If TikTok is known for anything, it’s the music. From lip-syncing to viral sound effects and dance trends, audio is an integral part of the TikTok experience. In this guide, learn how to use the platform’s audio library and join those challenges.
As we covered in this article, jumping on trending challenges on TikTok is a great way to get noticed, gain followers and perhaps even go viral. But how do you use songs and sounds and join challenges on TikTok? You’ll need to first head to TikTok’s bank of music and sounds.
This is where those social challenges and trends originate from. It’s full of popular music that creators can use at any time. Users can also choose to post a video with their own sound, which can then be re-used by others when shooting their clip.
When joining a TikTok challenge, you should do two things:
#1 Use the correct trending audio in your video
#2 Use the relevant hashtag in your caption
A great example of this is the #ImJustAKidChallenge. Creators use Simple Plan’s “Im Just A Kid” music clip and recreate an old photo from their childhood. The original image is then shown to make the comparison and the hashtag, #ImJustAKidChallenge is used in the caption. If your content uses both the hashtag and song, your video will show up on both the sounds and hashtags feeds, helping your content potentially reach more viewers. And of course the more traction your TikTok gets, the chances of it hitting the For You page increases.
Sometimes when a creator posts a video using their own audio, it sparks a new trend. Others use that same audio to re-create their version of the original video. For example, the original creator of this audio started a trend, where people use the sound to show off a cute puppy. The sound has been used for 234.2k videos (and counting), and the original video is always at the top of the audio’s feed. Something to keep in mind if you’re wanting to make your own videos go viral.
Not all songs are used specifically for one trend or challenge. This popular TikTok song has been used over 1.5M times for multiple types of videos. Here’s how you can find the most popular songs and sounds to use for your next TikTok:
#1 Click on the white plus button at the bottom of your screen.
#2 Tap on ‘Sounds’ at the top of your screen.
#3 Scroll through the playlists like ‘Trending’ or ‘Featured’.
#4 Click on a sound to play a preview and a red tick will pop up. Hit that red tick and you’ll be taken to the video editing page where you can start filming your content with that sound.
If you’re scrolling through your For You page and come across a video that’s using a sound you want to try out, you have the ability to save it to your ‘Favourites’ and come back to it later. Heres how:
#1 Click the name of the sound (it’s always under the video’s caption).
#2 You’ll then be taken to a screen that shows the name of the song, a preview option and the ‘Add to favourites’ button.
#3 Tap ‘Add to favourites’.
#4 Go to your profile and tap on the bookmark icon next to ‘Edit profile’.
#5 Here is where you’ll find your favourited videos, hashtags, sounds and effects.
When users click on sounds from a video in their For You page, every TikTok that has ever used it will be organised into its own feed, helping with discoverability. The more someone interacts with a popular sound, the more likely it is that videos using that sound will hit their For You page. Use trending sounds and your content might just reach thousands, outside your following.
Learn how to perfect your TikTok content here. Understand the different ad formats here. Discover the six things marketers need to know about TikTok here. And use this guide to help you find someone on TikTok.
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- The six things every marketer should know about TikTok
- How to effectively use the app’s most popular features
- Five steps to creating a successful brand account on TikTok
- What type of organic TikTok content performs the best
- How to effectively partner with TikTok creators
- How to use the eight different ad options available to marketers
- What it takes to create high-performing TikTok ads that maximise your ROI
- How brands like Benefit Cosmetics, Sheridan, and Rimmel London achieved TikTok success with Vamp
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