Monthly Archives: November 2022

Are you interested in going live on TikTok but have a few reservations? If you are curious about TikTok LIVE, its features, and how to go live — this article is for you! To help you navigate TikTok LIVE, we’ll dive into the top TikTok LIVE features, the requirements to go live, and a few tips to keep in mind before you start your first broadcast.

What is TikTok LIVE?

TikTok LIVE Features

How to Go Live on TikTok

How to Join Someone’s TikTok LIVE

Why can’t I go live on TikTok?

Tips for Going Live on TikTok

What is TikTok LIVE?

TikTok LIVE is a feature that allows users to interact with creators in real-time via livestreams. Users 16 years old or older can launch livestreams on TikTok, and users18 years old or older can send and receive gifts during a live.

Of course, all users must abide by TikTok’s community guidelines, or their account will be banned, and they will no longer have access to TikTok LIVE.

TikTok LIVE Features

Going live on TikTok allows you to engage with your followers on the platform and build community. The app offers ways to maximize the experience for creators and viewers when going live.

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Here are some of the top features:

Q&A

The Q&A feature allows creators to respond to audience questions directly during the livestream. Creators are given access to various tools to select, display, and respond to only the questions they want to answer.

Multi-Guest

TikTok’s multi-guest feature allows users to go live with up to five guests using a panel or grid layout. This feature is excellent for hosting panel discussions, live how-to videos, and other community-based events.

Live events

To build anticipation around your Live, you can schedule, manage, and promote your livestream ahead of time to your followers.

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Gifts

If you are a part of TikTok’s Creator Next Program, viewers can give you badges that hold monetary value during a live stream if they enjoy your content. Only non-business accounts and users 18 years or older can accept these rewards unless you live in South Korea, where the minimum age requirement is 19, or in Japan, where it’s 20.)

Moderators

When going live, you can assign other users to moderate the chatroom to ensure it’s safe and in line with the content you share.

LIVE Donations

TikTok’s LIVE Donations button allows your audience to donate to your chosen charity. You can select your cause either before or during your stream. To set up donations before the stream:

Select the anchor link that says “Select Non-Profit” in the top left corner.
Select the non-profit you’d like to support and add to your livestream.
Press “Go LIVE” once the nonprofit you select appears in the top left corner.

To set up donations during the stream:

Click the bottom right arrow for more options.
Click “Support Non-Profit.”
Select a non-profit to add.
Place the donations sticker wherever you prefer on the live screen.

LIVE Topics

This feature gives your audience an idea of what to expect in your livestream. LIVE Topics include music, sports, food, gaming, and DIY categories. LIVE Topics also boosts the discoverability of your livestream by enabling new viewers to discover and join your stream based on the LIVE Topic you’re covering.

Keyword Filters

Another way to protect your live stream is by automatically removing comments that feature words or phrases you’ve flagged.

How to Go Live on TikTok

1. Open the app and click on the ‘+’ sign.

2. Slide to the ‘LIVE’ tab.

3. Add a title.

4. Click ‘Go Live.’

After your live, you can access the recording for up to 90 days by going to your “settings and privacy” tab and selecting “LIVE replay.” From there, you can download your live video or delete it.

How to Join Someone’s TikTok LIVE

Send a request to join someone else’s TikTok LIVE. To do this, click on the livestream you want to join. Then, head to the comments section and click the icon that looks like two people. Finally, hit the ref request button. If the host of the TikTok Live accepts your request, you’ll join their livestream.

Why can’t I go live on TikTok?

There are several reasons why you may not see the option to go live on TikTok, such as:

You’re under 18 years old.

You have less than 1,000 followers.
You have recently violated one of TikTok’s policies and are under review or suspension.

If you meet the requirements and can’t go live, you can report this issue to TikTok.

Tips for Going Live on TikTok

1. Know when your audience is most active on the app.

You want to ensure you reach your target audience by providing a more personalized experience and relevant advertising. This means knowing exactly when most are active on the app.

Check your “Followers” tab in your Analytics to find this out. It will tell you what times and days your followers are most active, along with other insights, like videos and sounds that are most popular with your followers.

All of this information will be valuable when planning your live.

2. Set the stage.

Nothing makes me click out of a live quicker than lousy lighting.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your lighting is arranged ahead of time. This can mean setting up before a window that gets great natural light or investing in artificial lights.

The next thing you’ll need is a quiet room. Make sure there isn’t a ton of background noise, as that can distract viewers and make it hard to maintain their attention. You can also invest in an external mic to improve your sound quality.

In addition, consider investing in a tripod. This will allow you to move freely as you are on the live.

Lastly, make sure your wi-fi connection is strong. You can quickly lose viewers if they struggle to hear or see you on the app.

3. Have a clear goal and outline.

Any time you plan on interacting with your audience, you should have a clear goal. It can be building brand awareness, learning more about your audience, leading users to your website, generating leads, etc.

