How To Go Live on TikTok—Connecting to Your Audience in Real Time

Have you ever heard of FOMO? This acronym stands for “fear of missing out,” and it is probably what every Gen-Zer without a TikTok account feels today when the world of social media is being recast by this app. TikTok has been making a vigorous headway ever since it was launched in September 2016, nowadays counting 1 billion monthly active users. TikTok marketing has become a well-established practice for businesses that want to promote their brands on social media and convert followers to customers—especially if they’re targeting younger generations. Brands that rose to fame on TikTok know that this type of marketing requires serious dedication and use all the available TikTok features to their benefit. Going live on TikTok is the only feature allowing you to interact with viewers in real time. It’s an excellent opportunity to be more transparent with your followers and take on a more interactive approach to your content. If you’re wondering how to go live on TikTok and how to use this tool to further promote your brand, we’re bringing you all the relevant details.

What Are the Benefits of Going Live on TikTok?

Source: things that gather dustEven though posting short videos has proven itself as an excellent method for attracting followers on TikTok—and many successful marketing campaigns stick to short content—it might not work for every business. TikTok introduced 3-minute videos in 2021 and thus made space for more elaborate marketing stunts, which may be required for some businesses. The livestream option is three years older. It was introduced in 2019, the same year when the maximum in-feed video duration on this platform was extended from 15 to 60 seconds. Here’s what introducing livestreams brought to TikTok users:

• Communicating with viewers in real time
• Helping users monetize their TikTok accounts further via live gifts that can be converted to actual money
• Offering a new content format that can add more value compared to short in-feed videos

What Are the Requirements To Go Live on TikTok?

Going live on TikTok brings up many questions for the uninitiated, such as:

• Do you need 1,000 followers to go live on TikTok?
• At what age can you go live on TikTok?
• Do you get rewarded for your livestreams, and if yes, does it apply to both personal accounts and business accounts?

The LIVE feature on TikTok can be unlocked only if you fulfill these conditions:

1. You are over 16 years old
2. You have a minimum of 1,000 followers

Individual content creators can receive virtual gifts (convertible to cash) from the viewers who want to support them during livestreams, but business account holders aren’t eligible—while business accounts can gain access to the LIVE option, they can’t monetize it. To receive virtual gifts during livestreams, a content creator has to be over 18 years old (19 in South Korea and 20 in Japan).

How To Go Live on TikTok Step by Step

Source: Kampus ProductionTo go live on TikTok, follow these steps:

1. Tap the Record icon when you open the app
2. Swipe to LIVE in the navigation menu (below the record button)
3. Choose an image and add a title for your stream
4. Press Go LIVE to start your livestream
5. Click the X button when your stream is over

Once you go live, you can perform additional changes to the settings, such as flip the camera, add effects, filter comments, block specific viewers from commenting, add up to 20 moderators to your livestream, and much more. Streams are saved on the platform for 90 days, which is the time it takes for TikTok to verify whether their content policy was violated. You can find your livestream recording if you go to Settings and privacy and then choose Live Replay. From here, you can either download the recording or delete it. No one else can ever replay your livestream recording since it disappears from the TikTok feed as soon as you end it.

Why Can’t I Go Live on TikTok?

If you don’t see the option to go live after you’ve tapped on the Record button on your home screen, your account most likely doesn’t meet some of the requirements. If you cannot access the LIVE feature from your business account, you probably didn’t reach a minimum of 1,000 followers. Regular users might not have this option if they’re under 16, too. These are the most common reasons for not being able to go live, but TikTok also restricts the number of people that can go live at the same time. If that’s the case, your Go LIVE button should reappear in a few minutes.Users can also be banned from going live in case they broadcasted threatening practices or tackled overly controversial topics that go against TikTok’s policies during previous livestreams.

What Should You Pay Special Attention To?

