TikTok is one of the fastest growing and most popular social media platforms out there. If you want to get your name out there, TikTok is the place to be!
Everyone who wants to increase their reach and awareness is being told to grow their TikTok page. From singers to business owners, this platform is one of the best channels to get people talking about you.
There are over one billion people in 154 countries using TikTok right now, but how are you going to grow your TikTok to reach the most people?
We’re breaking it down with 18 hacks to soar your views and get you viral.
Optimize your For You Page
TikTok’s can be up to three minutes long, but you can make them as short as you want.
However, don’t think that you can make one 15 seconds long and just watch it 100 times to boost your page’s views.
Unfortunately, TikTok does not count views from your own page.
So, the only way that you’re going to go viral is to get on the For You page.
This is the home screen of TikTok and everyone has a different one that the algorithm creates for them.
It takes their recent activity and creates a For You page surrounding their likes and similar content they have previously engaged with.
Getting your video on the For You page is huge news.
It means that the viewers don’t have to follow you or know your brand to see your TikTok video.
The best part? You don’t need to be an established creator to get onto the For You page.
As long as you optimize your content to make it easier for the algorithm to recognize your video for promotion.
To do this, you should always use trending audios, even if you have the sound turned down all the way.
This will keep you on the trending audio page and trick TikTok into thinking you’re using it as background music.
Use relevant keywords in your captions, as well as post at optimal times.
These are often between 6 am to 10 am, and 7 pm to 11 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Find Your Niche
While TikTok began as a platform for dancing videos, there is now almost a niche for everything on there.
People in different niches like to make their own nicknames for these sides of TikTok.
For example, there’s BookTok, FoodieTok, Cottagecore TikTok… the list goes on.
So, there will be a side of TikTok to house your niche, and this is where you need to be to engage with your audience.
If you’re already active on TikTok, then hopefully you should know what your niche is and the type of content they’d most likely engage with.
Once you’ve found your niche, take note of what others are doing within it.
Take inspiration from well-performing creators here to give you the best chance of following in their footsteps.
Engage With Other Users Within Your Niche
Now that you know which niche you’re in, you need to engage with others within it to create a little community.
Curate a list of creators in your niche and engage with them, liking and commenting on their videos.
This will help you stay on the right side of TikTok by guiding your For You page’s algorithm.
Continue to build a support network with people in your niche, and they should begin to repay the favor for your videos.
It can lead to more shares, likes, and comments – boosting your platform in favor of the algorithm.
Three Seconds Is All You Have
With over one billion users on TikTok, there are plenty of videos to watch.
So, if you don’t hook your viewer within just three seconds, they’ll have swiped up and already forgotten about your video.
So, an intriguing hook is vital for your videos!
A big title at the start can alert viewers to what you’re going to show them and keep them interested.
If your viewer is interested in your hook, they’ll most likely stick around to watch the rest of the video.
Since this is the best way to show the algorithm that people are enjoying your content, you’ll be more likely to reach the For You page in the future.
Trending Sounds Are Your Best Friend
TikTok works off of trends.
Whether that’s a new dance a creator has made, licking donuts, or cleaning in an ASMR fashion, the best way to get on the For You page is to follow trends.
We’re not suggesting you learn a new TikTok dance and perform it for your page – unless you want to!
However, a great way of jumping on trends without actually having to target your content to the trend in question is through music.
Trending sounds are used millions of times, and when you use the sound your video will be put onto the sound’s individual page.
That means that whenever someone clicks through to the song, they might watch your video and give you an extra view!
TikTok users have a theory that using the song, even at a low volume, can trick the algorithm into boosting your video to the For You page.
Whether this is true or not, one thing is for sure – TikTok shows users what they’ve already watched.
If someone has engaged with the trending song you’re using, it’s more likely that they’re going to see your video with the same sound.
Look for trending sounds with the most videos made with it to get the best background music.
Finding Trending Sounds On TikTok
If you’re unsure of which sounds are trending on TikTok right now, how does it feel not to spend every waking moment on the platform?
Seriously though, it only takes a few scrolls down the For You page to be bombarded with a few of the most used TikTok sounds right now.
