TikTok Challenges Instagram, Twitter in Rollout of Text-Only Posts
Updated: Dec 18, 2023
TikTok is expanding the content you might find on its platform beyond short-form videos.
The popular social media app announced on Monday that it's now allowing you to create and share text-only posts, which could feature stories, poems and recipes, among other written content. These posts allow you to publish up to 1,000 characters. You can further personalise the posts by adding sounds and music, stickers and hashtags, or a geotag of your location.
"With text posts, we're expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we've seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine," said TikTok in a new release.
Similar to video or photo posts on the app, you can save a text post as a draft to edit, publish, or perhaps even delete later, if you change your mind.
"We're excited to see what our community will create with text posts, a new way to express and share your creativity on TikTok," the company added.
The feature is sort of a cross between a text-only Instagram Story and a tweet from the now-rebranded Twitter, X. After all, it's not the first time that TikTok has looked to competitors for some inspiration on new features. The Chinese-owned short-form video titan last year launched Photo Mode, a feature that enables you to share still photos in a post, accompanied by a caption of up to 2,200 characters and music.
TikTok's rollout of text-only posts also came on the same day as Elon Musk's decision to replace Twitter's iconic bird logo with an "X". The rebrand is part of Musk's vision to turn the app into a so-called "everything app" of the future, where you can engage in public discourse and perform all sorts of daily tasks, such as buying and selling goods.
TikTok announced that it's now allowing you to create and share text-only posts, which could feature stories, poems and recipes, among other written content.
These posts allow you to publish up to 1,000 characters.
You can further personalise the posts by adding sounds and music, stickers and hashtags, or a geotag of your location.
