Every seasoned streamer knows that each platform has very different systems for success, so getting started on a new platform can be a daunting task. Luckily, the TikTok LIVE Gaming team were kind enough to share some of their insights into building success on TikTok LIVE.
Optimize your TikTok LIVE layout experience
If you’ve streamed on places like Twitch before then a lot of the fundamentals are going to be the same, but you will need to adjust your strategy and make some effort to optimize the experience for both mobile and desktop viewers.
The large majority of TikTok users access the app from mobile devices, so there are some smaller design details you should consider. Like making sure your overlays are designed around both a vertical and horizontal layout – you don’t want your alerts blocked off by TikTok LIVE’s UI buttons.
Engage with your Community
As with any livestream, you’ll need to make your TikTok LIVE experience engaging for the viewer.
Jared Fletcher from the TikTok Gaming team, shared that on TikTok LIVE, the most important thing to focus on is building an engaging experience. He recommends creating a unique visual or audio hook to pull in the audience from the For You Page to create a fun, community focused experience. This could be in the form of custom alerts, call to actions for viewers to get involved, or just creating a welcoming environment for those who aren’t familiar with you or your content. By doing this, you will be able to drive organic impressions and viewership directly to your content continuously.
Make sure you’re constantly directly chatting with your viewers to draw them in from the For You Page before they scroll! Take every opportunity you can to involve the viewer in your gameplay and keep them interacting with the stream. Think about asking questions like “Should I go left or right here?” or “What load out should I go with?”
Use TikTok’s features to your Advantage
Comments aren’t just for viewers to chat with you, it’s also for your community to chat with each other! Most viewers will stay in a live stream where they are greeted by other community members. Encourage your community to say hi to new viewers to drive engagement and keep viewers chatting.
Hadrien Nollet, from TikTok Gaming, suggests that you use all the tools available to you. On LIVE, you and your viewers have access to gifting, subscription, shares, comments, likes, and much more. Encouraging your audience to actively engage through these tools will provide a better experience for you and will make more people join your LIVE!
Think about what makes TikTok LIVE different from other live streaming platforms and lean into those features. Make sure that you’re:
💬 Encouraging comments from viewers
🌹 Utilizing TikTok’s unique systems like gifting
🤝 Creating welcoming communities
Consistency is Key
This one’s pretty standard to every platform, but it’s one of the most important fundamentals. If you’re streaming at random inconsistent times, you’re closing the door on regular viewers. You want the chance to be on someones For You Page as often as possible, so we recommend streaming ten hours a week on a consistent schedule to help make that happen!
Leverage your Short Form Content
One of TikTok’s greatest strengths is the discoverability it offers to you. Your short form content can help to boost the discoverability of your LIVE and give viewers a chance to form a relationship with you while you’re offline. If you’re not sure how best to utilize short form content, think about how you can make your content educational or entertaining to new people. There are plenty of gaming content ideas on TikTok’s Creator Portal linked here.
Think about how you’re going to funnel short form viewers to your lives. Keep your stream schedule in your TikTok bio so that viewers finding you from your short form content know when you’re going to be live. Consider adding a reminder of when you’re next live in your own video description or comments! (Just don’t spam your schedule in other peoples videos – that’s not going to win you any fans.)
Build your Knowledge with the TikTok LIVE Gaming Club
The foundation of any career success is knowledge and research, and that doesn’t change with content creation. The Lightstream Creator Academy is a great tool for general knowledge, but for some more focused insights into the world of TikTok we recommend going straight to the source. The team at TikTok have done a great job at pulling together some resources to help you on your journey on their Creator Portal. For those of you looking to improve your TikTok LIVE, Mellina Van Meurs, a TikTok Growth Manager, has shared that the TikTok LIVE Gaming Club is now accepting applications for creators to join the program.
The Gaming Club provides access to an array of opportunities including: personalized growth meetings with TikTok staff, first access to new features, and exclusive marketing opportunities that are aimed to help creators in the program get discovered by new viewers. If you’re interested in working directly with TikTok to grow your account, you can apply for the Gaming Club here.
We hope to see you on our TikTok For You Pages soon!
