The ultimate guide to TikTok videos

With over 1.8 billion global users and a demographic ranging so wide, TikTok is one of the leading video sharing apps in the world. But TikTok isn’t just about sharing funny videos or dance videos. The fan-favorite app has transformed into a prime entertainment and news source that thrives off trends, challenges, voiceovers, and branded marketing. 

If you’re looking to learn more about TikTok, you’ve come to the right spot. Explore everything creators and brands need to know about TikTok videos including formats and specifications, trending sounds, aesthetics, and how to make a great TikTok video with Clipchamp.  

Making sense of TikTok’s culture 

From spicy food challenges and 15-second dance trends to hilarious voiceovers and video editing techniques, TikTok gives creators the chance to come together, showcase their unique creativity, and be relatable while they’re creating. TikTok challenges, trends, hashtags and sounds usually only are trending for a couple of months on the TikTok app, so it’s important to jump on a trend as soon as you see it.  

Let’s take the ‘I can buy myself flowers’ TikTok trend for example. Miley Cyrus’ top hit I can buy myself flowers turned into a 24-second viral trending TikTok sound, with over 35 million views in only 3 months of the song being released. TikTok is sometimes the first app users hear a new soundtrack, rather than on the radio or Spotify’s new hits. This proves TikTok trends are not slowing down anytime soon and are easily one of the best marketing strategies for new creators, businesses and even nonprofits.   

Types of TikTok formats 

There’s 4 popular TikTok video formats creators are using; TikTok in-feed videos, slideshow image videos, stitch videos, and TikTok Stories. All these TikTok videos follow the same format and specifications. 

TikTok video requirements:  

• Orientation: Vertical video is recommended, but horizontal video is also allowed. 

• Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9 aspect ratio. We recommend creating all videos in 9:16 portrait aspect ratio. 

• File size: Up to 287.6 MB for iOS or 72 MB for Android.  

• File type: MP4 and MOV. 

• Length: TikTok videos can be 15-seconds to 10-minutes long.

Types of TikTok ad content 

Brands and creators can make TikTok video ads and TikTok image ads.  

TikTok video ad requirements:    

• File type: MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP or AVI.  

• Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9 aspect ratio.  

• Video duration: between 5 - 60-seconds with a recommendation of 9-15 seconds.  

• Video resolution: maximum of 540 x 960px, 640 x 640px, or 960 x 540px.  

• Bitrate: ≥516 kbps  

• File size: within 500MB  

• Ad description: 1-100 Latin alphabet letters and 1-50 Asian characters.  

• App or brand names: 4-40 Latin alphabet letters and 2-20 Asian characters.   

TikTok image ad requirements:  

• File type: JPG, JPEG, PNG.  

• Image resolution: 720 x 1280px.  

• File size: within 100MB.  

• Ad description: 1-100 Latin alphabet letters and 1-50 Asian characters.  

• App or brand names: 4-40 Latin alphabet letters and 2-20 Asian characters.   

How is TikTok different from YouTube for new creators? 

TikTok has changed the way consumers create and watch videos by celebrating trends and embracing diversity. Creators can share bite-sized vertical videos in seconds expressing many different genres like their personal opinions and feelings or answering questions, to dance challenges and lip-syncing battles. With the ability to become popular faster, TikTok’s fast turnover of trends, challenges, and viral sounds make it more accessible for new creators to feature on the For You Page (FYP) and become recognized by brands who can find influencers to work with. User-generated content (see examples) is also a huge part of TikTok’s creator culture, giving new creators the opportunity to be found by their favorite brands, increase their reach, and even score sponsorships. 

YouTube on the other hand loves widescreen 16:9 long from video, thriving off gaming videos, vlogs, and unboxing videos. The video platform however may take longer to build up a following and community as the algorithm relies on SEO, search, and recommended videos to be found. To stay relevant and maintain an engaged community, TikTok creators are adding to their views by finding the best time to post on TikTok and also creating a YouTube channel as well. Some creators also like to promote their YouTube podcasts on TikTok.  

Just like content creators, brands can also jump on trends, following creators to generate organic marketing techniques with video. With entertaining videos like behind-the-scenes and meeting employee’s pets, brands can create TikTok videos about absolutely anything to generate a bigger presence on the app. Consumers love to feel like they know a brand before purchasing, making TikTok the perfect platform to share memorable video, and even jump on a trend. Whether your target audience is millennials or boomers, TikTok can increase brand awareness, leads, boost sales, and even go viral in no time.  

TikTok trending sounds 

TikTok sounds are the heart of the app with 90% of TikTok users sharing that trending sounds like newly released singles and funny voice effects are the key to success on the app. But sometimes creators can’t quite find the right trending TikTok sound on the app. So instead, level up your TikTok video with the help of unique voice effects. Whether you’re mimicking your pets' internal thoughts or adding special effect to your own voice, increase your video’s share-ability and engagement using text to speech voice features. 

How to record good TikTok videos 

To record good TikTok videos, we suggest planning your video content in advance before posting.  

1. Determine the style and aesthetic of TikTok video, and if it’s following a trend. 

2. Write and rehearse a script.  

3. Create a storyboard for your TikTok video.  

4. Record with a modern smartphone or good quality camera.  

5. Edit your video in Clipchamp to keep video quality high. 

6. Add special effects like a voiceover, transitions and filters. 

7. Make your TikTok video more accessible on mute with captions.  

8. Share directly to TikTok from Clipchamp. 

If you’re recording directly on the TikTok app, we recommend manually resetting the maximum video quality (1080p and 30 frames per second) before starting your recording. Also make sure to turn off data saver mode if it is on. This will ensure the best possible recording quality inside the TikTok app.  

How to make aesthetic TikTok content  

TikTok is the social media platform to share your unique style and fashion, and express your mood, and join your subculture. From Y2K and cottagecore to dark academia and royalcore, there’s a TikTok aesthetic that suits every user. All you have to do is choose an aesthetic that fits your vibe, edit your video with Clipchamp, and add personalized features like dreamy charm audio tracks to match your aesthetic.  

How to make a TikTok on desktop with Clipchamp  

In 5 easy steps, stand out from existing content on TikTok by creating and sharing on-trend TikTok videos directly to the app with Clipchamp’s free online video editor.  

1. Create a new 9:16 video or start with a ready-to-use TikTok template.  

2. Easily drag and drop videos onto the timeline or select from a wide range of stock videos. 

3. Quickly personalize your video with text, transitions, filters, and sounds. 

4. Save your video in 1080p HD video resolution. 

5. Conveniently share directly to TikTok from the exporting page. 

How to use TikTok analytics  

Remember that there’s more than one factor to the success of your TikTok videos. This includes, but isn’t limited to, your hashtag reach, niche size and sound virality. You can use a good TikTok scraper to fetch search results of hashtags, user profiles with followers, full posts with likes, keywords, and even comments to help you do that competitor research as you plan your video ideas. However, if you’re looking for numbers to help you understand how to increase your reach on your TikTok videos, look at your TikTok analytics. 

The in-app creator tool lets you measure your followers ages, locations, demographics, content views and even metrics like viewership and traffic source. Understanding the meaning of these TikTok analytics and using them to your advantage can help grow your profile.  

To find your TikTok creator analytics, follow these steps:  

• Tap on your profile, then tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner. 

• Tap creator tools. 

• Tap analytics. 

Ready to create memorable TikTok videos? In a few clicks and taps, edit and share trend setting TikTok videos with Clipchamp.  

If you want to continue your search for TikTok hacks, check out how you can post TikTok videos to Instagram to effortlessly increase your reach and engagement.