After Snapchat and Instagram Stories, here comes too TikTok in the sights of TechPrincess's Guides. And so today we will discover together everything there is to know - and you still don't know - on one of the most talked about, used and loved social networks of the moment.
What is TikTok and how does it work?
TikTok is a social app which allows its users to create short videos, fun and creative, to share online with other users. The films made are characterized by their short duration and by the frequent use of lip sync (lip sync). This technique, inherited from the Musical.ly video sharing app, allows you to match the movements of your lips with the sung or spoken voice of singers, actors, celebrities and other users.
The definition on the official website defines TikTok as “the ideal destination for short videos from mobile devices”. Indeed, this social network is based precisely on the video sharing of duration included between the 15 and the 60 seconds, to be customized at will. The application allows you to add filters, songs, stickers and special effects to any shared content. It is also possible to create videos starting from a photo collage (up to a maximum of 12 per content).
In short, the video is the key tool with which users can interact with each other on the platform. And it was precisely this feature, together with lip synchronization, to decree the enormous success of TikTok distinguishing it from all the other social media outlets. Not surprisingly, according to the data reported by SensorTower, TikTok è one of the most downloaded apps in the world as well as the most downloaded ever of September 2020. Beyond these details, the application works exactly like any other social platform, allowing users to create a personal profile, acquire followers and follow users in turn.
Apparently, the term Tik Tok was chosen because it recalls it to mark time on the clock hands. And not surprisingly, time is one of the key elements of the content shared on the application, which allows you to create videos of short duration, from 15 to 60 seconds.
In general, TikTok is a very popular platform especially by the very young, with a ranging audience from the 16 20 years. Despite this, there are many more adult users who are beginning to appreciate this social network. Even if the maximum age limit continues to be around the maximum 40 years.
As of 2019 TikTok is available in 34 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Cebuano, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, French, Japanese, Javanese, Gugiarati, Hindi, Indonesian, English, Italian, Canadian, Malayalam, Malay, Marathi , Oriya, Pangiabi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Tamil, German, Telugu, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
Absolutely yes. TikTok can be downloaded for free by all iOS and Android users, without having to subscribe or pay a subscription fee.
How to use TikTok
First of all, in order to use TikTok you need to download the application on your smartphone or tablet. Once done, you can use the social network by creating your own personal profile, or by logging in without registration. It is indeed possible use TikTok with or without an account. In the latter case, you will be able to see public content shared by users, but you will not be able to Like or comment on the videos you view, nor to share content created by you. In short, by logging in without an account you will have a whole series of limitations that will not allow you to fully enjoy the potential of this App and interact with other subscribers.
For the moment, you can download the application on all Android and iOS devices - both tablet and smartphone -. There is no TikTok app for PC yet, but with a few tricks you can still get around this limitation and use the app on different Desktop platforms.
If you are using an Android device, you can download the TikTok App for free from the Google Play Store. Then open this application and type "TikTok" into the search bar. The first result that will be returned to you is the official one. Click on it and then press the "Install" button. In case the Store asks you to enter a payment method, please ignore the request, because the application is free and does not require any subscription by users. At this point, once the App is installed, open the platform and start moving in the world of TikTok.
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can download the application directly from the App Store. Inside the official store, type "TikTok" in the search bar and open the first result that is provided to you. Click on "Get" and enter your Apple ID password - or use Face ID or Touch ID - to complete the setup process.
In principle, you can only download the TikTok App on Android and iOS / iPadOS devices, and not on Desktop platforms. Despite this, following a few small tricks, it is possible to overcome this limitation by downloading a emulator for android, that is a tool that simulates the operation of a smartphone on your computer. One of the most used is BlueStacks, which you can download for free from its official website. Just open the dedicated page, click on the "Download BlueStacks" button and then, if you use Windows, open the .exe file on your PC to complete the installation. Conversely, in the case of a Mac, you just need to open the .dmg file to install the emulator. Once BlueStacks is installed, you need to launch it and log into your Google account. At this point, from the Home screen access the Google Play Store, type "TikTok" in the search bar and click on the "Install" button. In this way, although there is no TikTok version for PC, you will still be able to access the App directly from your computer.
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First of all, to be able to register and create a personal account, you need to have accomplished at least 13 years. Users under this age cannot sign up for TikTok, and those under the age of 16 can (theoretically) only do so with parental permission. If you meet these characteristics, to register you must first open the TikTok application you downloaded on your device. At this point, on the main screen touch the "Me" icon located in the lower right corner, and then click on the "Register" button. The App allows you to choose how to register: via the phone number or email address, or via Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter or your Apple account.
Depending on your needs, click on registration mode you prefer and fill in the fields with the data requested. After this procedure, choose the password - 8 to 20 characters long, with letters, numbers or special characters - and pass the security check in order to complete the registration. Once registration is complete, you can start editing your profile and sharing videos.
