To the shock of absolutely everyone and no one all at once, you can now share text-based posts on TikTok. Yes, you read that correctly. The short-form video platform announced in a blog post on Monday that users can post text-based content in addition to videos and photo carousels.
TikTok Joins The Twitter Contest
TikTok is the latest platform to double as a text-based social network amid Twitter unraveling to the point where social media platforms have cropped up to emulate the user experience of the old Twitter, including Bluesky and Threads.
Meta launched Threads three weeks ago as a text-based version of Instagram to compete with Twitter, as owner Elon Musk continued making the app impossible for users to navigate, limiting the number of posts non-verified users can read in a day and locking direct messaging behind the Twitter Blue paywall.
Musk even accused Meta of cheating, threatening to sue the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp over the “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation” of Twitter. However, the popularity of Threads has leveled off after surpassing 100 million users in less than a week after its launch.
Meanwhile, Bluesky is still in closed beta, with an official date for the app to go public nowhere in sight. Users can only create an account on that platform if they receive an invite code from Bluesky or a friend, who would get only a few invite codes at once.
Who Will Win The Social Media War?
TikTok joining in on becoming the next Twitter by enhancing the text-based feature makes the competition more interesting, considering young people use TikTok more than they use Instagram, let alone Twitter.
Now that Twitter has been rebranded into X, which CEO Linda Yaccarino touted as “the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” we’re expecting to see more users dedicate their time to expressing themselves in both visual and written format.
How To Make a Text Post on TikTok
On the Camera page, you swipe to the Text tab, choose a background color, customize the text font and color, and add music and stickers. It works like Instagram Stories, except you can share text-based content as regular posts instead of sharing it through the app’s Story feature.
Users have been able to create text-based content with photos or videos in the background the entire time. TikTok just expanded on the feature in an official capacity.
“With text posts, we’re expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we’ve seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine,” TikTok said. “Creators have been able to make content on TikTok across a variety of formats — from LIVE videos to photos, Duets to Stitch. Text is the latest addition to options for content creation, allowing creators to share their stories, poems, lyrics, and other written content on TikTok – giving creators another way to express themselves and making it even easier to create.”
The only caveat is there is a 1,000-character limit for text-based posts.
