How to get followers on TikTok
TikTok has seriously gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it’s one of the top social media networks and an excellent tool of choice for marketing your brand (particularly if you’re hoping to get the attention of Gen Z).
This blog post lets you in on our tips for gaining TikTok followers. If you’re interested in starting up a holistic TikTok strategy for your brand, check out our post, “How to use TikTok: The ultimate guide for marketers.”
How to get TikTok followers
So, how do you gain TikTok followers? In short, TikTok followers come to those who research their audience and put in the work to create great content. Followers grow over time, but there are a number of quick, free, and easy techniques you can use to boost your TikTok content and help it to reach more ‘for you’ pages.
How to use hashtags on TikTok to attract new followers
Including popular and relevant hashtags in your TikTok captions is a really low-effort and high reward action. Using hashtags will not only make your content more searchable, but will also teach the TikTok algorithm which existing content on the platform is similar to yours so that it can promote your content to the same audience. This will help to put your content right where you want it: in front of the people who will enjoy your content most. This will no doubt result in more likes, more comments, and you guessed it, more followers.
How to promote your TikTok
Already have a social presence on another platform? There’s no shame in cross-promoting your TikTok page elsewhere. In fact, cross promotion between channels is key to getting the most engagement possible.
If your followers on TikTok are genuinely enjoying your content then there’s no reason why they wouldn’t want to follow you on Instagram and X. If you’re new to TikTok, we recommend creating a few TikToks at first to prevent your page from looking empty, and then begin your cross-promotion. You’ll have a flurry of new followers in no time.
We also recommend creating content that will only show up on your TikTok feed. This “TikTok only” content will keep your audience coming back to your unique feed.
Engage with and understand your TikTok audience
Create great content and you’ll get engagement. But to get followers, you need to create consistently great content that appeals to the same groups of people each time. Understanding what your audience thinks, feels, and enjoys is key and something you should constantly be striving to understand further.
Not sure what your audience would like to see? Go ahead and ask them. If you have an existing audience on another platform like Instagram, it’s easy to ask your audience what they’d want to see from you on TikTok using a suggestion box on your Stories. You don’t have to be a mind reader to figure out what content your audience wants to see.
It also matters when you post. Try these timing tips for reaching your audience when they’re engaging with your content most.
Leverage TikTok analytics to fine tune your account and content.
Both Creator accounts and Business accounts on TikTok have access to analytics so you can see your metrics. These data insights will help you to understand when your audience is online — so you can work out the best time to post for maximum engagement — as well as get access to other features such as the ability to discover which trending music and sounds your audience engages with most.
Use CTAs on TikTok to engage your audience
It’s easy for people to absent-mindedly scroll through TikTok without ever taking the extra step to engage. Including calls-to-action (CTAs) in your TikTok content is a simple way to gently remind your audience of the options in front of them. For example, those who post a recipe may encourage users to save the video, or those who are doing a series of TikToks around one theme may encourage users to follow their account to keep up with their series.
How often should you post on TikTok
The TikTok algorithm works best for those who post consistently and frequently. The recommended number of TikToks you should be posting is 1-3 times per day. It’s key to keep the content churning out so you can remain in people’s feeds. Anyone who engages with a TikTok of yours in the past is significantly more likely to have your content consistently appear on their ‘for you’ page.
TikTok content works as a snowball effect: the more content you create, the more likes you get, and the more your content gets pushed to those who engaged previously.
Get followers with TikTok duets and stitching
TikTok duets and stitching allow you to make use of existing content on the platform from other creators. Duets allow you to make TikToks with a split screen so that you can film your reaction to another existing TikTok, while stitches allow you to combine part of another creator’s TikTok to some video content of your own.
Stitching is often used for trends where the original creator may begin their TikTok by saying ‘Tell me about a time when x happened’. People will stitch this introduction onto the front of their TikTok to create a format where the original creator asks the question, and they can then provide the answer. Stitching is also used as a way to react to another creator’s video if there’s something you’d like to add to their content.
Duets and stitching can make it easier for you to create content if you’re stuck for ideas and are a great way to get involved with trends. This strategy helps you pick up new followers by piggybacking on the successful content of others.
Gain TikTok followers with trends and challenges
Can you really call yourself a TikToker if you’re not participating in any TikTok trends or challenges? It’s not a rhetorical question – the answer is no! TikTok runs on trends. They are as integral to the platform as the TikTok algorithm itself.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of trends flying around at any one time. You should always be able to find a trend that resonates with your brand or your content. It’s easy to spot the trends and challenges that are popular right now, as well as pick up on trending sounds.
TikTok challenges often revolve around music or trending sounds. TikTok groups content by sound, so using a trending sound can act almost in the same way as the use of a hashtag by increasing the likelihood that your content will be discovered. This makes it easy to search for and find popular TikToks following a given trend. Just click on the sound and you’ll see the top posts using the clip.
Turn your TikTok videos into ads
TikTok’s ‘Promote’ tool allows businesses to turn any of their existing video content into ads so they can further grow their community. The cost for TikTok ad content is steep, so we recommend only going down this route once you’ve mastered all other tips in this guide.
Hopefully we’ve set you on the right path to TikTok notoriety and shown you how to gain TikTok followers. Make use of all of these tactics and suggestions in your TikTok strategy and you’ll be sure to see your follower numbers slowly and steadily rise, whatever your brand’s niche may be.