Maybe you’re new to TikTok and trying to learn the ropes. Perhaps you’ve been testing it for a while but are struggling to turn viewers into followers. Or maybe you’ve built a small following already and want to fuel that growth.
In any case, there are 20 methods that can help you get more TikTok followers for your business. And not just any followers—the kind that are most likely to become customers and loyal fans of your brand.
Let’s dive in!
How to get TikTok followers: 20 ways
Try these 20 ways to gain followers on TikTok for your business.
(Not on TikTok yet? Follow these steps for how to create a TikTok account!)
1. Tailor your TikTok strategy to your target audience
It can be tempting to try to create videos:
- With a broad appeal in hopes of attracting more followers faster
- On the topics you find most interesting
- That require the least amount of time, energy, and other resources to produce
But, if you’re going to use TikTok as a business marketing channel, you can’t do any of the above. You must create content with your audience in mind. After all, your goal isn’t just to get TikTok followers. It’s to get followers you can effectively guide through your social media funnel from awareness to advocacy.
So, as you would with any other channel, research which portion of your target audience uses TikTok. Identify their pains, goals, interests, preferences for video content, and so on. Then, use that information to tailor your TikTok strategy.
2. Prioritize video quality
Clear audio and video are a must if you want people to stick around and watch your content, let alone follow you for more.
You don’t need to spend thousands on equipment, especially before you’ve proven that TikTok is a viable marketing channel for your business. But you do need to have a decent microphone and camera.
3. Publish creative, original content
If you want to stand out with TikTok marketing and get more followers, put out content that’s fresh and unique. That could mean sharing personal experiences or hot takes that set you apart from others in your industry or niche. Or it could mean presenting common industry info in a new and exciting way (e.g. making learning about a “boring” industry fun).
4. Set expectations in your bio
A good TikTok bio states what you do and what followers can expect from your TikTok videos.
This approach confirms to soon-to-be followers that you have:
- Information or content they’re interested in
- Expertise in the topics you’re creating videos on
It sets expectations and builds trust, both of which make earning new followers easier.
Related: Find out how to write a business description you can use across all your social channels.
5. Pin your best videos
In addition to setting clear expectations in your bio, you can reinforce them by pinning your most popular TikToks to the top of your profile. Show off the content that you already know works (instead of hoping people will scroll far enough down your page to find it and follow).
Robert M. Berger (@robertmberger) does this, knowing that the most viewed videos will do a better job of hooking potential followers than those that are less popular.
Did you get a lot of likes or positive comments on a video? Did you notice a big spike in followers after posting one? Those are good candidates for pinned videos.
6. Be consistent across the board
Stick mainly to what you’ve primed people to expect from your business’s TikTok social media content. That, of course, includes sticking mainly to business-related topics. But it could also include the style of your content.
For example, say your best-performing content puts humorous spins on industry-related topics. Historically, that approach earns you lots of engagement and followers. But…you’re unpredictable. Sometimes—out of nowhere—your content is dry and super serious. This could easily scare off people who’ve seen several of your videos on their For You pages but haven’t yet followed you.
Newton Nissan South (@imwithnewton) is a good example of consistency. The account has racked up over 64,000 followers largely by interviewing auto salespeople, techs, and car enthusiasts. That’s what it’s known for, what excites its audience, and what it sticks to.
7. Create your posting schedule strategically
Speaking of consistency, you can’t expect steady growth if you’re only posting sporadically. In order to get more TikTok followers, you need to be active on the platform and publish new content regularly.
No, you don’t have to post multiple times a day to see results. But you should aim for at least a few new videos a week. Consistently.
Related: Want to know when you should be posting? Our friends at WordStream break down the best time to post on TikTok here.
8. Teach something
TikTok isn’t just all fun, games, and dancing videos. More and more creators are embracing its potential for education, and audiences respond well to it! Finance TikTok alone, which covers everything from generating passive income to investing in cryptocurrency, grew by 255% in 2021.
