How to Add Text Effects on TikTok that Instantly Grab Attention

Adding text effects to TikTok can make your videos stand out and grab your audience's attention quickly. This article discusses how to add text effects on TikTok and the top alternative, CapCut, for adding text effects on TikTok videos.

CapCut
CapCut
May 12, 2025
59 min(s)

If you want your content to stand out, learn how to add text effects to TikTok videos that grab the audience's attention. This article discusses the benefits and methods for adding text effects to TikTok videos. If you need more detailed video editing, CapCut is the best choice due to its rich and professional text effects and templates. We will also discuss the types of TikTok videos that best suit text effects, such as tutorials, dance challenges, and comedy skits. Let's start!

Table of content
  1. Why add text effects to TikTok videos
  2. How to add text and text effects to TikTok videos
  3. CapCut: Best desktop option for adding text effects on TikTok videos
  4. Best-suited TikTok videos for adding text effects
  5. Top tips for adding text effects to TikTok videos
  6. Conclusion
  7. FAQs

Why add text effects to TikTok videos

  • Increase retention rate: TikTok users swipe very fast, eye-catching text effects (such as dynamic fonts and high contrast colors) can instantly attract the audience to stay, reduce the swipe rate, and increase the retention rate.
  • Highlight key messages: Through the use of text effects in your TikTok videos, you can highlight key messages such as the product price and activity time in a marketing video so that individuals can remember them. It grabs the attention of the audience towards the key message of the video.
  • Increase viewer interaction: You can interact with the audience by adding text to the video, such as "Which one do you like? Leave your choice in the comments" to encourage the audience to share and comment to improve interactivity.
  • Enhance visual appeal: Well-designed text effects add motion, color, and style to your videos, making your videos aesthetically appealing. In this way, you get more viewership.
  • Improve accessibility: Adding subtitles to TikTok videos not only enhances the inclusiveness of the content, making it easier for hearing-impaired and non-native speakers to understand the video information, but also effectively expands the audience and attracts a wider range of user interaction and attention.

How to add text and text effects to TikTok videos

    STEP 1
  1. Create or upload a video on TikTok

First, open the TikTok app and click the "+" button to start a new video. After that, you can either record a video or select a new one from your device's gallery. Once your video is uploaded, click the "Edit" option to go to the editing screen.

    STEP 2
  1. Add text to your video

Once on the editing screen, locate and click the "Text" option at the bottom of the screen. Next, add the text to your video.

    STEP 3
  1. Customize the text

Once you have written the text, customize it by choosing various fonts, colors, backgrounds, and alignments. You can also apply different animations, such as bounce or typewriter animation.

    STEP 4
  1. Set text duration and match with moments

Tap on the text and select "Text duration." Drag the sliders to control when the text appears or disappears in your video, aligning it perfectly with key moments or visuals.

    STEP 5
  1. Preview your video and post

Once happy with the results, preview your video. After that, tap the "Next" symbol in the top-right corner of the screen. Write the appropriate captions, hashtags, and hit the "Post" button to share the video with your followers.

Adding text effects to TikTok videos

TikTok is an excellent tool for adding text effects to TikTok videos. However, its main limitation is that it is only available on your mobile and has limited text editing options. If you want a desktop alternative with extensive text customization options, choose CapCut.

CapCut: Best desktop option for adding text effects on TikTok videos

CapCut is a versatile video editing software with powerful editing features. It is also an excellent tool for adding text effects to TikTok videos, giving you more flexibility and control. It offers features like text animations and text effects to enhance the text. You can also choose from pre-designed text styles and presets. CapCut also offers an auto-caption feature, allowing you to add subtitles to your videos automatically. So, get CapCut today and use its editing features to add advanced text effects to TikTok videos.

Key features

  • Text effects: Elevate your videos with CapCut's advanced text effects, such as shadows, glow, or outlines, to make your text stand out against the background.
  • Text animations: To make your text more lively, use CapCut's advanced text animations, such as fade or bounce.
  • Text styles and presets: CapCut offers a wide range of pre-designed text styles to give your videos a professional touch.
  • Auto captions: CapCut's auto caption generator allows you to generate subtitles, saving time and improving accessibility automatically.
  • AI text: You can easily generate text effects you want by entering text and effect descriptions in the AI text feature.
  • Integrate with TikTok: CapCut integrates with TikTok, so you can share videos directly on TikTok once edited.

Steps to use CapCut for adding text effects to TikTok videos

    STEP 1
  1. Import your video

First, open CapCut and create a new project. Next, click "Import" and select a video you want to edit from your PC. If your video is already present in CapCut, go to "My Spaces" to access it. Once the video is in the timeline, click the "Ratio" option below the video and resize it to 9:16, the standard aspect ratio for TikTok videos.

Importing your video into CapCut
    STEP 2
  1. Add text effects to the video

To add text to your video, click the "Text" option. Then, click on "Text effects" to select the text effect you like, add it to the timeline, and click on it. Enter your text in the text box. Then, adjust the text position, size, and duration by dragging. You can also apply text templates and text animations to make it seem better.

