How to add text to TikTok — and why you should

Let’s face it…TikTok is addicting. TikTok users average more than 850 minutes per month on the app, and that number is only trending up. TikTok’s algorithm is also notoriously specific, making it a boon for brands and small businesses looking to get their videos in front of their target audience.

Because you can add text to TikToks, you pack a lot of valuable content into these videos. By the end of this post, you’ll know:

• How to add text to a TikTok within the TikTok editor and Vimeo Create 
• Why captions are important and tips for crafting good ones 
• Tricks to repurpose your TikToks for other marketing 
• And more helpful tips 

Let’s get started.

How to add text to a TikTok in the TikTok editor

This is how you add text to TikTok using the TikTok editor — it’s pretty simple. Follow these 6 steps:

Step 1:

Make a new Tik Tok using the “+” button. You can film a new one, open a draft, or upload a video from your camera roll.

Step 2:

Edit your video until you’re happy with the results, then press “Next”.

Step 3:

Tap the “Text” button on the bottom of the screen. Type what you want to say using the keyboard. 

Step 4:

Choose your preferred font, and color (you’ll find these options right above the keyboard). You can change the size and location of your text by pinching and moving it around the screen. 

Step 5:

To make your text appear and disappear at a certain time code, tap the text, select “Edit” and then tap “Duration”. Use the sliding scale to choose when you want your text to appear and disappear, then play it back to make sure you’ve got the timing right. 

Step 6:

Use the checkmark in the bottom-right corner of the screen to save your results and prepare your TikTok for posting.

How to add text to a TikTok video in Vimeo Create

Here’s how to add text to TikTok on Vimeo Create (this method is easy, too!):

Step 1:

Either choose one of our TikTok templates to customize or start your video from scratch. Once the video is edited and ready to go, select the scene where you want to add your text. 

Step 2:

Click the “+” sign at the top-left corner of the screen and select “Text” in the dropdown menu. This will add a text box to the scene. 

Step 3:

A window will pop up, allowing you to type your text. This window also gives you the option to highlight your text. Press “Done” when finished.

Step 4:

Now that the text is on your scene, you can change the size and style using the “Text” panel on the editor’s right hand side. With that, you’ve added text to your TikTok! Repeat for as many scenes as you’d like. If you want to customize your text even further, follow the rest of the steps below.

Step 5:

You can also add special effects by choosing from our variety of “Animations”. Select “Change” in the “Text” panel then click on your desired effect. 

Step 6:

Use the slider to adjust the scale of your text, or manually enter the text size number to the right of the slider. 

Step 7:

Select a font from our supported fonts list, and align your text in the text box.

Step 8:

Customize your text, highlight, background color, and background color opacity. 

Step 9:

You can also highlight specific words in the text scene with the highlight tool. Just double click on the text, select the parts you want to highlight with your mouse, click highlight, then select “Done”. 

Step 10:

Find additional editing options in the little window above your text. From left to right, these icons represent:

• the pen tool for editing your text
• the copy icon
• the duplicate icon
• an icon to shift your text up
• an icon to shift your text down
• and the trash icon for deleting your text

Why add text to your TikTok? 

Not only does learning how to put text on TikTok make your content enjoyable for everyone — it can also be used as a powerful storytelling tool that takes your video to the next level.

Here are three benefits to adding text to your TikTok:

Make your content more accessible

Accessibility can sometimes go overlooked in the digital sphere, but it’s important to make your TikToks inclusive to everyone in your target audience. Use text to create your own captions and summarize the audio that plays over your video.

In your caption, it’s recommended you describe the contents of the video, provide a physical description of the people in the video, and link to the products you talk about or use in the TikTok. This helps those who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing (HoH) enjoy your videos, and it also helps people with learning disabilities or attention deficits easily understand your video content.

Tell complex narratives within the constraints of a tiny video

TikToks are notoriously short, yet people use them to share complex narratives and even educate viewers on serious topics. This is made possible by the addition of text. Using the duration feature, you can add text to different time codes in your video that adds context to what you or the sound are saying. 

