A technically valid TikTok can still fail creatively, and a strong opening can still fail at publishing. Treat hook development, media validation, rights, platform settings, approval, and live verification as one workflow.
Current BlendDuck media contract
TikTok Direct Post requires either one video or a photo post containing one to thirty-five images. Images and video cannot be mixed. Video accepts MP4, MOV, or WebM in the current contract, up to 4 GB, with width and height each between 360 and 4,096 pixels.
Photo posts accept JPEG or WebP images up to 20 MB each. A photo post can use a title of up to 90 characters and a caption of up to 4,000 characters. Video captions support up to 2,200 characters.
Publishers must choose an available privacy level and explicitly accept publishing consent. Controls may include comments, duet, stitch, automatic music for photo posts, AI-video disclosure, and commercial-content disclosure. When commercial disclosure is enabled, identify promotion of your own brand, a third party, or both. Third-party branded content cannot use Only me visibility.
Write a hook as a testable promise
The hook is the first understandable reason to continue, not merely the first sentence. It can be visual, spoken, textual, or created by an action. Useful families include:
- result first: show the finished state before explaining it;
- problem recognition: name a specific frustrating situation;
- demonstration: begin while the useful action is already happening;
- contrast: place the old and new approach side by side;
- question with evidence: ask something the video can actually resolve;
- informed point of view: make a scoped claim and earn it with proof.
Avoid empty suspense. If the first seconds promise a result, the rest of the video must deliver it. Add the subject, audience, or condition needed to keep the claim honest.
Build proof and pacing
Outline the video as promise, proof, and next step. Proof might be a live demonstration, before-and-after state, customer evidence with consent, source-backed explanation, or a transparent process. Cut repetition, but leave enough time for viewers to inspect important details.
Use captions that can be read at phone size and do not cover the subject. Test the export with sound on and off. Review music and voice levels, visual flashes, claims, names, prices, dates, and the continuity between the hook and final action.
For photo posts, design a readable sequence rather than a pile of images. The title and first image should establish the topic; each image should advance it. Decide whether auto-added music fits the rights, tone, and campaign plan.
Settings, disclosure, and approval
Privacy, comment, duet, and stitch settings shape distribution and community workload. Choose them deliberately, record the decision, and assign an owner for responses or escalation.
Use commercial-content controls when the post promotes a brand, product, or service. Distinguish your own brand from paid or otherwise branded third-party content. Mark AI-generated video when required. These settings should be approved with the creative, not added as an afterthought.
Preserve the approved media version, caption, title, settings, disclosures, and consent state. A new audio track, claim, link, or disclosure can invalidate approval.
Publishing QA and hook experiments
After sending, distinguish accepted, processing, live, failed, and unknown. Verify the public result, privacy, caption, title, media order, sound, disclosure, and URL. Investigate before retrying.
For experiments, keep the underlying promise and audience stable while changing one opening family. Compare retention and the objective metric over a consistent window. Record production effort and comment-moderation load alongside distribution.
TikTok checklist
- One video or 1–35 JPEG/WebP photos, never mixed
- Video is MP4, MOV, or WebM and within size/dimension limits
- Photo title within 90 characters when used
- Caption within 2,200 for video or 4,000 for photos
- Hook makes a specific promise the content fulfills
- Privacy, comments, duet, stitch, and music settings reviewed
- Commercial and AI disclosures plus publishing consent recorded
- Live media, settings, disclosure, and URL verified
Current product limits were verified on 2026-08-23 against BlendDuck's TikTok platform contract. TikTok account options and policies can change; confirm sensitive requirements in current first-party documentation.