Adding text effects to the videos in CapCut
    STEP 3
  1. Export the video

Once you are satisfied with the final output, click "Export" in the top-right corner of the screen and select your preferred format and resolution. Choose a resolution of 2K or higher, and click "Export" to save the video. Once exported, you can share the video directly on TikTok.

Exporting the video in CapCut

Best-suited TikTok videos for adding text effects

    1
  1. Tutorials or how-to videos

Adding text effects to tutorial videos helps to break down the instructions carefully, keeping the viewers engaged. Highlight the key tips or messages with bold or prominent text. This makes the tutorials easy and fun to follow.

Text effects for tutorials or how-to videos
    2
  1. Dance challenges

Use text to display the dance names or countdowns in a fun and animated style. Vibrant text effects can match the beats, making your videos more pleasing. Text effects also enable viewers to learn and follow your steps easily.

Text effects for dance challenges
    3
  1. Storytime videos

Text effects add emotion and drama to your videos by focusing on the key moments in the story. They also help break longer stories into sections, making it easy for viewers to comprehend. Use creative fonts and animations to make your stories more dynamic.

Text effects for storytime videos
    4
  1. Comedy skits

Use text to punchline jokes or instantly emphasize funny moments. Animated text can enhance the timing and humor of your text. Quick text flashes make the jokes more memorable.

Text effects for comedy skits
    5
  1. Music videos

Adding beat highlights or synced lyrics with glowing effects makes your music videos more engaging. Text animations can move in rhythm with the music, creating a concert-like feel for the audience.

Text effects for music videos

Top tips for adding text effects to TikTok videos

  • Use animated text

Animated text instantly grabs the viewer's attention, adding movement to your videos. Use CapCut's features, such as fade or bounce, to make your text more engaging and visually appealing.

  • Using AI-generated text

If you feel that the preset text templates or effects don't match your TikTok video, you can harness the power of AI to create truly unique text effects. CapCut's AI text feature helps you generate the text effects you want by just typing in your request, such as "transparent clear glass reflects light beautifully."

  • Keep it short and concise

Keep the text brief and concise. Don't write too much text, as it can overwhelm the viewers. Use CapCut's timeline options to set the duration for which each text appears or disappears in the video.

  • Add text effects for emphasis

Text effects, such as shadows, strokes, and glowing edges, can make your text stand out against the background. CapCut offers a wide range of text effects, including shadows and strokes, to enhance the impact of your videos.

  • Match the text with the beat

For enhanced impact, sync your text with music or sound effects. CapCut allows you to adjust the timing and duration of text, making it easier to match the text with the video's beat. You can use CapCut's beat marker to mark the beats and move the text to follow them.

  • Match the text style with the video style

Avoid using text that does not match the video style, which will make the audience feel detached when watching. For example, in tutorial videos, choosing clean sans-serif fonts is better. CapCut offers diverse text fonts to meet all kinds of videos.

  • Refer to color psychology

The color selection of text is also very important. You can refer to color psychology to choose text colors, such as text colors that complement the background (yellow + purple background). In addition, consider emotional cues, red represents urgency, and blue represents professionalism.

  • Use auto captions

If the video is long and you need to add a lot of subtitles for the speaker, you can use CapCut's auto captions to generate subtitles to improve work efficiency. In addition to generating language that matches voiceover, CapCut also allows you to generate bilingual subtitles for non-native speakers to understand the video content.

Conclusion

Adding text effects on TikTok videos makes them more eye-catching and increases engagement. This article discusses the benefits and methods of adding text effects to TikTok videos. Following pro tips, like syncing text and using animated text, makes your videos stand out and keeps viewers hooked. Although TikTok is an excellent tool for adding text effects, it offers limited editing features. So, if you want an offline alternative with more text customization options, choose CapCut. Its features, like auto captions, text animations, and text effects, make your TikTok videos stand out. So, get CapCut today and use its text customization options to add appealing text to TikTok videos.

FAQs

    1
  1. Can I apply text effects on TikTok on a PC?

No, TikTok's web version doesn't allow adding text effects. You can view and edit the videos, but editing options such as text effects aren't present. You can use an external editor, such as CapCut, for better control. It offers complete text options for easily adding, editing, and styling text effects.

    2
  1. Are there any restrictions on the number of text effects you can apply to a single TikTok video?

No, there is no official restriction on the number of text effects you can apply to a single video. However, overloading your video with too many effects reduces its quality and impact. Always use text effects creatively. Tools like CapCut offer advanced text effects, such as shadows, glow, and more, allowing you to apply them without too much clutter.

    3
  1. How to adjust it uniformly after adding multiple text effects on TikTok?

After adding multiple text effects on TikTok, you can manually drag and align them. TikTok lets you rotate, resize, and reposition each text box individually. However, getting the ideal adjustment on TikTok is quite tricky. Use tools like CapCut, which allows you to align multiple text layers easily and efficiently, giving your text a polished appearance.