12 TikTok Tricks You Need to Know (Beginners Start Here!)

If you’ve got a fun sketch to share, a knack for dance moves, or just want to impress your cool teen cousin Vanessa, it’s time you familiarized yourself with some tiktok hacks. because if you are going to open a tiktok account, you can do well too.

at this point, it’s clear that tiktok is not a fad on social media. the app has over 1.65 billion downloads to date and currently has 689 million active users. this. is. happening. Vanessa wasn’t lying (for once).

so if you feel overwhelmed every time you open the tiktok app, read on to learn all the essential tiktok skills you need to get the most out of the most popular social media platform.

(and if you’re new to tiktok and need a full tutorial, we’ve got you covered here with our tiktok 101).

10 tiktok tricks you should know

ready to take advantage of the current trends on tiktok and stand out on #fyp (the tiktok “for you” page)?

master these tiktok tips and tricks and you’ll be ready to create the content of your dreams.

1. how to make a slideshow on tiktok

A picture can be worth a thousand words, but sometimes even that’s not enough. If you need multiple images to fully tell a story, put them together in a quick slideshow on tiktok.

1. press the plus sign on the home screen to create a new video.
2. Tap upload in the bottom right.
3. select as many photos or videos as you want to include
4. add sound clips, text, or stickers, or tap effects to adjust transitions and timing
5. click next to proceed to the publishing screen.



2. how to make voice effects on tiktok

do you think your video would be better narrated by a chipmunk or a robot? Join the club. tiktok voice effects will transform your conversation into golden comedy.

1. press the plus sign in the main feed to create a new video.
2. press the record button to make your video.
3. on the registration screen, press the check mark to proceed to the editing screen.
4. on the right side, tap voice effects.
5. choose the effect you would like to apply to your original audio.



in the meantime, if you’d rather have your video narrated by a confused robot, check out our text-to-speech tiktok tutorial to learn how to make your dreams come true:

3. how to use green screen effect on tiktok

green screen is the chef’s knife of the tiktok world: indispensable. With this tool, you can instantly transform your background, without the need for a fancy video studio.

1. press the plus sign in the main feed to create a new video.

2. Tap effects in the bottom left to bring up the effects menu.

3. you have two options with the green screen:

• • to use a photo as the background, choose the green icon with a photo and a down arrow.
  • to use a video as a background, choose the green icon with a video and an up arrow.

  

  4. choose the image or video you’d like to use, then press the record button to record yourself against this background.

  

  5. To add additional clips with new backgrounds, simply repeat the process – apply the effect and record. tiktok will unite them.

  6. when you’re done filming, press the checkmark to proceed to the editing screen.

  7. apply additional filters, voice effects or dubbing here and press next to go to the publish screen.

  Fun video idea: You can “clone” yourself using the green screen effect! record yourself and then use it as background and “interact” with video-you.

  

  4. how to make fun transitions on tiktok

  tiktok has built-in transitions that you can use in the editing stage to visually connect one clip or scene to another.

  but tiktok is also full of people who have come up with creative visual tricks to combine videos: the “snap”, the “cover the camera”, etc. It’s easier than it looks!

  the trick to this is to record clips that start where the other one left off.

  1. Shoot the first part of your video, ending with that “transition moment”: the snap or palm covering the camera, for example.
  2. remember where your video ended – you’ll want to start your next clip here.
  3. make any changes you want… a new location or a new outfit, maybe?
  4. record another clip, starting from the same position you left off: hands balanced or palm covering the lens.
  5. press the check mark to proceed to the editing screen.
  6. here, you can trim your clips to further align them if necessary.

  pro tip: You can also use the timer and a tripod or ring light for hands-free shooting.

  5. how to add subtitles

  Adding subtitles is not only great for capturing your audience who may be watching without sound, but it also makes your content accessible to those who may be hard of hearing.

  1. on the editing screen, tap text at the bottom of the screen.
  2. customize the font, alignment, color and style, and drag where you want it to appear on the screen.
  3. touch the text and an option will appear to set the duration.
  4. tap set duration and then choose when you want it to appear and for how long.

  

  pro tip: there are some 3rd party options to auto-generate closed captions, but we like instagram threads… though obviously you need to use it on instagram first and then re-upload to tiktok.

  6. how to make text appear and disappear on the beat

  see the steps for adding subtitles above and use the set duration feature to make text boxes appear and disappear at the exact moment in your video.

  this is a popular trick used by tiktokers who do the pointing thing and words pop up and they nod. (what’s that? what do we call it?)

  7. how duet with a tiktok video

  make beautiful music together with tiktok’s duet feature.

