Learn how to Develop Your TikTok Following [Expert Insights + Data]

Rising a following on TikTok can really feel daunting. Belief me, I do know. I first created a TikTok to advertise my YouTube channel, weblog, and podcast again in 2022. Although I managed to realize over a thousand followers in just some days, that was a number of years in the past.

Now, I am beginning a brand new TikTok to advertise my content material for HubSpot, and I can see already the panorama has modified. Thankfully, I nonetheless know a factor or two about how one can develop on TikTok, and I’ve accomplished sufficient analysis to understand how to take action in 2024. 

With out additional ado, let’s dive into the very best ideas and tips to develop your TikTok.

Why Rising Your Followers on TikTok is Necessary

Rising your following on TikTok will enhance your model’s visibility. Like I mentioned, I joined TikTok to advertise my YouTube channel, weblog, and podcast. And I can not inform you what number of instances I might see feedback saying, “I noticed you on TikTok and knew I needed to comply with your channel.” 

I’ve additionally discovered via HubSpot’s most up-to-date Shopper Tendencies survey that TikTok is particularly vital for those who’re promoting services or products. In our survey, the vast majority of our respondents (37%) say they like discovering new merchandise by way of short-form movies corresponding to TikToks or Instagram Reels. 

Rising your TikTok can be a wonderful approach to get the eye of Gen Z. Gen Z is projected to have the quickest development in spending energy, reaching about $12 trillion by 2030.

So, if you wish to faucet into the Gen Z market, you may be blissful to know TikTok is a well-liked app amongst them. In response to our survey, 30% of Gen Z shoppers say TikTok is their favourite app, and 72% of Gen Z shoppers reported utilizing TikTok up to now three months. 

Now you recognize why TikTok is vital. Let me offer you what you got here right here for and current 6 methods to develop your TikTok following.

1. Area of interest down.

If you attempt to enchantment to everybody, you wind up attracting nobody as a result of nobody is aware of what to anticipate from you. You may find yourself posting content material that appeals to at least one crowd however turns off one other. 

So, area of interest down by researching your target market and creating content material that’s interesting to them. You are able to do this by way of focus teams, surveys, creating purchaser personas, or observing what opponents in your business are doing to have interaction their viewers. 

For instance, trend is a well-liked class on TikTok. A lot in order that the hashtag #trend has over 66.6 million views on the platform.

If you wish to put up fashion-related content material, you would possibly get misplaced on this aggressive vertical. As a substitute, I recommend specializing in a sub-niche like fashion ideas and mid-sized trend, which has a fraction of the views however a extra engaged viewers.

One in all my favourite fashion-related creators on TikTok is Andrea’s Trend Galaxy. Somewhat than sort out a variety of trend subjects, Andrea focuses on instructing her viewers how one can fashion particular items or how one can costume for sure events. 

Within the TikTok under, Andrea exhibits viewers how one can fashion a metallic mini skirt as a high. She even provides her personal aptitude to her movies by incorporating her many pets. 

2. Publish on the proper time.

Generally, it is not simply what you put up however when you put up. That is very true on TikTok.

A current HubSpot Blogs survey of 1,400+ world entrepreneurs discovered the very best time to put up to TikTok is between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Since TikTok is common with the Gen Z crowd  — they usually’re in class for a very good a part of the day — the morning and early afternoon “useless zone” is smart.

When posting content material on TikTok, keep clear of those sluggish hours and take a look at posting in the direction of the tip of the week or through the weekend.

3. Duet or Sew top-performing movies.

Probably the most common movies on my TikTok is one I sewed with a well known creator. It has about 12,000 views, whereas most of my movies would garner a median of 300-5,000 views.

TikTok’s Sew permits customers to play as much as 5 seconds of another person’s video as an intro to their very own. That is normally accomplished to reply to the unique creator, reply questions, or contribute to a viral matter.

One other useful software is TikTok’s Duet function, which helps you to play your video subsequent to a different person’s video. That is ideally suited if you wish to add commentary or a humorous response to the unique video. This is a duet I did some time in the past with Steve from Blue’s Clues.

The easiest way to leverage these options is by partaking with top-performing movies in your area of interest. You are able to do this through the use of the search bar and typing key phrases referring to your model.

