9 Mistakes to Avoid When Going on TikTok Live
There are so many new creators on TikTok; while some of them might be new to the platform, there’re some mistakes they are unaware of when going live.
TikTok has become a video social platform giant in the social media market. In the past year, TikTok has had a 142% growth in revenue and has more than one billion active users. So imagine how many people want to start their own TikTok channel and go live? Well, many to be sure.
It can be frustrating to start a TikTok channel when you have only started using the platform and don’t know how it fully works. Moreover, there’re live streamers who have used TikTok for a considerable amount of time but still keep repeating the same mistakes.
Well, are you one of those people? Then, don’t go anywhere because, in this article, we will show you the nine mistakes to avoid when going live on TikTok.
Mistakes to avoid when going live on TikTok
1. Creating short posts
Many creators will be making the same mistake over and over, only creating posts that last up to 15 seconds when going live. However, TikTok is becoming a more diverse platform now and is encouraging creators to make their posts longer. Only recently, because of the increase in video activities on TikTok, it has prolonged the length of videos from 60 seconds to three entire minutes!
Why did TikTok do this? They want users to spend more time on the platform and are encouraging them by prolonging their live time. Maybe in the future, they’ll make videos even longer than now. After all, 60 seconds just isn’t enough time to make videos if you want to present something at a deeper level. Additionally, you can read more in UNUM’s guide to go live on TikTok.
2. Not paying attention to your completion rate
One of the essential factors TikTok users need to pay attention to when going live is watching the completion rate and watch time. Hence, this means:
Your completion rate will depend on how long people watch your video. For example, one complete watch means your completion rate is 100%, while if they choose to watch it for a second time, then it’ll be 200%.
3. Ignoring the audio quality
TikTok has become a video social platform giant in the social media market. In the past year, TikTok has had a 142% growth in revenue and has more than one billion active users. So imagine how many people want to start their own TikTok channel and go live? Well, many to be sure.
It can be frustrating to start a TikTok channel when you have only started using the platform and don’t know how it fully works. Moreover, there’re live streamers who have used TikTok for a considerable amount of time but still keep repeating the same mistakes.
Well, are you one of those people? Then, don’t go anywhere because, in this article, we will show you the nine mistakes to avoid when going live on TikTok.
Mistakes to avoid when going live on TikTok
1. Creating short posts
Many creators will be making the same mistake over and over, only creating posts that last up to 15 seconds when going live. However, TikTok is becoming a more diverse platform now and is encouraging creators to make their posts longer. Only recently, because of the increase in video activities on TikTok, it has prolonged the length of videos from 60 seconds to three entire minutes!
Why did TikTok do this? They want users to spend more time on the platform and are encouraging them by prolonging their live time. Maybe in the future, they’ll make videos even longer than now. After all, 60 seconds just isn’t enough time to make videos if you want to present something at a deeper level. Additionally, you can read more in UNUM’s guide to go live on TikTok.
2. Not paying attention to your completion rate
One of the essential factors TikTok users need to pay attention to when going live is watching the completion rate and watch time. Hence, this means:
- How many people are watching the live stream from beginning to end
- Total watch time
- Follow the trending topics in your industry
- Try telling a story
- Encourage looped videos
Your completion rate will depend on how long people watch your video. For example, one complete watch means your completion rate is 100%, while if they choose to watch it for a second time, then it’ll be 200%.
3. Ignoring the audio quality
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No live stream can be successful if you engage with your audience and have bad audio quality. Unfortunately, broadcasters will be making common mistakes of either being too far or too close to the microphone, meaning the audio quality won’t be at the top of its game.
To prevent this from happening, you must test your audio before you go live, or even in some cases, the equipment you are using may be low quality. If your equipment is good, then pay attention to your distance from the mic, and if not, it’s time to buy some better equipment for your live stream! |
4. Live streaming at the wrong time
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You don’t want to live stream when your audience isn’t around. For example, if your audience is a bunch of teenagers, the worst idea would be to live stream when they are at school. Moreover, most live streamers will get fooled into thinking that live streaming at any time can be okay, but please don’t do this.
Try to research more about your audience when their most active times are. TikTok has a built-in analytics system, so you can find out which times and days your audience is the most active. |
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TikTok shows all of your live streams and videos first to the area where you live, but when it comes outside these boundaries, you’ll need to pay more attention to the time you are live streaming.
5. Poor lighting
Whether you are live streaming from your desktop or mobile, you need to be concerned about the lighting in your broadcasting space. Avoid recording in dark areas with only your PC and mobile being your light source. Especially if you possess a lower quality mobile or desktop, you’ll have even more significant issues concerning this.
Aim to always set up your camera in front of an area with light or use some small lighting, so you don’t look blurry while live streaming.
6. Not paying attention to your engagement rates
This doesn’t only count when you are not live streaming. Engagement rates are the core to a successful live stream.
