Mastering the TikTok Algorithm: Your Blueprint to Gaining More Followers
TikTok can be intimidating, but it’s easier to get followers and build your community than you think (we promise).
The good news? Anyone can grow on TikTok, as long as you can consistently create content that is educational, entertaining, and/or relatable to your niche or target audience.
The hard part? You have to consistently create content that is educational, entertaining, and/or relatable to your niche or target audience.
If you and your team aren’t ready to commit to learning the ins and outs of a new platform, TikTok may not be right for your brand quite yet.
But, if you’re ready to start making short-form video a key part of your social strategy (you should), you can tap into TikTok’s over 1 billion monthly users to build your brand and community on the fastest-growing social media network.
Keep reading for key points to remember and effective strategies to consider as you start growing your following on TikTok!
Manage all your social media accounts in one place.
Craft, schedule, & auto-post content to all your social channels, then track analytics and manage interactions from a single, easy-to-use dashboard.
Never buy TikTok followers
Don’t do it.
This is the quickest way to a dead end on the platform. Websites claiming to provide thousands of followers use bots and fake accounts. These followers are not engaged and only harm your growth.
TikTok has over one billion monthly users, so you can achieve real success through hard work and organic engagement. Save your money and put effort into your content, not buying fake followers that won’t help you succeed.
For the most part, follower counts are a vanity metric and don’t have much effect on virality on the platform. Yes, some features are locked until you hit certain milestones, but these are within reach if your content is solid.
How growth happens on TikTok
Growth on TikTok is driven mainly by the platform’s algorithm, which uses engagement — measured by comments, likes, follows, shares, and watch time — as its key metric.
The algorithm works in three stages. First, it exposes your videos to a small sample of TikTok users. If the engagement rate is good, it will push your content to a medium-sized group and, finally, to a larger audience — ultimately giving it a chance to go viral.
On average, TikTok’s engagement rate is 12–14%. It’s important to note that the platform has a diverse user base, with 20.3% of users aged 40–49. To achieve growth on TikTok, focus on creating engaging content that resonates with your target audience and aims to increase engagement rates through consistent posting and engagement with your followers.
The most successful TikToks are those with a compelling story that captures attention and leaves followers wanting more. The first few seconds of your video are especially critical in determining whether or not people will continue watching.
The Road to 1,000 Followers
Reaching 1,000 followers on TikTok is a crucial step toward building a successful presence on the platform. This number serves as an important milestone and unlocks several features that can help you grow your following even further.
First, you’ll be able to add a link to your profile, helping you drive traffic to your website or other social media accounts. Second, you’ll be able to go live, which can be a powerful tool for engaging with your followers and building a community. Lastly, you’ll be able to monetize your account through live gifts and subscriptions, giving yourself a new source of revenue.
As your following continues to grow, you’ll unlock even more opportunities, such as joining the Creator Fund (at 10,000 followers and 100,000 views) and receiving tips (at 100,000 followers). The road to 1,000 followers may seem intimidating, but you can get there with consistent effort and high-quality content.
It’s also important to remember that reaching this milestone is just the beginning, and there are many more opportunities for growth and success on TikTok.
10 best strategies for growing on TikTok
Now it’s time to look at some best practices to reaching more people on TikTok and start building a highly engaged audience. Here are some strategies for growth on TikTok:
Know your audience
Knowing your audience is a critical component of success on TikTok. The platform has a diverse user base with representation from all age groups, not just Gen Z. To reach and engage your target audience, it’s important to research other brands and influencers in your niche to understand what works well when marketing your business on the platform.
Once you have a good understanding of your audience, create content specifically for them rather than trying to appeal to a general audience.
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to serve your videos to the right people, so focusing on your target audience will increase your chances of success. This could mean creating videos that align with your target audience’s interests, showcasing your talents, providing humor, or offering unique insights on various topics.
Jump on the newest trends
Jumping on the newest trends is a great way to get your content seen by a wider audience on TikTok. The platform is known for its fast-paced nature, with trends moving quickly and changing frequently. Creating content that aligns with the latest trends will increase your chances of getting noticed and thus allow you to broaden your reach.
On the Loomly TikTok account, we play off new and emerging trends while highlighting the values of our software. TikTok’s algorithm can recognize when videos contain trending audio or effects and this can lead to an initial bump in viewership.
Trends on TikTok can be anything from popular dances and songs to new filters and sounds. Stay on top of the latest trends, keep an eye on what’s popular on the platform, and react quickly to changes.
Use the right hashtags
Hashtags are a way to signal to the platform’s algorithm what your content is about, making it easier for people to discover your videos. When used correctly, hashtags can help increase visibility and drive engagement.
To make the most of hashtags on TikTok, make sure they’re relevant to the content you’re creating. This means using tags that accurately describe the subject matter of your videos. You should also make sure the hashtags you use are popular but not too competitive. This will help increase the visibility of your content — ultimately helping you avoid getting lost in a sea of other videos that use the same tags.
