TikTok is a popular short-form video app that allows users to create, share, and discover videos ranging from 3 to 60 seconds. The app has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. On TikTok, every user has a follower count, which shows how many other users are subscribed to see that person’s new content in their feed.
Gaining a high number of TikTok followers is important for several reasons. According to social media expert Mike Gingerich, “The more followers you have, the more people you can potentially reach with your videos.” More followers leads to more views, shares, likes, and comments, helping creators grow a larger audience for their content. Additionally, having more followers boosts a user’s credibility and influence on the app. Brands with high follower counts can leverage their audience to promote products or services. For individuals, a substantial follower base opens up opportunities for sponsorships, brand partnerships and earning revenue through TikTok’s Creator Fund program.
Post Engaging Content
One of the most important ways to gain followers on TikTok is to consistently post engaging, high-quality content. TikTok’s algorithm is designed to promote videos that keep viewers interested and entertained from start to finish. Here are some tips for creating compelling TikTok videos:
Pay attention to the latest viral trends and challenges on TikTok. When you incorporate popular audios, hashtags, or effects into your videos, you’re more likely to show up in relevant feeds. Check out trending sounds and hashtags daily to ensure your content is timely and captivating. According to this source, TikTok’s algorithm favors videos using trending content.
Hook viewers immediately within the first few seconds. Employ eye-catching text overlays, dynamic editing, or intriguing teaser content to capture attention right away. The most successful TikTok videos feature an introduction that leaves users wanting more.
Film videos vertically in high resolution. TikTok videos have an aspect ratio of 9:16. Recording horizontally or in poor lighting can negatively impact video quality. Use proper lighting and hold your phone vertically to produce professional-looking results.
Edit carefully with smooth transitions, text, effects, and music. High-quality editing elevates your content and makes it more likely to be promoted by the algorithm. Take time to arrange clips artfully and add embellishments that enhance your message.
Optimize Your Profile
One of the best ways to gain followers on TikTok is to optimize your profile to attract the right audience. Here are some tips for optimizing your TikTok profile:
Write a good bio. Your bio is valuable real estate to share who you are and what you do. Craft a bio that is short, descriptive, and engaging. Include keywords and emojis to make it pop.
Choose a profile photo. Your profile photo is the first thing people will see, so choose a high-quality, eye-catching image. Use a headshot, logo, or image related to your brand. Make sure it looks good small and at full size.
Link other social media. Add links to your other social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter in your bio. This allows viewers to follow you on other channels.
According to TikTok’s tips for optimizing your profile, carefully considering your username, bio, profile picture and linked accounts can help attract more engaged followers.
Go Live
Hosting livestreams is a great way to engage your audience in real time and potentially gain more followers on TikTok. When you go live, your followers will get a notification that you are streaming, which can help attract more viewers. Interacting with your viewers through the live chat feature helps create a more personalized connection.
To go live on TikTok, you need at least 1,000 followers. You also must be 16 years or older. Once you meet these requirements, you can start broadcasting by tapping the “+” button on your profile and selecting “Go LIVE”. When live, you can invite guests to join your stream, which is a fun way to collaborate and cross-promote. For example, you could invite followers to join your stream as guests and potentially gain exposure to their own follower base.
Consistently going live helps build anticipation and loyalty with your audience. The more engaging your livestreams, the more likely you are to gain a steady viewership and new followers over time. Strategies like running contests, doing Q&As, collaborating with others, and more can help make your streams more interactive and interesting for viewers.
According to Hootsuite, interacting with commenters and maintaining an active chat are key to keeping viewers engaged during your livestreams. Bringing high energy, sharing exclusive content, and inviting viewer participation through fun segments like trivia or challenges are other impactful tactics.
Collaborate With Others
One of the most effective ways to gain more followers on TikTok is by collaborating with popular creators. Look for creators in your niche who have a large following and high engagement. Reach out and ask if they’d be interested in doing a duet video together. When big accounts duet your videos, it gets your content in front of their entire follower base. According to TikTok, brand collaborations with creators lead to great results like higher brand recall and longer watch times.
You can also participate in shoutout challenges, where you tag other creators and encourage your followers to follow them. Make sure to only tag accounts you genuinely like. In return, those creators may shout you out too. It’s a great way to cross-promote content and gain authentic followers who are interested in your niche.1
When reaching out to collaborate, be professional and explain why you think the partnership could be mutually beneficial. Avoid spamming creators. Successful collaborations take some effort to build relationships first. But partnering up with the right influencers can grow your audience exponentially.
