TikTok video creation

Based on our learnings developing The Intercept's voice on Tiktok, we came up with the following key steps to work on content with creators.

Step 1: Choose a story

The first step before creating a TikTok is to think about what kind of story you want to tell— or what simple but important point you want to get across. For that, nothing better than starting with something you might have already published at The Intercept. You might consider breaking a longer story into a series, taking into account that the shorter TikTok videos are, the better.

Step 2: Think about the structure

Starting a TikTok video from scratch can be challenging. So we created this simple structure that can help you. It’s essential to have a catchy hook at the beginning of the video, continuing by providing the essential information before further elaborating on the story.

It is recommended to divide the video's content into five parts:

• Catchy opening

• The most important piece of information

• Supporting argument 1

• Supporting argument 2

• Conclusion (that somehow refers back to the catchy opening, if you can)

Step 3: Draft your Script

Once you have thought about all the points above, the most effective way to advance is to create a simple video script. Here's an example of a video script, done by Jordan Smith and Travis Mannon:

Common mistakes:

• Too much text on the screen.

• Not able to engage and/or trigger curiosity in the first five seconds.

Other tips:

• Even though you are making a video that, hopefully, will be seen by thousands, talk to one individual viewer. "Did you know?" at the beginning of the video is a good question to start such a dialogue. Another possible opener: "You might have heard that..."

• Make videos short. Nearly 50 percent of users surveyed by TikTok said videos longer than a minute were stressful; a third of users watched videos online at double speed.

• ...but you can try making them longer as well. Earlier in 2022, TikTok expanded its max video length to 10 minutes. This change might be useful for The Intercept because its “brand” is in-depth journalism and investigations. If you do try making long-form TikToks, we recommend you wait until you have an explosive lede or hook that makes it hard to look away. Even with a longer story, the first five seconds are crucial.

• Add captions. Not only does adding captions make your video more inclusive, but according to TikTok itself, it also increases impressions by 55.7%.

• Keep your video orientation vertical. TikTok recommends sharing videos with vertical orientation. They receive 40% more impressions compared to videos using a square or horizontal aspect ratio.