How to Add Videos to Collections on TikTok

Wish you could organize your favorite TikToks or save must-try tutorials without them vanishing back into your 'Liked' videos feed an hour later? There’s a simple, native feature designed to solve just that: Collections. This article breaks down exactly how to create and manage Collections to organize your favorite video content, whether you're a casual user saving recipes or a marketer building a swipe file for your next campaign.

What Are TikTok Collections and Why Should You Use Them?

Think of TikTok Collections as private folders or playlists for the videos that you’ve marked as a "Favorite." While your Favorites tab can quickly become a disorganized dump of everything you’ve ever bookmarked, Collections let you create categories to neatly sort that content. It’s a game-changer for transforming endless scrolling into a more intentional, organized experience.

This isn't just about tidiness, it's about strategy, inspiration, and efficiency. Here’s why different types of users find Collections so valuable.

For Everyday TikTok Users (AKA, All of Us)

For personal use, Collections are all about making TikTok work for you. It’s your own personal library sorted by whatever matters to you.

• Recipe Box: Create a collection dedicated to "Quick Dinners," "Baking Ideas," or "Healthy Lunches." No more frantically searching for that one pasta recipe you saw three weeks ago.
• Workout Plans: Sort videos into "15-Minute Home Workouts," "Yoga Stretches," or "Running Tips."
• Inspiration Hubs: Planning a trip? Make a "NYC Trip Ideas" collection. Redecorating? Start a "Living Room Decor" folder. You can create visual mood boards for literally any project.
• Personalized Entertainment: Curate playlists for your mood, like "Stand-Up Comedy Clips," "Feel-Good Moments," or "Best Movie Scenes."

For Creators, Brands, and Marketers

If you use TikTok professionally, Collections are an essential tool for research, planning, and strategy. They help you systematize the creative process lurking behind your For You Page.

• Competitor Analysis: Maintain a collection for each of your key competitors. When you see them post a video that performs exceptionally well or tries a new format, save it to their folder. Over time, you’ll build a clear archive of their content strategy.
• Inspiration Swipe File: This is arguably the most powerful use case. Create collections dedicated to specific elements you want to replicate, such as:
  • Trending Audio: a folder just for sounds with viral potential.
  • Creative Hooks: for videos with brilliant opening lines or visual intros.
  • Editing Styles: to save examples of slick transitions or effects.
  • Content Formats: for storing examples of popular "day in the life," Q&A, or tutorial-style videos in your niche.
• User-Generated Content (UGC) Curation: When you find a video where a customer is genuinely praising or creatively using your product, save it to a "UGC Gold" collection. It’s the perfect place to store authentic testimonials for future reference or outreach.
• Content Series Planning: If you're creating a multi-part series, you can make a collection for your own published videos. This helps you review the flow of the series and easily reference previous parts when filming the next installment.

How to Create a Collection on TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating your first Collection is simple and can be done a couple of ways. The easiest method is to create one directly after favoriting a video you want to organize.

Method 1: Creating Your First Collection From a Video

This is the most common way people get started. You find a video you love and immediately decide to organize it.

1. Find a Video: Scroll through your For You Page until you land on a video you want to save and categorize.
2. Add to Favorites: Tap the bookmark icon on the right-hand sidebar. This officially saves the video to your general Favorites tab.
3. Start the Collection: As soon as you tap the bookmark, a small black notification will appear at the bottom-center of the screen that says "Added to Favorites." You'll see a small button right next to it that says "Add to collection." Tap this button quickly, as it disappears after a few seconds.
4. Create the New Collection: You’ll be taken to your Collections management screen. Tap the "Create new collection" button at the top.
5. Name Your Collection: A screen will pop up asking you to name your new collection. Keep it clear and concise (e.g., "Social Media Tips," "Woodworking Projects"). You have a 30-character limit. Once named, tap "Submit."
6. Add the Video: Your newly created collection will now appear on the management screen with an empty radio button next to it. Tap to select it, then tap the red "Add" button at the bottom. That's it! The video now lives inside your brand-new collection.

If you miss the little "Add to collection" button that pops up, don’t worry. You can always organize it later using the second method.

Method 2: Creating a Collection From Your Profile

This works well if you want to set up your folders first or organize a bunch of videos you've already saved to your Favorites.