Once registered, you can choose to change all the details in your profile. To do this, click on the "Me" icon at the bottom right and then on the "Edit profile". At this point, by clicking on theprofile picture you can insert a photo that represents you. In addition, you can also post a video that is representative of your account. And if you really want to give a perfect picture of yourself, you can put a short bio in your profile, and leave your Instagram and YouTube accounts to your followers as well. In short, whatever you want to do to modify and make your profile more fascinating, you can do it from here.
Within the profile editing section you can also change your usernameHowever, consider that TikTok only allows this change once every 30 days.
If you are tired of using the application, you can conveniently delete your account. To do this you need to access the your profile settings clicking on the "Me" icon that you find in the lower right corner of the screen, and then on the three dots that you find instead in the upper corner. Here touch the item "Account Management"And then the button"Delete my Account"In order to start the deactivation procedure. Regarding the deletion of an account, TikTok follows a particular policy, giving users 30 days to decide whether or not to recover their profile. During this time, your account will remain hidden from App users, but you will still have the option to recover it if you change your mind. At the end of the 30 days, the account and all the contents that are part of it will then be permanently deleted.
Unlike other platforms, TikTok gives you the option to think about whether you really want to delete your account permanently or not. Before even deleting a profile, the App allows you to deactivate it for 30 days, during which you can decide whether or not to recover your content. So what to do if you have started the elimination process but have changed your mind? Simply recover your account. To do this, open the profile settings by clicking on the "Me" icon in the lower right corner of the display, then tap the "Sign me up"And finally the" Login "button. Enter your details in the appropriate fields, and the App will confirm that your account is temporarily disabled. If you want to recover it, just click on the "Cancel deactivation”And follow the instructions of the platform to be able to use your TikTok account again.
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How to use TikTok without an account
TikTok is really a particular platform, because it allows users to be able to view public content shared by others even without the obligation to register. If you don't want to manage a personal profile, but only watch what others share, you can download the App and view the videos without registering. Clearly, this mode imposes great limitations: you cannot Like or comment on the contents of others, much less view the private videos of the users you prefer. You can't follow accounts you like, or share videos yourself. Basically, without a registered TikTok account you can limit yourself to simply viewing some content.
How to create content on TikTok
Once you have downloaded the App and set your profile, you can proceed with the creation and sharing of the first TikTok. At your choice, you can share a video created by you, post a duet in response to another user's video, or start a Live Stream to interact with your followers.
You have chosen to open a TikTok account and are looking forward to posting your first video, but you don't know how to do it. Here is a simple guide. First of all, open the App and press the "+" button in the center of the display to open the camera in selfie mode. The application will ask you for theaccess to camera and microphone. Give consent before starting to record your video. At this point, you can begin customizing your content using the icons you see on the right side of the screen. Starting from top to bottom, you find the following features:
- limelight, which allows you to switch between the front and rear cameras and vice versa
- Speed, to record your content at an increased speed or in time-lapse
- Beauty, which allows you to use an AR filter that hides skin imperfections making it brighter and smoother
- filters, to apply the filter of your choice to your video
- timer, a feature that allows you to set a countdown for automatic recording
- Flash, to turn the flash on or off during shooting.
Once you have chosen the function you want to use, at the bottom of the screen you must indicate the maximum duration of the content, choosing between the two options of 15 and 60 seconds. To start recording, press the red button in the center of the screen, and release it as soon as you have finished shooting. If necessary, you can also resume the recording by changing the shot, thus creating two-part recorded content. Once the content is recorded, you can edit it as you like by adding sounds, effects, text or whatever. As soon as you have finished your changes, feel free to click on the "Next" button to start publishing.
Remember that in addition to recording a video directly from the app's camera, on TikTok you can also upload a video or photo you have in the Gallery. To do this, click on the "Load" button at the bottom right and choose one or more resources directly from your phone's memory.
Before sharing a video, you need to create it. Open the application, tap the "+" button at the bottom center of the screen and then start recording by pressing the red button. Once you're done shooting, choose whether to add special effects or edit your movie. After completing the creation of your video, click on the “Next” button to start the publishing process. Before sharing your content, however, the App will ask you to enter a brief description of the video, where you can also add hashtag relevant and the tag to friends. And not only. At this stage you will also need to decide who can view the video - public, friends only or private -, and whether to allow comments, duets and reactions. Finally, you can decide whether to share the content on other social accounts as well. After setting the parameters you prefer, click on the "Publish" button to share your video with TikTok users.