After measuring the viewing times, TikTok measures the number of likes, comments, shares, and followers your live stream has received. So how can you engage likes and comments when live streaming?
The most common issue that directly affects engagement rates during a live stream is avoiding discussing trending topics. Yea, we understand that you may want your content to be as original as possible; however, your views may go down when you’re not going with the trend.
25% of users on TikTok are aged between 10 to 19 years old. By seeing these statistics, we understand that the newer generation pays vast attention to trending topics. After all, you don’t want your competitors to be blowing up, and you’re not getting any views.
To keep up with the trend in your industry, you can watch videos on the “for you page” and take notes of what is going on. After, you can remodel the content in your way and engage as much audience as you can during your live stream.
8. Using inappropriate content
5. Poor lighting
Whether you are live streaming from your desktop or mobile, you need to be concerned about the lighting in your broadcasting space. Avoid recording in dark areas with only your PC and mobile being your light source. Especially if you possess a lower quality mobile or desktop, you’ll have even more significant issues concerning this.
Aim to always set up your camera in front of an area with light or use some small lighting, so you don’t look blurry while live streaming.
6. Not paying attention to your engagement rates
This doesn’t only count when you are not live streaming. Engagement rates are the core to a successful live stream.
After measuring the viewing times, TikTok measures the number of likes, comments, shares, and followers your live stream has received. So how can you engage likes and comments when live streaming?
- Try asking questions to encourage more comments
- Tell a story to keep your audience engaged throughout the live stream
- Talk about trending topics
The most common issue that directly affects engagement rates during a live stream is avoiding discussing trending topics. Yea, we understand that you may want your content to be as original as possible; however, your views may go down when you’re not going with the trend.
25% of users on TikTok are aged between 10 to 19 years old. By seeing these statistics, we understand that the newer generation pays vast attention to trending topics. After all, you don’t want your competitors to be blowing up, and you’re not getting any views.
To keep up with the trend in your industry, you can watch videos on the “for you page” and take notes of what is going on. After, you can remodel the content in your way and engage as much audience as you can during your live stream.
8. Using inappropriate content
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Violence, nudity, inappropriate words, and more, are something you should avoid live streaming. Hence, they are things that will get you banned soon enough on any social platform you use, and more importantly, on TikTok. So, all the hard work you have done could go to waste only because of a few mistakes you have made while live streaming.
Take a second and read TikTok’s community guidelines, and ensure you are following all of them. In short, you want to try and avoid the following topics: |
- Politics
- Profanity
- Any topic that is offending a group of people
It’s easy for bad content to go viral on TikTok, so you should think twice about it. Ensure TikTok approves everything you do since many users have lost thousands of followers because they fail to follow the community guidelines.
9. Talking about non-relatable content
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Have you been live streaming and not getting enough engagement? Well, you should rethink the type of content you’ve been posting regarding your content. Either you are sharing your content with the wrong audience or not staying on topic.
In other words, maybe your current followers don’t belong to the niche your live stream is about. So when your followers aren’t interested in your content, the TikTok algorithm will de-rank your live streams and not expose them to a broader audience. |
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Additionally, another mistake you might be making is using the wrong hashtags while you are live streaming. Remember, hashtags are an essential part of great content on TikTok. If you fail to use the right ones, your live stream might fail altogether.
To choose the right hashtags, you can consider using synonyms in your topic and select ones that most people don’t use. Hashtags that are more frequently used will only make your videos disappear in the millions of others.
Wrapping it up
Well, that’s about it for this article. These were our x mistakes that you can avoid when going live on TikTok. Always remember that there are many other live streamers on TikTok, and competition is high, so you must seek to make your live streams enjoyable and differentiate from the rest. By different, we don’t mean to get off-topic.
Take into account what you can do to entertain your audience, find a suitable time for your global audience and avoid going live during times when your audience is not active. After all, without them, your live streams are worthless. Additionally, you can try different things and see if they work or not.
Figure out what works for your audience and trending in your niche. In the end, it’ll all come down to your uniqueness when going live, so ensure you entertain your audience as much as you can!
To choose the right hashtags, you can consider using synonyms in your topic and select ones that most people don’t use. Hashtags that are more frequently used will only make your videos disappear in the millions of others.
Wrapping it up
Well, that’s about it for this article. These were our x mistakes that you can avoid when going live on TikTok. Always remember that there are many other live streamers on TikTok, and competition is high, so you must seek to make your live streams enjoyable and differentiate from the rest. By different, we don’t mean to get off-topic.
Take into account what you can do to entertain your audience, find a suitable time for your global audience and avoid going live during times when your audience is not active. After all, without them, your live streams are worthless. Additionally, you can try different things and see if they work or not.
Figure out what works for your audience and trending in your niche. In the end, it’ll all come down to your uniqueness when going live, so ensure you entertain your audience as much as you can!
