If you take TikTok seriously as part of your business, you will want to grow your followers regularly over time. Here in this post, we will explore ways to gain TikTok followers. This is particularly so, if you use TikTok for marketing, or you aim to become a TikTok influencer. However, like all social and video apps, some followers are of more value to you than others. Some people may follow you after watching one of your videos, and then never view another one. Worse, some followers may not even be human. They may be bots trying to game the TikTok algorithm.
While high follower numbers may not necessarily be the most valid measure of your TikTok success, they are nonetheless an obvious metric that people use to compare accounts. You want quality followers, however, who genuinely love your videos and watch any new content you share. There is little point having followers who couldn’t care less about your account.
Focus on Engaged Followers
The secret to any social media audience is that they are engaged. You don’t want passive followers who like one of your videos and never view another. You want followers who once they’ve seen one of your videos, regularly return to your page to search for more clips. And you want them to like your videos, make positive comments, and to share via their other social accounts.
Therefore you need to find creative ways to pick up quality TikTok followers while avoiding the dross and bots. You want to work on building a distinct TikTok community that feels like a definite group of like-minded people.
Ways to Gain TikTok Followers
1. Work to Get Your Videos in “For You” Feeds
TikTok uses its “For You” page as the heart of the platform. It is the equivalent of Instagram’s Explore page, but unlike Instagram, TikTok makes the “For You” page the default page that everybody goes to when they open their app.
And that is quite a fundamental difference. On Instagram (and indeed Facebook), each user faces a newsfeed of new posts, predominantly from the people they follow. On TikTok, users can see a feed of posts made by strangers that TikTok believes will interest them. Sure, it’s easy enough to switch to videos from people you’re Following, but most people begin by watching the videos TikTok selects “For You.” This gives an ideal opportunity for your videos to reach new people, who may, in turn, follow you.
Having your content appear on people’s “For You” page means that TikTok recognizes the quality of your content, over all the other videos that people upload. This helps you gain recognition and have your videos viewed by a wider audience.
In How to Feature on TikTok’s “For You” Page, we covered how TikTok’s algorithm works. The algorithm continually searches for new videos to share with viewers, rather than continuously recycling the videos of existing celebrities and influencers. This helps people to build an audience and gain fame. Any account, even a relatively new one, can create quality content and then have TikTok position it before a broad audience.
2. Determine Your Target Audience
This tip applies to virtually every type of social media, particularly if you are a business using it for marketing purposes.
Not all followers are of equal benefit to you. And this still applies even when you eliminate obviously fake and bot followers. You first need to ask yourself, why you are using TikTok? Who do you really want to watch and enjoy your videos?
If you are a business that sells products, then your target audience will be obvious – the types of people who would buy your goods. If you’re just an ordinary person, then the answer is less clear-cut. In that case, you probably ask yourself, who would you most want to influence?
While the bulk of TikTok’s users are Generation Z or Millennials, there is an increasing number of older users too. You could even consider building a TikTok audience of Baby Boomers or Generation X if you believe sufficient of your product’s niche users spend time on TikTok.
ame. Any account, even a relatively new one, can create quality content and then have TikTok position it before a broad audience.
3. Share Videos That Will Appeal to Your Target Audience
We talked previously about the importance of having your videos appearing on people’s “For You” feeds. However, as “For You” feeds are highly customized, depending on the demographics, interests, and TikTok behavior of each viewer, then you need to target specific people with your videos.
For this to work, you need to ensure that your target audience will love your content. Make the types of videos that will most appeal to them. Remember that TikTok is all about user experience. Their users don’t come online to watch videos from you advertising your products. You can still make your product very clear without making blatant advertisements.
If you target teenage girls, for instance, think about the types of videos that most interest them. This might mean traditional TikTok lip-synch videos if that is what your target audience prefers. In some cases, you can feature your products in your videos. For example, if you sell makeup, you could share videos demonstrating how to apply it. But don’t try and shoehorn your product where it is not appropriate.
Perhaps you sell car accessories to boy racers, and you target an audience of males in their late teens and early twenties. In that case, you could share videos featuring fast cars, showing your accessories in place if relevant.