With TikTok being one of the largest and most effective social media apps, it is taking the world by storm. Content creators from across the world can post meaningful things with only a smartphone.
In this TikTok marketing tutorial, we are going to show you how to go live on TikTok and how you can take your brand or audience to the next level by leveraging this TikTok feature.
If you prefer to watch a video tutorial on how to go live on TikTok, check out this one:
How To Go Live on TikTok?
Other than recording and posting content, going Live on TikTok has many features and benefits that you cannot achieve with just recording and posting videos.
We will go over some of the most important features and benefits below, but first – let’s take a look at how to go live, step by step:
- Open the TikTok app
- Press the “+” record button
- On the right-hand side, you can choose to go live
- Select a thumbnail and a catchy title to attract people to your broadcast (the most important step)
- You’re now live!
Before going live, there are a few easy-to-reach requirements that are necessary prior to broadcasting, Let’s take a look at them below.
Requrements For going live on TikTok
A large majority of content creators will be able to go live, but TikTok implemented some basic requirements before you can actually broadcast. This is necessary to stop spam accounts and underage posters to protect everyone’s privacy and safety.
- You must be at least 16 years of age to go live
- You must live in the right region; TikTok’s term of service or the search engine of your choice has the full list available to see if you qualify
- You must have a follower count of at least 1,000
The last point rings true if you were looking for the “Live” option but were unable to find it. Luckily, growing to 1,000 followers takes only several good videos, and even less if you are consistently hopping on trends and partnering with other content creators.
Tips on How to Have a Successful TikTok Live
Here are some of the best tips to becoming successful with TikTok:
- Lighting is extremely important in both edited videos and livestreams. Make sure your audience can see you clearly and not lose interest in the first few seconds of seeing your broadcast
- Have something to do. Unless you are a costume designer or showing off a look, an audience won’t feel engaged with someone being idle and waiting for conversation. Read a book, play a game, have a Q&A… get as creative as you can!
- Use questions as an opportunity. Questions lead to more content, a more engaged audience and a lifetime of followers.
- Ignore the hate and trolls. Live brings more hate and trolls than a recorded video since they can drop in and out quickly. Remember they’re just using anonymity for a quick laugh and move on. Focus on your audience and your content.
- Plan ahead. Have a theme and an end time for your stream. When content runs dry and viewer count is starting to drop drastically, take this as an opportunity to say goodbye and promise another stream at a date of your choosing.
Why Can’t I go live on TikTok?
As mentioned earlier:
- you must be 16 years of age,
- have at least 1000 followers, and
- reside in an approved region. Your account must also not be banned or suspended due to inappropriate activity.
If you don’t meet these TikTok Live requirements, unfortunately, you can’t go live on TikTok currently.
Benefits of TikTok Lives
TikTok lives have a lot of benefits that cannot be overlooked or disregarded compared to regular filming and editing. These include:
- Being able to reach a larger audience
- Broadcasting much longer content than 15-60 second videos, opening up more audience
- A “Live” section where you don’t compete for FYP videos and have a much larger chance of being seen
- A notification to your followers or those who stumble across your videos that you are live
- Having the opportunity to advertise your page, your other socials, and your goods/services
And much more.
Being able to stream and engage your TikTok audience in real-time helps you to answer questions and make your audience feel seen and heard. Going live on TikTok also brings a technical break for you, you don’t have to record, edit and refilm your videos. You can even grab content from your TikToklive such as questions and snippets, and have content for posts later on.
Not all TikTok Lives will be successful, and thick skin takes time. Keep posting, reflect on your comments and adjust your content. Every day, you’re that much closer to being viral!
