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Social Media Marketing
How to Get TikTook Famous: 6 Sensible Suggestions
27
Dec
Dec
Ahh, TikTok! Home to viral challenges, mega stunts, and possibly the best memes on the internet. The world’s seventh largest social media app has certainly come a long way in just 5 years.
TikTok is now proudly the home of over 1 billion users and is home to some of the world’s top-selling social media stars. It’s no surprise that users are doing everything they can to become the next big thing.
But how exactly do you make TikTok famous and why should you even bother? Read on to find out.
The benefits of getting famous on TikTok
TikTok currently has 1 billion active users and that’s that Seventh largest social media network in the world.
The app has over 73 million users in the United States alone (which means roughly 22% of the country’s population use TikTok).
And while users under the age of 19 are still the largest group of the population on the platform, TikTok has long ceased to be a “lip-sync app for children”. In 2021, all age groups will be solidly represented on the platform:
Distribution of TikTok users in the USA as of March 2021, by age group (source: Statista)
Combine that with TikTok’s extremely responsive algorithm, and the benefits of using the platform (for marketing or personal fame) become clear: no matter what audience you’re trying to reach online, you’ll likely find a very engaging piece of it on TikTok.
Can you get famous overnight with TikTok?
You’ve probably heard that getting famous on TikTok is easy. And that is true. But only in comparison to older social networks like Instagram and Facebook.
That’s because the TikTok algorithm doesn’t recommend content based on number of followers, which makes it a lot easier for new users to collect views and grow their accounts.
TikTok recommends your clips on the For You page (the app’s homepage and main feed) if they’re similar to what your audience is already seeing and interacting with.
Even so, it’s unlikely to drop a million dedicated followers into your lap overnight.
I’m not saying you don’t have to wake up one morning to find that your latest video has gone viral and your local paper wants to write about you. But real fame takes more than one viral TikTok video.
To build your base, you need to compare viral hit with more videos that hit the TikTok sweet spot.
“How do you do that?” I hear you ask. Let’s take a look at some strategies that will bring you closer to TikTok’s glory.
How to Get Famous Using TikTok: 6 Strategies
1. Build a recognizable brand
TikTok is not the place to be to be a jack of all trades. The best-known TikTok influencers choose a niche and build their personal brand on it. Visit any of the Big Hitter’s profiles and you will see video after video with the same type of content.
Let’s look at some examples!
Zach King (who, unironically, is one of the kings of TikTok) garnered 66.4 million followers by posting clip after clip of mind-blowing special effects. His videos, as he says, bring “a little more miracle into the world, 15 seconds at a time”.
Case in point is this 19 million view (and growing) video of Zach driving back into a seemingly perfectly average car … until it isn’t!
Here’s another example: #CottageCore Queen A clothes horse. Her relentlessly bizarre, dressy excursions have earned her 1.2 million followers to date.
🐺🍂#cottagecore #Irish wolfhound
♬ Sohn Original – user4794180159202
The takeaway here is to get specific. Pick a topic or topic that you are very knowledgeable about and carry it out. Consequent!
2. Find your niche
On TikTok, users spend more time looking at suggested content and accounts that they haven’t yet followed than on other social platforms.
That’s because TikTok’s home screen, the For you side, is a personalized feed of content that the algorithm thinks you will like. (And based on the extensive testing our team has spent countless hours searching through TikTok, the algorithm usually gets everything right.)
The For You page’s algorithm bases its recommendations on what you liked and studied about before (as well as other metrics).
In other words, to get famous on TikTok you need to:
- Know the trending hashtags used by the subculture or niche.
- Use these hashtags consistently when posting videos.
- Follow them so you can keep up with emerging trends in your niche.
Here, PlayStation shows exactly what that looks like.
In this ThanksGiving themed post, the global gaming company is using the hashtag #gamingontiktok to connect with the platform’s gaming culture.
Phew, we’re full. What are you playing this weekend #fyp #Sackboy #Thanksgiving # Türkeitag #gamingontiktok
♬ Original sound – PlayStation
Playstation could have just used their branded hashtag. But they know they will reach a wider audience by using the wider tags of their audience’s subculture.
