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Tiktok Script

Use to write a TikTok script — a native, sound-aware short-video script optimized for TikTok's discovery engine (the FYP), built around a brutal 1-…

Social media4 min read

By Frank Heijdenrijk, MIT licence. Shared here with credit.

TikTok Script

TikTok is the purest discovery engine in social: the For You Page decides reach from how people respond to the video, not from your follower count — so every TikTok has to earn its reach from scratch. That makes the rules specific, and different from Reels:

  1. The hook is brutal — ~1 second. Stop the scroll instantly on three channels (verbal + on-screen text + visual) or the video is invisible.
  2. Watch-time and rewatches are everything. Design for completion and a loop, not just a hook.
  3. Make TikToks, not ads. Native, authentic, slightly-raw content beats polished/ad-like content. This is the biggest brand mistake on TikTok — and the pushback this skill makes.
  4. Sound and trends are part of discovery — ride them where they fit, never forced.
  5. TikTok is also a search engine — keywords (spoken + on-screen + caption) get you found.

(Full mechanics in references/tiktok-mechanics.md.)

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Unlocks: Step 0 — Read the foundation first · Step 1 — Lock the concept, goal, and format · Step 2 — Decide the sound · Step 3 — Write the 1-second hook · Step 4 — Structure for watch-time and the loop · Step 5 — Write the production doc · Step 6 — TikTok SEO + caption + hashtags · Step 7 — Production: film-first, or the Veo pack

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