Writing the Perfect TikTok Description

pexels-george-milton-6953860
Photo by George Milton from Pexels

Recording and uploading videos to TikTok is one key element of generating success on the platform. But an important, and often overlooked feature that can add to it is the use of video descriptions.

The Significance of Video Descriptions

Each video description is limited to only 150 characters. All too often, creators assume they don’t matter and don’t put much thought into them. Alternatively, users may not know exactly how to craft a good description. If they can master the art of writing perfect, engaging descriptions, creators can capitalize on the benefits.

Benefits of Good Descriptions

  • Those people who are visually impaired can still enjoy the videos and not feel excluded.
  • They can fill in the blanks where subtitles or text fade quickly while keeping users’ attention.
  • It helps with clarifying the video’s intention, purpose, or message.
  • They can encourage users to keep watching until the end.
  • Asking questions or providing personal opinions, for example, could improve the creator to user relationship.

7 Tips to Creating Perfect Descriptions

  1. Know the Audience & Do the Research

Every video should have some kind of purpose or intent and seek to reach a certain audience. That audience can be as broad or narrow as the creator wants. However, the character limit of the description should be impactful enough to play toward the audience.

  • Be Clear & Concise

Eliminating ‘fluff’ or words that don’t add to the video or intention of it will make descriptions stronger. Directly announcing the video’s content, asking a specific question, and so on is much more likely to attract attention instead of being vague.

  • Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Whether they’re rhetorical or not, asking questions can get users engaged with a video. Things such as asking opinions on a topic, inquiring about favorite things, and ‘this or that’ questions can serve as excellent engagement tools.

  • Take Part in Influencer Collaborations

Not to be confused with video or account collaborations, this refers to essentially taking notes and directly getting advice from popular influencers on how to write excellent descriptions.

  • TikTok Analytics Are There for A Reason

Believe it or not, TikTok analytics can be used to help craft great descriptions too. This is because of the types of data it collects, such as video engagement, the ratio of followers to engagement, use of hashtags, and more.

  • Only Use Relevant Hashtags

Although self-explanatory, using relevant hashtags is crucial to making a description better. Hashtags that have nothing to do with a video or its content are off-putting to users—and can even be offensive. These hashtags categorize videos with irrelevant ones being seen as a nuisance.

  • A Little Relatability Goes A Long Way

Users are generally normal people with common problems. They also want to feel like other people understand them, so they watch content they can relate to on some level. For creators, making relatable content should be at the top of their list. The descriptions of videos that address those people (primarily by using the words ‘you’ and ‘you’re’) are more popular because users feel noticed. At the end of the day, every description should make the user feel noticed, important, heard, or included in the content.