Then, as soon as you have zeroed in on a video you want, faucet the Sew or Duet button and let your creativity fly.

However there’s extra — you too can encourage others to Duet or Sew your movies.

For instance, Tesco, a British grocery chain, asks customers to Duet the next video for an opportunity to change into the brand new voice of their checkout machine:

The outcome? Tesco’s unique video scored 22 million views and 1000’s of Duet submissions.

4. Take part in a problem (or create your individual).

It appears there is a new viral problem making waves each time I log into TikTok, and I’ve seen how they will explode a follower rely. The trick is discovering the fitting one in your model.

For instance, the horror movie A Quiet Place: Day One lately spawned a problem on TikTok referred to as The Quiet Place Problem. The problem was impressed by a cat within the movie that manages to stay quiet sufficient to maintain alien monsters from detecting him and his caretakers. 

To partake within the problem, TikTok customers need to run round whereas holding their cat to see in the event that they’d survive the movie in actual life. 

This problem was good for cat-themed TikTok accounts like @realsirpounce, managed by a person named Carson, who has 4 feline companions. Take a look at Carson’s try on the problem under.

The video went viral, gaining greater than 1 million likes.

It’s also possible to create your individual problem — simply be sure it is comparatively easy to do. For instance, Chipotle began the #LidFlip problem, which inspired customers to flip the lid of their burrito bowl with fashion:

Within the first six days, the problem generated over 100,000 video responses. Much more spectacular, it created a record-breaking gross sales day for Chipotle.

5. Bounce on trending sounds and songs.

88% of TikTok customers say sound is important to the TikTok expertise. Due to the algorithm, it is also important for driving extra engagement.

TikTok has an in depth library of sounds — however it is best to prioritize those that get numerous love from the neighborhood. It’s because the TikTok algorithm tends to favor movies that leverage trending sounds.  

For instance, the most well-liked video on my TikTok has virtually 100,000 views, far more than my typical common, and it contains a sound that was trending on the time and was steadily used within the anime and manga neighborhood (the area of interest my account occupies). 

To discover a stylish sound that works in your model, take a look at TikTok’s Artistic Heart, which ranks the most well-liked sounds every day. It’s also possible to filter by area, which is useful in case your viewers lives in a unique location from you.

6. Cross-promote your TikTok.

Odds are your viewers is lively on different social media moreover TikTok. For that reason, it is vital to cross-promote your movies to different channels, corresponding to Instagram or YouTube.

Simply keep away from together with the TikTok watermark in your movies when importing to different platforms, as this could have an effect on whether or not your content material is prioritized within the algorithm. 

To keep away from this challenge, I normally create a single video that’s saved to about 60 seconds lengthy, and I add the unique to every platform individually. 

For instance, I interviewed actress, host, and filmmaker Cheyenne Ewulu of Amazon Prime’s Anime Membership for my podcast Nerds At Work w/ TsundEri.

To cross-promote the episode on each Instagram and TikTok, I took a 60-second clip from the interview and uploaded it to TikTok and Instagram Reels individually somewhat than downloading it from TikTok and reposting it to the latter platform. 

7. Embody Related Hashtags.

Hashtags are key to discovering and connecting with the fitting neighborhood on TikTok. A fantastic instance of that is #BookTok on the app. The hashtag is utilized by each readers and authors to search out, advocate, and promote books. 

The tag was instrumental within the recognition of the New York Occasions Greatest Vendor “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover. The e book initially got here out in 2016 however entered the very best sellers’ listing in 2021 after it gained recognition with the #Booktok neighborhood. 

Just some years later, the e book was tailored to the massive display in a movie starring Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni. 

So, scroll via TikTok to see what hashtags your target market is utilizing to search out content material like yours.

For instance, for those who’re a shoe retailer, begin by together with #footwear or #sneakers in your movies and look to see what different hashtags pop up in movies inside your area of interest. 

8. Use trending songs.

There’s by no means a scarcity of trending songs on TikTok, so that you’re positive to search out one which matches the vibe of your content material and your model. 

For instance, actress Nicola Coughlan of the Netflix sequence Bridgerton cleverly used the tune “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter to advertise the present’s pink carpet premiere in Italy. 

