How to get more followers on TikTok? Given the platform’s immense potential, it’s a question on every marketer’s mind.
With over 1 billion monthly active users spanning 200 countries, TikTok stands out as a dominant platform. The average user checks the platform 19 times daily, while in the US alone, users are so captivated they spend nearly 500 minutes monthly.
It’s only natural you’d want your TikTok account to garner regular visitors and loyal followers. But navigating the vast potential for content, nailing the engagement, and adding more followers can be daunting.
Don’t worry!
Whether you’re marketing as a beginner, a solo professional, or for a brand, the list of creative ways to gain more TikTok followers is endless.
From leveling up your posting schedule to leveraging out-of-the-box content creation, you can successfully build your TikTok community and consistently keep your audience engaged with your content.
Dive into this guide as we unravel 11 proven strategies to bolster your TikTok follower count.
1. Understand Your Audience
Before getting to the content, you must identify your audience. Knowing your audience is the foundation of any successful TikTok strategy.
Once you’ve got a handle on your audience’s persona, you’re better equipped to craft content that not only resonates but also converts viewers into loyal followers.
Dive deep into who your audience really is. Are they Gen Z trendsetters or millennial enthusiasts?
The best way to understand your TikTok audience is to look at your current audience. Take a dive into the analytics section to figure out the breakdown of your audience by gender, location, and any other significant parameters.
Now you have a fair idea about your TikTok audience, don’t stop there.
Dive deeper into engagement metrics to understand the content your audience prefers. Which of your videos are being shared the most? Which ones have the most comments or saves?
If you are new to TikTok, then you can look into the kind of audience your competitors or similar brands are catering to. Borrow inspiration and understand the trends.
Last but not least, ask your audience.
Yes, engage directly with your audience! Run Q&A sessions, encourage comments, and also use TikTok’s poll feature to ask them what they like. This direct feedback can be invaluable in knowing your audience’s preferences.
With a deeper understanding of your audience, it’s time to craft content that hits the mark.
2. Create Useful Content
TikTok isn’t just about viral dances or lip-syncing; it’s also a treasure trove of knowledge and insights. Have you ever heard someone say, “I picked that up on TikTok”? Well, there’s a reason for that.
The platform is bursting with bite-sized lessons on everything, from mastering Italian to nailing the perfect skincare routine.
The best way to gain a mass following and go viral on TikTok is to incorporate viral trends while sharing information that is relevant and valuable for your target audience.
If your followers like it, they will validate it by sharing and commenting, inviting other relevant audiences to follow your account.
Let’s see how you can create valuable content.
Educate and Engage
TikTok’s short video format is perfect for quick, digestible lessons. You can share your expertise or teach something that adds value to your followers.
This not only boosts engagement but also positions you as a credible expert in your niche. Take Hyram, the skincare aficionado who has become the go-to guru for tackling tricky skin issues.
Offer Genuine Advice
There’s something magnetic about authenticity. Sharing genuine insights or personal experiences can spark meaningful conversations. Putting out TikToks should not just be about broadcasting but also about connecting.
Dr. Julie Smith, a UK-based psychologist, has established a brand of authenticity, using TikTok to share tips for mental well-being. The result? A whopping 11 million likes and a deeply engaged community.
3. Include Call-To-Actions in Your Videos
Ever watched a video and thought, “What now?” That’s where a good old call-to-action (CTA) comes in and makes things easier for the audience and the brand. It’s like giving your viewers a nudge, a gentle “Hey, if you liked that, do this!”
Asking people to take a specific action is not a new technique. You might have seen a lot of videos on TikTok telling you what to do next.
Similarly, you can nudge your viewers to follow you.
A simple “Follow us for more of this goodness!” in your video or caption can increase your followers. It’s like leaving breadcrumbs for your audience to find more of your content.
Apart from regular TikTok videos, you can also leverage the power of TikTok live videos to drive audience engagement. TikTok has a separate “Live” tab allowing people who are not your followers to access your live video.
So, next time while you’re live, sprinkle through some CTAs. Maybe ask them to drop a comment, share the live stream, or hit that follow button. It’s all about seizing the moment.
A well-placed CTA isn’t just a suggestion; it’s an invitation to get on your brand bandwagon. And when you extend an invite, you’d be surprised at how many decide to stick around.
3. Create a TikTok Challenge
TikTok challenges are an integral part of what makes the platform so dynamic. Any individual or business on TikTok can start them. Challenges encourage people to make a video, often set to a particular piece of music, showcasing a particular activity or theme.
And they are pretty good at getting eyeballs. Famous TikTok hashtag challenges, such as #OldTownRoadChallenge or Chipotle’s #GuacDance, have garnered over a billion views.
Creating a TikTok challenge can be more demanding and expensive for a new or small business. Still, if you can do it, you’ll find it is worth the effort.
To come up with a Tiktok challenge, you need to:
- Brainstorm an idea
- Create a memorable hashtag
- Choose or create catchy music for the challenge
- Launch with a demo video
- Use TikTok ads like branded hashtag challenge
- Partner with influencers
One successful hashtag challenge was the 6-day #inmydenim by Guess – one of the first companies that launched a TikTok hashtag challenge. Guess collaborated with influencers and created the #inmydenim challenge.
