How to Increase TikTok Followers Organically [7 Platform Hacks]

Social media was designed to help you stay in touch with friends and family.

Surely, TikTok goes beyond the original intent.

Only 22% of TikTok enthusiasts across the US and UK indicated they use the app to connect with friends and exchange details about their lives.

So what does this mean and how can you get more followers on TikTok then?

You should probably learn why people use TikTok in the first place. This way, you'll know where to focus your efforts and increase your chances of getting discovered.

According to GlobalWebIndex, 60% of TikTok lovers use the platform for entertainment and to fill up spare time, while 24% say they use it for inspiration and learning new things.

So all we need to do is post funny pictures of our cats?

Not quite.

Table of Contents

1. Should brands be on TikTok?

2. Understanding TikTok’s algorithm

3. How to get more followers on TikTok in just 7 steps
   3.1.Find your niche
   3.2.Keep it short
   3.3.Engage with other accounts
   3.4.Leverage TikTok trends & join challenge
   3.5.Experiment with recommended & trending songs
   3.6.Be relatable & authentic
   3.7.Be patient

4. How to increase TikTok followers: bonus tips for social media managers
   4.1.Use an analytics tool to measure your performance
   4.2.Keep an eye on your competition
   4.3.Try investing in TikTok ads

Should brands be on TikTok?

Let's get it straight.

You don't have to be on TikTok simply to check that out.

Ask yourself: will TikTok marketing help you with sales or expand your reach? Is TikTok relevant for your target audience?

Start by evaluating your brand's identity and considering your target demographic.

According to research, almost 50% of global users are under the age of 30. And when it comes to gender demographics, nearly 60% of global users are females.

If these figures fit your target demographic and marketing goals, you're almost good to go.

You also need to decide if your brand can be visually tailored to TikTok's content type. The FMCG industry has an easier time creating content around its brands than other industries, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

Take Ryanair, for example.

The aviation brand managed to gain almost 2 million followers and millions of views on the platform just by staying relevant to their target audience and being quirky!

Understanding TikTok’s algorithm

There's good news and there's bad news.

The bad news is that there is no magic formula to increasing followers.

The good news is that understanding the TikTok algorithm can help you work with it and increase your chances of success.

The TikTok algorithm is a recommendation engine that determines which videos display on your For You Page.

The videos you may see change over time depending on your viewing choices, interactions, and even your mood!

If you're new to the platform, this comprehensive guide to using TikTok may help you better understand and use the app.

How to get more followers on TikTok in just 7 steps

Let's see how brands can embrace their fun and creative sides to fit TikTok's short video format and gain more followers:

📢 Find your niche

On TikTok, creators specialize in a specific type of topic: entertainment, culinary, music, mental health guidance, tarot, and homelife how-tos – to name a few.

Establishing a niche makes it easier for you to provide content that supports your area of expertise and meets the needs of your target audience.

People belonging to a community and sharing a common passion can increase engagement and attract potential followers to your page.

When people know what to expect from you, they are more likely to follow you and stay engaged.

⏰ Keep it short

TikTok's short, high-quality videos have quickly become one of the most popular and enjoyable ways for people to express their creativity and spend their time.

Yes, you can now make minute-long clips on the platform. But no, this does not imply that you need to use the entire 60 seconds for your videos.

The average person's attention span is shrinking. People will be more interested in watching your TikToks if they take less time.

As a result, the shorter the video, the more possibilities you have of getting people to actually watch the entire thing.

🔗 Engage with other accounts

Stitch and TikTok Duets are among the hottest TikTok trends that marketers should be aware of in 2022.

While TikTok Stitch allows users to take a short snippet of other people’s videos and merge it into their own, TikTok Duet lets you post your video alongside the original one, with both playing at the same time.

These features allow you to engage with creators that you like and are excellent for adding to other people's work and boosting your chances of being noticed.

💃 Leverage TikTok trends & join challenges

Over the past years, TikTok has quickly grabbed the hearts of the digital natives and become the fastest-growing social networking platform so far.

TikTok is now a go-to source for DIY projects, fashion, music, and more.

There is always something new trending on the platform – from challenges to dancing videos.

