On TikTok, a video is considered to have “blown up” or gone viral when it accumulates hundreds of thousands or even millions of views and likes quickly. When a TikTok blows up, it typically reaches far beyond the original poster’s follower count and gets shared rapidly across the platform and sometimes other social networks.
TikTok users aim for their videos to go viral because it leads to a massive increase in followers and overall engagement. Having a viral TikTok can help creators gain influence on the platform, leading to collaboration opportunities, sponsorships, and potential income. Going viral validates one’s content creation skills and provides a major popularity boost. In essence, a viral TikTok signifies having created something that resonates with a massive audience.
Some sources indicate that a key motivation is that having a viral TikTok generates a sense of fame and validation. Users feel proud when their content garners substantial attention. The social media age has made going viral an attainable version of fame.
Optimize Your Profile
Your TikTok profile is the first thing people see when they come across your videos, so you want to make sure it looks professional and engaging. According to experts, optimizing your profile is a key way to get more views and followers.
Start by writing an interesting bio that gives people a sense of who you are and what kind of content you post. Use keywords that describe your niche so your profile is more likely to show up in searches. You can change your bio regularly to promote new content. Link to your other social media accounts so fans can follow you elsewhere.
Use a consistent and recognizable profile photo, like your logo or face, so fans can easily identify your brand. According to this source, having a polished profile on TikTok helps build authority and makes you seem more established.
Post Consistently
Posting consistently is key to growing your audience on TikTok. According to WordStream, the ideal posting frequency is 1-5 videos per day (source). The more you post, the more chances you have of going viral. However, avoid posting too much and overwhelming your audience.
Regular posting shows your audience that you are committed to creating content. It also increases the chances that your videos will show up on the For You page. The algorithm favors accounts that post consistently.
When deciding what to post, create a mix of content types. Consider trending sounds, challenges, reaction videos, educational content, behind-the-scenes footage, and more. Cater some videos specifically to your niche while also participating in broader trends. This variety will help you appeal to new viewers while keeping your current audience engaged.
Use Trending Sounds and Hashtags
One of the best ways to increase views and engagement on TikTok is by using trending sounds and hashtags in your videos. The TikTok “Discover” page showcases currently popular sounds and hashtag challenges that are gaining traction. You can tap on any of these trends to see examples of videos using them as inspiration.
When deciding how to incorporate trends creatively, it’s important not to just do the exact same thing as everyone else. Try putting your own unique spin on the trend or song. For example, you could use a portion of the trending sound in the background while creating an original sketch. Popular trends can help expose your content to a wider audience, but it still needs to showcase your personality.
However, be cautious about overusing sounds and hashtags that are extremely common. If a trend feels completely saturated, it may be hard to stand out in that niche. While trends can give your views a boost, rely more on creating captivating, high-quality content showcasing what makes you unique rather than chasing every popular trend.
For keeping track of the latest trending sounds, hashtags, and challenges, check out TikTok’s Discover page as well as the Trending feed on your For You page.
Engage With Your Audience
One of the best ways to grow your TikTok audience is to actively engage with your current followers. Here are some tips for engaging with your audience:
Respond to comments – Take the time to respond to comments on your videos. This shows your followers that you care about them and makes them more likely to stay engaged with your content. According to Whatzapp Lover, responding to comments is “the best way to show your audience you care.” Make sure to reply thoughtfully and politely to keep the conversation going.
Duet or stitch popular videos – Dueting or stitching popular videos can help expose your content to a new audience. Look for trending sounds, hashtags, or creators and make your own fun spin on their content. This is a great way to engage with the larger TikTok community. As noted by Techwafer, stitching and dueting can help you “leverage the existing audiences” of other creators.
Go live consistently – Going live is a great way to engage directly with your audience in real time. Set a regular livestream schedule so your followers know when to tune in. During your broadcasts, interact with viewers through chat, answer questions, and encourage participation through challenges or Q&As. According to Techwafer, going live “allows you to better connect with your audience.”
