How to Add Text to TikTok Videos

Adding text to your TikTok videos is one of the most effective ways to stop the scroll, tell a better story, and boost engagement. This guide covers everything you need to know, from the simple basics of adding a line of text to more advanced strategies for timing, text-to-speech, and creating a branded look. You'll learn how to make your text a powerful part of your video content rather than just an afterthought.

The Basics: How to Add Text Directly in the TikTok App

Let's start with the fundamentals. The TikTok editor makes adding and customizing text straightforward. Follow these steps to get going.

1. Record or Upload Your Video: Open TikTok and either record a new video using the “+” button or upload an existing clip from your camera roll. Once you have your clip ready, tap the checkmark to proceed to the main editing screen.
2. Open the Text Tool: On the editing screen, look at the menu on the right-hand side. Tap the “Text” icon, which looks like "Aa". This will bring up your keyboard and the text editor.
3. Type and Customize Your Text: Type the message you want to appear on screen. As you type, you'll see style options appear above your keyboard. Here’s what you can change:
   • Font: Tap the font names (like "Classic," "Handwriting," or "Neon") to see how your text looks in different styles. Experiment to find one that matches your video's vibe.
   • Color: Tap the colored circles to change your text color. You can choose from a preset palette or use the color dropper tool to select a specific color from your video, which is great for aesthetic continuity.
   • Background/Highlight: To the left of the color options, tap the "A" icon. This cycles through different background styles, like a solid highlight, a semi-transparent block, or an outline. This is a game-changer for making text stand out against a busy background.
   • Alignment: To the left of the highlight option, you’ll find the alignment tool. Tap it to switch between left-aligned, center-aligned, and right-aligned text.
4. Position and Resize: Once you're happy with the style, tap “Done” to place the text on your video. Now you can use standard touch gestures to move it. Place a finger on the text to drag it anywhere on the screen. Use two fingers to pinch and zoom, making the text larger or smaller, or to rotate it.

Timing is Everything: How to Make Text Appear and Disappear

Having text on screen for the entire duration of your video is rarely the best approach. Effective storytelling on TikTok often involves text appearing and disappearing at specific moments to highlight key points, answer questions, or reveal information sequentially. This is done using the "Set duration" feature.

Step-by-step guide to timing your text:

1. Add Your Text: First, add a text box following the steps above.
2. Select "Set duration": Tap on the text box you just created. A small menu will pop up. Select “Set duration.”
3. Adjust the Timeline: You’ll now see a timeline of your video clip at the bottom of the screen with a red bar representing your block of text. This is where you control timing.
   • To change when the text appears, drag the left handle of the red bar to the exact timestamp you want it to start.
   • To change when the text disappears, drag the right handle of the red bar to the timestamp you want it to end.
   You can use the play button to preview your changes and make sure the timing is just right. Tap the checkmark when you're finished.

Pro Tip: You can repeat this process for multiple text boxes. For example, you can have a question appear for the first 3 seconds, followed by an answer that appears for the next 5 seconds. Layering text durations this way is how creators build visual momentum and keep viewers engaged until the end.

From Text to Voice: Using TikTok’s Text-to-Speech Feature

TikTok’s text-to-speech function transforms your on-screen words into an automated voiceover. This feature is incredibly popular for everything from instructional content to comedic skits. It’s a great way to add personality and make your video more accessible without recording your own voice.

How to activate text-to-speech:

1. Add Your Text: Create a text box as you normally would.
2. Select Text-to-Speech: Tap on your newly created text box. From the menu that appears, tap the “Text-to-speech” icon (it looks like a person's head with soundwaves).
3. Choose a Voice: You’ll be presented with several voice options. Tap through them to hear a preview. Some are robotic, some are cheerful, and some are deep and dramatic. Select the voice that best fits the tone of your video, and TikTok will generate the audio.

Heads up: a text box that has text-to-speech enabled must be on screen for the audio to play. Use the “Set duration” tool to make the text last as long as you want the voiceover to speak. If you want the voiceover but don’t want the text cluttering the screen, you can shrink the text box down to a nearly invisible size and hide it in a corner.

Advanced Strategies for More Engaging Videos

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can start using text more strategically to improve your video performance and build your brand.

1. The All-Important Hook (Cover Text)

The first 1-3 seconds of your video are your only chance to stop a user from scrolling away. A strong "hook" or headline is essential. Create a bold, easy-to-read line of text that immediately tells the viewer what the video is about or makes them curious.

Example Headline: "3 Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym"

Use the "Set duration" feature to make this hook appear right at the beginning and disappear after a few seconds, once you’ve grabbed their attention.

2. Create Accessible & Engaging Captions

A huge portion of users watch videos with the sound off. Adding subtitles or captions that mirror your spoken words makes your content accessible and ensures your message gets across. While TikTok has an auto-caption feature, manually adding your own key phrases as text overlays allows you to emphasize certain words with color, size, and style.

To do this manually, create short, bite-sized text boxes for a few words at a time and use the "Set duration" tool to sync them with your speech. It takes more time, but gives you full creative control.

3. Layering text for a Dynamic Reveal

Instead of putting a dense block of text on screen, break it up. Use multiple text boxes and have them appear one after the other. This technique is great for lists, step-by-step instructions, or building dramatic effect.

Example: For a recipe video…

• Text 1: "1 Cup Flour" (appears at 0:02, disappears at 0:04)
• Text 2: "2 Eggs" (appears at 0:05, disappears at 0:07)
• Text 3: "1/2 Cup Sugar" (appears at 0:08, disappears at 0:10)

4. Develop Consistent Video Branding

Your use of text can be a subtle but powerful part of your brand identity. Choose 1-2 fonts and a specific color palette that you use consistently across all of your videos. For example, maybe your brand always uses a bold, clean font for headlines and a specific hex code for highlighting. This visual consistency makes your content immediately recognizable as viewers scroll through their For You page.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do. Avoid these common slip-ups:

1. Placing Text in the "No-Fly Zones"

TikTok’s interface (the icons, username, caption, etc.) covers parts of the screen. If you place text in these areas, it will be unreadable. Imagine your screen divided into a 3x3 grid. The entire right column and the bottom row are generally obstructed. Keep your critical text in the top-left, top-center, and middle-center areas to be safe.

2. Poor Readability and Contrast

If your text color is too similar to the video background, no one will be able to read it. Always choose a color with high contrast. If the background is too busy or has shifting colors, use the text highlight/background feature to create a solid backing for your words. Also, make sure the text isn't too small to be easily read on a mobile screen.

3. Incorrect Timing

Text that vanishes too quickly frustrates viewers who can't finish reading it. Text that lingers for far too long can feel boring and static. A good rule of thumb is to leave text on screen for about as long as it would take to read it out loud twice. Use the timeline preview to double-check your timing.

4. Too Much Text at Once

TikTok is a fast-paced, visual platform. Walls of text are intimidating and will cause people to scroll away instantly. Keep your wording concise and break up larger points into multiple, timed text overlays. Less is almost always more.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to add text to your TikToks is a fundamental skill that transforms your videos from simple clips into effective communication tools. By mastering text styling, timing, and strategic placement, you can create more engaging, accessible, and shareable content that resonates with your audience and helps you stand out from the crowd.

Planning this kind of dynamic, text-driven content across your social platforms can be a challenge. At Postbase, we designed our platform with short-form video as the main event, not an afterthought. Our visual calendar helps you see exactly how your video content fits into your broader strategy weeks or months ahead of time, ensuring a consistent and intentional presence on TikTok and beyond.