One of my favorite things about TikTok is that it doesn’t play favorites. Even the newest accounts have a fair shot at reaching thousands (or millions!) of people.
The idea of a “welcoming” algorithm might feel strange to long-time creators and social media managers, but if there ever was one, it would be TikTok’s.
The social media platform is bursting with potential. With over 1.58 billion users spending nearly an hour every day on the app, chances are your audience is already waiting to discover — and follow — you.
Now, the number of followers isn’t everything. But it does open doors. It helps you build trust, unlock cool features like the TikTok Shop, and grow a loyal community that vibes with your content.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to get more followers on TikTok using 14 solid, no-fluff, actionable tips.
Just real, practical strategies that work. If you prefer watching over reading, we’ve summarized the top five tips for you in video form, too:
1. Choose a niche — and stick to it
It’s tempting to throw stuff on the wall and see what sticks — especially on TikTok, where the vibes are more chilled thaon n other social media platforms. But having a niche — even a broad one — has plenty of benefits:
It tells the TikTok algorithm what your content is about
It helps you filter your content ideas to a specific topic
It helps you build authority and trust in your industry
It helps TikTok users remember you better. Kirsti Lang, a Senior Content Writer at Buffer, grew her following by over 1,000% in 30 days. One of her core learnings was that a niche (or a handful of connected niches) is immensely valuable for growing a loyal following.
“If you do find a video you enjoy or find helpful in your FYP, you may tap over to the creator’s profile to see if there are more,” she says. “And if what you find there is a hot mess of all sorts of unrelated things, you’re going to bounce back to the FYP without tapping ‘follow’ real fast.”
Annie-Mai Hodge, founder of Girl Power Marketing, agrees: “People are wanting and searching for spaces and communities where they belong, where they can relate, and where they feel understood,” she says. “So they’re actively looking for creators who get them, or provide an experience for them like escaping — it’s why #BookTok is so huge.”
If you feel constricted by having a singular niche, have a broad one that can fit multiple content pillars — quenching your desire for spontaneity and creativity without violating the algorithm’s preference for cohesiveness.
For example, Kirsti first posted about various topics: her job at Buffer, her love of Taylor Swift, and her fitness routine. But despite one of her Swiftie videos going viral, her watcher-to-follower conversion rate remained low.
Her other videos about how to land a remote job did much better for that metric, even if they didn’t go viral.
“The Swifties were tapping over to my profile and didn’t find a Taylor Swift fan account,” she says. “The remote work video received 70 thousand views, which was very pleasing, and I gained a significant number of new followers—757, to be exact—as well as a much higher conversation rate.” Lessons learned: Going viral doesn’t guarantee higher follower counts. To attract followers and explain to TikTok users—as well as the algorithm—what your TikTok account is all about, you need to find a niche in which to establish yourself as an authority. If you’re having too much trouble deciding what your niche will be, shift gears a little bit and think about who you’re creating TikTok videos for. Which leads me to my subsequent point.
2. Understand your target audience
Having a solid understanding of who your target audience is and what they’re looking for is the bedrock of getting more followers on all social media platforms, TikTok included.
Ashlyn Greer, CEO of Fashivly, has increased the brand’s TikTok account to over 100,000 followers. Her core principle has always been to use TikTok to resonate with her audience by understanding (and catering to) her audience’s struggles. Take her video about sizing discrepancies in the fashion industry — it went viral because it struck a chord.
“We’ve continued to create inclusive content based on [audience] insights,” she says. “Understanding their pain points has guided our content creation and ensured we stay as inclusive as possible because we know this approach resonates with our audience.”
Solidifying your niche will lay the groundwork to help you pinpoint the segment of TikTok users you want to reach. The second step is to conduct research to discover the content preferences and pain points of your target audience. Audience research tools like SparkToro or AnswerThePublic can help you find your audience’s burning questions. But you can also work on understanding your target audience by spending time on TikTok and conducting a competitor analysis.
For example, if you’re a creator focusing on creating healthy vegan recipes:
Search for “healthy vegan recipes” on TikTok and see what pops up
Analyze the best-performing TikTok videos and creators to understand what topics they’re creating videos on and which are resonating
Pay attention to the comments on your fellow creators’ videos to dive even further into your audience’s questions, preferences, and recommendations
Rather than a one-time task, understanding your target audience is an ongoing endeavor. Feedback in the form of comments, direct messages (DMs), and your TikTok analytics increases as you post more and experiment.
3. Write a clear and compelling bio
Your potential followers on TikTok will likely discover your content in the For You Page (FYP). But they might often navigate to your TikTok profile to learn more about who you are and what you post about.
If you don’t fill your TikTok bio, you’re wasting valuable space that could help you gain more followers. Your bio should tell what content you create — establish your niche and your unique selling point. Instead of making it about you though, focus on your audience and make it about them.
For example, Parker York Smith’s bio says, “Helping you look good and feel confident,” which is an instant value prop for why you should follow him.
While you’re at it, also ensure that your TikTok profile is up to date — have a clear profile picture and an easy-to-read username. All of the factors in your profile will work together to help build trust and make it tempting to follow you.
4. Build a content calendar to post consistently
TikTok, like all other social media platforms, loves consistency. The ideal posting frequency for TikTok is two short-form videos a day.
But take that number with a grain of salt. This can be changed according to your capabilities; maintaining the quality of your TikTok videos is more important. With two or three videos per month, Kirsti, for instance, has experienced significant audience expansion. A smart way to increase your posting cadence without burning out is to repurpose your content. If you already have a YouTube channel, for instance, you can chop up some videos from there to post on your TikTok account. You can also shoot b-roll in bulk (hello, content batching) and reuse it for future videos.
Alice Kim, founder of PerfectDD, used TikTok to generate $25,000 in sales for her business in a month. She found that many of her old videos would resurface to new TikTok users, thanks to the algorithm. Having a consistent branding (alongside regular posting) helped her immensely in this scenario.
“I’ve found consistency in messaging is more important than consistency of posting,” she says. “This means that any of my videos could be seen by a new potential customer at any time.”
“That’s why I’m unafraid to reiterate my brand promise and message over and over again, so people who are new to my videos always know what PerfectDD is all about.”
The easiest way to maintain a consistent posting schedule is by creating a content calendar and using a tool like Buffer to automate posting (Buffer also doubles as a content calendar — so you don’t need both!). This way, you can visually spot your content gaps and fill them.
