How To Go Live on TikTok: A Guide for Business Owners (2024)

Going live on TikTok means stepping into the spotlight—and potentially attracting new audiences and followers. While you may shy away from showing your face or providing raw content live to your followers, business owners who leverage TikTok livestreaming can create authentic relationships with their customers and grow a community of dedicated followers.

Before you can go viral on Tiktok, you have to learn the basics of how to go live on TikTok. Read on for TikTok Live best practices and how to get started. 

What is TikTok Live?

TikTok Live is a feature that allows you to stream live video broadcasts to your followers and connect with them in real time. Whenever you go live on TikTok, your live videos appear for all the TikTok users who follow you and anyone else in the app who gets your live videos recommended on their For You page. Viewers are able to comment, interact, and engage with you directly while you’re livestreaming, and you are encouraged to do the same with them.

Using TikTok Live is one of the best ways on social media to talk to your audience and build a community of followers. When you conduct a live broadcast on TikTok, you can showcase a product or service you offer, or answer questions your followers ask through the app’s chat feature.

How many followers do you need to go live on TikTok?

To host your own livestream on TikTok, your account must have at least 1,000 followers. Additionally, you must be 18 years or older to access this feature. 

If you also want to run TikTok Live Studio, the brand’s free Windows app, gaming creators in the US need a minimum of 1,000 followers, while non-game creators need a minimum of 10,000 followers.

Once you meet these criteria, you’ll need to accept TikTok’s terms and conditions for livestreaming. After fulfilling these three requirements, the option to go live will become available on your toolbar, allowing you to start broadcasting live videos to your audience.

How to go live on TikTok

1. Open the TikTok app
2. Access creator tool
3. Prepare your TikTok Live
4. Start streaming
5. End your livestream

For brands, mastering this tool can significantly boost engagement, allowing you to show off products, answer questions from your customers, and create a more personal connection with your audience in real-time. Learning how to go live on TikTok is easy once you learn how to use TikTok and become familiar with the TikTok Live feature. 

1. Open the TikTok app

Open the TikTok app on your phone and be sure you’re signed in to your account. You should see your main feed of videos playing as well as your toolbar menu at the bottom of your screen. It will include options like Home, Friends, Inbox, and Profile, and a large plus sign in the center of these options.

2. Access creator tool

Tap the large plus sign on the toolbar menu to enter the creator tool, which automatically opens the camera. This also opens a new options toolbar at the bottom of your screen. You should see the options for 60s, 15s, Templates, and Live. Scroll or swipe left through the toolbar options. Select Live. 

3. Prepare your TikTok Live

The camera is now open within the app—but you aren’t live yet. Select your profile photo in the top left corner of the screen to change the photo icon for your TikTok Live. Select the blank field immediately to the right of your photo to change the title of your livestream. 

Directly below your photo are two fields that let you choose the topic of your stream or set a goal for how many Live Gifts you want to receive. Live Gifts are virtual shows of appreciation shared in real-time.

In the center of your screen are icons that represent various effects and filters you can add to your stream, such as a magic wand icon to smooth or enhance your features or a smiley face icon for adding fun face filters and overlays. 

The settings icon has options such as choosing to opt out of receiving gifts from viewers, limiting who can view your stream, or adding moderators who can help filter comments during your TikTok Live stream.

4. Start streaming

Tap the Live button with the text Go Live in the bottom center of the screen. Once selected, a countdown begins to let you prepare to go live on TikTok. When the countdown ends, your followers are able to see whatever you are capturing on your camera. Followers join the stream as they are notified you are live. Watch for follower comments, respond, and interact to keep your audience engaged during your live videos.

5. End your livestream

To end your livestream, select the X button in the top right corner of your screen. You should then see a summary of your TikTok Live session, including how long you streamed and how many viewers you had.

How to join someone’s TikTok Live

Joining someone’s TikTok Live lets you chat with creators and fellow viewers. You’ll need to have a TikTok account to join, and some creators may have age restrictions for their broadcasts. 

Whether you’re scouting TikTok influencers for your next brand campaign or checking in on what your competitors are doing on social media, here’s how you can join someone’s TikTok Live:

1. Open the TikTok mobile app on your smartphone.
2. Look for the Live icon in the top left corner of your For You page, or search for a specific creator you know is going live.
3. Tap on the live video thumbnail to enter the livestream.
4. Once in the livestream, you can watch the host live and see comments from other onlookers.
5. To interact, type your comment in the text box at the bottom of the screen and hit Send.
6. To like the livestream, double-tap the screen to leave a heart for the host and viewers to see. 
7. You can request to be added as a multi-guest to join a creator’s livestream as their co-host. However, you’ll need to have at least TikTok 1,000 to go live.
8. If you want to send a gift, tap the gift icon and choose from the available options, including roses and galaxies.
9. To exit the livestream, tap the “X” in the top right corner.

