Everybody with access to the internet knows what TikTok is. With over 800 million active users each month, it’s easily one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, and has created an entirely new genre of influencer- a “TikToker.”
Now I know you don’t care about the backstory, so I’m going to get straight to the point. I posted my first video in July of 2019 with 0 followers, but as of today, I have exactly 471,234- and I am here to tell you…
Exactly how to do it:
- Who Do You Cater To? Tiktok has sides to it, it’s not a joke when people say they’re on “alt tok” or “book tok” or whatever the case may be. TikTok’s one and only goal is to keep people watching videos, so they show people videos that are similar to ones they’ve liked in the past. If you want any shot at picking up an audience against so much competition, you need to figure out who you want to see your videos. It can be as direct as Honda Civic owners or as broad as the general LGBTQ+ community- just figure out who you’re posting for and stick to it.
- Shut Up And Post. I’m serious. Tiktok’s isn’t like Youtube, in the sense that you don’t need to put effort into what you’re making for it to be watchable. Every single one of my most viral videos- some of which accumulating over 7 million views- took no more than a minute to make. When you’re first starting out, the best way to have a chance at gaining traction is to just post, and do so a lot.
- Trends Are Trends For A Reason. I have met plenty of people (myself included) who find themselves cringing at whatever nonsense the latest trend or challenge is thats taking over everyone’s For You Pages. Regardless, however, you need to hop on it. If your audience is someone who’s younger (think Charli D’Amelio’s audience) and there’s a new dance trend going crazy viral- even if you don’t like the dance, doing it and posting that video gives you an infinitely higher chance of getting picked up by the algorithm in comparison to a dance that was trending a year prior.
- Engage Until Your Thumbs Hurt. When I tell you that building an audience that is loyal to you is the single most powerful way to make money online, I’m not being dramatic. You need to talk to your followers, reply to their comments, like their videos, etc. and show them that you care, because at the end of they day, they pay your bills. Think about it: say for example a brand is looking at 2 different accounts, one with 1M followers and one with 200K. The account with 200K gets consistently high views and their comment section is filled with thousands of adoring fans who love the creator and their content, while the account with 1M- while they might have more followers- only gets a handful of comments and inconsistent views because their followers don’t really care what they are potsing. Who’s the brand going to choose to promote their product? Community is everything.
And that’s it. Seriously. Is it time consuming? Sometimes, but would you rather spend a few minutes posting 15 second videos or hours on end flipping patties at McDonalds? It’s completely up to you. Those 4 things are what got me off the ground and built an audience that supports me each and every day, and I believe that you can do it too.
So good luck, and thanks for reading.