Once you know what your goal is, outline your broadcast. This will ensure you communicate your key points and meet your end goal.

Here’s an example of a simple outline for a brand that’s announcing a new product:

Welcome the audience and shout out specific usernames.
Announce the new product.
Dive into product specifics, such as benefits, features, and initial customer reviews

Share discount code.
Direct viewers to the website for purchase.
Answer questions about the new product.
Direct users to the website and sign off.

4. Have a moderator.

A moderator is a user you assign to ensure the chatroom is safe and enjoyableduring your broadcast.

Chats are notorious for having bots and trolls that can distract users and keep you from seeing important messages from your audience. The moderator will help you manage the live and allow you to focus on engaging your audience and sharing your message.

Going live on TikTok is a great way to connect with your audience and strengthen that brand loyalty. If you’re not yet at 1,000 followers, gather ideas for broadcasts by looking at your competitors and seeing which live strategy will most effectively meet your goal.

This way, you’ll be more than ready when your account meets the requirements.

Your nonprofit likely takes up a lot of your time, and you might not have a huge staff to delegate responsibilities to. So, taking the time to use online platforms might not seem like the best use of your time.

However, platforms like LinkedIn can be great for nonprofits, especially for connecting with people interested in your cause, inspiring them to take action, and even hiring new employees.

You’ll have to dedicate a bit of time to use it, but it’ll pay off in the end. Read on to use this piece as a guide for creating a LinkedIn page for your nonprofit.

Table of Contents:

How to Create a LinkedIn Page for a Nonprofit Organization
How to Use LinkedIn for Nonprofits
Best Nonprofit LinkedIn Profiles

How to Create a LinkedIn Page for a Nonprofit Organization

Creating a LinkedIn Page for your nonprofit helps people interested in your cause discover you, learn about your mission, and interact with you on the platform. It can also help you attract new employees if you post job openings.

Let’s go over how you can create one.

1. Navigate to LinkedIn Pages or LinkedIn.com

LinkedIn Pages is the platform’s native tool for creating a page. If you start from this site, click “Create your Page” on the Pages page.

You can also start from LinkedIn.com, which is a great option if you already have a LinkedIn Profile. To do this within your profile, tap the “Work” button in the navigation header and click “Create a Company Page+” at the bottom.

2. Select your page type.

As a nonprofit, a best practice is to select “Company.”

3. Describe your page.

The next step is to input identifying information. This includes your nonprofit’s name and an optional link to your website (sharing one can help people find you on other platforms).

You also have to create a unique URL; if it’s available, aim to make it your org name. For example, if you’re Save The Environment, your URL could be savetheenvironment.

4. Add identifying company details.

In the company details section, input your industry, company size, and company type, which is where you’ll note that the page is for a nonprofit.

You can also add unique identifying elements to your pages, like your logo and a brief tagline to describe your mission.

5. Preview and launch your page.

Once you’ve added all your info, preview your page to ensure you’re happy with how it looks, and make any changes if you aren’t.

When you’re satisfied, click “Create Page,” and note that you’ll be asked to verify that you’re an authorized representative of the nonprofit before the page goes live.

6. Share your nonprofit story.

After you’ve created your page, you can add more information about your story to inspire engagement and help people learn more about you.

You can add an “About Us” section, go more in-depth into your story and how you came to be, and even include a CTA to activate readers and inspire them to take action with your cause.

It’s also important to add your location, so people know where you are if they’re interested in volunteering. A unique cover photo can capture attention.

Now that you’ve created your page let’s go over how you can use it.

How to Use LinkedIn for Nonprofits

1. Share interesting content.

A great way for nonprofits to generate engagement and interaction is to share content. It will help people learn more about your operations, upcoming events, and volunteer opportunities.

LinkedIn says that pages that post daily get  2x the engagement. If you’re a smaller nonprofit, 2x daily might not be in your bandwidth, so aim to be as active as possible.

Some content ideas to share on LinkedIn are:

Images and videos of events, like fundraisers, to show how events have gone and inspire others to participate in the future.
Links to fundraisers or other donation opportunities.
Information about upcoming events and programming, like volunteer opportunities.
Educational content about your nonprofit niche to help people learn more about your cause, why it’s important, and why they need to get involved.
Content that shows your impact, like the results of a beach cleanup.
Employee spotlights so people can learn more about who runs your operations.
Job opportunities so those interested in investing more time in your cause can do so.

A bonus to sharing content is that it is available for anyone to see on your page when they land there.

2. Create a LinkedIn Group

A LinkedIn Group is a valuable way to engage with people interested in your mission.

You can share content and members can make their own posts, share their niche expertise, or even talk about their positive experiences with your nonprofit. When people interact in your group, you can build relationships and deepen connections with those interested in supporting and elevating your mission.

3. Share job opportunities.

LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a professional networking and employment platform. As a result, it’s a great way for you to share job opportunities at your nonprofits with professionals looking for new roles that are already interested in you and your mission.