Couphlan’s character on the present, Penelope, is in love with one other character named Colin, and followers have dubbed the couple “Polin” (pronounced like “pollen”).

“Espresso” grew to become followers’ anthem for the couple due to the verse “My honey bee, come get this pollen.” Naturally, Coughlan used it within the TikTok video under. 

9. Use closed-captions. 

The extra accessible your video is the extra folks can take pleasure in it, interact, and move it on. One approach to make your video extra accessible is to incorporate closed-captions. Thankfully, TikTok mechanically provides closed captions to movies uploaded to its platform. 

Nonetheless, the auto-generated captions aren’t at all times correct, which is why I recommend going via the captions and modifying them for accuracy. To do that, click on the auto-captions editor on the right-hand facet of your video earlier than importing your video. 

From there, you possibly can edit the captions manually and guarantee your movies are accessible. 

10. Share user-generated content material. 

TikTok permits customers to repost content material and share it with others. In case you begin a problem on TikTok and also you see others collaborating, repost their movies to share user-generated content material.

It’s also possible to use the Sew and Duet options I discussed earlier to share user-generated content material whereas partaking together with your viewers.

11. Collaborate with influencers and creators.

Most TikTok customers desire to maintain up with creators and influencers as an alternative of manufacturers on the app, so it may be troublesome to get customers to change into invested in your content material for those who’re attempting to advertise a enterprise.

However worry not! There’s a resolution. Strive collaborating with creators and influencers to get them to introduce your model to your viewers. Simply be sure mentioned influencer or creator aligns nicely together with your model and your target market’s overlap.

For instance, wallpaper model Dizzy With Pleasure collaborated with DIY residence decor creator Kaarin Pleasure by making a line of wallpaper patterns impressed by Kaarin’s DIY tasks.

Kaarin is thought for quirky, out-of-this-world DIY tasks, and DWE boasts an array of distinctive, funky patterns on its web site. So, Kaarin was an ideal option to introduce the model to a wider viewers. 

12. Create a content material sequence.

A content material sequence is a good way to have interaction your viewers as a result of it supplies a constant stream of content material they will sit up for and affiliate together with your model.

For instance, one in all my favourite TikTok content material sequence (that must be introduced again, please) is Sure That is on Etsy. This sequence is on Etsy’s official TikTok account and showcases the enjoyable and distinctive merchandise that may be discovered on Etsy’s official web site. 

Consider a sequence of movies which are easy to make, could be unfold out over a number of movies, and may showcase the services of your model. 

13. Control what works in your viewers.

As you put up your movies, hold observe of what generates essentially the most buzz in your platform. Which of your movies are likely to get essentially the most likes, feedback, or experiences?

Make sure that your TikTok is a enterprise account so you may have entry to all types of analytics and metrics that may inform your technique on the app.

14. Create TikTok Tales.

TikTok Tales work equally to Instagram Tales. They permit customers to put up quick movies that disappear after 24 hours. TikTok tales can drum up pleasure for upcoming movies or be used to indicate fast, unique behind-the-scenes content material of your online business. 

15. Embody CTAs.

If doable, at all times embody a call-to-action that can encourage viewers to remain tuned to your content material.

For instance, Kaarin Pleasure virtually at all times ends her movies by asking her followers to recommend extra DIY residence enchancment tasks within the feedback of her movies or to examine again later for updates on her tasks. 

In fact, if you do not know a very good CTA so as to add to your video, you possibly can at all times follow the traditional name for viewers to comply with your channel. 

16. Speak to your viewers. 

Neighborhood is vital on TikTok and one approach to construct neighborhood together with your followers on the app is to easily interact with them. Reply to their feedback, sew their movies, do a duet, or repost the content material that resonates together with your model. 

All of this may construct loyalty together with your viewers and enhance visibility in your model.

Begin Creating 

In the end, the important thing to rising your TikTok is to persistently create and put up high-quality content material that showcases your model. So begin creating now and whilst you’re at it, attempt implementing any of the above ideas I gave you.

I am additionally attempting to develop my new account, so it is time for me to cease typing and begin creating. Better of luck to each of us!