Investor’s Business Daily (@ibdinvestors) is a good example of the massive potential of educational content on TikTok. A single IBD video amassed over 94,000 views and garnered numerous positive comments. No doubt, it resulted in many new followers too. And this is not a one-off occurrence or an experience specific to Finance TikTok.
Consider some topics your audience wants to know about (or would be surprised by). These could be practical tips, step-by-step breakdowns of complex topics, or even insider industry info. In any case, if your videos are genuinely helpful and informative, you’ll be able to attract more followers.
9. Use straightforward calls-to-action
TikTok is designed to keep users scrolling from video to video. So, it can be tricky to drive potential followers to your profile (where the follow button is most prominent).
Knowing that following may not be the first thing on their minds, intentionally recommending that action to TikTok users is smart. You can add stickers to your videos, use verbal calls to action, or invite people to follow you in the comments. Just be sure to highlight why they should and what value or enjoyment they can expect in return.
10. Interact with your audience regularly
Research shows that, compared to other platforms, 73% of users feel deeper connections to brands they interact with on TikTok. The key word there is “interact.”
Posting regularly is important. But so is engaging with your audience. It earns you more fans who consistently engage with your videos and share them with friends (AKA potential followers).
Plus, people are more likely to comment if they know they may get a response from you, especially as your account grows in popularity. More comments can earn you the favor of TikTok’s algorithm, getting your content in front of more people. If you use the various other tips we’re covering here, that could easily translate into more high-quality followers.
Glacier Window Tinting (@glacierwindowtinting), which has over 717,000 followers, has mastered this. Not only are many of its videos replies to commenters, but the company also consistently replies to dozens of comments per video.
11. Go live
Responding to comments is a great way to engage with your audience. But, for the most part, those interactions are asynchronous. Going live gives people an opportunity to interact with you in real time. It adds a more personal element to your relationship with your audience that can:
- Reel in new followers who happen to stumble across your lives
- Encourage people familiar with you who haven’t followed yet to finally hit the follow button
- Prompt people to mention your account to others who may be interested in following you
12. Make the most of user-generated content
Sharing user-generated content (UGC) with your TikTok audience has many benefits. For one, it excites the users you acknowledge. This can lead to shares and reposting of your videos, which can bring in new followers. Plus, the prospect of being shouted out or spotlighted by you can encourage non-followers to follow, engage, and create relevant content. It creates a flywheel.
Not to mention the impact of hearing positive comments about your brand, products, or services from people who trust you. It’s often easier to earn the trust of potential followers this way than to self-promote 24/7.
Share user stories, customer testimonials, and user-generated images and videos. You can even ask users to submit questions that you can answer in Q&A videos.
13. Pick your hashtags wisely
Ideally, you should use a mix of:
- Popular, general hashtags (e.g. #fyp, #foryou, #foryoupage, or #viral)
- Broad but relevant hashtags (e.g. #funny and #meme for comedic content)
- Niche or topic-specific hashtags (e.g. #healthcare, #carsales, #homeservice, etc.)
The more specific TikTok hashtags will help the people most likely to become followers to find your videos. Broader hashtags can do this as well, helping your content reach potential followers who may not have seen it otherwise. But the bigger benefit of those comes from the visibility and engagement hugely popular hashtags can generate.
Not everyone who searches #foryoupage, for example, will be a potential follower. However, the more of them who watch a video of yours, like it, or comment on it, the better. These positive interactions would signal to the algorithm that the video is worth showing to more people. And it would take cues from your more specific hashtags (and the types of accounts engaging most) to show it to people who will be interested in following you.
See also: How to Use Hashtags for Your Business + 335 Hashtag Ideas
14. Stitch and duet
Stitching and dueting are two TikTok features that allow you to riff off of other creators’ videos. Especially if the videos you stitch or duet have already gained some popularity, they can be great vehicles for your message. And, for the record, that message could be anything—humorous commentary on the original video, a contrarian opinion, a personal story that goes along with the main topic, a shocking fact, etc.