Optimize Your Videos
When creating TikTok videos, it’s important to optimize them for maximum engagement and viral potential. According to Social Media Examiner, videos between 15-60 seconds tend to perform best on TikTok. Anything shorter than 15 seconds may not provide enough context or entertainment value, while videos longer than 60 seconds may lose viewer attention.
You’ll also want to take advantage of TikTok’s editing tools to make high-quality, polished videos. Some best practices include using transitions between clips, adding text overlays, employing comedic timing between cuts, and incorporating trending effects or filters. Song lyrics and captions can help enhance your storytelling. Ensure the editing maintains a good pace to keep viewers interested.
Additionally, put effort into creating an eye-catching thumbnail image. TikTok automatically pulls a frame from your video to use as the thumbnail, but you can edit it in the app. Aim for something colorful, clear, and compelling that will stand out in a viewer’s feed and entice them to click. According to tips from LinkedIn, you may want to feature your face or product in the thumbnail when applicable.
Promote Outside of TikTok
Sharing your TikTok content on other platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. can help expose your account to new audiences that may not be on TikTok yet (1). You can easily download your TikTok videos and repost them natively on other platforms. Encourage your existing followers on those platforms to like, share, and comment on your reposted TikTok videos. This will help the content spread wider. You can even add captions encouraging people to follow you on TikTok.
Collaborating with influencers in your niche is another great way to tap into their audience and get more exposure for your TikTok account (2). Reach out to influencers with followings in the same size range as you and propose collaborating on TikTok videos together. The combined effort can help both of you gain more followers. You can also guest post on each other’s accounts. Having an influencer with a larger following share your content or profile on their account can lead to a surge in new followers.
(1) https://www.tiktok.com/discover/how-to-promote-account-on-tiktok
(2) https://www.tiktok.com/@coach.stone/video/7311710871393291563
Analyze Your Performance
One of the most important parts of growing your TikTok account is analyzing your performance data and making data-driven decisions. Here are some tips for making the most of TikTok analytics:
Focus on key engagement metrics like views, likes, comments, shares, followers gained, and watch time. According to TikTok analytics experts Keyhole, these are leading indicators of account growth.
Pay attention to when your views happen – according to influencer Elly, you may find particular times of day when your videos get more traction. Posting more consistently during these “viral timing” windows can help increase reach.
Look at how well your videos retain audience attention using watch time metrics. Longer average watch times signal you’re creating compelling content.
Analyze your best performing videos to identify strengths you can replicate across other videos. Look at factors like sound selection, video length, captions, etc.
Use insights from TikTok analytics to guide your strategy. Double down on what’s working and change up what’s not. Continuously refine and optimize based on data.
While TikTok analytics from your phone or desktop dashboard offer helpful high-level insights, for more sophisticated analysis tools like Bazaarvoice can extract deeper data not available from TikTok directly.
Encourage Engagement
One of the best ways to get more engagement on your TikTok videos is to encourage your audience to interact. Here are some tips:
Ask questions in your captions. Pose questions related to your video content to spark discussion in the comments. This gives viewers a reason to respond.
Run contests and giveaways. Offer prizes like free merchandise or gift cards to incentivize engagement. Require followers to like, comment or duet your video for a chance to win. Contests drive more viewers to your page and increase overall participation.
Use prompts and challenges. Create a “challenge” for your followers by asking them to duet or stitch your video with their own take. Or give them a prompt like “Show me your pet’s favorite toy.” Challenges give people a clear call to action.
Overall, actively prompt your audience to respond in creative ways. This transforms viewers into active engagers, helping your videos get more eyeballs through TikTok’s algorithm.
Don’t Try Too Hard
Authenticity is key on TikTok. The algorithm favors genuine engagement over artificial growth tactics. As this article points out, purchasing fake views or bots to inflate your numbers can actually harm your account and lead to penalties from TikTok:
https://medium.com/@khanwasique53/can-you-buy-views-on-the-viral-platform-8e5186956949
It’s better to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content rather than trying to game the system. As this LinkedIn article discusses, TikTok favors authentic, homemade style videos over highly produced content:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-i-use-tiktok-grow-my-business-kelly-yefet
Stay true to yourself and your brand. Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics. Put your energy into connecting with your audience and giving them value, and your growth will follow.
