The Meteoric Rise of TikTok
In just a few short years, TikTok has grown from a small app to a global phenomenon. As of 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users, according to Backlinko. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly 1 in 7 people in the world who use TikTok every month! Clearly, TikTok has tapped into the zeitgeist and figured out the secret sauce to capture the attention of Gen Z. With user growth showing no signs of slowing down, TikTok’s dominance in the social media landscape looks set to continue.
TikTok’s Popularity
TikTok has seen exponential growth since its launch. According to [1], TikTok was the 7th most downloaded app of the decade from 2010-2019, despite launching internationally in 2017. Between Q3 2019 and Q2 2020 alone, TikTok usage in the US grew by 123% [1].
A huge part of TikTok’s popularity is driven by young users. As of April 2022, 67% of TikTok’s active users were aged 16-24 [2]. The platform is perfectly tuned to young people’s interests – short form video, viral trends, challenges, music, and entertainment. This focus on youth is a major factor in TikTok’s viral growth.
By the end of 2021, over 1 billion people were using TikTok every month [3]. The app has tapped into young people’s desire for self-expression and sharing creative content. Its growth shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to reshape youth culture and online entertainment.
[1] https://bloggingwizard.com/tiktok-statistics/
[2] https://www.konstructdigital.com/content-marketing/tiktok-stats-roundup/
[3] https://www.charle.co.uk/articles/tiktok-statistics/
Measuring TikTok Success
When measuring success on TikTok, some of the key metrics to look at include followers, views, and engagement. Gaining more followers shows that your account and content is resonating with viewers and your audience is growing over time. However, simply having a large follower count does not guarantee high engagement or views on videos.
Looking at the number of views individual videos receive can help determine which types of content perform best. Views indicate how many people watched your video, with higher view counts signifying greater reach and interest in that content. According to one source, a video view is counted after the viewer watches for at least 3 seconds. Going viral and getting millions of views on a single video can rapidly increase an account’s exposure.
Engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares provide insight into how much the audience is interacting with and responding to videos. Higher engagement numbers relative to views suggest the content is resonating strongly and generating discussion. Engagement helps retain viewers, signals organic interest to the TikTok algorithm, and contributes to overall account growth. Experts recommend tracking key engagement metrics over time to identify content themes and formats that create the most meaningful audience connections.
Top TikTok Creators
Some of the most popular and fastest growing accounts on TikTok belong to individual creators who have amassed massive followings. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, here are the top TikTok creators ranked by total followers:
1. Charli D’Amelio (@charlidamelio) – 137.4 million followers
2. Khaby Lame (@khaby.lame) – 142.4 million followers
3. Bella Poarch (@bellapoarch) – 87.7 million followers
4. Addison Rae (@addisonre) – 86.8 million followers
5. Spencer Knight (@spencerx) – 57.5 million followers
These individual creator accounts have dominated TikTok with massive viral hits and accumulated the most followers. Both Charli D’Amelio and Khaby Lame have over 100 million followers, demonstrating their incredible popularity. Other top creators like Bella Poarch, Addison Rae, and Spencer Knight also have tens of millions of followers, showing the power of building a major personal brand on TikTok.
Fastest Growing Accounts
When looking at the fastest growing accounts on TikTok, there are a few standout creators that have seen tremendous growth in 2022. According to Statista, some of the top gainers in terms of new followers include:
@therock – Dwayne Johnson’s account grew by over 22 million followers, making it the fastest growing account on TikTok in 2022.
@mrbeast – Jimmy Donaldson’s account, known for his viral stunts and giveaways, gained over 19 million followers.
@charlidamelio – The most followed person on TikTok, Charlie D’Amelio gained over 19 million followers as well. She now has over 147 million followers.
These creators have achieved fast growth rates by utilizing TikTok’s short video format to produce entertaining and engaging content. Their videos appeal to TikTok’s young userbase, earning them millions of new fans who want to watch more.
@therock
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined TikTok in March 2021 and has quickly become one of the fastest growing accounts on the platform. As of February 2023, @therock has over 74 million followers and over 531 million likes on his videos.
