How to Go Live on TikTok + Top Features You Should Use

I fought it for a while, but TikTok has a stranglehold on me and won’t let go. Any time of the day, I sing viral TikTok sounds and say random phrases from popular videos.

The app has grown significantly since its boom in 2020 and its features keep getting better. While the app has offered a live feature for some time, the short-form video platform recently announced new live features, making it a strong competitor to Instagram and Facebook.

In this article, we dive into the most important TikTok LIVE features, the requirements for going live, and some tips to keep in mind before starting your first broadcast.

TikTok LIVE features

Going live on TikTok allows you to engage with your followers on the platform and build a community. The app offers ways to maximize the experience for both creators and viewers when it goes live.

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Here are some of the top features:

• questions and answers – Viewers can ask questions live during your show.
• Multi-User Streams – TikTok’s Go Live Together feature lets you go live with up to three users.
• live events – To build anticipation for your Live, you can plan your Live in advance and promote it to your followers
• gifts – If you’re part of TikTok’s Creator Next program, viewers can give you badges during a live stream that have monetary value if they like your content. Only non-enterprise accounts and users 18 years and older can accept these rewards, unless you live in South Korea, where the minimum age is 19, or Japan, where it is 20.)
  moderators – When you go live, you can assign other users to moderate the chat room to ensure it’s safe and consistent with the content you’re sharing.
• keyword filter – Another way to protect your live stream is to automatically remove comments that contain words or phrases that you have flagged.

How to go live on TikTok on an iPhone and on Android

1. Open the app and click the “+” sign.

2. Switch to the “LIVE” tab.

3. Add a title.

4. Click Go Live.

After your live, you can access the recording for up to 90 days by going to the ‘Settings & Privacy’ tab and selecting ‘LIVE Playback’. From there you can download or delete your live video.

Why can’t I go live on TikTok?

There are several reasons why you might not see the option to go live on TikTok, such as:

• You are under 16 years old.

• You have less than 1,000 followers.
• You recently violated one of TikTok’s policies and will be reviewed or banned.

If you meet the requirements and still can’t go live, you can report this issue to TikTok.

Tips for going live on TikTok

1. Know when your audience is most active on the app.

When you go live, you want to make sure you’re reaching your target audience. That means knowing exactly when most people are active in the app.

To find out, check your “Followers” tab in your analytics. It will tell you what times and days your followers are most active, along with other insights like vIdeas and sounds that are most popular with your followers.

All of this information will be valuable in planning your life.

2. Prepare the stage.

There’s nothing that gets me out of a live faster than bad light.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your lighting is arranged in advance. This can mean locating yourself in front of a window that gets plenty of natural light, or investing in artificial light.

The next thing you need is a quiet room. Make sure there isn’t too much background noise, as this can distract viewers and make it difficult to keep their attention. You can also invest in an external microphone to improve your sound quality.

Also, consider investing in a tripod. This allows you to move freely while live.

Finally, make sure your Wi-Fi connection is strong. You can quickly lose viewers if they have trouble hearing or seeing you on the app.

3. Have a clear goal and outline.

Any time you plan to engage with your audience, you should have a clear objective. It can build brand awareness, learn more about your audience, drive users to your website, generate leads, etc.

Once you know what your goal is, outline your mission. This will ensure that you communicate your key points and achieve your end goal.

Here’s an example of a simple outline for a brand announcing a new product:

• Greet the audience and call out specific usernames.
• Announce the new product.
• Dive into product specs like benefits, features, and first customer reviews

• Share discount code.
• Direct viewers to the site to make a purchase.
• Answer questions about the new product.
• Redirect users to the site and log out.

4. Have a moderator.

A moderator is a user you assign to ensure the chat room is a safe and pleasant place to be during your broadcast.

Chats are notorious for having bots and trolls that can distract users and keep you from seeing important messages from your audience. The presenter helps you with live management and allows you to focus on engaging your audience and sharing your message.

Going live on TikTok is a great way to connect your audience and build that brand loyalty. If you’re not yet at 1,000 followers, get ideas for shows by looking at your competitors and see what live strategy is most effective in reaching your goal.

That way, if your account meets the requirements, you’ll be more than ready.