Users simply showed how they wear Guess jeans. The trend was a hit, reaching 40 million views across TikTok. These videos are still getting likes and shares.
On the other hand, if you can’t create a challenge, you can always…
4. Participate in Viral TikTok Challenges
Now, you, as a business, can also participate in TikTok challenges to enhance your visibility on the platform.
What exactly do you have to do?
Choose a TikTok challenge that strategically aligns and resonates with your brand values. For instance, If you are a beauty and fashion brand, getting on a makeover challenge will be more feasible and relevant as you can include your products for promotion and give the challenge your own twist.
One perfect example is when Vineyard Vines, an apparel brand, jumped on the “#bottlecapchallenge” and garnered over 800K views for their rendition. They added their unique twist by featuring their whale mascot executing the challenge.
5. Incorporate Hot Tracks, Sounds, and Filters
Trends on TikTok are not limited to challenges. The magic of TikTok virality also spreads through sound, tracks, and filters.
Ever noticed how some tracks just explode on TikTok? Or, how a particular filter suddenly becomes everyone’s favorite? That’s the magic of trends based on sounds, and if you’re aiming for TikTok stardom, you’ve got to be in the know.
Tune into Trending Sounds
TikTok is a trend machine, especially for music-based videos, so it’s best to know what’s happening in music on the platform and use this feature to your advantage. Trending sounds boost the discoverability of your videos and are constantly changing based on TikTok users’ behavior, saves, video shares, and plays.
Tracks like “Deja Vu” and “Leave the Door Open” didn’t just top the music charts; they became TikTok sensations, as well.
Want to stay ahead of the curve? Keep an eagle eye on the #ForYou page. Dive into the TikTok Sounds library via the app or the desktop version. It’s your go-to spot to discover what’s making waves.
Level Up with Filters
If you want to take your TikTok videos to the next level, use trending filters. Filters make your content more appealing and are a fun way to amp up the feel and vibe of your video. An uber-appealing video is the simplest way to grow TikTok followers.
Remember the Disney filter? It was all the rage, turning everyone (and their pets!) into Disney characters.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Filters can transform a simple video into a visual masterpiece, making it a surefire way to attract more followers.
Embrace AR Magic
Augmented Reality (AR) filters, apart from adding a fun element, are all about driving engagement and interaction. Big and small brands are crafting custom AR filters to engage their audience, especially the younger crowd.
They’re excellent as a growth strategy. With the help of these AR lenses, users can interact directly with a brand’s offerings. Brands can even integrate hashtag challenges with AR filters to get a colossal crowd of eyeballs obsessing over their content.
When Sports Direct launched its #FlashofFuture campaign, they not only did a hashtag challenge but also had a custom eye-catching AR filter made: the “Flash of Future” Branded Effect. It instantly turned this into a shoppable brand experience and stood out in the feed.
6. Play with Duets and Stitches
Duets and Stitches are great features to improve your follower count. Both features enable you to collaborate, react, and remix with other creators’ videos.
Let’s take a good look at what this means for brands and other users.
Duets on TikTok allow you to create a side-by-side video with another user’s content, essentially reacting or adding to their video.
On the other hand, Stitches let you clip and integrate scenes from someone else’s video into your own, giving you the power to continue or remix their narrative. Think of it as remixing a song but in video form.
And the best part? It’s a two-way street. Your Duet/Stitches videos reach not only your followers but also the audience of the original creator. By creating a Duet with a video that resonates with your audience, you’ll naturally draw them toward the rest of your content.
Vessi, a footwear brand based in Canada, grew its TikTok profile rapidly by employing a unique Duet giveaway strategy that generated an influx of user-generated content and increased brand awareness.
They tactfully leveraged Billie Eilish’s “My Strange Addiction” so fans could easily convey their addiction to Vessi’s footwear in their Duet. The campaign was a huge success, generating over 3 million views and 800,000 engagements.
7. Post Consistently at the Best Times
A tried-and-tested tip to gain TikTok followers is to post consistently. It’s highly encouraged to post original content at least once every day, but some Tiktokers like Chriselle Lim post between 2 and 5 videos daily.
When looking at how to boost TikTok followers, posting at peak times is another important thing to remember. You’ll gain more eyes when your audience is most active, obviously. TikTok Analytics gives access to this data so you can plan your posting schedule accordingly.
The TikTok algorithm rewards posts that have a lot of interaction and engagement. The more consistent you are with your schedule and posting original content, the better your chances of getting your content pushed up on feeds.
Remember that as each TikTok account is different, the best time to post on TikTok can be figured out with experimentation and perhaps weeks of learning how your audience responds to your videos.
However, posting consistently at your best times can be arduous, especially when your audience is located across time zones. On top of that, there is the challenge of managing timely posting for multiple TikTok accounts.
Don’t worry – we have got you covered with a best-in-class scheduling tool.