If you participate in viral challenges, TikTok users are more likely to find your videos.

Thanks to TikTok’s algorithm, you can gain thousands of followers from a single viral video.

Remember to follow trends that are more popular in your country or area and use the appropriate hashtag to maximize your results.

🎵 Experiment with recommended & trending songs

Here’s a feature you need to use to its full potential: trending songs.

Almost 90% of TikTok users shared that sound is key to the TikTok experience.

According to BusinessInsider, it's common for music marketers to pay TikTok influencers to promote tracks.

Although it may be an easy way for the app's producers to monetize their audience, TikTok is unquestionably built to promote videos containing trending tracks.

It's enough to look at the top weekly music charts to see that. On TikTok, many of these are now trending.

To identify trending songs, hashtags, and creators, visit trends.tiktok.com.

🌟 Be relatable & authentic

On TikTok, there’s no room for fakers.

The creators' embrace of honesty contributed the most to TikTok's popularity among Gen Z and millennials.

TikTok users reveal their uniqueness with both strengths and weaknesses.

Be original in your approach. Don't just replicate content because it's trending. Speak from personal experience.

👴 Be patient

Even though TikTok moves fast and new challenges can replace others in a matter of weeks, you should be patient and consistent with your strategy.

Rather than removing underperforming content, consider promoting it or generating additional content to boost exposure.

Delete your previous videos only if you're confident they're no longer relevant to your business!

It's not uncommon for a previously unsuccessful video to go viral after being heavily shared on the FYP page.

How to gain TikTok followers: bonus tips for social media managers

Unfortunately, sharing great content isn't always enough to achieve your social media objectives.

You need to have a clear social media marketing strategy.

And as a social media manager, you know how important it is to keep track of your TikTok metrics and your overall social media KPIs.

So here’s what you need to do if you want to go the extra mile:

📈 Use an analytics tool to measure your performance

To establish whether or not you're on track to fulfill your business objectives, you need to perform a TikTok audit.

A TikTok audit can help you analyze growth by reviewing your company's overall activity and analytics.

You may use TikTok Analytics to help you make advertising decisions, measure the impact of your social media strategy, and enhance your marketing efforts.

But, if you're looking for more performant analytics services to assist you, you might want to compare these 9 TikTok analytics tools for a successful social media strategy and see which one can help you drive the best results.

👀 Keep an eye on your competition

Why do customers buy from you or your competitors?

How do other businesses promote their products, and why do people engage with their content?

To drive optimal results, brands need to identify their competitor's strong points and figure out market gaps.

Researching your competition can help you spark new ideas and develop your own marketing strategy.

💸 Try investing in TikTok ads

Ultimately, setting up TikTok ads is another approach to getting ahead of the competition and increasing the number of followers.

We said ads, not apps! 😜

After all, that's what TikTok is all about: real followers and real engagement.

So don't waste your time trying to increase your numbers with bots – it won't help you in the long run.

However, keep in mind that this solution is only viable if you have a bigger budget – as TikTok ads can be pretty expensive.

Because TikTok ads are still new, there's not much competition, so there’s plenty of room to be creative and get seen by the right people.

To help you get the most out of your strategy, TikTok Business allows brands to create self-serve ads on the platform, giving you access to a worldwide audience and a variety of management tools such as targeting, ad creation, or insight reports.

Wrap up

With a third of TikTokers in the US and UK following brands they like on the app, the platform is well-positioned to boost its commercial potential.

Understanding how the TikTok algorithm works and using the tips in this article can help you fine-tune your technique and increase your chances of being seen.

Find your niche, adapt your material to the platform's structure, engage with other accounts, join challenges and trends, and incorporate relevant hashtags and sounds in your TikToks to help create your community of like-minded followers.

Be consistent with your content.

If you keep posting, your work's quality will increase, you'll develop a routine, and discover what value your audience may derive from your content.

Continue to explore to find out what works best for you.

And remember: authenticity is the key for brands to succeed on TikTok!

Related articles:

• Latest TikTok Statistics You Should Know in 2022
• TikTok Trends That Marketers Should Be Aware of in 2022
• TikTok Audit: How to Analyze Your TikTok Page Performance

* This article was originally published here