How to Add Text to Different Parts of a TikTok

Adding text at specific times might be the most powerful editing feature hiding in plain sight on TikTok. It’s what turns a simple video clip into a compelling story, a step-by-step tutorial, or a hilarious, fast-paced sketch. This guide will walk you through exactly how to control when and where your text appears, from the basics of timing to advanced tricks that will make your content stand out.

The Basics: How to Add and Style Your Text

Before you can make text appear and disappear, you need to add it to your video. If you’re already comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next section. If not, here’s a quick rundown of the essential first step in your text editing journey.

After you’ve recorded or uploaded your video and are in the main editing screen, simply tap the "Text" icon (it looks like "Aa") in the right-hand menu. This opens the text editor, where your creative journey begins.

Here’s what you can do:

• Write a Message: Type out your text first. Don't worry about getting it perfect right away, you can always edit it later by tapping the text and selecting "Edit."
• Choose Your Font: TikTok offers a variety of fonts, from classic and clean to playful and bold. Tap the font names like "Classic," "Typewriter," or "Serif" to see what best fits your video's vibe.
• Add Color: The colored circles at the bottom let you change the color of your words. Picking a color that contrasts sharply with your video background is essential for readability.
• Create a Background or Outline: To the left of the font styles, you'll see an "A" icon with a box around it. Tapping this cycles through different background and outline styles - perfect for making your text pop against a busy background.
• Align Your Text: The alignment icon next to that allows you to center your text or align it left or right.

Pro Tip: Once you’ve added your text, you can pinch to resize it and drag it anywhere on the screen. Place it, style it, and get ready for the real magic: making it move with your video.

Setting the Duration: Your Guide to Timed Text

This is the core of adding text to different parts of a TikTok. Known as "setting the duration," this feature lets you decide the exact start and end moment for every piece of text you add. You aren’t just putting a label on a video, you're creating a timed sequence that guides your viewer’s experience.

It's your best tool for building suspense, delivering punchlines, or creating easy-to-follow tutorials. This is how creators make text appear sequentially during one of those "Here are 3 tips..." videos.

Step-by-Step: How to Set Text Duration

Getting this right can feel a bit tricky at first, but once you understand the timeline interface, it becomes second nature. Follow these steps for each piece of text you want to time.

1. Add Your First Text Snippet: First, add and style a piece of text as described in the section above. Let's say it's step one in a recipe: "1. Add flour." Place it where you want it to appear on the screen.
2. Tap and Hold the Text: Tap on the text you just added. A white box will appear around it with options like "Edit" and "Text-to-speech." Tap the option that says “Set duration.”
3. Adjust the Timeline: You’ll now see a filmstrip view of your video at the bottom of the screen with a red overlay representing your text clip. This is the timeline editor. Here’s how it works:
   • Set the Start Time: Drag the left edge (or "handle") of the red bar to the exact moment in the video you want your text to first appear.
   • Set the End Time: Drag the right handle of the red bar to the moment you want the text to disappear. You can use the video player above to scrub through your footage and find the perfect timing.
4. Add More Text and Repeat: Once you've set the duration for the first piece of text, tap the checkmark. To add the next line (e.g., "2. Add sugar"), tap the "Text" icon again, type your new text, style it, and position it. Then, tap on this new text element, select "Set duration," and adjust its timeline so it appears right after the first piece of text disappears.

You can repeat this process for as many pieces of text as you need. This technique is incredibly versatile. Here are a few examples:

• Tutorials: Reveal each step precisely when the action happens on screen.
• Point of View (POV) or Skit Videos: Have two "speakers" on screen by timing text to appear as if it's lines of dialogue.
• Lyric Videos: Sync lyrics to the beat of the music in the background.
• Listicles: For a "Top 5 List," make each item appear and then disappear to make way for the next one, keeping the screen clean and focused.

Advanced Techniques to Elevate Your TikToks

Once you’ve mastered timing, you can begin adding more complex and professional-looking text effects. These features combine timing with motion to create truly dynamic and engaging videos that stop the scroll.

Pinning Text to an Object or Person

Have you ever seen text that seems to follow someone’s head as they walk or is stuck to an object moving across the screen? That’s called pinning, and it’s a brilliant way to add a layer of professional, dynamic polish to your videos.

Here’s how to pin text:

1. Add Your Text: Create the text you want to pin, like a "For Sale" sign on a car or a thought bubble over someone's head.
2. Select "Set Duration": Tap the text and choose "Set duration." You need to be in the timeline editor to see the pin option.
3. Look for the Pin Button: At the bottom of the duration editor screen, you should see a button that says "Pin" next to "Cancel" and the checkmark. Tap it.
4. Choose the Object and Track: The video will pause on the first frame of your text clip’s duration. A square tracking box will appear on the screen. Drag this box over the object or person you want the text to follow. TikTok will then process the video to track that object's movement.
5. Finalize the Pin: Once the tracking is complete, your text will now be "stuck" to the object throughout the duration you set for the text.

This is perfect for product demos where you want to label moving parts, comedy sketches, or simply adding a quirky, eye-catching element to your footage.

Leveling Up with Text-to-Speech

While not a placement technique on its own, Text-to-Speech is an accessibility and engagement supercharger that works beautifully with your timed text. Many users watch TikTok without sound, and even for those who do, having an audio narrator read your text can increase retention and pace.

To use it, just tap any text box you've created and select "Text-to-speech." A voiceover will automatically be generated that reads your text aloud exactly when it appears on screen, perfectly synced with the duration you set. This is a game-changer for tutorials and explainer videos.

Strategic Best Practices for Using Text

Knowing how to place and time text is only half the battle. Knowing why and where will separate your content from the rest.

Communicate Without Sound

Assume your video will be watched on mute. Use text to convey the main message, the punchline, or the key steps. Your visuals grab their attention, but your text should be strong enough to tell the story on its own.

Don’t Overwhelm the Screen

Make sure your text is brief and easy to read. TikTok is a fast platform, nobody wants to pause to read a paragraph. Use short phrases. If you have a lot to say, break it up into multiple timed text elements that appear sequentially, rather than putting it all on screen at once.

Respect the “Safe Zone”

Never place your text where it can be blocked by TikTok’s interface. A good guideline is to avoid the very bottom fifth of the screen (where the caption and sound title are) and the right vertical bar (where the like, comment, and share buttons live). Keeping your text centered vertically and horizontally is usually the safest bet.

Find Your Style

Consistent branding helps you become recognizable. Try using a consistent combination of 1-2 fonts and a color palette across all your videos. When someone is scrolling, they’ll see your signature text style and instantly know it’s your content, even before they see your name.

Final Thoughts

Mastering text timing on TikTok completely changes what's possible in the app. By moving beyond static labels and controlling exactly when your words appear, you can build tension, create cleaner tutorials, and tell much more effective stories. Experiment with setting durations, pinning text, and syncing your on-screen words with Text-to-Speech to find what works best for your content.

Thinking this strategically about your content is so important, and it’s why we made sure our tools work how marketers and creators actually work today. When you're ready to plan your next viral TikTok, we built Postbase to help you see the bigger picture. Our visual calendar lets you plan and schedule your short-form videos across all your platforms, so you can transform random ideas into a cohesive, engaging content strategy instead of just posting on a whim.