Anyway, there is a quicker way to find these sounds.
Head to the video editor and click on the ‘Add Sound’ button at the top of the page.
Here you’ll see a number of playlists, one of which will be called TikTok viral.
From here, you can see which sounds are trending in real-time.
Use one of these to maximize your reach and enhance the possibility of your video being featured on the For You page.
TikTok users can search for keywords to narrow down their search for particular videos.
This means that you need to be on the ball with keywords and hashtags that are going to get your content in search results.
Think of the keywords that your audience will be searching for and make sure to put them throughout your TikTok captions.
For years we have used TikTok and continuously been confused by the hashtags that some people choose to use.
What does #Showoffyourshine have to do with a video about making chicken tenders?
It wasn’t until we really thought about it that we realized these creators were just trying to make the most of the algorithm.
Create a blend of relevant and trending hashtags for your captions and capitalize on both the algorithm and what your audience is searching for.
Keep Your Videos Short
The algorithm often favors videos that are shorter, since these are the ones that are most likely to be watched from start to finish.
And if you want your audience to keep watching, you have to hook them in the first three seconds. No pressure!
The shorter your content is the more likely people will watch it all the way through, and they might even repeat it!
Hello, extra views!
Try Out The New TikTok Features
TikTok is always coming out with new features. The app is always finding new ways for creators to showcase new ideas.
If you’re testing a new feature through TikTok, the algorithm might just boost your video to highlight the new features to other users.
Yep, the algorithm will use you to show off their new updates.
But you’re getting a boost and more views, so who are we to complain?
Enlist The Help Of TikTok Influencers
If you don’t have a large following yet but want to get your name out there, you can start a TikTok influencer marketing campaign.
You can pay influencers to talk about your brand to their following, reaching many more people than your account would have.
Influencers also have a better chance of reaching the For You page, enhancing your brand’s reach!
Make sure that the influencers tag your TikTok page so that the viewers can click through to your links.
Enlisting the help of large creators is an excellent way to go viral on TikTok without having to grow your page beforehand.
Just be ready for a large chunk of your marketing budget to go to the influencers!
Post Engaging Content
There’s no use posting boring content – no one is going to stick around to watch it.
You need to grasp your viewer’s attention within the first three seconds before they scroll to the next video.
We’ve spent a lot of time on TikTok (like really, a lot of time scrolling), so we have a good idea of which videos work well.
How-to videos always perform well, including other educational videos.
A great place to start here is thinking about the most frequently asked questions you get asked.
Answer them in a TikTok, and make sure that the question is on the thumbnail of the video!
You can also create content that is interesting and a little confusing to purposefully get people to answer questions or share it with their friends.
Comments and shares will boost your engagement, making your video look more appealing to the algorithm.
Keep Up To Date With Current Events
The TikTok algorithm also likes to use current events as their main boosted content on the For You page.
The content surrounding real-life issues and commentary will get good engagement, so if you can link this to your videos, you’ll have a better chance of reaching a wider audience.
Alternatively, making TikToks about current events (such as in memory of a public figure) can boost your profile and encourage more people to view your other content.
Always Keep Your Content Accessible
TikTok has recently added a feature in which you can add on-screen captions to your videos.
This helps everyone to be able to enjoy the videos.
Always make sure that these captions are on and that they are accurate for your content.
You can edit the captions to ensure that they match exactly what you are saying in your videos.
Without captions, you are alienating a portion of your audience from getting the most out of your content.
If they cannot understand the content, they’ll scroll past without giving you a view.
Promote TikTok On Other Platforms
If you’re a common social media user, promoting your TikTok on other platforms could be a great way to get new viewers.
Many people share TikToks to Instagram or Facebook stories for quick viewers.
Your TikTok handle will be shown at the end of the video for them to research your account.
Alternatively, you could use a swipe up link to take them to your TikTok account, which will count their views on the platform.
Keep All Of Your Content Live
While it might be tempting to delete all of your old content that didn’t perform as well as you wanted it to, keep it live.
Some videos can be boosted to the For You page days, weeks, or even months after they’ve been posted.