SocialPilot, a TikTok scheduling tool, among other things, enables you to create and schedule TikTok posts well in advance. Simply upload your TikTok videos on the SocialPilot platform, set your desired time and date, and let the magic of automation do the rest.
With SocialPilot, you can effortlessly maintain an optimal posting frequency and schedule videos for multiple client accounts to ensure maximum engagement.
8. Amplify Content with Cross-Platform Sharing
Sharing your TikTok content on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter can introduce your videos to a broader audience who might not be on TikTok yet.
Also, many of your engaged followers on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube might be unaware that you’re also creating content on TikTok. So, cross-promotion becomes a strategic move.
Sharing snippets or highlights from your TikTok videos lets you pique the interest of users who already appreciate your content and encourage them to check out your full TikTok profile.
However, you need to be mindful of platform rules. For instance, Instagram Reels doesn’t allow watermarked videos. So, you’d either share the original or an edited version without the watermark. On the other hand, YouTube Shorts can accommodate watermarked TikTok videos.
In essence, strategically sharing your TikTok content across different platforms can maximize reach and potentially grow your TikTok following.
9. Partner with Influencers
Partnering with TikTok influencers allows you to provide high-quality, valuable content for your target audience. At the same time, that impressive-looking content will capture your viewer’s attention and help you gain their trust, leading to more engagement and following.
Influencer content helps enrich your content strategy, creating an authentic connection with your audience. Identify an influencer’s strong suit and the types of videos they create to strategize on alignment with your brand and its voice.
Look how Chipotle partnered with the influencer Zach King and used his distinct style of creating illusionary videos to promote their product. Here, he “jumps” into his spacesuit and later makes his bowl, chips, and money float in the air.
The collaboration helped Chipotle to grab more eyeballs through King’s wide-reaching influence on users across age groups. Now, that’s a sure-shot way to get more TikTok followers, don’t you think?
With TikTok Creator Marketplace, a virtual gathering of content creators and marketers, you can collaborate with other creators who share the same interests as you and represent similar ideas. This can help your brand in getting direct responses from the audience with increased brand awareness.
If you consistently collaborate with popular names, your content will automatically get more traction among your followers and theirs. To achieve this, begin by finding top influencers within your niche to collaborate with. You can search influencers by country, topic, engagement rate, account size, average video views, and name or username.
10. Leverage User-Generated Content
Here’s a secret: It’s not just influencer content that can catapult you to TikTok fame. Your everyday TikTok followers also hold immense potential to propel you to stardom.
How, you ask?
You must have come across videos of someone raving about their favorite product or doing a quirky dance challenge for a brand. These types of user-generated content (UGC) are gold mines for boosting brand following and visibility.
You can encourage your followers to create and share content around a theme, hashtag, or challenge. Not only does this strategy boost engagement, but it also creates a ripple effect, drawing in their followers to your brand.
Chipotle came up with their UGC challenge #ChipotleLidFlip to connect with their customers. Participants had to film themselves, flipping the lid of the Chipotle bowl in a smooth and graceful motion. The videos were then posted on TikTok with the hashtag #ChipotleLidFlip.
The challenge’s playfulness enticed people to participate and made it an overnight success. The challenge generated over 345 million views, and 2.5 million videos were created with the hashtag.
When real users, not polished brand ambassadors, showcase or talk about something, it appears more genuine. It’s like getting a recommendation from a buddy over coffee. UGC is authentic, relatable, and oh-so-shareable.
11. Strategize TikTok Hashtags Usage
Hashtags have become an essential commodity on every social media platform.
TikTok is no different and demands a well-placed TikTok hashtags strategy to make your content more discoverable.
Hashtags aren’t just about trends; they’re also about creating communities. There’s a hashtag for almost every aspect of life these days. You can tap into a myriad of relevant communities through hashtags and join the conversations.
But what hashtags should you be leveraging? Well, one size doesn’t fit all in the hashtag world. Your TikTok strategy should amalgamate trending, branded, and common hashtags.
Most importantly, you can’t ignore ‘Hashtag challenges.’ Hashtag challenges can be a lot of fun, and they often result in lots of user-generated content.
In the end, the more strategic you are with your hashtags, the more people your content reaches, and this translates to more potential followers discovering your content, engaging with it, and hitting that follow button.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it!
It’s clear that getting TikTok followers to love your content takes work. Along with creating stellar content, you will need to stay abreast of the latest trends and challenges and keep capitalizing on them occasionally to stay relevant.
With the examples and tips shared above, you will be able to hit all the marks and grab your audience’s attention. Remember, if you want more followers on TikTok, then creativity and persistence are what you need.
Another thing you need to take care of while growing your TikTok presence is to post consistently. Give your followers something to look forward to so they become more familiar with your content mix.
If consistency is feeling like a distant dream because of all the other tasks you are managing, then don’t forget to use social media management tools like SocialPilot. It enables you to schedule TikTok videos way ahead of time and publish them automatically. Try the platform today for a hassle-free process from start to finish!
