Everything You Need to Know About TikTok Stories

It's official: TikTok Stories is finally a thing. With the success of Instagram Stories (as well as versions of the same feature on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.), we figured it was just a matter of time before TikTok decided to join the party. It's not surprising either that now is the moment TikTok has chosen. TikTok is still growing, consistently holding its place as the most downloaded app. Analysts have even predicted that TikTok will exceed one billion users by the end of this year.

As of now, the new TikTok Stories feature is not available on the app for most of us. TikTok is currently piloting it with a select group of TikTok creators. That means, for most of us, we can view TikTok Stories right now but not create them. Of course, that could change anytime if the testing goes well. That's why we're here to share everything you need to know about TikTok Stories.

Everything You Need to Know about TikTok Stories

Just as you might expect, there are a lot of similarities between Instagram Stories and TikTok Stories. But one marked difference is the visibility of viewers and content. On TikTok Stories, users can actually comment publicly, view others’ comments, and even see exactly who has viewed the Story. 

How to View TikTok Stories

And TikTok is definitely making it easy for you to view TikTok Stories. There's actually a dedicated section of the app where all Stories content will live. In a noticeable divergence from the norm, TikTok Stories can be found in a newly-added collapsible left-hand side panel in the main feed of the app (rather than at the top of the screen, à la Instagram). You’ll know if someone has posted a TikTok Story by the blue ring you’ll see around their profile picture. If you want to view their Story, all you have to do is tap on their profile pic.

How to Post TikTok Stories

For those lucky enough to have access to this new feature, TikTok Stories has a dedicated camera and creation flow, which you can also find by accessing the new collapsible panel on the left-hand side of the screen. If you're one of the creators who can use this feature, you'll see a camera button on that navigation bar.

Just like Instagram, you have the option to either record a video within the app or upload photos/videos from your camera roll. Once you've created or uploaded content, you can use all of TikTok's regular tools (like effects, stickers, sounds, and text) to add to your Story.

TikTok Stories Strategy

Much of your normal TikTok content strategy likely revolves around trying to widen your reach and gain new followers through viral videos. But TikTok Stories offers a great opportunity to engage with your current followers, building a stronger community.

The “For You” page shows content from accounts across TikTok (even ones you don't follow), but the Story panel will exclusively show the content of accounts you already follow. Just like IG Stories, TikTok Stories disappear after 24 hours. With the content being so fleeting, it's likely that anyone who doesn't follow you will miss out. It's a good idea to mention this and encourage all of your viewers to follow you so they never miss a Story.

Are you excited about TikTok Stories?

Let us know in the comments what you think about TikTok’s new feature!

And don’t forget to use Zubtitle to edit all of your TikTok content so it’s perfectly optimized before you post. With our free plan, you can add subtitles to two videos per month. To create up to 10 videos per month (and remove the Zubtitle watermark), check out our standard plan.

Sign up for a free account today to start creating!