Do you want to know the secret to get many followers on tiktok?
we don’t blame you!
with 689 million global active users as of January 2021, everyone and their grandmothers are on tiktok. Having a large following can mean a direct line to your company’s target audience, a connection most marketing strategists only dream of, so making sure your audience can find you is key.
so how do you make yourself “findable”? and better yet, “followable”?
spoiler alert: it’s not that simple. if it were, we would have gone viral by now. and don’t be fooled by apps that let you buy bots and fake followers. this will only feed your ego and do nothing for your brand awareness.
The following tips will show you how to get more followers on tiktok in an honest way.
how to get more tiktok followers for free
define your target audience
You can’t be everything to everyone. know your audience and you will know how to get their attention. be specific. go niche. What do you like? What do you dislike?
Having a clear idea of who your target audience is (and isn’t) will help you place your content on your page for you. the fyp or for you page is the page you land on when you open tiktok. It’s where you want to be!
find out what your audience is interested in.
Don’t you know what they’re up to? just ask them!
use your other social media platforms to ask your followers what kind of content they would like to see on tiktok. instagram polls and questions can make this very engaging and lets them know you have a tiktok they should follow (wink wink).
check out the competition.
It’s also not a bad idea to search for similar creators and brands in your industry. the game recognizes the game, after all. Since they share a similar audience, it’s like free research!
gen z research
keep in mind that tiktok is the place where many gen zers hang out. in the usa In the US, the vast majority of tiktok users are under the age of 30.
if your target audience can still be on the forbes 30 under 30 list, then your chances of reaching them on tiktok are much better. but don’t worry, more and more people (including those over 30) are joining the tiktok party, so don’t stay away if you have a slightly older audience either.
participate in challenges
Challenges are one of the biggest trends on tiktok and can skyrocket your follower count.
if you don’t know what a challenge is, it’s when you ask or challenge users to do or try something. but they can really be anything:
technically, challenges can happen on any network, but they are most popular on tiktok.
here are some tips to keep in mind when participating in a tiktok challenge to get more followers:
choose the right challenge
Some challenges spread like wildfire while others fade away. a big part of their success is how easily they can be recreated and how relatable they are. the #youdontknow tiktok challenge does this very well (which is probably why the hashtag has 237.1 million views!)
remember: it’s your personal touch that you put into a challenge that makes it stand out.
try a brand hashtag challenge
Any business can create a branded hashtag challenge that allows tiktok users to create the content and do their advertising for you. This works great if you reach out to creators who are already popular and offer to pay them to create a video for your challenge. You will gain access to your loyal and engaged following and expand your audience. check out the views in walmart’s back to school hashtag challenge on first day outfits!
access the page for you
the for you page is to tiktok creators what the explore page is to instagram users. Think: The cool kids’ table in the school cafeteria. It’s where you want to be to be seen!
how does the tiktok page work for you?
tiktok says it recommends videos for your page for you based on how you interact with other videos on tiktok. you can learn more about the algorithm here, but basically it’s content curated for you and only you. that also means that no two pages are the same for you. cool huh?
When your company’s content appears on many of your pages, it can easily attract more followers, get more likes, and also go viral.
don’t know how to access tiktok for your pages?
don’t worry, we’ve got some tips to help you fyp as many consistently.
create compelling content
unlike instagram or youtube, tiktok accounts with few or no followers can aspire to go viral with the right content. in theory, the creamiest content should rise to the top. make sure your content is high quality, modern or relevant, and what your audience will like!
create a lot of content
remember your abc’s: always be happy! The more content you have, the more opportunities you have to reach your pages!
Don’t delete your tiktok videos either. Sometimes a video that has been posted for a few weeks can suddenly appear on the fyp page on a large scale and go viral on its own. Whether due to timing, force majeure, or just plain luck, having a lot of content in the algorithm increases your chances of getting more for your pages, which could translate into free tiktok followers.
record quality images
Another great way to get the coveted pages for yourself is by creating high-quality videos.
use a ring of light. make sure the framing is good. Get that crisp, clear audio. edit your videos in an attractive way.
