TikTok Launches Text Posts

In a sea of video content, text posts are making a comeback. TikTok released a new medium for creators this summer– text posts. Ever since the feature dropped, creative minds have been cracking their fingers and tip-tapping away at their cell phone keyboards and we are so here for it.

Text is growing more popular across all platforms. It seems like brands and creators are collectively gravitating toward content like text posts and memes because of how labor-intensive video is to create.

What Are TikTok Text Posts?

TikTok’s continued pursuit of innovation is a big part of how the platform is still a favorite. They are always cooking up new features that inspire their users to create and connect in new ways.

Previously, creators who prefer to express themselves through text relied on text-to-speech features and video captions. Now that text posts are a thing, creators don’t have to hop in front of the camera to share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

How to Create a TikTok Text Post

The feature is easy to use and available for all users.

To get started, just open up the TikTok app, and head to the camera page. Right above the red record button, you’ll see “Text” in the list of video length options.

As soon as you click “Text”, you’re transported to the text post editor.

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Of course, TikTok wouldn’t create a text post editor without fun features. Users can dress up their words by:

• Playing with the background color
• Adding stickers, emojis, hashtags, and geolocations
• Tagging other TikTok users
• Throwing up a question or poll to interact with your audience
• Adding sound

‍TikTok recommends creators use the enhancement features to make text posts just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post.

When you upload your text post, you get to choose whether it goes on your Story or to your Feed.

TikTok Text Posts vs Photo Posts

When I began testing the feature, it seemed like test posts were super similar to photo posts. Both photo posts and text posts have polling features and both can be shared to Story and Feed. They have the same fonts and color options.  After a bit of digging, here are the main differences between the two:

The most obvious difference right off the bat is that text posts don’t have the option to add a photo background.

However, I was more surprised by the fact that text posts have a much lower character limit than photo posts. You’re limited to 1,000 characters for a text post, which is less than what fits on each “slide” of your photo post. If you want to share longer pieces of written content, a photo post is the way to go.

After comparing the two, it seems like the test post feature is ideal for Stories and quick updates in the feed.

Get Inspired With These TikTok Text Posts Ideas

Ready to give text posts a try? Play around with the feature to brainstorm ways it may fit into your content strategy. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Tease upcoming content or product launches with a simple “white text on black background” post.
• Poll your audience about your content, products, or even current events by uploading a text post to your story.
• Type out your content ideas when inspiration strikes and include a question/poll to gauge audience interest and gather feedback.
• Repurpose static posts from other platforms (like X/Twitter and Threads) by turning them into text posts.

Takeaways

While video certainly isn’t going anywhere, it’s nice that our favorite platforms are introducing content mediums for the days when we may not have the time or energy for a video post. If you’ve used the new feature, tag us in your creations!

P.S. – TikTok isn’t the only platform dedicated to innovation. PLANOLY is always adding new auto-post features to make your life easier. If you want to maximize your time and make your content go further, give our multi-channel planner a try!