How to Go Live on TikTok: The Ultimate Guide

Make sure you have the right lighting — you don’t want shadows or glare from lights behind you. If you can’t control the lighting in your office/home, try to find a place that has good natural light. Also, if you’re going to use artificial lighting, make sure it isn’t too bright or too dim. 

Also, don’t forget to check if your audio levels are set up correctly, so you don’t end up with an audience full of people who can’t hear what’s going on and understand what’s being said clearly and easily. If possible, try not to have any background noise (like traffic or birds chirping). That way everyone who watches will be able to focus on what they need most — whatever it might be!

5. Test out the equipment before going live

This is especially important if you’re using new equipment or haven’t used it in a while — you don’t want any technical issues to ruin your first live stream! What equipment could help you and improve the quality of your TikTok LIVE?

• If you live stream on TikTok from a PC, a good microphone (you don’t need a professional one) 
• A tripod or stand so that your camera doesn’t move when you’re recording
• Desk lamps, ring lights, or studio lights

Test out all of your equipment beforehand so nothing goes wrong during the actual TikTok LIVE event itself (and so no one misses anything important because you’re trying to figure out how to work something).

6. Start your live stream with an introduction of yourself and your business

Think about what kind of content you want to share? Do you want people to see what’s happening behind the scenes? Or do you want them to see how your product works? Maybe even just a simple Q&A session can be fun for your followers. Prepare an introduction script or plan where you introduce yourself, talk about what your business does, and answer any questions your audience might have during the live stream. 

7. Make sure you have a clear idea of what you want your brand to be known for

Think about what makes your business unique, and how you can use this to engage with the community on TikTok. Remember that your viewers are there to see something new, so try and think outside the box when it comes to how you can interact with them. That means you need to make sure that any content that will be shared during the live stream is ready ahead of time. 

As soon as someone starts watching your live video on TikTok, they’ll expect something interesting to happen immediately — so having some questions prepared in advance can help you keep people engaged and entertained until something more exciting happens later in the event. 

8. You can learn a lot by watching what others have done right — and wrong!

Look at other brands who have done TikTok Lives and learn from their mistakes (and successes). See how they set up their camera work, how they interact with their audience, what kind of content they share… anything that might give you some ideas on how to make your own broadcast more successful.

9. Get comfortable!

You’ve got your camera set up and tested, you’ve got your lighting dialed in, and now it’s time to focus on your comfort level. Easier said than done, we know, but getting comfortable while going LIVE on TikTok is important because it shows your audience that you are confident in your brand, your product or services, and your abilities.

When you feel at ease, it’s easier for your audience to relax and enjoy themselves too. Just remember that it’s okay if things don’t go perfectly! The first few times you go live, it might feel awkward or unnatural. But once you get used to it, it’ll feel like second nature—and then everyone will be able to see how awesome you are!

Further Reading: The 16 TikTok Stats Your Business Needs to Know in 2023

How to go live on TikTok

Launch the app on your iPhone or Android mobile device. Simply tap the “Plus” (+) icon in the bottom-center of the screen.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a few options: Camera, Templates, and LIVE. The next step is to click on the LIVE option by moving your finger to the left until you reach “LIVE.” 

Once you have clicked on it, you will be taken to the LIVE screen where you can set an image, and a title for your stream. Are you ready? Tap the red “Go LIVE” button and you will see the app’s live stream interface where you can start broadcasting yourself instantly. 

Once you go live, you can change settings to add effects, filter comments and add moderators.If you wish to stop recording or take a break during a live stream, simply tap Stop Live Stream at any time during your broadcast. It’s that easy!

Why does going live on TikTok matter?

First of all, there’s the audience. TikTok has more than 1 billion users and is growing by the second. That’s a huge audience for your brand. The platform enables users to interact with brands in a new way by allowing them to ask questions and engage in conversation with followers in real time.  You’ll be able to answer questions, engage with your fans and followers, and get feedback on what they think of your product or service — all while they’re watching!

According to a TikTok study, half of its users have made a purchase directly due to watching a TikTok live from a brand or about the purchase. So it’s not surprising so many business owners have already capitalized on this by setting up accounts for their businesses. 

It’s also one of the most powerful tools for marketers — especially those with a visual brand. As long as you have something to say, there are several reasons why you should be using this platform to engage with your audience. Here are just a few:

• Connecting with customers on a more personal level
• Boosting engagement rates, conversions, and sales
• Increasing brand awareness

• It’s free
• It’s easy to use

TikTok LIVE is also great for businesses because it allows them to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. By performing a live stream about something relevant to their business—like what makes them unique or how they do things differently than other companies — business owners can put themselves in front of their target audience without having to spend any money on TikTok advertising campaigns or traditional marketing tactics like press releases or billboards.

Further Reading: How to Get Verified on TikTok in 2023: 8 Tips to Follow

How To Engage Viewers With Your Brand’s TikTok Live Videos

If you want to see a huge spike in your engagement on TikTok, you need to make sure your regular videos are engaging. And the same goes for Brand’s TikTok Live Videos. We’ve rounded up some of the best ways that will help you get started:

1. People love behind-the-scenes

If you’re looking for a way to connect with your customers, and show them what life is like behind the scenes at your company, TikTok Live streaming is the way to go!