The TikTok algorithm has millions of videos to look through every single minute, so it might take a while to get around to yours!
So, keep it alive and keep the faith that it will be picked up in the future.
Create, Create, And Then Create Some More
Like with any social media account, growing a following takes time and effort.
If you want to be able to boost your TikTok profile, you need to keep creating videos.
The more videos you have on your account, the more likely it is that one of them will go viral.
While other social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, are more forgiving of a less frequent uploading schedule, TikTok influencers need to post more to stay relevant.
To grow your page, you should aim to post at least twice a day on TikTok.
This will enhance your chances of getting more views through the For You page and therefore more followers.
Luckily, since TikToks are shorter pieces of content, two videos a day is often manageable.
For example, Addison Rae is one of the most well-known TikTokkers on the platform. Since 2019, she has posted over 1,500 TikToks.
While her uploading schedule has slowed down now, in 2019 she was posting between five and 10 TikToks every single day!
Again, you can look to current trends for inspiration if you run out of things to post.
Bear in mind that not every video has to be about your business or niche. Why not share a different side of you with your followers?
Participating in trending activities or dances can help reach new audiences who might not be in your niche, but are still interested in your other content.
Another option is to split videos up into two or three parts. Yes, this is a cheeky little workaround!
You’ll only have to film one video then and upload different parts throughout the day.
People will engage with the first video to make sure that they can find your account when part two comes out!
Stitch Your Content With Other Videos
Piggybacking off of other creators is one of the greatest things that TikTok offers.
It is a good way to find new ideas for content, reach different audiences, and gain more views in the process.
Stitching content takes someone else’s video and attaches it to yours to create a hybrid.
You’ll only have five seconds of the other person’s video to utilize before adding your own spin to it.
Popular stitches include funny reactions or storytimes that answer the original poster’s question.
Stitching content works amazingly well at gaining views since this type of content is often seen on the For You page frequently.
And if your content gets on the For You page, then you might just go viral!
Take the stitch above for example – the creator of the stitch took the original video, which had 2.2 million likes, and added their own content to make a video worthy of 7.7 million likes!
Use A TikTok Business Account
Business owners get additional features from their TikTok account that personal users don’t have access to.
You might find these useful when growing your account, as you can see which videos are performing well and which ones aren’t.
You’ll get access to analytics tools, which can show you how people are reacting and interacting with your content.
This information allows you to see how you can tweak your content to make it more engaging.
The business hub is super helpful for anyone who needs a cheat sheet of why their content isn’t performing how they’d like it to.
Once you find a video that performs well, you can copy its structure to enhance the likelihood of more videos performing well on your profile.
Don’t Be Afraid To Get A Little Controversial
Some people on TikTok have gained their fame by being controversial.
While we don’t recommend following the ethos that any publicity is good publicity, it doesn’t hurt to get a little controversial and test the boundaries of your followers.
Controversial posts get better engagement as they tend to spark big feelings in people, often of annoyance or amusement.
People with these feelings are more likely to react, which is good for your engagement.
Comments, shares, and likes all add up in terms of the algorithm, and you’ll be swimming in all three under your controversial posts.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Controversial posts can be difficult to navigate, and you don’t want to be too controversial so that you annoy your followers into unfollowing you.
Stay away from sensitive subjects like religion and politics, and don’t set out to annoy people.
Instead, think of it as sharing your opinion. If people get irked by that, then so be it!
A good example of controversy to capitalize on is Will Smith’s slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars.
No matter which side your own, owning your opinion is likely to stir up a heated debate in your comments.
Summary
If you’re willing to put the time and effort into growing your TikTok page and going viral, then there is no reason to think that you cannot get there.
TikTok offers plenty of features to help you on this journey, such as stitching with other content, trending audios, and cross-promoting on other platforms.
Since TikTok doesn’t work on a follower count basis, anyone can go viral if the algorithm picks their video up for the For You page.
Our hacks will hopefully help you get there – just remember to keep posting new content every day and don’t delete your old stuff.
It might take a few weeks to get onto the For You page, but that doesn’t mean you’re never going to get there!
Good luck, and we hope to see you on our For You page someday!