In less than 2 years, The Rock has amassed a massive TikTok following that puts him among the top creators on the platform. According to The Rock’s TikTok profile, he gains over 130,000 new followers daily. At this rate, he’s on track to hit 100 million followers later this year.
The Rock’s videos feature his over-the-top personality, humor, inspirational messages, behind-the-scenes looks at his workout routines and diet, and previews of upcoming projects. Fans are drawn to his authenticity and positivity. Many of his videos garner over 30 million views.
With his meteoric growth and engagement, The Rock has become the fastest-growing major celebrity account on TikTok. His ability to connect with fans in an entertaining way has fueled his incredible rise.
@mrbeast
@mrbeast is one of the fastest growing TikTok accounts, gaining over 10 million followers in December 2022 alone according to Social Blade (https://socialblade.com/tiktok/user/mrbeast). As of January 2023, @mrbeast has over 130 million followers and 11 billion likes. His growth is likely driven by his popular stunts and charitable giveaways which appeal to TikTok’s young audience. According to Hype Auditor, @mrbeast has an account quality score of 97 out of 100, indicating very high engagement and follower growth (https://hypeauditor.com/tiktok/mrbeast/). @mrbeast frequently goes viral, with individual videos getting tens of millions of views. His viral success is attributed to attention-grabbing thumbnails, clickbait titles, trend-jacking, and leveraging his existing fanbase according to TikTok Growth Secrets (https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktokgrowthsecrets/video/7246459673962908970).
@charlidamelio
Charli D’Amelio has seen meteoric growth on TikTok since joining the platform in 2019. As of January 2023, she is the most followed creator on TikTok with over 151 million followers, according to analytics on her profile (https://hypeauditor.com/tiktok/charlidamelio/). Her rise to fame was remarkably fast – within just one year on the app she gained over 100 million followers.
Key details about @charlidamelio’s growth include:
- She gained her first 1 million followers in October 2019, just 1 month after joining TikTok.
- By March 2020, she had hit 50 million followers.
- In November 2020, she became the first TikTok creator to reach 100 million followers.
- She now gains over 10 million new followers per month on average.
- Her growth rate is over 5X the average rate for top TikTok creators.
D’Amelio’s extremely rapid following demonstrates the power of going viral on TikTok. She gained fame initially for her dancing videos, then expanded into lip-syncing, comedy sketches and collaborations with other top creators. Every new follower milestone she hit became a major moment celebrated by her fans (https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/everytime-charli-d-amelio-celebrated-gaining-followers-on-tiktok).
Key Takeaways
The fastest growing TikTok accounts have a few factors in common that have contributed to their rapid growth and success on the platform:
- Established Personal Brand – Accounts like @therock and @mrbeast were already well known before joining TikTok, giving them a huge built-in audience.
- Consistent Posting – The top accounts post new content frequently to keep their audience engaged and returning.
- Trend Optimization – Successful accounts stay on top of the latest viral trends and challenges, creating trend-focused content.
- Engagement – They build community and respond to comments, fostering loyal followings that help fuel growth.
- High Production Quality – Their videos are well produced, edited, and crafted for maximum entertainment value.
- Cross-Promotion – Accounts are promoted across multiple social platforms to maximize reach.
- Authenticity – Even with high production values, the content feels genuine and true to the creator’s brand.
By leveraging these tactics, the fastest growing TikTok accounts have tapped into a formula for growth that elevates their content, builds an audience, and keeps fans coming back for more.
Conclusion
TikTok has seen explosive growth over the past few years, emerging from a new upstart to one of the most popular social media platforms globally. As we’ve explored, some individual creators have leveraged TikTok’s unique format and algorithm to gain followers at an astonishing rate. Top creators like Charli D’Amelio, MrBeast, and The Rock attract millions of new followers per month through their creative, humorous, and entertaining videos.
While it’s unlikely such rapid growth is sustainable forever, the trajectories of the fastest-growing TikTok accounts demonstrate the platform’s immense ability to quickly catalyze viral fame. For now, the app continues to provide a space where creative talents can be discovered overnight and scale their followings exponentially. With TikTok still expanding its userbase, we can expect the platform to keep launching new stars for the foreseeable future.
