Are you ready to become an influencer on TikTok? Your videos need millions of views to achieve superstardom like Addison Rae. As a newcomer to the platform, you can’t expect this kind of performance on your posts from the jump-off.
Creating videos on TikTok is fun, but you need a content strategy to succeed, not just entertain. This post unpacks tips and tricks on how to get more views on the world’s fastest-growing social media platform.
Understanding Views on TikTok
A video ‘view’ differs on TikTok from other social media platforms. For instance, YouTube requires viewers to playback at least 30 seconds of a video to count it as a view. On TikTok, the moment your viewer opens the post, it counts as a view.
If a viewer on YouTube decides to rewatch a video, it doesn’t count as another view. On TikTok, auto plays, loops, and rewatched videos count as views.
How Much Do You Earn Per View On TikTok?
What can you expect to earn per view on TikTok as a successful creator? The TikTok Creator Fund launched in August 2020, offering monetization to successful users on the platform. The Creator Fund payouts vary daily, and there’s no standardized payout.
According to the Creator Fund, TikTokers receive between $0.02 and $0.04 per 1,000 views. If your video goes viral and hits a million views, you could expect anywhere from $20 to $40 paid to you by the platform.
You’ll need to meet the following criteria to qualify for the TikTok Creator Fund.
- You must be 18 or over.
- Your account must have at least 10,000 followers.
- You must have a total of 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
- You must reside in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain.
- Your account must comply with the TikTok Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply to join the TikTok Creator Fund from within the app. Visit your settings > Privacy > Creator Tools. Tap the ‘Creator Fund’ button, and the app asks you to enter content information and agree to the terms and conditions surrounding using the TikTok Creator Fund.
Should You Consider Buying Views for Your TikTok Content?
Buying followers and engagement is a common mistake newbies make with their strategy. Don’t waste your money buying views. Like buying followers, buying views and likes is somewhat pointless on the platform.
The reality is that bot-based content engagement strategies don’t work. They can harm your reputation on the platform or even result in a ban on your account. If your audience sees a video with thousands of views but no comments, they will realize what you’re doing.
People don’t like following inauthentic users. They find it annoying. Worse yet, if the bots detect you are buying views from fake accounts, you could lose your account forever.
Top Tips for Building Engagement on TikTok
Engagement is everything on TikTok. Setting up a content strategy focusing on engagement as your top priority is the fast track to success on TikTok. Here are our top tips for building engagement with your target audience.
Understand Your Target Audience
TikTok covers more niches than you can imagine. From building furniture to fashion, crazy stunts, and pranks – There’s a category for anything you can think of in life.
Do some research on the top influencer accounts in your niche. Pay attention to their content strategy, how they produce their videos, and how they engage with their followers.
Visit the “For You Page”
Visit the “For You Page.” The FYP presents new content released on the platform that the TikTok algorithm assumes you’ll be interested in watching. Open videos, watch, like, and comment on them. Start with leaving this engagement on small to medium-sized accounts.
Leaving a comment on Khaby Lame’s page probably won’t get you any traction with your audience. Accounts with millions of followers don’t need engagement. They benefit from the momentum their audience builds to attract new followers.
Keep the Video Length Short
Keep your videos short. You don’t need a 1-minute video to experience success on the platform. The best-performing posts are between eight to ten seconds long.
If your video is under 30-seconds in length, you have a better chance of your content reaching the FYP. There’s a better chance of users rewatching your content if it’s short. Rewatches mean more views.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags can help your video go viral. Use a hashtag tool to analyze the top trending hashtags in your niche and add them to your video captions.
Hashtags help users find your content in searches, and it assists the algorithm with categorizing your content correctly. Don’t use generic hashtags. They won’t add any value to your strategy.
Use Trending Music and Sound FX
TikTok built its reputation off dance videos. We’ve all seen the clips of the dancing nurses and other song challenges posted on the platform. Leveraging trending music on your videos is a great way to give the TikTok algorithm more information on how to categorize your video.
TikTok promotes viral trends. If you’re hopping on a trend, your content has a good chance of reaching the FYP page. People interested in following the trend will view your content, sending it viral. Using voiceovers also helps the algorithm identify your content and where to categorize it.