4. Invite your staff to talk about you.

You can invite your staff to talk about your nonprofit on their page to generate interest with their connections that don’t know about you yet. This can apply to volunteers to paid staff alike.

For example, if an employee shares a post on their profile about an upcoming event, their connections might come across it and become inspired to attend the event to learn more about your organization.

Encouraging others to post about you in a genuine way also helps you build credibility.

5. Bonus: Use LinkedIn Ads

Some nonprofits might not have the budget to pay for LinkedIn ads, but those that do can benefit from them and use them to build awareness and attract new interested people.

All LinkedIn ads have a specific objective, awareness, consideration, or conversions, so you can pick one that best meets your needs. You can also select specific targeting criteria, a specific ad format, and a budget that best suits your needs.

This piece is a helpful guide to creating advertisements on LinkedIn.

Best Nonprofit LinkedIn Profiles

A great way to optimize your LinkedIn presence is to learn from other nonprofits on the platform. Below we’ll go over some great examples to use as inspiration.

1. The Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world’s oceans.

What we like:

A clear tagline quickly summarizes The Surfrider Foundations’ mission so anyone browsing can immediately learn what it does.

Its About Us page features critical information, including a longer description of its mission and a link to an external company website for people to learn more.
Sharing engaging images shows the impact of its events and programming.

2. Race Forward

Race Forward is dedicated to racial justice and solving complex racial issues. 

What we like:

It shares videos advertising events to generate excitement for upcoming programming.

Posting job opportunities helps Race Forward attract talent on the platform to let people know that they can support the cause and further their impact with employment.

3. Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to reducing the number of homeless pets.

What we like:

Sharing content to demonstrate the impact of its work helps Best Friends Animal Society inspire others to participate and make a difference as well.

It shares educational content related to its niche that helps others learn more about its mission and ways to elevate the cause.

4. The Farmlink Project

The Farmlink Project connects farmers to food banks to deliver farm fresh produce to those in need while eliminating food waste.

What we like:

Educational content helps The Farmlink Project inform its audience about the background of its mission and why it’s important.

Sneak peeks into day-to-day operations give its supporters a preview into operations and lets them know it’s still up and running.

The Farmlink Project engages with the community in comment sections to develop and deepen relationships with people supporting its cause.

Over to You

LinkedIn is a valuable platform for nonprofits to use, especially when it comes to finding active individuals who are interested in making a difference for the causes they believe in.

I remember recording a 20-minute video I intended to upload to Instagram as IGTV content. The video was a collaboration with a few of my content creator friends, and I was so excited to share it. Imagine my surprise — and confusion — when I logged into Instagram and couldn’t find the IGTV feature! I remember thinking, “Is IGTV gone?”

The simple answer is yes, but don’t worry — there are still ways to share long-form content on Instagram. Here’s what you need to know about the fate of IGTV and video sharing on the app.

What happened to IGTV on Instagram?

In October 2021, Instagram scrapped IGTV as the social network shifted its focus toward video content. IGTV was combined with in-feed videos, forming the new Instagram Video feature. In July 2022, the Instagram Video and Instagram Reels tabs were consolidated to create a singular space for all video content, and all videos will be shared as Reels.

Image source: Instagram

So, if Instagram wants to pivot more toward videos, why would it do away with IGTV? Well, IGTV focused on long-form videos in the hopes that it could compete with YouTube. However, TikTok soon rose in popularity, and TikTok’s short-form videos became more popular among social media users.

To remain competitive, Instagram discontinued IGTV and launched Instagram Reels before launching Instagram Video.

How Instagram Video is Different from IGTV

For starters, Instagram TV was a standalone app dedicated to long-form Instagram videos, though the feature’s basic functionality was available on the main Instagram app and website. In contrast, Instagram Video houses all video content in a tab on the user’s profile and feed within the Instagram app, so there’s no need for a separate application.

Another difference is that a video uploaded via mobile to IGTV can be up to 15 minutes, while desktop uploads can be up to 60 minutes. However, all video content uploaded to Instagram Video can be up to 60 minutes long, regardless of how it’s uploaded.

Any video uploaded to Instagram less than 15 minutes long will be displayed as a Reel as of July 2022.

To compete with TikTok, Instagram Video features include different tools, such as trimming, filters, and the ability to tag people and locations.

Instagram also changed IGTV ads to “in-stream video ads” that are no longer than 60 seconds.

Where to Find Instagram Videos on Your Profile

The Instagram Video tab, now merged with the Reels tab, can be found under a user’s bio between the tabs for the user’s grid and tagged content. Before, video content could be found in different areas around the app instead of in one dedicated place.

Image source: Instagram

Instagram is constantly evolving to compete with new social networks like TikTok and to keep its place as a fixture in the creator economy. So, users can expect even more changes in the future as Instagram continues to prioritize videos over photos.

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