This pops up in plenty of ways, like:

• Get-ready-with-me and makeup-of-the-day TikToks that take you through an entire routine (can be anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes long)
• Promotional TikToks telling your story as a brand, or those using talking head testimonials from happy customers
• Adding text to TikTok slideshow-style videos is a fantastic way to show off multiple products. 

Use text to build suspense 

Text can also be used to build suspense. You’ve probably come across a TikTok where the entire video was spent building up to the climax of the story, only to end with a text box saying “Follow for Part 2” or “Part 2 is Up Now”. 

These creators are using text to create suspense, directing viewers off of their “For You Page” (the page of content the algorithm tailors to each user) and onto the creator’s TikTok page to find the next video. This can increase views and engagement across both videos while increasing the likelihood that viewers will follow the creator’s account. 

Repurposing your TikTok for your marketing

Creativity on TikTok is endless. Every time you open the app, there’s a new trend that you can use to cleverly promote your business.

The videos you make on TikTok also make witty additions to your other social channels. This works best with platforms that have a similar aspect ratio (like Instagram Stories and Reels). With Vimeo Create, you can always re-edit your videos at the appropriate aspect ratios for all your social accounts and publish them in a single click.

Instagram makes it super easy to repurpose TikTok content. The Reels feature goes sort of hand-in-hand with TikTok’s platform, making it easy for users to either repost saved TikToks to Reels with the TikTok logo still on them, or re-edit the same videos using the Reels editor.

You can even splice together multiple TikToks to give life to and increase the open rate of your next email or use a TikTok video for your next social media ad. 

Leveraging popular TikTok trends and posting those videos to other platforms is a great way to capitalize on the reach of these viral videos. Thanks to TikTok’s algorithm, the “For You Page” (hashtagged as #fyp, by the way) is a gold mine for finding trends you can recreate for your business. 

Vimeo Create TikTok templates we love 

Want to create your first TikTok but don’t know where to start? We’ve created a set of TikTok templates already optimized for the platform to simplify the editing process.

Small businesses are using Vimeo Create to make their own stunning videos for TikTok. Here’s some inspo from brands we adore:

Angela Caglia Skincare

Promoting or introducing a new product? Look to Angela Caglia Skincare’s TikTok ad for inspiration. The brand weaves together a launch video with quotes from real people backing their product. You can even replicate this type of TikTok with influencer unboxing footage or user-generated content (UGC).

Power Wearhouse

Athletic apparel company Power Wearhouse only launched in January of 2021, but they quickly got to work on both organic and paid TikTok assets. Their video for their weighted vest shows off the product beautifully, while a text overlay makes the conversation easy to follow. The video also reads with a clear next step.

The best thing about the Vimeo Create TikTok templates was that they gave us a way to focus the conversation. Our hero product — the most comfortable weighted vest on the market — has a lot to say.

Michelle Lerner, Chief Strategy Officer of Power Wearhouse

Perfect Sculpt

Perfect Sculpt uses text to highlight positive press and quotes, including the winning superlative “The best leggings for workouts” in their 22-second video for TikTok.

Deux

Vegan cookie dough Deux is definitely “deux-ing” something right on TikTok. (Sorry, we had to.) They’re serving up beautiful videos that you want to reach through the phone and devour.

The video creation is what we see as one of the most difficult parts of launching on TikTok, where creative is everything — Vimeo solved this for us seamlessly.

Sabeena Ladha, Founder of Deux

All you have to do is tweak a template to your business needs and you’ll be TikTok-ready.

Ready to become a TikTok darling?

It’s safe to say TikTok has pretty much taken the internet by storm. The app is highly addicting and the views on trending videos get crazy high. The algorithm makes TikTok a place where you can rise fairly quickly.

With other social media platforms becoming more pay-to-play, the exposure brands can get on TikTok is a major asset.

Get started on your first TikTok