Produce How-to Videos
Educational and instructional videos do well on TikTok. Makeup tutorials, for example, are one of the biggest categories on the platform. If you have specialized expertise in any field, consider dropping informative instructional videos on your account.
Adding value to your audience will keep them returning to your page for more videos. Set up FAQ sessions or AMAs, and create more engagement with your audience.
Collaborate with Influencers
Why try to do everything yourself? Collaborating with other influencers allows you to expand your audience using the other TikToker’s following. When new to the platform, big influencers won’t work with you because they reach ‘up,’ not ‘down’ in their content strategy.
Instead, reach out to other users that have between 10k to 100k followers. These influencers are more likely to respond to your DM request for collaborations. They might charge you a small fee of a few hundred dollars, but it’s better than paying tens of thousands of dollars to bigger accounts.
Use TikTok Duets
The ‘Duets’ feature on TikTok is a popular tool for collaborating with other influencers on the platform. By working with others, you get to leverage their audience.
Duets involve sharing a split screen with another TikToker. You can sing along with each other, have an informative chat with hot takes, or create an amusing dialogue.
Cross-Promote Your TikTok Videos on Social Media
Use your other social media accounts to cross-promote your TikTok. If you have a YouTube channel, mention your TikTok in your videos and tell your followers to visit your page and follow you. Be direct and ensure you use a CTA, don’t assume people will just follow your account.
Aim for Completion
The TikTok algorithm promotes videos with high competition rates. While you don’t have to have the viewer watches the entire video to count as a view, it’s better if they manage to stay til the end of the video.
The algorithm serves top-quality content to the For You Page recommendations, giving you a better chance of attracting new followers and more views to your videos. Hook the viewer with a strong start to your video. According to the experts, you have around three seconds to catch their attention, or they’ll just keep scrolling.
Create Compelling Captions
Captions offer a way to engage with your audience and satisfy the needs of the algorithm when categorizing your content. You get 150-characters in your caption, but you don’t need to use all of them.
Dropping a simple question to your followers (CTA) and adding an emoji and a hashtag are all you need to get more attention and engagement on your posts. Use the caption to motivate your followers to watch the video till the end.
TikTok Creator and TikTok Business Accounts
Creator and business accounts give you access to metrics and data that are useful for monitoring the success of your posts and your content strategy. These insights also provide clues on your target audience and the key demographics watching your videos.
Visit the ‘Manage Account’ tab and select the option ‘Switch to Business Account.’ Choose the best category that describes your content theme, and the platform gives you access to all the data you need to improve your content strategy and attract more views to your videos.
Plan Your Posting Schedule
plan a posting schedule and stick to it. Unlike Instagram, posting several times a day on TikTok won’t come off as ‘spammy,’ providing your delivering value to your audience with each video you post.
Check your metrics and analytics to find out when your followers are most active on the platform, and post at these times of the day to give your videos the best exposure to your target audience.
Up Your Production Value
If your videos are dark and grainy, you’re not adding value to your audience; you’re frustrating them. Invest in a light ring and a tripod and upgrade your phone. You don’t need a fancy DSLR to produce videos. The top viral videos on the platform all involve the use of a cellphone camera.
Use the right production strategy for your content. If you offer makeup tutorials, you’ll need to free your hands up with the tripod, and the light ring gives you the perfect setting for your video. If you’re a comedian, your audience will appreciate a ‘man in the street’ approach that’s low-tech.
Practice filming with your phone. Pay attention to framing yourself, the audio quality, and the lighting. Play around with these audio/visual elements to create the production value your audience wants from your videos.
Wrapping Up – How to Get More Views on TikTok
As a newcomer to TikTok, you need a strategy to help you grow your following. Implementing the tips in this post place your one step closer to TikTok success.
Be persistent with your efforts, and don’t give up. It’s hard to believe, but many users decide to throw in the towel on their influencer dreams as they start gaining traction on the platform. If your metrics are growing, it’s only a matter of time before you have your first viral video on TikTok. All it takes is one viral moment to change your life forever and propel you to influencer status. Stay persistent and good luck!
