BY Fast Company 3 MINUTE READ

Looking to enhance your social media presence and grow your following quickly and efficiently? Going live on TikTok–like most social media platforms–is one of the best ways to engage with your followers in real-time while ensuring your face or brand circulates on the platform.

When you go live on TikTok, you open up a whole different side of social media: Live streams are a more spontaneous way of creating content that static posts or videos can’t compete with. They allows your followers to ask you questions and hang out with you, virtually. The unedited content allows your followers to get to know you a bit better and, in turn, gives you the opportunity to better understand your audience.

Although going live on TikTok might seem a little intimidating at first, it’s well worth considering if you want to connect with your followers on a deeper level. Here’s everything you need to know to go live on TikTok, no matter how many followers you have.

HOW TO GO LIVE ON TIKTOK

Going live on TikTok is relatively easy if you already have live streaming capabilities. All you have to do is hit the “create” icon (the plus sign) on the TikTok home screen and swipe all the way left to the “live” button. From there, you’ll be prompted to select a cover image and title for your upcoming live stream.

Keep in mind that the image and title will be the first thing your followers see, so you’ll want to make sure that it’s captivating enough to get people to click.

Once you’ve selected your image and caption and you’re ready to go live, you’ll want to click the “go live” button. TikTok will count you down from three and you’ll be officially live. When you’re ready to end the live stream, all you have to do is click the “x” button at the top left corner of your screen.

HOW MANY FOLLOWERS ON TIKTOK DO YOU NEED TO GO LIVE?

Here’s where things might get a little tricky for some TikTok users: Right now, TikTok doesn’t grant live-streaming privileges to just anyone, and there are a few conditions you’ll need to meet if you want to be able to go live on the app. That being said, it’s not all that difficult to meet the requirements if you’re a regular TikTok user working on building your following and engagement.

In order to go live on TikTok, you need to have a minimum of 1,000 followers (more on that below). It’s also important to note that TikTok doesn’t allow most minors to live stream, full stop. TikTok users must be at least 16 years of age in order to hit the live button.

HOW TO GO LIVE ON TIKTOK WITHOUT 1,000 FOLLOWERS

Technically speaking, TikTok requires users to have a minimum of 1,000 followers in order to start a live stream. Don’t let that discourage you, though. If the thought of working your way up to 1,000 followers on TikTok seems like a daunting task, there might be another workaround that’ll let you skirt the rules (or so we’ve heard).

You’ll want to note that this hack isn’t approved by TikTok–but it has been proven to work for some users. The live-streaming hack involves submitting a support ticket claiming that you used to have live-streaming access and asking to have it reinstated on your account.

You can submit a support ticket by clicking the menu button in the top right corner of your screen. From there, you’ll want to hit the “settings and privacy” button, scroll down, and click “report a problem.” Click “I can’t start a LIVE” and follow the prompts to fill out a report. After you submit the report, you’ll have to wait anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to find out whether you may or may not end up with live-streaming privileges.

If the hack doesn’t work, consider working on growing your following in order to land live-streaming privileges organically.

FastCompany