TikTok offers another way for brands to stand out from competitors and increase awareness of their products and services. If you’re new to the video-sharing platform, we’ve got a list of tips that will help you grow your following in no time.
Get a TikTok Pro Account
Choose to turn your account into a TikTok Pro account. This free feature allows you to view analytics that will be helpful in your quest to gain more followers. The only catch is that using this feature will switch a private account to a public account. But since your goal is to grow your following, this shouldn’t be an issue.
To switch to Pro, select the “Me” tab and then click on the trio of vertical dots in the corner of the screen. You’ll see an option to “Switch to Pro Account.” Next, you’ll be asked to enter some information about your account, such as choosing a category and gender. Once you’re done, you can access the “Analytics” tab in the “Privacy and Settings” menu.
Know Your Audience
In the U.S. alone, TikTok attracts over 100 million monthly active users, according to CNBC. But, of course, you can’t expect them all to follow your TikTok account. Instead, hone in on your target audience.
If you’re marketing for an already established brand, this should be a quick step. You probably already know what types of people are attracted to your business, including their age range, interests, gender and typical location. As you come up with TikTok content, keep that target audience in mind. What kind of videos are they most likely to engage with? And what kind of videos may disinterest or even offend them?
If you’re uncertain about how to appeal to your audience, consider taking a peek at what kind of content your competitors are creating. You can learn a lot from brands that share your niche and are already successful on TikTok.
Set a Goal
You already know you want to grow your follower count. But what’s your exact goal? By setting a specific number, you’ll have an easier time tracking your progress.
If you’re new to TikTok, start with an initial goal of 1,000 followers. Once your audience reaches that number, you’ll have access to the app’s Live feature. You can then use a mix of pre-recorded videos and live streaming broadcasts to further build your audience.
Practice Your Timing
Always schedule content to appear at the times in which your followers are most likely to be active on TikTok. This information appears in your analytics section, under the “Followers” tab. Knowing when your audience is active is also handy when you want to go live.
Stay Updated on TikTok Trends
TikTok is all about trends, so you’ll need to spend some time staying up to date on what’s popular. Click the “Discover” tab to see a list of trending hashtags and sounds, including the latest TikTok challenges.
Challenges
Don’t make it your goal to participate in every trendy challenge you see. Instead, look for trends that are relevant to your brand. If you’re marketing for a fitness brand and you see an athletic challenge trending, jump right in. Depending on your niche, you might need to get a little creative to make a challenge relevant to your brand.
Sounds
The same strategy goes for popular sounds. If a trending song matches well with your brand identity, don’t hesitate to use it. When TikTok users search for the sound, your video will appear on the list of search results.
Hashtags
If you’re familiar with marketing on other social media platforms, you already know how useful hashtags can be for your account’s visibility. You can include however many hashtags you want in your video captions. But keep in mind that you are limited to 100 characters.
Consider using three to five hashtags that are popular as well as specific to your niche. For example, #vegancooking or #veganbaking might be suitable for a food brand. Hashtags such as #5krun and #runningtips are useful for a footwear brand. You can also use more general hashtags, such as #ForYou. However, it’ll be harder for users to find your content if the hashtag is too general.
Keep It Short and Sweet
When ranking videos in search results, TikTok’s algorithm takes video completion rate into consideration. So, the more viewers watch your full videos, the better.
Create content with this goal in mind. You can choose to make a series of video clips that’s 60 seconds in length. But whenever possible, stick to 15 seconds or less. This makes it more likely that viewers will stick around to the very end of the video.
Video competition rate is another metric you can check in your analytics. The data will show the average watch time of a video, and you can compare it to the overall length of the video.
In the age of fast-paced entertainment, even 15 seconds may seem a little long. Be sure each video has an immediate hook that grabs your audience’s interest.
Direct Traffic From Other Platforms
If you already have a following on another social media platform, such as Instagram or Twitter, you can use that to your advantage on TikTok. For starters, include a link to your TikTok account on your other social media page. This makes it easy for interested followers to jump from one platform to the next.
You can also take things a step further and actively promote your TikTok page on your other social media accounts. This might include a call to action in your individual posts, or sharing some of your TikTok videos in your stories. If you have a YouTube channel, you can compile your best TikTok videos and share them on that platform as well.
Interact With Users and Partner With Influencers
Filling your account with video content might not be enough. Take the time to respond to posts from your followers as well as comment on other users’ content. Audiences will take note of your responsiveness and friendliness.
You can also lean on established influencers to help draw a crowd to your account. Partner with influencers in your niche who have a large number of followers. The influencers might give a shout-out to your brand in a video that helps boost your popularity. If you’ve been working with an influencer for a long time and trust them, you might even invite them to make content for your account.
Steer Clear of Fakes
As is the case with other social media platforms, on TikTok some users cheat the system by buying fake followers and engagement. This artificially inflates the popularity of posts. Although it might be tempting, avoid doing this. Your real followers might not be pleased to find that you’re using deceptive tactics. You might even want to perform a quick audit to ensure your current followers are authentic.