Post at the right times
TikTok’s analytics tool can help you determine when your audience is most active so you can schedule your posts for maximum visibility.
Keep in mind that TikTok’s algorithm is designed to prioritize recent content, so it’s important to post regularly and consistently. While it’s tempting to post all your content in one go, spreading it out over time will increase the chances of your videos being seen by the right people.
Scheduling tools like Loomly can make posting at the right time easier, allowing you to plan and schedule your content in advance. With TikTok users spending an average of 89 minutes a day on the app, there are plenty of opportunities to reach your audience and grow your following.
Cross-promote your content
Cross-promoting your content on multiple platforms is a great way to reach a wider audience and grow your following on TikTok. By leveraging the power of other social media networks, you can drive traffic to your TikTok account and reach a new, untapped audience.
One way to do this is by using a link-in-bio service, such as Linktree, to provide a landing page for your followers. This allows you to share links to your TikTok account and other social media profiles using clear and attention-grabbing calls to action (CTAs).
When cross-promoting your content, it’s important to remember that each platform is unique, and you should tailor your content accordingly. For example, what works on TikTok may not necessarily work on Instagram. Consider the tone, audience, and format that works best for each platform, and adjust your content accordingly.
Repurposing content doesn’t need to be a time-consuming process. Loomly’s post builder helps you batch your posts across different social media accounts. And by scheduling posts for when your audience is most active, you’ll take advantage of every opportunity to grow.
Post compelling content
To post compelling content on TikTok, you must first grab your audience’s attention. Since the first few seconds of your video are crucial, ensure your content has a hook that draws people in and makes them want to keep watching.
When creating content, consider what will interest and engage your target audience. Think about their interests and what they want to see. Features like duets, polls, and questions can be a great way to encourage interaction and engagement with your followers.
You can also use captions to add context and provide more information about your video to help keep your audience engaged.
Collaborate with other TikTok users
Teaming up with other users is a great way to expand your following. Here are some methods of working with other TikTokers:
- User-generated content (UGC): can include reposting other users’ content or creating content together.
- Sponsorships: involve partnering with other TikTok users or brands to promote products or services.
- Collaborations: involve working with other TikTok users to create unique content that showcases your strengths and reaches new audiences.
Collaborating with others on TikTok can expose you to new audiences, helping you grow your following. Additionally, collaborations can help you expand your creativity and create content you might not have otherwise thought of creating.
Hollister teamed up with two of the most successful users on TikTok, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. The collaboration saw the clothing brand launch a new line of apparel leveraging the sisters massive media following to reach a wide audience from around the world.
Experiment with different video styles
To maximize engagement, try experimenting with different video styles, such as time-lapse or slow motion. See which styles get the most interactions from your viewers.
TikTok’s algorithm looks closely at metrics such as watch time, and longer videos may not perform as well as shorter ones. The platform also prefers videos recorded in 720p or higher, which have been shown to lead to a 5.4% increase in impressions.
Encourage repeat viewing by creating compelling, visually engaging content and making users want to watch it over and over again. This can send positive signals to TikTok’s algorithm, increasing your reach and engagement.
Use TikTok Ads
While you should not depend on ads to build an audience, the ability to target users based on their interests and demographics can make TikTok Ads an effective tool to boost your reach.
One effective strategy is to use user-generated content to create a more personal and authentic advertising campaign. Keep in mind, TikTok ads are recommended to be between 9 and 15 seconds long for maximum impact. Experiment with different ad lengths and styles to see what works best for you.
Use calls to action
By asking users to follow you or take action after watching one of your videos, you can increase the chances of them engaging with your content and becoming a follower. Calls-to-action can help drive sales and increase your click through rate.
In the video example, popular TikTok strategist Melissa Laurie shares some of her favorite calls to action, while using her own at the end of the video. She recommends prompting for shares and saves which is a great strategy as the TikTok algorithm considers this a better engagement metric than likes or comments.
Make sure to use a polite and non-intrusive approach. Users are most likely to engage when they feel a sense of community and connection with the content creator.
With 92% of TikTok users taking some kind of action after watching content, calls to action are critical to success on TikTok, as well as any social platform.
Take the stress out of your TikTok content calendar
With Loomly, you can easily schedule TikTok videos in advance, freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of your business. Loomly allows you to post to multiple social media platforms, making it easy to cross-promote your content and reach a wider audience. The platform also provides valuable analytics so you can see how your content is performing and make data-driven decisions.
Loomly’s approval workflow feature enables you to get feedback from team members before your content is published, helping to ensure that your content aligns with your brand voice and messaging.
Conclusion
TikTok is an excellent platform for businesses and individuals to reach wider audiences.
From understanding your target audience and jumping on the latest trends to experimenting with different video styles, there are many strategies you can use to build your audience.
But it’s also important to remember to keep things organized and strategic. You can do this by using tools like Loomly for planning, scheduling, and analyzing your content.
Start your free trial today to begin publishing content across all the social networks you use.
