Sound is the most important element of your TikToks right after the video.
So, in this lesson, we’ll talk about what role the sounds play, how to use songs to your advantage, and to find the right sounds that will help you get more attention and grow your followers.
Tiktok was originally an app called Musical.ly. It started as a lip-syncing app.
Sounds and songs were always an essential part of it.
TikTok is slowly changing the way the music industry works.
Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road became the number one song on the Billboard chart in the US and holds the world record for the longest time it spent on the number one chart.
It all started when somebody uploaded it on TikTok. They use it in their video and it got reused over and over again and it went viral.
So you can imagine how important sounds are inside the app.
There are 3 ways to use sounds in your TikToks:
1. Recording your own sound
You don’t have to use songs for every video you upload on the platform. You can also record your own voice and use it as a sound.
2. Use songs or music, either existing or imported by you
Most of the videos on TikTok don’t necessarily have somebody talking, but even if you decide to use your own voice in your videos to add more value to your message, you can still use a song as background music. There are a lot of 15-second songs inside TikTok that you can use. Alternatively, you can import music or other songs that are not on the platform yet.
However, we should mention that if you decide to speak in your video you might miss your chance of going viral in other countries because of the language barrier. The same goes for when you decide to add text in your video – depending on the language you choose for the text. As a general rule, if you use a very popular song instead of speaking or using text, you have a higher chance of going viral globally than just in your own country.
3. Import sounds from TV shows or other popular videos on TikTok or YouTube
One thing to remember is that on TikTok you don’t have to use your own original song, it doesn’t even have to be a song or music, it can just be a sound.
For example, you can import a part of a conversation from a famous TV show and make your own skit by re-enacting it yourself.
All these are great ways to use sounds and songs in TikTok.
Now, if you scroll on the For You page, you will notice songs that are repeating and people doing their own version of a skit on the same song. These are the trends or challenges and they are very popular amongst the TikTok audience. If you come across the same song 4 or 5 times in a row, on the same day, then chances are this is a new trend. The song acts as a glue for all the videos in the trend. So, when somebody hears the song they know about the trend and will stay longer to watch the video.
When watching a video, on the bottom, right under the description, you will see the name of the song. And if you click on the right bottom icon you will see all the videos that used this song – the more popular ones are on top. Here, you can add the song to Favorites if you want to use it later or just start a new TikTok using this song.
You see this is a popular trend because there are a lot of people using the song.
A best practice for when you are scrolling through tiktoks is to just save your favorite songs for later. Because of the dynamics of TikTok, it’s almost impossible to remember the names of the popular songs you want to use for your videos. So, saving them in your Favorites will save you a lot of time. If you notice a certain song that keeps appearing on the same day, for example, 3 or 4 times. Then it’s definitely a trend and you can save that song or sound and decide later if you want to use it for your own videos.
If you want to use a song or sound from Favorites, you need to follow these steps:
- Click on the plus button to start a video
- Click on “Sounds” on the top
- You will see a screen where you can search for a song, use the recommended songs and so on
- Click on the Favorites tab
- You will see a list of all the songs you saved
- Click on the sound you want to use and then click on the red checkmark button on the right
If you want to use a song right when you discovered it, instead of saving it to Favorites, you can click on the bottom on “use this sound”. This will open the camera and then on top, it already has that song. Now if you record something you can hear the sound in the background.
You will also notice videos that are not using a particular song and they have the “original sound” in the name of the song. They recorded their own voice – it’s something they actually said in the video. If you click on the sound you will see the first video with the “original” checkmark. Of course, people can jump on this sound too and do voiceovers and record their own version of the video – this is how trends are started. Somebody sees or hears a funny audio and they repost it. Then other people repost it again and again until it goes viral.
So, whenever you record a video and post it, other people can use that sound in their videos. If you’re a business or musician, this could be a really good thing. If your song takes off and goes viral, then that’s amazing branding and really good exposure.
This is how the song Old Town Road went viral.
Here is another way to discover songs for your tiktoks:
- click on the plus button that will open your camera
- click on the “Sounds” button on top
- this will open the discovery page with all the song available on your region
- click on “TikTok Viral” – this will show you the songs that are currently viral
- you can choose the songs you like and add them in your favorites
- or you can just use the song you want – click on the song and then click on the red checkmark button
So this is how you can use and discover songs, add them to Favorite, or upload your own original sound. Just keep in mind that anybody can repost. But that’s what makes TikTok fun because you can use the elements of other people’s videos and put your own spin on it.