Run Contests & Giveaways
Running contests and giveaways is a great way to gain more followers on TikTok. Offering prizes gives followers an incentive to engage with your content and spread the word about your account. To run a successful contest on TikTok:
Offer prizes followers will be excited about – give away gift cards, your own products/services, the latest gadgets, etc. Generate hype by promoting the prizes in your captions and videos leading up to the contest.
Lay out clear contest rules and guidelines for entering – state how followers can enter, any requirements, and when you’ll choose/announce the winner(s). Make sure to comply with TikTok’s contest policies.
Make the contest easy to enter – require simple actions like liking, commenting or sharing. Using TikTok’s built-in comment picker makes randomly choosing winners a breeze.
Promote the contest heavily – create TikToks, post on other platforms, have influencer friends spread the word. Maximize reach. Offer additional entries for tagging friends.
Follow best practices for giveaways – be transparent, deliver prizes quickly, and engage with participants. This keeps followers loyal after the contest ends.
Use Power Hashtags
One of the best ways to gain more followers on TikTok is to identify and use popular and trending hashtags. Hashtags help make your content more discoverable on TikTok’s main “For You” page, which is crucial for reaching new audiences. Some of the most widely used hashtags on TikTok include: #foryou, #fyp, #viral, #tiktoktrends. You can check sites like Fanbytes and the TikTok app itself to find currently trending hashtags.
It’s important not to overdo it when using hashtags – including around 5-10 relevant hashtags per post is usually a good amount. Make sure they directly relate to your content. Using too many irrelevant hashtags can actually get your post flagged. Power hashtags that are customized to your niche or content are better than generic ones.
You can also identify “long tail” hashtags that are more specific to tap into particular communities on TikTok. Unlike major platforms like Instagram, “follow for follow” or “like for like” hashtags are against TikTok’s policies and should be avoided.
Regularly staying on top of the latest viral hashtag trends on TikTok and strategically including them in your posts, while also mixing in some niche hashtags, is key for extending your reach and gaining more followers.
Cross-Promote Content
Cross-promoting your content is one of the most effective ways to get more views and followers on TikTok. This involves taking your popular TikTok videos and sharing them on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. According to Starter Story, cross-promoting TikTok content allows you to reach new audiences who may not be on TikTok yet.
When cross-promoting, it’s important to customize your posts for each platform rather than just reposting the same video. Tailor the caption and hashtags to fit the platform you are sharing it on. Also, don’t forget to include a link back to your TikTok profile so viewers can easily find and follow you. This makes it seamless for users of other platforms to become followers of your TikTok account.
Some effective ways to share TikTok videos include:
- Posting natively on Facebook/Instagram Reels
- Embedding videos in tweets on Twitter
- Uploading edited clips to YouTube
- Sharing video links on Reddit, LinkedIn, and more
With a comprehensive cross-promotion strategy, you can expose your TikTok content to a wide range of new audiences. This will help fuel follower growth as viewers discover your account and engage with your videos across multiple platforms.
Advertise Your Account
One of the most effective ways to quickly gain followers on TikTok is to pay for TikTok ads. TikTok’s advertising platform allows you to promote your videos and profile to a targeted audience. You can choose to target users by demographics, interests, behaviors and more. TikTok ads make it easy to get your content in front of users who are likely to engage with your profile. According to FBSmash, buying TikTok advertising accounts is a great way to quickly grow your follower count.
Another option is to work with TikTok influencers and pay them to promote your profile. Influencers with large followings can give your account a major boost by shouting you out in their videos and directing their followers to check out your profile. Reach out to influencers who create similar content to you and have an audience demographic that matches yours. Many influencers offer shoutout packages for a set fee. While pricier than standard advertising, influencer promotions often convert followers more effectively. According to the popular TikTok account @swagmodeofficial, collaborating with influencers is a proven tactic for gaining more followers.
Conclusion
In summary, there are several key strategies to gain more followers on TikTok: posting engaging content consistently, optimizing your profile, going live, collaborating with others, running contests and giveaways, using powerful hashtags, cross-promoting your content, and advertising your account. The importance of gaining TikTok followers cannot be understated – having a large, engaged following will increase your visibility, allow you to go viral more easily, open up money-making opportunities, and establish you as an authority in your niche. The more quality followers you accumulate, the more chance you have of turning TikTok into a successful marketing channel or even full-time career. While gaining a large following takes time and effort, the tips outlined here will put you on the path to TikTok success.
