TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok has become one of the main platforms for sharing video content online.
One of the key features of TikTok is the ability to upload videos not just recorded directly within the app, but also from your device’s camera roll. This allows greater flexibility and creativity when creating TikTok videos, as you can upload edited videos, longer videos, and videos filmed on other devices.
Uploading from your camera roll enables you to upload higher quality videos recorded with professional equipment. It also allows you to upload videos you’ve previously recorded on your phone rather than having to create new content directly in the TikTok app. This saves time and lets you easily repurpose existing videos for TikTok.
Prerequisites
Before uploading a video from your camera roll to TikTok, there are a couple prerequisites you need to fulfill:
First, you must have the TikTok app installed on your mobile device. The TikTok app is available for free download from both the Apple App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Second, you need to have videos saved in your camera roll that you want to upload. The camera roll is the collection of photos and videos you’ve taken on your mobile device’s camera. Make sure you have videos in your camera roll that are formatted properly for TikTok before trying to upload them.
Once you have the TikTok app installed and videos ready in your camera roll, you’ll be ready to upload them to TikTok.
Launch TikTok App
To upload a video from your camera roll, you first need to open the TikTok app on your mobile device. TikTok is available for free download on both Android and iOS devices.
Once downloaded, simply tap on the TikTok app icon on your home screen to launch it. You’ll need to log into your TikTok account if you aren’t already to access the video uploading feature.
Tap the Plus Icon
To start uploading a video from your camera roll to TikTok, the first step is to tap the plus icon at the bottom of the app screen. This icon looks like a white plus sign inside a red circle. According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, the plus icon is located at the bottom of the feed and opens up the content creation screen when tapped.
Tapping this plus icon is the signal to TikTok that you want to create a new video post. It takes you to the content recording and uploading screen where you can then select to upload an existing video from your camera roll.
Select Upload
After tapping the plus icon to open the content creation menu, you will need to tap the “Upload” button to upload a video from your camera roll. The upload button is located next to the record button and has an upward arrow icon. Tapping this will allow you to browse and select a video from your camera roll to upload.
As TikTok’s support site explains, “Tap + at bottom of the screen. Upload content from your device Library or use the TikTok camera.” https://support.tiktok.com/en/getting-started/creating-your-first-video
Choose Video Source
When uploading a video from your camera roll to TikTok, you’ll need to select your camera roll as the video source. Here are the steps:
After tapping the plus icon and selecting “Upload”, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose your video source. The options include:
- Record a Video
- Upload from Camera Roll
- Live
Select “Upload from Camera Roll” to access videos stored on your device. Tapping this opens your photo gallery or file manager, allowing you to browse and select a video from your camera roll (Source).
This is the key step that lets you upload existing videos instead of recording new footage directly in the TikTok app. Choosing your camera roll provides access to videos you’ve already captured on your smartphone.
Pick Video
Once you tap on Upload in the previous step, you will be taken to your photo gallery. Here you can browse and select the video you want to upload from your camera roll. Simply tap on the video you want to select it. You may need to allow TikTok access to your photos the first time you do this.
According to How to upload a video from your camera roll to TikTok, after tapping Upload, you can then “Select the video (or videos) that you’d like to upload from your phone’s media gallery.”
Edit Video
After selecting your video, you can edit and customize it before posting to TikTok. The TikTok app includes various editing features to trim, splice, and enhance your videos.
To trim your video, tap the scissors icon at the bottom to bring up the trimming slider. Drag the sliders to set the start and end points for the trimmed video. You can trim down long videos to just the best parts.
TikTok also provides various effects and filters to spice up your video visually. Tap the magic wand icon to browse the effects library with options like black and white, vintage, glitch, and more. You can also add colored filters to instantly change the look and mood.
Adding text is easy in the TikTok editor. Tap the text icon, select your font, color, and enter your text. You can move the text box anywhere on screen. This lets you overlay captions, titles, subtitles, and other text elements.
Other editing features include the ability to adjust speed, add stickers, insert sounds and music, and more. Get creative with the editing tools to make your TikTok videos more engaging and share-worthy.
According to TikTok’s official editing platform, the app provides a powerful suite of editing features comparable to professional tools.
Add Captions
An important part of uploading videos to TikTok is adding captions. Captions make your videos more engaging and discoverable. According to research by Hootsuite, captions are one of the best ways to increase views and go viral on TikTok.
TikTok makes it easy to add text captions directly on your videos. After selecting your video, tap on the “Text” icon on the editing screen. This will bring up the caption editor. Type out your caption and place it where you want over the video.
You can get creative with captions by trying out different text styles, colors, positions, etc. Funny or compelling captions tend to perform best on TikTok according to Hootsuite (source).
TikTok also offers auto-captioning powered by artificial intelligence. This automatically transcribes speech in your videos into captions. To use this, toggle on “Auto Captions” after uploading your video according to TikTok’s newsroom (source).
Great captions can make the difference between a popular TikTok and one that flops. Take your time to craft creative and engaging captions tailored to your brand and audience.
Post Video
Once you are satisfied with your video edits and captions, the final step is to post the video to TikTok. Simply tap on the “Post” button at the bottom right of the screen to upload the video from your camera roll to your TikTok account.[1] Tapping this button will initiate the upload process and add the video to your profile page and the platform’s main feed for others to view.
The “Post” button allows you to easily publish your edited video from your camera roll directly to TikTok. It is the last step you need to take to share your content after creating and editing it within the app. With just a tap, your camera roll video will be live on TikTok for your followers and the community to enjoy.
[1] https://support.tiktok.com/en/getting-started/creating-your-first-video
