. In fact, this technology is so advanced, it's frightening.

How can your smart phone's camera, combined with the TikTok app, zone in on your eyes, mouth and face to apply a full set of cosmetics, change the color your eyes, give you freckles, and basically make you into a different person than you are?

Most TikTok users don't know the answer to that. But they do seem to have boatloads of fun sampling TikTok's ever-evolving filter collection to make new video content.

Just some popular TikTok filters in 2022:

You'll also find filters that make you into an Orange (the citrus kind) head, make you bald, give you a frighteningly realistic-looking beard and thick eyebrows, and even apply special effects like a colorful, glowing aura around your entire body.

You can use the filters feature to add an armor of ice... have a ghostly apparition jump out from behind you. Glow purple for Special Olympics awareness. And so much more!

 What do people use the TikTok filters for?

Play acting. Creating comedy skits. Just for fun.

Major Niches Currently Represented on TikTok