Before we get into the good stuff, I should say I am not TikTok famous, nor do I really have the credentials to be giving TikTok advice.
I do, however, have a TikTok account for my dog (pictured below) where he has almost 3000 followers and recently one of his videos has garnered over 1.6 million views!
I am, by no means, an expert (nor do I really know an exact science to making a viral TikTok).
However… here are some of the things I’ve learned along the way that are hopefully useful to you!
Pick a theme and stick with it!
Before posting any content on TikTok, you need to come up with a theme for your account.
Is it lifestyle? Food? Comedy? Art?
This is important so that your audience knows exactly what to expect (and potentially gain more consistent followers).
That’s not to say you can’t combine certain things, such as food and comedy. You just need to ensure each piece of content you post works together seamlessly.
Leverage trends…
The best way to gain views on any video is to stay up to date with Tiktok trends.
Different trends circulate TikTok all the time and if you pay attention to them and use them in your videos. That’s the best way to get on someone’s “For You” page.
Trends can be anything from popular sounds, dances, effects, etc. When making your first few pieces of content, you should absolutely use popular sounds (i.e. music that plays over your video). Once you start to gain more followers and views on your videos, then you can start to use your own sounds.
Note to remember: If you’re editing on a different platform other than TikTok, add the sounds in-app so that your video will show up when someone clicks on that sound.
Hashtags are another way to gather more views. Make sure you research the best and most popular hashtags to use on your videos before posting. For example, the latest hashtags to use are:
- #foryoupage
- #fyp
- #viral
- #tiktokchallenge
A good rule to follow is to use a couple of the general popular hashtags with more specific ones that relate to the video you are posting. Some effective food hashtags right now are:
- #Foodtok
- #FoodHacks
- #foodasmr
- #foodlovers
Be sure to not overload your video description with hashtags though. You only have 100 characters to work with, so don’t use them all on hashtags!
Use TikTok’s in-app features
Using TikTok’s features can be super useful in gaining those extra views. Some features that you should consider including are:
Text/Voiceover/Captions
Using text in your video keeps a viewer engaged. It also makes your video more accessible to everyone. You don’t need to add this in-app, but you do if you want to use the voiceover option (which reads your text out loud).
This is also a very popular trend right now and is a great option if you don’t want to use your own voice. If there happens to be a lot of talking in your video, it’s a good idea to use captions to make it even more accessible.
Effects
Under the “record” tab, there are plenty of effects to choose from. The trending effects are obviously the best to use if you want more views. Currently, some popular effects are:
- Your Celebrity Parents
- Cat Selfie
- Time Warp Scan
Use clever video descriptions
Again, you only have 100 characters to work with in your TikTok description. Your video description has to be concise and straightforward. You want to leave some of those 100 characters for hashtags to increase your chances of getting more views.
So how do you come up with the perfect description?
- Write something that lets the viewer know what to expect from the video
- Reference a joke or trend
- Ask a question (this is also a great way to get comments, which in turn leads to more views)
- Quote something said in the video that stands out
Find out the best time to post
The key is to post consistently!
But if you’re wondering when the optimal time to post is, there are some guidelines you can follow.
What I’ve learned is that posting on weekdays is much better than posting on weekends. Some of the best times to post on weekdays are :
- In the mornings between 6am-10am
- Evenings between 7pm-11pm.
To find out when your key demographic is online, go to the “Creator Tools” menu in Settings. Look up your analytics.
This will show when your followers are most active. It can also show you other features like which of your videos are trending, your growth rate, and where your followers are from.
And there you have it! I hope this blog helps some of you newer TikTok-ers out there. Feel free to leave a comment of other helpful tips you’ve come across on the app for fellow readers!
Alexandra Nopper is an editor at Signature Video Group. If you want to learn more, give us a shout!
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