Viewers are more likely to engage and engage with your content if it’s of high quality. it’s also more likely to appear on the page for you.
use hashtags
hashtags help your tiktok content to be seen by more people than those who already follow you. they are easily created, searchable, and have even become an effective marketing tool for organizations and brands, as well as the average tiktok creator. not to mention hashtags help you with the tiktok algorithm for your page. using the right hashtag will help people who don’t follow you yet find your content.
Here’s how to find the right hashtag to get your content seen and attract more followers.
see what hashtags are trending
There is no magic hashtag that will make you fall into everyone’s fyp. even using the hashtags: #foryou #fyp #foryoupage doesn’t guarantee you a spot.
Knowing which hashtags to use can still seem like a stab in the dark. Fortunately, there are ways to see what hashtags are trending, via the in-app hashtag suggestion tool. you may encounter this when you are creating subtitles for your videos. press the # and suggestions will appear. those are the ones to use (if they’re relevant to your video of course)!
create a branded hashtag
a branded hashtag is a great way to get tiktok users to engage with your brand by sharing your unique hashtag. it should be a phrase or word that inspires people to involve a brand in the conversations they have on tiktok and take advantage of current trends. It can also be a brand hashtag challenge that encourages tiktok creators to create content for your brand and become unofficial brand ambassadors.
fill your captions with relevant hashtags too!
It’s also important to include relevant hashtags in the post title that suit your content and branding. that way your audience can find you and the algorithm knows what to do with you. Plus, if you rank high on a hashtag, people can search for the hashtag and find your videos. skipping the algorithm all together!
connect with your audience’s favorite subcultures
Hashtags are also the reason many niche communities and subcultures spring up on tiktok. tiktok even calls them the new demographic, which means that finding your audience is all about aligning with the right subculture. Does your audience really like #cottagecore or are they true #bad? know your hashtag = know your audience!
publish when your audience is online
Of course, what you post matters. but when you publish it is just as important.
What is the best time to post content on social media? when your audience is online!
how can you solve this? switching to a tiktok pro account.
This free upgrade gives you access to tiktok analytics, including your profile metrics and data insights to help you find the best time to post.
if you want even more detailed information, hootsuite’s tiktok scheduler will even recommend the best times to post your content for maximum engagement (exclusive to your account).
use analytics to find out when your audience is online.
Two things to keep in mind when determining the best times to post: where your audience is looking from and the posting times of your most viewed content.
The followers tab in your analytics will track your follower growth, top territories, and follower activities. keep in mind that it only stores data from the last 28 days.
in the “followers activity” section of the followers tab there is a detailed view of the times and days when your audience is most active. this is recorded in utc (coordinated universal time). so be prepared to convert those active hours to reflect the time zones of wherever your audience is looking.
The last part of the picture is content performance. In the content section in tiktok analytics, you will see the performance of your posts for the last 7 days. Looking at your top posts and the times they were published will help you get a clearer picture of the relationship between when you post your content and how well you do it.
Getting a lot of attention on new content right when you post it can help your videos get early traction and build momentum that could lead to more followers on tiktok.
cross promotion on other platforms
Most people use multiple apps at the same time. In fact, according to an article on social media use in 2021, looking at 18-29 year olds in the United States: 71% are on Instagram, 65% on Snapchat, and TikTok accounts are roughly half. Putting your content on multiple platforms (facebook, instagram and twitter) helps your overall visibility and will drive traffic to your tiktok profile.
repurpose your videos for instagram reels
instagram reels are the new kids on the block and are like tiktok’s own version of instagram. reels can be up to 60 seconds long while tiktok videos can now be 3 minutes long so be prepared to shorten your videos if necessary.
Also, try to avoid leaving the tiktok watermark on your reel, as the instagram algorithm won’t promote it.