TikTok Live ideas

1. Host a Q&A session
2. Co-host with a brand collaborator
3. Give a behind-the-scenes building tour
4. Prepare a how-to demonstration
5. Sell products on TikTok Live
6. Package customer orders

There are myriad creative ways for brands to connect with customers on TikTok Live. Going live doesn’t need elaborate planning or high-end production values—in fact, less is often more when it comes to going live on TikTok. Some of the most authentic livestreams are spontaneous and unfiltered, allowing viewers to have a genuine interaction with the host. 

Here are a few TikTok Live ideas to experiment with: 

Host a Q&A session 

Consider hosting a TikTok Live Q&A with your brand’s founder, CEO, or anyone at the company who can speak with authority about your products. If that authority is you, ask a trusted friend or colleague to interview you. This is a way to break down barriers, connecting customers directly with a face behind the brand. 

If you have a product launch on the horizon, use a Q&A session as an opportunity to generate excitement about the release. Tease your upcoming collection by dropping hints about its theme, key features, or the inspiration behind the products. Also, think about offering a discount code exclusively for live viewers, giving them first dibs when the products drop.

Prepare for questions about product sizing and specifications, upcoming promotions, restocks of popular items, or details about new releases. While it’s wise to think about the common questions that pop up in your comments or customer service emails ahead of time, skip the PR-approved canned answers. With its younger audience that values authenticity, TikTok viewers appreciate candor over contrivance. 

Before going live, build some excitement for your livestream by posting about it on your other social channels—from TikTok Stories to Instagram. 

Co-host with a brand collaborator 

Collaborations and co-marketing can expand your brand’s reach. A fitness brand might launch a new collection with a popular YouTube fitness influencer, while a coffee machine company could team up with a trendy coffee roaster for a limited-edition espresso pod line. 

TikTok Live is a creative opportunity to reveal these partnerships with a co-hosted livestream, bringing two hosts together on a split-screen. When you go live on TikTok together with a collaborator, followers of both accounts will be notified, broadening the reach of your live videos.

Have a rep from each brand on camera during the livestream. During the live event, reveal when the collaboration will be available and explain why it’s a boon for customers. Bring audiences into the fold by answering viewers’ questions about the collaboration and share behind-the-scenes stories of how it came to be. 

Give a behind-the-scenes building tour 

Customers are often curious about the inner workings of their favorite brands. If you run a shoe company that manufactures hand-made leather footwear, people might be interested in seeing the leather-cutting process and the artisans hand-stitching the soles in your factory. If you’re a trendy makeup brand with an HQ in the city, viewers might want to meet the team behind the products and see where the magic happens.

Before going live with your building tour, give your team a heads-up. This allows staff to prepare (or opt-out) and ensure no confidential documents or unreleased products are visible. With their permission, consider doing mini-interviews with team members you encounter on the tour, asking their names and what they do at the company. A TikTok Live tour can give your followers a glimpse behind the curtain that makes them feel more connected to your brand. 

Prepare a how-to demonstration

Many products naturally lend themselves to live demonstrations, giving you a perfect opportunity to explain features and benefits. 

For example, a cookware brand could host a live cooking session, preparing a mouth-watering chicken curry dish while highlighting how their non-stick pans make the process simple. A makeup brand might transform a model (or staff member) from a fresh daytime look to a glam evening look using their latest midnight eyeshadow pallets and glitter eyeliners. 

Think of these live demos as your own mini QVC show. You’re using your products, chatting with viewers, and keeping the conversation casual. As you work, keep an eye on the comments and answer questions as they pop up on the livestream. This laid-back approach shows off exactly what your products can do, while simultaneously letting you answer the questions that come your way. 

Sell products on TikTok Live

TikTok Live Shopping allows brands to sell products directly through their livestreams on the platform. This feature also integrates with TikTok Shop, letting viewers browse and buy items without leaving the app. During a livestream, you can present products, answer questions, and offer discounts, all while a pinned product carousel displays the featured items for easy purchase. To make the most of TikTok Live Shopping, set up your TikTok Shop and make sure your product inventory is up to date.