People love behind-the-scenes videos because they feel like they are getting an inside peek into something that usually would be reserved only for employees. Plus, they’ll feel like they know you better as a person too! It’s also a great way to show off your office space and all the cool things that are happening around it. You can live stream:

• A tour of your office space, where you’ll show off all the things that make your company unique

• A daily recap of your team’s activities

• Product manufacturing process

• Your training sessions, where you’ll teach people how to do something specific or give them tips on how to use an app or tool better

And what’s more? They’ll also love it if you do “live” behind-the-scenes videos where you talk about things like how much work goes into making something happen, or how many people are involved at any given time during a project. This gives people an idea of how much effort goes into what you do—and that helps build trust.

For example, this pizza restaurant owner from North Carolina who live streams the process of making, baking and packing pizza. 

This content has attracted over 2000 viewers which gives him an extraordinary opportunity to create brand awareness not only locally but around the world. How cool is that?

2. Introducing your team to your audience

The best way to get your target audience to know and trust you is by introducing your team. You can start by showing a few members of your team, then ask them questions about themselves and what they do.

If you have multiple employees who are willing to share their personal stories, that’s great! You can ask them questions like “What’s your favorite thing about working here?” or “What’s the best part of your job?” It helps them feel like they’re not just buying a product, but also getting to know the people who made it happen.

3. Q&A sessions

You know what’s better than hosting a Q&A session? Hosting a Q&A session on TikTok LIVE! You’ll be able to interact with them in real time, make sure they get the answers they need, and keep their attention right where it needs to be: on your brand’s products or services.

It’s also a great way to connect with your audience and show them that you’re listening. Here are some of the benefits of hosting Q&A sessions on LIVE events:

• They help you build trust with your audience. People love hearing from brands that actually care about their opinions and take the time to answer their questions.

• They reinforce what your brand stands for, which helps make customers feel more confident about their purchase decisions.

• They give you a chance to address any complaints or concerns people might have about your company or products—before they turn into bad reviews or negative feedback.

• You can use them as an opportunity to show the human side of your company – this will help build trust with customers and make them feel like they know you.

4. Show off new products

This one might seem obvious, but if there’s something new coming out that people are excited about, having a little bit of fun with it can go a long way towards getting people excited about what you have planned for them! In a live stream, you can really show off your product in action: they can see how it works, how it is used and what are the benefits of your product. Simply, people want to see what they’re getting before they buy it. It’s interactive and allows viewers to ask questions and participate in real time.

5. Collaborate with Influencers

It’s no secret that influencers have a huge impact on the purchase decisions of their followers. They know what their audience wants and they have a unique ability to relate to them. When you’re trying to reach a specific audience with your brand, it can be difficult to find the right TikTok influencer. Difficult but not impossible.

You need to know how to contact influencers and make them excited to collaborate with your brand. If you’re looking to attract the followers of a macro or micro influencer, try asking them if they would like to participate in your TikTok live stream. Make sure to include some information about the type of content you’d like to create together, and explain why you think it would be a good fit for both of your audiences. If they agree, send them some creative ideas for what you’d like to do together. 

Further Reading: TikTok Influencer Marketing: The Complete Guide to Get You Started

Get the word out about the event

And finally – you are ready for your first TikTok Live! Of course, you want a lot of people to tune in so there’s one more step left until your big day arrives – and that’s promotion! There are a few ways to promote your TikTok live stream:

1. Setting a TikTok advertising campaign 

You can also purchase ads on TikTok’s ad platform. Ads are targeted towards specific audiences, so they’ll be more effective than simply posting to the platform as a whole.

Further Reading: TikTok Ads Guide: 7 Steps to Get Started (and 6 Opportunities You Don’t Want to Miss Out On)

2. Announce your event via other social networks. 

You can use the platforms you already use for marketing to announce that you’re going to be live-streaming on TikTok, so people can tune in as soon as they know about it. Use a catchy hashtag that relates to your event. This will help people find out about your live stream with ease.

Further Reading: TikTok Hashtags: Where to Find and How to Use to Grow Your TikTok

3. Create a regular TikTok video to announce your upcoming event

The most important thing is to give your audience a heads up. Let them know that they can expect to see you on TikTok Live in X days or hours, and then follow up with a reminder when it’s time for the live stream. You can also announce that you’ll be doing an unboxing/unveiling of something new, or maybe just say what you’ll be doing—like playing games or answering questions from viewers. This is a great way to build hype around the event and get people excited about it. 

Conclusion

The live aspect of the platform gives businesses a greater opportunity to interact with their customers and build trust through friendlier interactions. So it’s not surprising many brands have been quick to jump on board with the TikTok Live trend, especially as it offers an opportunity to reach out to a new audience in a way that traditional marketing channels may not be able to do anymore. This can be especially beneficial if your brand has been around for a while and needs some fresh ideas. The take-away here is that live video is a growing medium, so you don’t want to be left behind by your competitors by not providing it. Good luck and let us know how it went!

Author Bio

David Morneau is the co-founder and CEO of inBeat Agency, a hybrid micro-influencer marketing SAAS/agency that helps brands scale their marketing efforts. He has helped over 200 DTC brands to date.

Hero photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash