TikTok has rapidly grown to become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users as of 2023 [1]. The app allows users to create and share short videos, often set to music, and provides a highly engaging experience. As TikTok’s user base continues expanding, many creators aspire to build a large following on the platform.
Gaining a substantial TikTok following takes time, creativity, and strategy. However, the payoff can be immense, allowing you to reach a massive audience, partner with brands, and potentially even monetize your account. This article will outline key tips to effectively grow your followers when first starting out on TikTok.
We’ll cover essentials like optimizing your profile, creating captivating content, using relevant hashtags, engaging with your audience, collaborating with others, promoting your account, analyzing performance metrics, participating in trends, and maintaining consistency.
Optimize Your Profile
Your TikTok profile is the first thing potential followers will see, so make sure it represents you and grabs their attention. According to The Leap, you should choose a clear, recognizable profile picture of yourself and an appealing username that reflects your brand or content focus [1]. Ampfluence suggests including some key hashtags in your bio to help people find your content. You can list multiple interests like #comedy, #dance, #music [2].
Also link to your other social media accounts like Instagram, YouTube or Twitter so fans can follow you elsewhere. Having complete, optimized social profiles demonstrates you’re an established creator worth following.
Post Quality Content
Posting quality content regularly is one of the most important factors for gaining followers on TikTok. You’ll want to aim to post at least 1-3 times per day, preferably at peak times when your audience is most active. This ensures your videos have the best chance of being seen and going viral.
It’s also helpful to pick a niche or theme for your account that you can create videos around consistently. This helps you attract an audience with similar interests that will come back to see more of your niche content. Popular niches on TikTok include comedy, dance, life hacks, food, pets, and more. But feel free to get creative and carve out your own niche.
Leveraging trending sounds and effects can also give your videos a boost. Check out what sounds are going viral each week and try creating your own take on them. Tools like ExplodingTopics track the top trends. Jumping on trends early when they’re blowing up can expose your content to a wider audience already searching that sound or hashtag.
Most importantly, focus on quality over quantity with your videos. Well-produced, entertaining, or informative content will keep viewers engaged and likely to follow you for more. Make use of editing features to polish your videos and develop your own style.
Use Relevant Hashtags
Using relevant and popular hashtags is key to getting discovered on TikTok. Research top hashtags in your niche to find which ones are trending and have high engagement. Aim to include a mix of popular hashtags with millions of views along with more specific ones in the 1,000 – 500,000 view range.
According to a blog post on ContentStudio, you should develop a list of 15-20 top niche hashtags to regularly use in your posts. Track which hashtags perform best and optimize over time.
As noted in a Medium article by Lavinia, you want to maximize visibility but avoid overtagging your videos with too many hashtags. She recommends using only 5-10 hashtags per post spaced throughout the caption to make them less intrusive.
Using relevant hashtags tailored to your target audience and content is key for getting discovered by new viewers on TikTok.
Engage With Your Audience
One of the best ways to get more followers on TikTok is to actively engage with your existing audience. When someone comments on your videos, be sure to reply back to them. Not only is this good etiquette, but it shows viewers that you care about what they have to say. Replying to comments also helps boost engagement on your videos, which signals to the TikTok algorithm that your content is resonating with viewers.
Another easy way to engage is to like comments from your followers and follow them back. Doing so helps build a sense of community and loyalty with your viewers. Make sure to also follow accounts who actively engage with your content, as they’re more likely to follow you back.
You can also try duetting or stitching popular videos related to your niche. This allows you to put your own spin on trending content while exposing your account to the original video’s audience. Just make sure you’re adding value in the duet/stitch and properly crediting the original creator.
Overall, the more you interact with your followers in these kinds of ways, the more likely they’ll be to stick around, keep watching your content, and potentially share it with others. So be proactive about engagement in your first few weeks on TikTok to help kickstart your following.
Collaborate With Others
One effective way to gain more followers on TikTok when you’re just starting out is to collaborate with other creators. Reaching out to similar accounts with a larger following and proposing cross-promotion opportunities can help expose your content to a wider audience. According to TikTok’s own blog, collaborations and partnerships result in increased engagement.
Consider doing collab videos together where you team up with another creator to produce fun and engaging content. This gets both of your audiences excited about new and creative videos that showcase multiple perspectives. As outlined by Buffer’s guide, successful collabs can lead to ongoing partnerships and content opportunities.
You can also guest post on larger accounts within your niche. For example, provide a short video to be featured on their page or add a unique perspective to one of their existing series. This exposes you directly to their followers, while showing you actively engage with the broader community. Just make sure collaborations align with your brand and content style.
Promote Your Account
One effective way to get more followers when you’re just starting out on TikTok is to promote your account on other social media platforms. For example, you can share your TikTok videos and profile link in your Instagram Stories or Facebook posts. Encourage people who follow you on those platforms to check out your new TikTok account and give you a follow there as well. You can even offer an incentive like running a contest or giveaway if people follow you on TikTok.
According to An Outlook on Tiktok Promotion, “Cross-promoting TikTok account on other social media platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook, is beneficial for expanding reach.” Leveraging your established followers on other platforms can give your new TikTok account an initial boost and help get those first coveted followers.
Make sure to share only your best content on other platforms as a way to entice people to view more on TikTok. And be strategic about which platforms you cross-promote on based on where your target audience is most active.
Analyze Performance
Reviewing the analytics on your posts is crucial to understanding what resonates with your audience. The TikTok analytics page provides data on views, likes, comments, shares, audience demographics, traffic sources, and more. Analyze which types of videos perform well so you can double down on successful strategies.
Tools like Pentos can simplify TikTok analytics by transforming the data into actionable insights. Look at metrics like retention, likes, comments, shares, and sounds to see which videos hook viewers. Pay attention to when your followers are most active so you can post at peak times. See which hashtags and sounds are driving the most engagement.
Continuously optimizing based on performance data is key. Make adjustments to your content style, captions, hashtags, posting schedule, collaborations, and more based on what’s working. Analytics provide the feedback you need to tailor your approach, improve engagement, and gain a loyal TikTok following.
Engage With Trends
One effective strategy to gain more followers on TikTok is to engage with popular trends and challenges. When a dance, meme, or viral concept takes off on the platform, participating can help expose your content to larger audiences. According to CyberLink, partaking in trending challenges is an important part of developing a popular TikTok presence. However, it’s important to put your own unique spin on trends to help your content stand out from the masses. Add your own flair to viral dances, apply trending sounds in new ways, or put a creative twist on popular memes. This can capture viewers’ attention while still capitalizing on what’s currently popular. The key is participating in trends strategically instead of just copying what everyone else does. This demonstrates creativity and can ultimately earn you more followers.
Stay Consistent
Once you find a posting strategy that works for your account, it’s important to stay consistent with it. Posting frequently and consistently is key for gaining a loyal following on TikTok. As a general rule, aim to post at least once per day, especially when you’re just starting out. The more content you put out, the more chances you have of getting on people’s For You pages.
Make sure to continue optimizing your posting strategy based on what performs well. Pay attention to when your views and engagement seem to be the highest, and post more content during those times. You may need to experiment with different posting schedules to see what works best.
Gaining a large following doesn’t happen overnight. Have patience and persist with posting quality content consistently. The more content you have on your profile, the more opportunities you give new users to discover you. Stay motivated and keep grinding even if growth is slow at first. Consistency and persistence will pay off in the long run.