You can find relevant hashtags by identifying the most popular accounts in your niche. Then check out the unbranded tags that they are using the best performing in their posts.
3. Know TikTok trends
TikTok may not have made up memes and internet trends, but it’s definitely where they live now. Or at least start.
So, if you want to get famous on TikTok, you need to find, follow and participate in the platform’s trends.
How to find trends on TikTok:
- Follow the hashtags #trendalert and #tiktokchallenge. (Yes, it can be that simple.)
- Check out high performing posts on competitor profiles.
- Spend some time scrolling through your For You page.
- Use the Explore tab (save the best for last, right?).
The Explore tab is similar Explore Instagramexcept that the content is broken down by trend type.
You can find the Explore tab at the bottom of your screen in the TikTok app.
Discover trending sounds (music and other audio clips that you can add to your videos), effects (TikTok’s in-app effects), and hashtags.
Adding trending music, effects, and hashtags to your videos will open up a much wider audience to your content.
But don’t just replicate what others are doing. Put your own spin on it.
What does that mean? Well … say you want to join the #christmas baking trend. However, they only post original content that presents ridiculous dining challenges. For example, you could challenge yourself to eat only Christmas foods for a whole day.
I give you, Exhibition A:
@mattepeterson_Just eat CHRISTMAS THEME for a full day! @tobyramo #Christmas #santa #Holidays #christmas baking #to you #fyp #viral #buddytheelf #Eleven♬ Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
Neat, right?
And remember 61% of people say they like brands more when they participate in TikTok trends.
4. Post often
Unlike other social networks, TikTok doesn’t penalize you for posting (too) often. Every time you post on TikTok you create a new opportunity to appear on people’s For You pages. And many top TikTokers swear that posting high quality content every day is their secret to TikTok’s success.
These tactics helped Netflix gain 21.3 million followers. And they’re pretty productive! Also according to TikTok standards.
Netflix often posts 5-6 videos in a single day.
In addition to determining your ideal posting frequency, you should also try to schedule each TikTok to reach as large a portion of your target audience as possible when they are online. Here’s a quick guide on how to find your custom bests to post on TikTok:
5. Interact with your followers
In many ways, TikTok isn’t like other social networks – but when it comes to engagement, it’s the same. Just like with Facebook and Instagram, TikTok’s algorithm rewards content and creators who drive engagement with posts.
On TikTok, engagement means:
- Likes
- Remarks
- Shares
- Stores
- Favorites
One of the best ways to increase engagement with your posts is to reply to your followers regularly. Take a sheet of Ryanair’s book and respond to any comments you receive.
This may sound like a chore, but it has helped the airline garner 1.3 million followers so far.
For this last strategy, you might want to save some energy …
6. Interact with other TikTok users
Just like on other social networks, brands can easily share user-generated content with their TikTok accounts. American clothing brand Aerie often uses this tactic because it goes well with their brand ideal of showcasing authentic beauty.
1 year ago the OFFLINE of Aerie Real Me Crossover Legging had a MOMENT, thanks to @hannahschlenker!
TikTok has unique features that allow users to react and act on other people’s clips in video form.
TikTok’s native tools allow you to reply to a clip Duet, Stitch, and Video.
Duet creates a split screen clip that shows the original video on one side and your version, response, or response on the other. It looks like this …
#Duet with @thetimingwizard Sip your Zo, let’s go👊🏾 #zoaenergy
You can use Stitch to weave part of a user’s clip into your video. According to TikTok, stitch is “a way to reinterpret and add to the content of another user”.
Uber-famous TikToker khaby.lame lives from stitch content. He has gained 123 million followers by piecing videos of weird internet life hacks with his common sense versions.
Simple brother, 🤷🏾♂️Now I’m going to read my Dragonball book, what’s your favorite anime? 🙃#learnfromkhaby #learnontiktok #learnmittiktok #anime
♬ suono originale – Khabane lame
By interacting with other TikTok users in this way, you can:
- Show them your content and maybe get featured on their site.
- Piggyback on popular videos and relevant trends.
- Benefit from new trends.