Even an individual content creator whose aim is to get on the TikTok Creator Fund should bear in mind that going live requires some planning, no matter how spontaneous it may look. If you represent a business, you have an additional responsibility—maintaining professionalism and your brand’s reputation at a high level and sending the right message to your target audience. As the whole process may be a bit intimidating, make sure to plan everything beforehand and host a structured livestream. If necessary, write an outline of what you will present to your audience. Here’s what to think about in advance:

1. Ensure a stable internet connection
2. Take care of the livestream timing and duration—host it when your target audience is active and make sure it doesn’t exceed 30 minutes
3. Pay attention to lighting and sounds
4. Choose a single camera angle
5. Plan the content in advance and actively communicate with the audience

Internet Connection

Don’t forget that a high-speed connection is a must for going live on any platform. Testing it before starting your livestream is a highly recommended practice—ensure a good upload speed and provide your audience with the best possible experience.

Livestream Timing and Duration

Source: Charlz Gutiérrez De PiñeresThe best time to host a livestream on TikTok is the same as the best time for posting TikTok videos. You don’t want to post any content, including hosting livestreams, when your audience is inactive. Based on Influencer Marketing Hub’s analysis of TikTok users’ habits, here are the most effective times to be active on your TikTok account (the bolded figures are times with particularly high engagement):Best Times (EST) To Post Videos and Host Livestreams on TikTokMonday6:00 a.m.10:00 a.m.10:00 p.m.Tuesday2:00 a.m.4:00 a.m.9:00 a.m.Wednesday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.11:00 p.m.Thursday9:00 a.m.12:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.Friday5:00 a.m.1:00 p.m.3:00 p.m.Saturday11:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.8:00 p.m.Sunday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.4:00 p.m.The duration of your livestream isn’t restricted, but research has shown that 30 minutes is the optimal amount of time.

Lighting

Source: SHVETS productionDo not underestimate the power of good lighting, regardless of whether you’re recording a video or hosting a livestream—it has a huge impact on how the audience perceives your TikTok presence. Good lighting can keep the viewers engaged for extended periods of time, while a poorly lit environment could make them wander away from your content in search of options to change brightness on their screens—it’s a huge distraction that can even make them stop watching. That’s why you might benefit from getting a ring light and mounting it on a tripod—your hands will be free, and your livestream will look more professional.

Sounds

Sound quality is equally important—make sure you stream from a quiet place, isolated from any potential noise so that the viewers can hear what you have to say. To boost the sound quality, invest in a good external microphone since it can help you record sound better than an in-built microphone on your phone. It can also help with any background noise. If you dislike the idea of having a microphone in your video, you can use a small shotgun microphone, which can be placed behind your camera. Many TikTokers also use lapel mics because they’re lightweight and can be discreetly attached to clothes.

Camera Angle

Source: Kampus ProductionDedicate some time to planning your visual presentation and choose a single camera angle that will work for you. Never move the camera around while streaming—place it on a tripod and stick with that location. Otherwise, you may lose your optimal lighting and sound quality. As a consequence, the viewers could get annoyed and stop watching.

Content Planning and Communication

Source: MART PRODUCTIONTo have a successful livestream, ensure you know beforehand what it is that you want to share with the viewership. Remember that going live is an opportunity to form a closer relationship with your viewers in the first place and focus on what it takes to accomplish this.Decide how you want to introduce yourself and what you do to make the interaction pleasant and authentic throughout the entire stream. There’s no need to write a full script. It’s enough to have a clear vision of your livestream’s main goals. This will help you remain concentrated and provide confident answers to any questions that might pop up. You can also increase the number of viewers and make your live event go viral by announcing it in a separate TikTok post that you can promote on other socials as well.

What Kind of Content Should You Livestream To Maximize Your Results?

Since TikTok’s livestream duration is not restricted, you can be creative and interact with your audience in an engaging way. Going live on TikTok can help you boost your follower count or build stronger relationships with your target audience, but only as long as your content creates value for them. Here are some ideas on how to conceptualize your livestream:

• Debunk the myths about your brand/product/industry
• Make how-to demos containing your products or services
• Prepare Q&A sessions
• Provide your audience with a sneak peek at your upcoming products
• Showcase interviews with industry experts

Set a clear topic for your livestream and plan around it. For most businesses, the goal is selling a product or driving traffic to other channels they promote their brand on. Whatever your goal is, remember that your livestream is supposed to be valuable to your viewers and ensure they get the answers they’re searching for. Regardless of the concept you opt for, it’s essential to check the comment section and respond frequently enough to the questions that pop up.