Of all the features proposed by TikTok, adding text to a video could prove to be the simplest. Register your content by clicking on the "+" button at the bottom of the screen, and then start shooting by pressing the red button. Only after the video is recorded will you be able to add as much text as you want. Like? Click on the "Text" icon below, and unleash your creativity by selecting font, color and text alignment. At this point, touch the screen and start typing what you want. If something does not convince you and you want to delete everything to start writing from scratch, click on the text and then on the icon of the X that appears in the text box. Edit everything to your liking, and when you are ready, click on the "Next" button to proceed with the publication.
TikTok is best known for the ability to add songs and sounds of all kinds to content shared by users. If you also want to add music to the video you are about to share, just open the App, click on the "+" icon to start recording and then touch the item "Sounds" that you find at the top of the screen. In this way you will access a section where all the music tracks made available by TikTok are listed. To find the song you're looking for, type the title in the search bar, or browse playlists for a song that fits your content. Once you have found the track, just select it and then click on the button next to the title to insert it into the video.
TikTok allows you to edit the videos you share however you like, giving you a wide range of different features. Among these, the special effects they are definitely the most fun to use. Open the App and create your video, and once ready, tap the "Effects" item at the bottom left of the screen. A window will open listing all the special effects you can use to make your video unique.
Among the different options you will also find the one known as “green screen”, which allows you to upload a photo or video from your gallery and use it as a background for your TikTok content. But the proposals of effects are really many: from augmented reality to the distorted face, and so on. Once you have decided what you like, just select it and then start recording the video by pressing the red button on the screen. The App gives you the possibility to choose whether to use the effect for the entire duration of the shot or only for a few frames, simply by selecting the effects during the recording.
TikTok allows you to edit videos to your complete liking, while also creating amazing ones slow motion content. To do this, just open the App and tap the “+” icon in the center of the screen to start recording new content. Before starting the shoot, press the "Speed" icon that you find at the side of the screen and choose an option lower than 1x - 0.1x or 0.5x - to record the video directly in slow motion. When you are ready to start recording, press the red button and release it as soon as you have finished shooting. Click on the "Next" button and proceed with the publication.
Duets are video reactions recorded in response to content from other users. You can choose whether to record a duet to comment on a friend's video, or to repeat the dance shared by another user on the platform in sync. Whatever your intention, you must first find the video to duet with and then click on the share arrow on the right side of the screen. At this point, in the “Share with” section, tap the “Duet” item. Press the red button and start recording your response video. Once you have finished registering, tap the "Next" button and start publishing. The hashtag #duettocon and the tag to the user to whom you responded will automatically appear in the caption of your content.
Not only video sharing, but also the start of direct streaming to get in touch with the public: these are the most used features of TikTok. If you are interested in starting a Live, you should know that at the moment the function is only available for the profiles they have at least 1000 followers. Otherwise, you will not be able to view the button that allows you to start the live broadcast. But if your TikTok profile is followed and appreciated, here's how. Open the App, tap the "+" button to start your shooting and select the "Live" item. Before even starting with the live broadcast you will have to describe the topic you are going to deal with by writing the title in the appropriate text field. Once this operation is complete, tap the "Start live" button to start talking to your audience of followers.
Tricks of the trade
Once we understand that TikTok is a one-of-a-kind platform, let's see how to best use it to be successful and be a prominent TikToker.
On TikTok there are two different ways to acquire followers and get a successful profile: using a BOT, buying the users who follow you, or building your audience in a natural, slow and constant way. Like? Here are some useful tips.
- Create fun content. This is the first rule to be successful on the platform. Comic sketches are among users' favorite content. Take inspiration from your favorite videos and create original content that makes the viewer laugh. Strange as it may seem to you, this is the first step to gaining followers.
- Create original and quality videos. Here is another mantra of success on TikTok. If you don't feel like a comedian, but prefer to talk to the public about what's happening to you, then you can. The important thing is to share excellent quality video. maybe experimenting with the use of filters and special effects, so as to be original and stand out from the others. Uniqueness, in fact, is another of the characteristics that will help you increase your followers.
- Engage the audience. If you want to gain followers, you need to know how to attract them to your profile, intrigue them and make them interact with your content. Like? Use captions to ask users questions and entice them to comment. And when someone leaves a comment, always remember to respond to keep the conversation going. The more users feel engaged, the more they will be enticed to follow you.
- Choose the right hashtags. If you want to become a professional TikToker, you have to behave like one. The first step? Choose the hashtags for your videos well. Select the most popular ones to reach as many users as possible, but also those that best represent the theme covered in your content. In this way you will attract users to search for that topic on your video, and you can intrigue them until they become your followers.
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TikTok content is organized into two main sections: "Followed" and "For you". Among the following you can find the videos of the accounts you have chosen to follow, while in the For you section the content most appreciated by users and which, according to the TikTok algorithm, have good chance of going viral.
