Many TikTok users find Live streams to be the most entertaining feature on the social media platform.
Any user who’s at least 16 years old and has more than 1,000 TikTok followers can start a Live session at any time, although most like to promote their planned streams in advance to attract as many fans as possible.
Almost anything goes in a TikTok Live (as long as it meets Community Guidelines, of course). Some influencers hold Q-and-A sessions for their fan bases, creators share their vision and their work, brands showcase their products — or like-minded people just hang out and have fun, since all of those viewing the Live can comment in the stream.
The sessions also serve as a revenue generator for many creators, since viewers can tip the person running the Live with gifts whose value ranges from a penny to hundreds of dollars. You have to be at least 18 to send or receive gifts during a Live stream, though.
TikTok Lives are the perfect way for content producers to boost engagement with their audiences, and they’re easy to run (as long as you meet the requirements).
They’re even easier to join.
Joining a TikTok Live
There are hundreds or thousands of Live sessions underway at any time of the day. To look for one and join in as a fan, you simply have to tap the LIVE icon at the top left of your home screen. You can then scroll through all of the available streams the same way you’d scroll through your TikTok feed.
When you stop on a Live, you’ll automatically be logged into the session with your TikTok username. Feel free to watch for a while or just move on.
There are many ways to find Live sessions you may be particularly interested in viewing.
The creators you follow will probably promote their streams in advance, and you’ll see their streams in your Following feed while they’re underway. You might get notifications about Lives in your inbox as well. You can also find current and upcoming Lives by using the TikTok search function, or by checking the profiles of creators whose work you enjoy.
Joining a TikTok Live as a Guest
Some of the content creators who live-stream on TikTok invite creators who they know to join them in the session as on-camera guests — but others are happy to have users just “drop in” as guests on the stream. The “multi-guest” feature the app has recently introduced makes it simple.
When you visit a TikTok live as a viewer, you may see a “Multi-guest” icon (it’s two differently-colored profiles) at the bottom of the screen. Tapping the icon and then choosing “Request” tells the host that you’d like to join the stream as a guest. If they approve, your phone’s camera and microphone will be activated and you’ll be live on their stream in seconds.
Not all Live hosts have multi-guest enabled, there can only be nine guests at a time, and your request may simply not be accepted. But there’s no penalty for giving it a try — and even if you can’t be a TikTok Live guest on your favorite creator’s stream, you can still hang out and participate by watching and commenting for as long as you’d like.
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About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.