15. Capitalize on rising trends
Trending sounds and video formats have built-in potential. Audiences already like them so there’s preexisting interest in how different creators put their spin on the latest trends. If yours is one of the most unique, humorous, or interesting takes on a hot trend, you may gain many new followers.
The key? Don’t just copy what everyone else has done. Make it specific to your industry when you can and, in general, make it your own.
16. Create TikTok challenges
Besides leveraging trends, you can also create them. For example, if you regularly educate your audience, you could challenge them to apply the lessons you teach and share their results in TikTok videos. Not only would this engage them but it would bring more attention to your account and likely grow your following.
Orahex (@orahexph) has had great success with this. The oral health brand has created two challenges—#ORAHEXFaceDance and #OrahexGetBackOut. Both have resulted in over 30 million views total, countless engagements, many challenge participants, and a good chunk of the brand’s 24,000 followers.
17. Work with relevant influencers
TikTok’s research showed that an impressive 65% of people like it when creators talk about products or brands. Imagine the potential results of harnessing the popularity of an established influencer whose audience overlaps with yours. Your follower count could skyrocket quickly if your TikTok content and products or services are a fit for their audience.
But how can you team up with influential creators? TikTok’s Creator Marketplace makes available more than 100,000 creators across 150 markets, 40 countries, and 35 languages.
18. Engage with other TikTok creators
Even if you don’t form official partnerships with TikTok influencers, you can still benefit from building relationships with creators.
By commenting on their videos, you get exposure to their audiences, which can earn you new followers. And by responding to their comments on your videos, you can turn them into loyal fans. They’ll be more likely to follow you (if they haven’t already) and promote you to others who may be interested in your content.
19. Run ads
Hootsuite estimated that marketers could reach an audience of up to 884.9 million people with TikTok ads. If your audience is on TikTok, you can get on their radar.
Since 72% of users feel TikTok ads are inspiring and 70% say they’re enjoyable, they’re an effective way to make people want to follow you. (Even better, they can make people want to buy. In one study, 67% of respondents said TikTok inspired them to shop when they weren’t planning to. So, well-done TikTok ads can also produce near-immediate returns on investment.)
20. Cross-promote your video content
Last is a time-saving social media tip: cross-promote. For instance, if you’re creating Instagram or YouTube video content that performs well, reuse it for TikTok. Besides saving you time, if your audiences across platforms are similar, the content is likely to go over well with your TikTok audience. This can reduce some of the trial and error as far as ironing out your TikTok strategy goes.
You can also do the opposite and share your TikTok videos via other social media channels like Instagram. The combination of seeing the TikTok watermark and being invited by you to follow on TikTok can get your audience to follow through and join you.
How many TikTok followers do you need?
We’ve covered how to get more TikTok followers for your business. But that leaves the question, “How many followers should you be aiming for?” While it’s smart to set a specific (and realistic) goal to measure your progress against, remember one thing. Having thousands of followers is useless if relatively few have the potential to become customers or otherwise support your business.
You want a following that contributes to the achievement of your marketing and business goals. And that’s not an unrealistic expectation. Compared to the previous year, in 2022, there was a 700% increase in the number of marketers who believed that TikTok is an effective channel. So, plan your TikTok strategy with a focus on proving return on investment!
Here are those 20 ways to get TikTok followers:
- Tailor your TikTok strategy to your target audience
- Prioritize video quality
- Publish creative, original content
- Set expectations in your bio
- Pin your best videos
- Be consistent across the board
- Create your posting schedule strategically
- Teach something
- Use straightforward calls-to-action
- Interact with your audience regularly
- Go live
- Make the most of user-generated content
- Pick your hashtags wisely
- Stitch and duet
- Capitalize on rising trends
- Create TikTok challenges
- Work with relevant influencers
- Engage with other TikTok creators
- Run ads
- Cross-promote your video content
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