There are no set rules for a video to end up in For You. However, you can follow some tips to increase the chances of this happening.
- First of all, you should create and share original content and eye-catching accompanied by the following hashtag: #perte #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #fup #neiperte #xte. In this way your content could be correctly addressed in the dedicated section.
- Second, you can try encourage the interactions of other users inviting them to comment and share your content via private messages or via other social apps, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger.
- Also, insert in your videos trending songs and audios it could end up in TikTok's highly rated viral feeds, increasing your chances of going to For You.
Why is the For You section important? If your video ends up in the foreground you will have great ones ability to quickly increase likes, views and followers of your profile gaining popularity.
Even without becoming an influencer, TikTok offers you the opportunity to earn. Each user can accumulate virtual coins - Rubies or Diamonds -, which can be converted into real money on your PayPal account. If you are wondering how to do this, here is the answer. First and foremost, you have the option of earn by inviting a friend to join: € 0.50 for each invited user, up to a maximum of 10 users. Beyond that, there is the possibility of earn by proving to be a loyal user of the platform. In this case, TikTok offers you a series of daily goals to achieve, such as reading the rules (100 Rubies), watching videos for 3 minutes (300 Rubies) or posting a video (500 Rubies).
To access these rewards, just click on the "Me" icon at the bottom right and then on "Spread the word, collect the gems". But there are also other ways to earn on TikTok, much more related toinfluencer activities. In this case, you will be able to promote the products of the companies using the platform, just like on Instagram and / or Facebook. Of course, to do this I would need a good number of followers, so as to be visible even to brands that want to collaborate with you to sponsor their products.
The story of TikTok
TikTok is an application born from the ashes of Musical.ly, a platform launched in China in 2015 by Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang. The initial idea of the two developers was to create a social network that merged video and music with each other. Thus was born Musical.ly, which allowed users to share videos in which they playback songs of their favorite artists. In 2016, given the success of the project, Zhu and Yang launched Live.ly, a platform dedicated to live video streaming. Within a short time, both projects were incredibly successful in the oriental market.
A few years later, in 2017, the Chinese company ByteDance bought Musical.ly for a figure that was around 750 million euros. In 2018, the company decided to merge this platform with a very similar one in its possession, in order to broaden the target audience. And so TikTok was born, an App that immediately met with incredible success, so much so that it was able to achieve over 1.5 billion downloads in just two years. And the platform's numbers don't seem to stop. In August 2020, the application exceeded the threshold of 1 billion registered users worldwide, a record it reached in just four years.
As you can imagine, there are dozens and dozens of well-known influencers around the world. And not always those who enjoy huge success on Instagram manage to do the same on TikTok. In any case, we can distinguish the most followed profiles in the world from those who are followed in Italy, where we have a great passion for our local TikTokers. Among the five most well-known influencers in the world (and really worth following) are:
- Charli D'Amelio, the 61-year-old from Connecticut who gained over XNUMX million followers in one year
- Zach King, already known on Vine and then became a TikTok star for sharing fun and high quality content - not surprisingly, we are talking about a young videomaker -
- Addison rae, a young dancer from Louisiana, who we can follow on her journey to conquer her career in Los Angeles
- Loren Gray, a very young singer from Pennsylvania
- Riyaz Aliz, a young Indian who has depopulated on TikTok all over the world.
Now let's move on to the Italians, among which we find influencers already known on other platforms, and some names that have been successful only and exclusively on TikTok:
- LapresaTwins, the two La Presa twins, who literally drove the young Italians crazy on TikTok with their personal story
- Faffapix, born in 1996, a muser specializing in video comedy
- Chiara Ferragni, a name that needs no introduction at all
- Marta The Site, a very young sixteen year old who managed to win millions of followers in a very short time, thanks above all to her previous appeal on Instagram
- paky, a very young TikToker who manages to entertain the public with tutorials, comic videos and much more.
The story of TikTok becomes very "hot" especially in 2020, after the hacker group "Anonymous" denounced the App, defining it as controlled by the Chinese government, which is carrying out a sort of mass espionage. This declaration has sparked the most disparate reactions from world governments. The European Union, for example, has launched a Task Force to control any risks that the use of the application may pose to its citizens. India, on the other hand, preferred a tougher line. For a variety of political and ethical reasons, the Government of India has decided to ban TikTok and other 58 Chinese applications (including WeChat) because they are considered harmful to citizens.
Much more complex is the story concerning the use of TikTok in the United States. President Donald Trump seemed well-intentioned to ban the app if it wasn't bought by an American company. The decision caused quite a stir, and companies like Microsoft and Oracle quickly moved to acquire the platform. Despite all this clamor, no real action has yet been achieved, which we are all waiting for with great trepidation.
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