  1. on the tiktok you’re dueting with, tap the share button on the right. (note that this will only be visible if the creator allows sharing.)
  2. play duet.
  3. this will take you to the editing screen. here, you can record video and audio of yourself along with the original.
  4. press the checkmark to preview, and then press next to go to the publishing screen. (don’t forget to give credit to the creator of the original video!)

  

  8. how to react to a tiktok video

  this is just a variation on a duet. the only difference is that the layout is more of a “picture-in-picture” style.

  1. on the tiktok you’re dueting with, tap the share button on the right. (note that this will only be visible if the creator allows sharing.)
  2. play duet.
  3. this will take you to the editing screen. Here, tap design on the right side.
  4. it’s time to react.
  5. record video and audio of yourself with the original overlaid. (tip: to move the position of the original video, just drag and drop).
  6. press the checkmark to preview, and then press next to go to the post screen. (don’t forget to give credit to the creator of the original video!)

  

  9. how to use a tiktok song from another video

  heard a song that you just have to include in your next video? well, good news: that’s almost entirely the goal of tiktok, so it’s very easy.

  1. go to the video with the sound clip you like and tap the round icon in the bottom corner
  2. this will take you to a screen with more information about the sound; click use this sound at the bottom of the page
  3. this will take you to the recording page, where you can now create a video to accompany the sound clip.

  

  10. how to use multiple video clips for one audio clip

  If you want to use the magic of editing to create a multi-scene video accompanied by a single audio clip, you can! It takes a bit of stopping and starting, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be playing our lip sync video masterpieces like nobody’s business.

  1. press the plus sign in the main feed to create a new video.

  2. select the sound you would like to use.

  3. tap the timer icon on the right side to see a visual representation of the audio.

  

  4. drag the time markers on the audio timeline to mark where you want the song to stop recording for its first clip.

  

  5. touch start countdown; when the countdown ends, you will be recording, accompanied by the selection of the clip you just marked.

  6. now press the timer icon again. you will notice that the sliders now start recording from where the last clip ended. set where you’d like the next song to end, press start countdown and record your next clip.

  7. repeat.

  8. when you’re happy with your video, click the checkmark to see it all together and apply more changes or filters.

  11. how to schedule tiktok posts more than 10 days in advance

  native tiktok scheduler only allows users to schedule tiktoks up to 10 days in advance. but what if we told you that there is a tool that you can use to schedule your tiktoks for any time in the future?

  *drumroll*

  that tool is hootsuite! the same tool you can use to schedule all your other social media posts with the best recommended times to post for your unique audience.

  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: 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 foror later to post your tiktok at a later time. you can manually select a release date or choose from three recommended times based on your unique performance history

  

  

  and that’s it! Your tiktoks will appear in the planner, along with all your other scheduled social media posts. best custom times to post for maximum engagement.

  

  12. how to schedule tiktok posts on mobile

  Another thing that the tiktok app won’t let you do is schedule videos from your mobile phone. but hootsuite can help with that too.

  it’s surprisingly simple. if you have a tiktok and hootsuite account, great. if not, go get your free hootsuite trial and come back. we will wait.

  1. Connect your tiktok account to your hootsuite account. In your hootsuite mobile app, you will be prompted to add your social accounts. add your tiktok account. If not, go ahead and check out our very precise help article on how to link your tiktok account in hootsuite.
  2. Save your tiktok video to your phone’s gallery. Unfortunately, tiktok doesn’t let you download it until you’ve posted it, but there are some workarounds. the simplest is to make your video on tiktok, then post it as private (it will be saved in your phone gallery with the watermark). you can also create it in a third party app (or even instagram reels) and save it to your phone gallery from there.
  3. compose your tiktok post on the hootsuite mobile app (which you can download from the app store or google play store)
     1. tap the compose button strong> (at the bottom).
     2. select your tiktok account.
     3. enter your title, hashtags and links
     4. tap the gallery icon and select your video.
     5. after uploading, tap next (in the top right corner)
     6. schedule your tiktok post
        1. select custom schedule
        2. enter your date and time
        3. tap ok
        4. relax and enjoy a tasty snack

        you did it! you can see your scheduled post in the editor tab.

        if you’re more of a visual learner, follow the steps above in our video on how to schedule tiktok posts on mobile.

        so there you have it: your toolkit to produce all the tiktok content of your dreams. If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out these nine creative tiktok video ideas.

        and whatever you post on the ‘tok, be sure to monitor your engagement, so you can tweak, adapt, and execute the best marketing campaign possible…and get your teen cousin vanessa to finally start watching your videos.

        grow your tiktok presence alongside your other social channels using hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance. try it free today.

        Try it free!