TikTok has been one of the most popular social media platforms for brands and influencers to put themselves in front of massive audiences who log in daily to watch content that resonates with them. According to a recent study, TikTok is expected to reach almost 85 million users by 2022, creating massive opportunities for influencers to scale their campaigns and followers on the platform. In addition, while the platform’s majority of users are seemingly young compared to other social media platforms, it possesses the highest engagement rate, including the percentage of followers who engage with the creators. But to be a successful TikTok influencer, creators should know how the algorithm on the platform works and what needs to be done to churn out content that reaches massive followers consistently. This blog will discuss eight best practices for mastering the TikTok algorithm so that the next time you create a video, it makes the maximum impact.
Use a pro account
With a TikTok pro account, the influencer can get detailed access to their posts and will have greater visibility on when their followers are most active and engaged. These insights will give the creator a better understanding of the kind of posts their followers most engage with and what time is suitable to upload any new content to get maximum engagement. Armed with these reports, you can better strategize your TikTok strategy. Once you optimize your content based on the reports, you will see better uptake, and TikTok rewards content with high engagement.
Focus on a niche
Creators should choose a niche and start churning out content regularly with their followers on TikTok. Once you start posting consistently about your niche TikTok algorithm will recognize your expertise and begin to showcase your content to the relevant audience, increasing your reach and followers massively. But creating high-quality and relevant content is a must. So choose a niche you are passionate about and create posts that resonate with your followers.
First few seconds are crucial
Content creators have roughly 3 seconds to gain the viewers’ attention on their video on TikTok. If your video fails to make an impression in the first 3 seconds, the user will move to the following video, significantly impacting your performance. But, if you can get the user hooked to your video, the average time spent may go up to 10 minutes. Since audiences these days are spoilt for choices and are impatient, TikTok favors videos that are easy to consume and have a seamless loop. So, starting strong with your videos is critical because that is how you can manage to be on the top of your game on TikTok.
Use trending audio and features
TikTok algorithm favors videos that use trending features and audio; hence, any influencer creating a video for the social media platform should be mindful of incorporating those in their videos. Trending music and features can also engage more with the audiences on the platform, so TikTok actively promotes content with elements of the trend. According to recent research, more than 65% of TikTokers prefer brand videos featuring popular or trending music.
Also Read: 5 types of influencer marketing campaigns brands should try
Focus on hashtags
Any creator who has been on TikTok for a while will know the importance of adding relevant hashtags to their video posts and how the platform’s algorithm helps push the content with appropriate hashtags. In addition, incorporating trending and popular hashtags and hashtag challenges significantly increases the video’s reach. Hashtags are a way to tell TikTok what your content is about and will help the platform categorize the content, making it easier for consumers to search for them.
Create shorter videos
TikTok algorithm prefers videos that the consumer watches throughout, not those left midway. So, it is advisable to create catchy and snappy videos under 30 seconds so that content is consumed in its entirety. Although TikTok now gives the option to make videos of up to 10 minutes, many experts feel that it is too long a duration to hold the attention of the audiences on the platform and thus does not make much sense. Having said that, TikTokers can experiment with longer videos, see how they perform with their followers, and take course correction measures accordingly. Short videos are more precise and punchy, and their chances of getting noticed are far more significant.
Engage with similar creators
TikTok is all about building and engaging with the community, which means you are not just meant to post videos on the platform but also engage with other content on the popular social media platform. For example, engaging with the content of another similar creator with a like or comment will go a long way to help your cause in TikTok’s algorithms. In addition, if you are showing appreciation for the work of other creators, you will also receive back some recognition which will be rewarded in the long run.
Don’t delete old videos
Your videos on TikTok can go viral a week or even months after you have posted them. So, it would be best if you kept consistently creating content for the platform without worrying much about the performance of your older posts. And since the platform’s algorithm doesn’t judge your videos based on the earlier content – it only determines the ranking of your new videos on their merit – the creator should not think about deleting them unless there is some specific reason for which the video needs to be pulled down.
