TikTok adds support for text posts
Just as Twitter shot itself in the foot with a rebrand this morning, TikTok did it announced that it’s rolling out support for text posts. Although TikTok started as a platform for short videos, it later added support for images in an effort to take Instagram by storm. Now adding text posts, it will likely be done on Twitter (Now X) and Meta’s Threads, as users look for new places to post text-based content.
TikTok says the new content options will allow creators to share stories, poems, lyrics and other written content on the platform, giving them another way to express themselves.
Now when you open the app’s Camera page, you will be able to choose from three options: photo, video, and text. Once you select the text option, you will be taken to the text generation page, where you can type in your post content. Then, you can customize your context by adding sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing Duet. TikTok says text posts will be as interactive and dynamic as any video or photo post.
You can add stickers to your text posts, along with tags and hashtags. There is also an option to choose from a variety of background colors. Similar to video or photo posts, you can save a draft and save it with other unpublished posts for later editing or discarding entirely.
“At TikTok, we’ve always wanted to empower creators and our community with innovative tools that inspire self-expression,” TikTok wrote in a post blog posts. “Today we are excited to announce the expansion of text posts on TikTok, a new format for creating text-based content that expands the options for creators to share ideas and express their creativity. 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 special space to shine.”
Although some people not sure about TikTok’s decision to start supporting images last year, it’s now seen as an integral part of the app. It’s possible we’ll see the same thing happen to text posts, especially since some users are already posting text-based content on TikTok in the form of videos or images. TikTok’s new features make it easier and more intuitive to add text-based content to the platform.
It’s no surprise that TikTok has decided to add support for text posts now, especially at a time when Twitter continues to make questionable decisions and restrict non-paying users. TikTok may want to provide alternative options for users who wish to post text-based content. Meta did something similar with the launch of its Threads app earlier this month, which continues to grow its user base and appeal in global markets.
TikTok has dominated the short video market, and is now once again looking to expand beyond the content formats that made it famous.