The reels also have an explore page so you have access to a whole new audience. If you want to set up your reels for success with this powerful discovery tool, check out our guide to getting your content on the instagram explore page.
use tiktok ads
Another way to bypass the algorithm and get in front of your audience is to set up tiktok ads. this option does depend on whether you have the budget for it.
with tiktok ads manager you get access to a global tiktok audience with different ad management tools (targeting, ad creation, insights reporting) to help you get the most out of your ads.
why tiktok ads? They’re still new, so there’s plenty of room to be creative and get seen by the right people, without a lot of competition.
here are some cool things about tiktok ads:
- you can target specific demographics and locations.
- the “custom audiences” feature allows you to find people who already know about your business or have interacted with it.
- ads in the feed
- top view (make your ad the first thing they see when they open the app)
- branding (like topview, first seen when the app is opened, but it’s a full-screen ad)
- branded hashtag challenges (custom hashtag challenges placed on the discover page)
- brand effect (your own custom augmented reality virtual filter)
- go to tiktok video editor
- press the plus icon at the bottom of the screen
- play “sounds”
- scroll through the trends!
There are different ad options you can choose from (but keep in mind that they are all expensive: $25,000 to $50,000 a day, so if you don’t have an ad budget, skip to the next point):
partner with other tiktok creators
collaborating with a popular tiktok creator can amplify your message and ignite your campaign. You can use the creator marketplace to find a variety of creators, influencers, and tiktok personalities who might be a good fit for your brand and share a similar audience.
turn your best videos into ads with tiktok’s new “promo” tool
promote is newly available to help businesses reach more people and grow their community with their tiktok videos. Promotion allows you to turn any organic tiktok video into an ad so you can start reaching new audiences, build a following, and drive traffic to your business website. its costs can also be high, so you will have to decide if it is worth it for you.
Pros: Gain insights to find out what resonated with your audience.
remember that you can only promote videos that use original sound or sounds that can be used for commercial purposes.
10. use trendy songs and sounds
why do so many people (myself included) know the words “into the thick of it” from the backyardigans? why tiktok, that’s why.
if you look at the most popular songs right now, many of them are super popular on tiktok. This is not a coincidence. tiktok is a great asset to the music industry and is managing and dealing with record labels to push certain songs on the app. hitch your car to one of these songs and your video has a better chance of being played on fyps. (and by that we mean, use a trending song in your video. It doesn’t have to be a dance!)
here’s how to find trending music and sounds:
This is how you can tell what your followers are listening to:
to find the best sounds your audience has listened to in the last 7 days, go to your analytics tab (you need a tiktok pro account for this!) and under the followers tab, scroll down to see all different music and audio. your audience is enjoying it.
11. experiment with tiktok duets and sewing
Another interesting feature of tiktok is duets. they are side by side videos, one from the original creator and the other from a tiktok user. They can be used to comment, compliment, reply to or add to the original video and are a fun way to interact in the app. there’s also a green screen duo option that makes the original video the background.
Duets encourage people to share and engage with your branded content, increasing the chances that it will be seen by more different users. it creates great brand engagement and an opportunity for more followers who might not have otherwise seen your content.
This creator dueted her reaction to a popular video and garnered over 2 million likes.
stitch allows users the ability to trim and embed scenes from another user’s video into their own. Like Duet, Stitch is a way to reinterpret and add to another user’s content, based on their stories, tutorials, recipes, math lessons, and more. is another engagement tool that can drive people to hit that plus sign.
final thoughts on how to get followers on tiktok
There is no single solution to get more followers on tiktok. but there are certainly many ways to increase your views and your content right to your pages. Knowing your audience, taking advantage of trends, hashtags, and challenges, using other social networks and ads to promote your stuff, and timing your posts correctly are all great ways to increase your chances of gaining followers without downloading any sketchy apps or paying money for bots.
grow your tiktok presence alongside your other social channels using hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance. try it free today.
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