Tagging Another TikTok User: How To Do It

TikTok soared to popularity in the late 2010s because of the many ways it differed from older social media platforms. Just some examples: a focus on very short TikTok videos, an atmosphere conducive to trending videos and challenges, a more robust editing experience, a personalized For You page (FYP), and collaboration possibilities with Duets and Stitches.

Thankfully, TikTok does one thing just like every other mainstream social app: letting people tag other users. The process is fast, simple, and requires no learning curve for those who’ve just signed up for TikTok accounts. Let’s explore.

What is “Tagging,” and Why Would You Do It?

On some apps, tags are called “mentions,” but they’re really just an alert sent to another user on the platform. They’re used by attaching the “@” symbol to a TikTok username, and they appear as @mybestfriend (for example) on the screen.

When you tag someone on TikTok, you’re sending them a message. It triggers a notification sent to their account, telling them that they’ve been mentioned in a TikTok post. Most people who are tagged on a video will open the notification and click to watch it.

Tagging can be a very useful tool, for several reasons.

• If you have friends or followers who you’re sure would be interested in the TikTok content you’ve created, tagging them virtually ensures that they’ll see it.
• If you want to attract the attention of someone you want to get to know and collaborate with, it performs the same function (although it probably won’t be quite as effective).
• If you mention another user in your TikTok video, it’s also a public shoutout that provides credit for their contributions, ideas, or inspiration.
• If you’re trying to build a larger community on the app, you can “reward” your loyal TikTok followers by tagging them.

You can also use tags in your comments as a way to attract specific TikTok users’ attention or to provide an extra link to your TikTok profile. If you have some reason to do it, you can include tags in your TikTok bio as well. You can’t “tag” someone in a TikTok Live you’re attending, but you can share the stream with followers by hitting the “Share” arrow.

How Do You Tag a TikTok User?

One clarification is necessary before we start. When people talk about putting mentions in their TikTok videos, what they really mean is that they tagged them in the post description or caption. You can’t tag anyone in the actual video.

Here’s how to tag another user.

1. Create and edit your TikTok video the way you normally would. When you’re done, tap the “Next” button to reach the “post” screen.
2. There are two ways to tag another user in your post caption.
   – Tap the “@Mention” button right below the text box where you add the video description.
   – Type “@” in the description text box.
3. Whichever option you choose, a list of your followers will appear. You can either select the person to tag from the list, or start typing their username; the options in the list will narrow until you see the person you want to mention. If they’re not one of your followers, their username will eventually appear after you enter enough letters.

That’s all you have to do. Finish entering your caption, add any hashtags you want to use, select other options as desired, and hit “Post.” You’ve tagged your chosen user(s)!

The same process works when you want to tag someone in a comment. Just enter “@” in your comment and a window of suggested users will open above the comments. Your choices will narrow down until you see the username you want to tag.

Don’t overuse the “tag” function; some people (particularly influencers and powerful content creators) get annoyed if people keep mentioning them on videos they have no interest in watching. Otherwise, use mentions whenever you want to bring more friends, followers, or collaborators to your viewing party!