TikTok is an app that recently blew up, we all know that by now. There are reportedly over 1 billion active users of TikTok monthly, who spend nearly an hour in the app. But is it just dressed-up teens trying to lip-sync to a popular song as we have seen in the ads? Here’s a short and useful How-To-Guide for TikTok. Let’s take a look.
TikTok lets you record creative videos, which can be modified with different filters and background music. Most of the TikTok videos, like it was said, are focused primarily on music and dances but it goes a long way to things like short sketches and DIY videos. Some people even say that TikTok is the new Vine, because of their similarities and vast popularity.
However, TikTok wasn’t there from the beginning. Before TikTok, there was an app called Musical.ly in 2017, which was bought by ByteDance. A year later they moved all the users to TikTok. ByteDance is now one of the most valuable startups with a valuation of more than $105 billion.
TikTok has won the race in monthly installs, rising above Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Youtube. So, if you want to join this huge community, you can download TikTok from your Apple App or Google Play Store or just simply use the web version. This video-sharing service is free.
Once again, TikTok allows you to create different types of videos, which can be up to 15 seconds long. However, you can put together multiple clips and extend the video up to 60 seconds. The customization possibilities and nearly endless. You can choose any audio as the background, add beauty filters and effects. One of the most popular functions has to be the “duet”, allowing you to reply to another person with your video.
How-to: Navigating through TikTok
Now, let’s peek inside the app structure. When you open TikTok, you’ll see a menu bar at the bottom of your screen, which has 5 shortcuts: Home, Discover, Create a video, Inbox, Me.
The Home button shows two feeds — The following and For you. The Discover shortcut usually shows trending videos with trending hashtags. Create a video button, well, let’s create a TikTok. The Inbox button gives you all the information about the activity on your videos. The Me option takes you to your profile, that you and others can see.
How-to: Exploring Content
Binge-watching videos on TikTok are no different from watching videos on Instagram or Vine for that matter. You can “like” the videos by using “hearts”. You can either watch the videos from the people you follow or the videos that TikTok chose for you, based on your preferences.
While watching the videos you can pause them by tapping on the screen. On the right, you will see the users’ icon, which will take you to their profile. Near that, you will see the number of likes that the video got.
What is very comfortable, you can watch TikTok videos without creating an account. Although, you won’t be able to engage with the app to the fullest.
How-to: Becoming a Creator
When you are ready to share your creative ideas with the world, the Create video button (plus sign) will help you with that. To be acquainted with all the TikTok possibilities, you can watch a whole lot of tutorials on YouTube from famous TikTokers or browse TikTok`s Support hub.
What is more, you can even save your videos as a draft and post it later, when you feel like it.
Here are useful tips and tricks guide for you.
Following the Trends
There is a Wikipedia page, which shows a list of the top 50 most followed TikTok accounts and Charli D`Amelia is leading. The second place belongs to Addison Rae.
Of course, the majority of TikTok users are teenagers, who have even formed such groups as Hype House, Sway House, and Club House. They live together in a huge mansion and collaborate. As a result, we have tons of content to consume every day.
When you don’t feel like watching this type of content, try the Discover option. There is always something for everyone.
FreeTikTok helps your account get the right amount of fans. It is very easy to place an order for buying TikTok followers.
Is TikTok Spying on Us?
TikTok has faced a lot of problems in countries like India and Pakistan, which led to it being banned, although Pakistan reversed its ban. Even the US government considers banning TikTok. But how is an app for teens so dangerous?
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and therefore countries look at it as a surveillance tool for China. That’s why the US government is advising citizens to be cautious with the app. However, the founder Zhang Yiming tries to make it clear and has made a statement that he is not associated with the Chinese communist party and has even withdrawn the TikTok app from Hong Kong.