How to Use Text-Based Posts on TikTok

Text posts have officially come to TikTok—but how do you use them? Here’s everything you need to know about text posts on TikTok.

Posted last year

Written by

Mackenzie Taylor

Posted last year

TikTok looks to be stealing some ideas from Instagram. Who would have thought? It looks like along with the carousel images and short-form videos on the app, you will soon be able to have text-based posts.

But unlike Instagram, it looks like the platform will not be creating a whole new app (shoutout to you, Threads!) to compensate, but instead, you will be able to create text posts all inside TikTok.

Here’s everything we know about the new feature—from what it means, who has access, and how to create your own.

What are text posts on TikTok?

Basically, text posts on TikTok will still look like regular TikTok but will be a way for users to share text-only content on the app. As you scroll your feed, you’ll soon start seeing posts that aren’t videos or images but text only.

According to TikTok, this will be a way for users, brands, and creators to “share their stories, poems, recipes, and other written content.”

You can now share text posts on TikTok ✍️ Text posts open exciting possibilities for creators to share their stories, poems, lyrics, and more – giving you another way to express yourself and making it even easier to create! Learn more ⬇️ https://t.co/XX18GERQRE

— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) July 24, 2023

“But Mackenzie, can’t we already do something like this?”

Yes, but now instead of having a video or an image, there will be a blank background where you can share whatever is on your mind.

The text-based post will have a limit of 1000 characters and you can add things like stickers, songs, and other TikTok features that you love.

TikTok is also allowing you access to a variety of features for the text posts like:

Stickers: Like the stickers you have access to when creating Stories, you’ll be able to add stickers to your text posts and add some sparkle to your posts,
Tags and hashtags: Yes, you can use hashtags and tag users in the post when you do a text post.
Background colors: Make your text post that much nicer to look at by adding a colored background.
Adding sound: You can add trending sounds and songs to your text post—that way you have an even better chance of your post going viral.

How to create text posts on TikTok

Alright, this is the real reason why you’re here, right? Here’s how you can make a text post on TikTok:

Click on the “+” at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll to the “Text” option at the bottom of the screen.
From there, type whatever is on your mind (remember it can only be up to 1000 characters!).
Select your font, color, and the alignment of the text.
Once you have the perfect text created, add a sticker, a background color, a song, or whatever TikTok feature you most love.
You can then “Post to feed” or “Your Story” and you’re done!

As the feature is still so new, it’ll be interesting to see if we will start seeing more and more text posts on the app. At the moment, I don’t quuuuuite see that happening but I could definitely be wrong.

Will you be using the new feature? Let us know over on our TikTok!

FAQ about TikTok

Can I schedule my text posts on TikTok?

At the moment, no. With TikTok’s current API, you can only schedule videos for TikTok.

Flick’s tip: Want to pre-schedule your TikTok videos in advance? Try Flick for FREE for 7 days and you’ll have access to our social media scheduler, where you can auto-schedule your TikTok videos. Give it a try today!

How to add text to TikTok?

If you’re wanting to add text to a TikTok video inside the app, it’s super easy!

Go to your app and either record or select a video you want to upload.
Once you have the video perfect, go to the editing menu and click the text button on the right side of the screen.
Type whatever you would like on the video, select a color, font, and align the text how you would like.
And that’s it! You can now post the video and it will have text on the video.

How to add a time limit to your text on TikTok

Have you ever seen those TikTok videos where the text pops up out of nowhere and you’re thinking: “How did they do that?” Here is how:

While you’re at the editing menu of your video, tap the text that you want to make a time limit for.
Click “Set Duration” and a slider menu will appear.
Once the slider appears, set the time limit and when you want the text to appear on the screen.
You can now continue to edit and upload your video.

Ready to get started to create the best TikTok videos you can? Of course, you are! Click here to get ideas on future TikTok videos. And don’t forget to start a FREE trial with Flick to start scheduling your TikTok content in advance so you never miss a single post.