Deciphering TikTok on Your Own Is Not Easy

Learning how to handle all aspects of TikTok can get overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the platform, but it’s easier if you take an orderly approach. Before even wondering how to go live on TikTok, you need to have a solid framework for your TikTok strategy in its entirety. To succeed on TikTok as a brand, you need much more than a basic grasp of what TikTok is about and how to create amusing content. Many businesses have great ideas for their TikTok posts but are unable to realize them without professional help since the path from ideation to execution is long and not necessarily easy.

Why Your TikTok Campaign Isn’t Bringing Results?

Source: Annie SprattUsing TikTok is a fun and dynamic way of reaching your target audience, but without extensive research and professional help, you might not be able to exploit its full potential. Here are the common issues that may be the reasons why your TikTok strategy bears no fruit:

• Being unfamiliar with the target audience—Each social media platform requires a unique approach. To come up with persuasive content, you need to analyze TikTok’s prevailing audience, your target audience, or their interests, opinions, and browsing habits
• Lacking experience and expertise—You might have a clear idea about what you want your TikTok profile to look like but lack the knowledge on how to achieve it. For instance, you may be aware that partnering with influencers is a superb strategic move but you aren’t sure which creator to choose and how to approach them. Addison Rae Easterling and Charli D’Amelio are TikTok superstars, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they would be the right collab choice for your marketing campaign
• Sticking to an outdated strategy—Social media trends and user behavior are prone to frequent changes, and such shifts and new trends need to be monitored continuously. The approach that works perfectly today might become something nobody cares about in a few months
• Entrusting your strategy to a single person or a small team—While relying on a small team might seem cost-effective at first, a productive long-term strategy requires a wide-ranged team consisting of social media managers, content specialists, social media strategists, data analysts, video directors, web designers, and many other professionals

Ask Kubbco Experts How To Livestream on TikTok as a Business

Kubbco is an agency specialized in social media marketing, with an in-depth knowledge of the intricate processes lying behind success on all major socials. We monitor trend shifts on all platforms, and thanks to our experience, we can easily determine which ones can help your brand and which ones you should skip.With Kubbco, the only thing you need to bring to the table is your goal—whether you’ve already tried to reach it without success or you’re just starting your TikTok business account from scratch. We monitor and follow the trends but also preserve the coherence of your brand’s message and the content we create together. We will dissect your target audience's behavior, identify their interests and TikTok habits, find their opinions on different topics, and suggest the themes your content should cover.Our knowledgeable and experienced team will produce content that will resonate with your viewers, use both organic and paid ad campaigns, and cause your follower count to spiral up, driving conversions from viewers to faithful customers.

Our Success Stories Speak for Themselves

If you have recognized that something is off with your TikTok strategy, we’ll gladly help you tweak it or turn your approach upside down to ensure the best results.In 2021, a high-end haircare brand OLAPLEX contacted Kubbco for assistance with their TikTok strategy. Within five weeks, we published 28 videos together, and here are the results of our collaboration:

• Total views—5.1 million
• Total interactions—224,000
• Followers gained—22,000
• Viral videos (over 1 million views)—2
• Videos over 100,000 views—6

The engagement spikes we achieved with other clients are nothing less than impressive, either. Take a look at the numbers essence cosmetics, Matas, and NATURLI’ Foods saw on their profiles, thanks to our collaboration:ClientCollaboration TimespanVideos PostedFollowers GainedTotal InteractionsTotal ViewsViral Videosessence cosmetics2 years and 2 months556386,0007.1 million73 million12Matas8 weeks2513,500209,0005.6 million8NATURLI’ Foods23 weeks1125,200179,0006.2 million20If you’d like us to improve your profile metrics or have any questions on social media marketing, reach out to Kubbco at any time. To stay current on the latest trends and big changes in the world of social media, sign up for our newsletter.Featured image: Kampus Production