The pandemic has forced us all to spend countless hours grotesquely manspreading on our beds. It seems like the more time we have on our hands, the shorter our attention span is.
And why? Easy! TikTok, the social media app that took the globe by storm over the past year and has us all endlessly scrolling through hundreds of thousands of videos, none of which are longer than 60 seconds.
We just can’t get off it
And despite the sore thumbs and insomnia caused by the cacophony of repetitive soundbites stuck in our heads, we can’t get off it. We now have newfound, pandemic- and boredom-fuelled dreams of becoming internet famous vegan moms who make salmon out of carrots and chicken wings out of cauliflower.
So, with a full chest, we attempt to create our own videos. But, it’s not enough to just pick a sound and film a clip. Let us add some spice to that.
Step 1: Data collection
Save the sounds you like. Even if you have no idea how to use them, you might have an epic light bulb moment the next time you’re in the kitchen hunting for your 30th post-lunch snack of the day.
Step 2: Choose your target
TikTok categorises content. If you normally like a bunch of fashion-related videos, then you will be getting MORE fashion videos on your page. So, who do you want to see your content? Are you a comedy clown? A chef? An artiste of sorts? Do want to create LGBTQI+ inclusive content? Are you a political one? Now make the sounds you saved WERK! for the subject you chose.
Step 3: Create your video
Filming might take a couple hundred tries. But that is not all. Think of the diversity of your audience. The editing options on TikTok make creating accessible content easy – adding subtitles for the visually impaired, text to speech, using the right colours for your text to be legible… The devil is in the detail, so pay attention to him!
Step 4: Have fun!
And as cheesy as this sounds – it is literally the whole point. The algorithm works in a mysterious way and NO it can’t be studied… A silly video you post on a whim might get thousands of likes and a well-thought-out video may get less than 50. Don’t let it get to you, it’s just a bit of fun!