1. Navigate to Your Favorites: Go to your TikTok profile page. Below your bio, you’ll see a row of icons. Tap the bookmark icon to open your Favorites hub.
2. Go to the Collections Tab: Inside Favorites, you’ll see several tabs at the top: Videos, Collections, Sounds, Effects, etc. Tap on "Collections."
3. Create a New Collection: Tap the "+" icon or the "Create new collection" prompt.
4. Name It: Give your collection a name and tap "Save."

This creates an empty collection. From here, you can go back to your "Videos" tab within Favorites and start adding saved content to it.

Managing Your TikTok Collections: Tips and Tricks

Once you’ve set up a few collections, keeping them organized is just as important. Here’s how you can manage your folders, add multiple videos at once, and keep things tidy.

How to Add More Videos to an Existing Collection

Found another video perfect for one of your folders? To add it, just follow the same process as creating a new collection: tap the bookmark icon on the video, then tap the "Add to collection" pop-up. Instead of creating a new collection, just select an existing one from the list and hit "Add."

To organize several videos at once, use the bulk-add feature:

1. Go to your profile and tap the bookmark (Favorites) icon.
2. Make sure you’re on the "Videos" tab, which shows all your favorited videos in one long list.
3. Tap "Select" in the top-right corner of the screen.
4. Tap the circles that appear on each video thumbnail to select all the ones you want to add to a single collection. You can select up to 100 videos at a time.
5. Once you've made your selections, tap the "Add to collection" button at the bottom of the screen.
6. Choose the collection you want to add them to and you're done!

How to Rename or Delete a Collection

Your needs might change, and a collection titled "Cool Gadgets" might be better named "Gift Ideas."

1. Navigate to your profile Favorites >, Collections.
2. Tap on the collection you want to manage.
3. Tap the share icon (it looks like a right-pointing arrow) in the top-right corner.
4. A menu will appear with two options: "Change name" and "Delete collection." Select the one you need.

One important note: If you delete a collection, you are only deleting the folder itself. All the videos that were inside it will remain safely in your general "Videos" list within your Favorites tab. You won't lose the content, just the organization.

Are My TikTok Collections Public?

Nope! This is a common question, and the answer is a relieving one. Your TikTok Collections are completely private and visible only to you. You can confidently create collections like "Competitors to Beat" or "Cringey Marketing Fails" without anyone ever knowing. They are your personal, secret organization system.

Putting Collections to Work: A Mini-Strategy for Creators

For those using TikTok to build a brand or following, Collections can move from a simple organization feature to a core part of your content workflow.

The "Idea Generation" Workflow

1. Get Specific with Your Collections: Don't just make one "Ideas" folder. Break it down. Create dedicated collections for "Trending Audio in My Niche," "Great Storytelling Videos," and "Clever Video Hooks."
2. Schedule Research Time: Dedicate 15-20 minutes daily just to thoughtful scrolling. Your goal isn't just to be entertained but to identify brilliant content. As soon as you see a video with a killer hook or a simple format that's crushing it, favorite it and immediately add it to the relevant collection.
3. Hold a Weekly Review: Block out one hour a week to review your collections. Open up your "Trending Audio" folder. Listening to 10-15 recently added sounds back-to-back will help you spot patterns and identify which one truly fits your brand. Review your "Clever Hooks" folder and use the structures as inspiration for your next video script.

This process transforms your For You Page from a reactive source of infotainment into a proactive wellspring of structured, curated ideas tailored specifically to your niche audience and content style.

Final Thoughts

TikTok Collections offer a deceptively simple way to bring order to the exhilarating chaos of a For You Page. Using them effectively turns passive consumption into active curation, whether you’re saving workout ideas for Tuesday or systemically researching the hooks, sounds, and formats that will define your content strategy for the next quarter. It’s a small feature with a big impact on making the platform work for you.

Once you’ve used collections to gather inspiration and define your content strategy, the next big step is turning those ideas into a cohesive, consistent publishing schedule. We've wrestled with clunky, outdated management tools that weren't designed for a video-first world and decided to build a better way. At Postbase, we designed a beautiful visual calendar specifically for planning short-form video. It helps you take all that brilliant inspiration you’ve organized on TikTok and transform it into an actionable content plan that saves you time and drives real growth.