One of the most popular video-sharing social networking apps available right now, if you want to take your TikTok videos to the next level, then the best way to do that is to add some text – whether it’s just emphasizing something you say or do in a TikTok, or bringing a completely new layer to the video.
This tutorial will take you through step-by-step how to add text to a TikTok, how to edit it, changing the font, colour, and alignment/positioning, and then how to set the duration of the text, so that it only pops up when you want it to, and disappears from the video once it’s served its purpose.
For any additional queries or information, see the FAQs at the bottom of this article.
Table of Contents
How to add and position text on a TikTok
- Open up the TikTok app and sign in
- For purposes of learning how to add and edit text, begin making a new TikTok – take a quick short video of yourself or whatever’s around you, as a TikTok
- Once you’ve got that, it’s time to add text! In the editing menu, simply tap the Aa (‘Text’) icon along the bottom; this will pop up your phone’s keyboard, and you’ll see a cursor flashing in the middle of your screen, awaiting your text.
- Type out whatever text you want to add (and remember, you can add multiple bits of text, so no need to say everything all at once), and when satisfied, tap ‘Done’
- Your text will snap to the middle of the screen whilst your video plays in the background; to position your text, simply drag it to wherever you want it to appear on the screen.
- Repeat as many times as necessary.
- When you’re happy with all the text you’ve added to your TikTok, tap ‘Done’, and then when ready to upload your video, tap ‘Next’ (of course, you can just back out at this stage, if just creating a test TikTok)
- In the following tutorial, we’ll teach you how to go back and change the colour, style, and alignment of your TikTok’s text.
How to change colour, style, and alignment of a TikTok’s text
- When in the video editing menu of a TikTok, and having added and positioned your text (according to the tutorial above), you can now edit that text a little further. First, tap on the text, and from the two options which pop-up, select ‘Edit’
- Above the keyboard on your screen, you’ll see a row of coloured dots – to change the colour of your TikTok’s text, select one of these colours
- Above the colours, you’ll see various different fonts available for you to use – scroll left-to-right through these and select the one you want by tapping on it
- To the left of the fonts, you’ll see the ‘Alignment’ icon (looks like several rows of lines), tap this to cycle through the three alignments: left-aligned, centred, and right-aligned.
- Finally, if you want to add a background to your text, tap the ‘A’-in-a-box symbol to the left of the ‘Alignment’ icon.
- Once satisfied with the way your text looks (and remember, you can edit each individual bit of text you’ve input), press ‘Done’, and then to upload your video, press ‘Next’ (of course, you can just back out at this stage, if just creating a test TikTok)
- In the following tutorial, we’ll teach you one final trick: how to set the duration of your text.
How to set the duration for text on a TikTok
- When in the video editing menu of a TikTok, and having added, positioned, and designed your text (according to the tutorials above), you can now finally adjust the duration of that text (in other words, decide where in the video you want it to pop up and then disappear). First, tap on the text, and from the two options which pop-up, select ‘Set duration’
- Now, drag the slider which has appeared at the bottom of the screen, moving its start and end points to the part of the video you want the text to appear during.
- You can preview how this is going to look by tapping the ‘Play’ icon above this timer.
- Once you’re satisfied, just hit the tick/check-mark icon in the bottom-right of your screen.
- Repeat this for any additional text you need to
- Once ready to post your TikTok, tap ‘Done’ and then ‘Next’
And there you have it! In three quick and easy-to-follow tutorials, we’ve shown you how to add text, edit it, and set its duration. Happy TikTokking!
For any additional queries or information, see the FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a Chinese-owned video-sharing social networking platform, which allows users to create short, creative videos, often humorous or musical in nature, which they can then upload to be seen by as many people as want to watch it, all around the world. It is fast becoming the most popular social media app of the day.
Why would I want to add text to a TikTok?
Adding text to your TikTok can help elevate the video’s content. It can help emphasise a point you’re making in your video, or just add a secondary element. Remember, creating a TikTok is like telling a story – by adding text to your TikTok, you’re adding another element to the story.
How do I delete unwanted text from a TikTok?
To get rid of unwanted text from a TikTok, you’ll have to ensure that you’re still in the video editing phase of uploading your TikTok. Simply tap on the unwanted text, and edit it, removing the text by pressing the back button on your phone’s keyboard, or alternatively, tap and hold to move the text, and drag and drop it in the recycle bin.