“Made by Mitchell became the first UK business to make $1 million in one day on TikTok Shop,” wrote Jonathan Tioseco Lee, a creator and celebrity partnerships lead for ecommerce at TikTok, in a LinkedIn post. “They sold one product every single second during a record-breaking 12-hour livestream. Over 600,000 people tuned in to participate in Made by Mitchell’s live shopping experience, where shoppers could watch, engage, and shop in real-time. 

“During Mitchell Halliday’s live event, he was joined by several special TikTok creators, including Amelia Olivia, makeup artists Hollie Flynn and Becky Morgan, and former Love Islander and style maven, Mary Bedford. The livestream itself generated over $833K in revenue, more than 38 million likes, and had 144 MBM new products launched exclusively on TikTok!”

Package customer orders 

Going live on TikTok can be both casual and captivating. Setting up a camera while you package customer orders can provide a behind-the-scenes look that followers appreciate. You can shout out customers as you pack their orders, but be sure to protect their privacy by not revealing their full names or addresses.

While packaging, you can chat with your viewers, answering questions about your products or business. Alternatively, you can opt to work in silence, creating an ASMR-like experience with the sounds of tissue paper rustling and boxes being taped. This genre of content can be soothing for viewers and offer a way to connect while completing a necessary task. 

5 TikTok Live best practices

1. Prepare a livestreaming set
2. Test your equipment
3. Focus on engagement
4. Use TikTok Live features
5. Add hashtags

When planning your first livestream, there are a few tips to consider to optimize your TikTok Live experience and get the most out of each stream:

1. Prepare a livestreaming set 

Before going live on TikTok, spend some time behind the scenes to create the streaming space that will allow you to stay focused on your audience: 

• Choose a quiet place to dedicate as your livestream set that is free of distractions and background noise. 
• Check your audio in the room to make sure you have good sound quality. 
• A well-lit room is important for getting the best lighting on your stream, so try to find a room with windows that don’t face out to a loud street. Alternatively, set up some extra lighting to help illuminate yourself and your surroundings.

2. Test your equipment

Always take the time to set up and prepare your gear before starting your stream: 

• Double check that you have high-quality video and clear audio streaming from your phone. 
• Arrange the camera angle and use overhead lighting or a ring light to achieve excellent quality live videos. Test that you have a steady internet connection—that will prevent your stream from breaking up or losing connection while live. 
• Keep your phone and other gear connected to a charger so they don’t die during your livestream.

3. Focus on engagement

The best live creators know that attracting new viewers and driving traffic requires engaging audiences before, during, and after the stream. 

Here are some ideas to boost engagement during your TikTok livestreams:

• Before the stream, frequently post content relevant to your followers during the best times to post on TikTok to maximize engagement and drive traffic to your account. 
• Schedule your stream and announce it in a post to show your followers you’ll be live soon. 
• Share a schedule of topics or events to keep your stream engaging. 
• Consider doing giveaways to attract new followers.
• Host interviews with other TikTok Live users.
• Discuss relevant current events. 
• Offer incentives like product giveaways for new followers or active users. 
• Respond to comments as they come in to show you are listening and value your followers. 
• After the stream, post a TikTok to your followers that recaps the highlights of the stream and announces your next stream. You can also cross-post a highlight reel to your Instagram or other social accounts.

4. Use TikTok Live features 

TikTok offers live features such as Live Gifts and screen effects for real-time fun. Turn on TikTok Live Gifts in the settings before going live and your followers can send you virtual gifts using their TikTok Coins, a type of virtual currency. These gifts will convert to diamonds in your account that you can exchange for cash, which is one way to make money on TikTok.

Another engagement feature is the available screen effects that change the background of your screen or alter the way you look to your audience. Access filters by selecting the magic wand icon in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen while live. You can try a background that makes it look like you’re sitting on a sunny beach or a face filter that adds bunny ears or a fancy mask. 

5. Add hashtags

Make it easier for audiences to discover you by adding hashtags to your streams that are relevant to the content you create. Add your hashtags right after the title of your stream and people who search them will be able to find you. For example, if you stream and post knitting content, you might add #knitting or #yarnlove to your title. This can increase your stream’s visibility, draw in new followers, and strengthen your connection with existing followers.

With the right preparation and techniques for how to go live on TikTok, you can attract other TikTok users and have a community tuning in to each stream.