The TikTok algorithm’s relative simplicity is one of the main factors contributing to brands’ and creators’ love of the platform. To reach thousands of users, you don’t need a sizable following or a track record of success.
Having said that, it’s critical to understand how the algorithm functions and what best practices you can apply to your TikTok strategy. While there isn’t a secret to going viral on TikTok, following the algorithm’s preferences will undoubtedly increase the number of users you can reach.
What is the TikTok algorithm?
Each user receives personalized content recommendations thanks to the TikTok algorithm. On the user’s For You page, it chooses which videos the user might enjoy based on their particular interests.
How Does it Work?
The algorithm takes into account videos you have previously interacted with, accounts and hashtags you follow, your location and preferred language, and even the kind of content you produce.
This implies that as your preferences and attitude change over time, so too may the kinds of videos you see. The TikTok algorithm will quickly notice any changes in your behavior and suggest the most relevant content at the time.
TikTok has confirmed that its algorithm takes account settings and device settings into account, but it makes it clear that these factors are not as heavily weighted as more potent, preference-indicative measures, like likes and video plays, and that these factors are primarily tracked to improve app performance.
The key components are as follows
Video Information: The content you look for on the Discover tab serves as the basis for video information signals (i.e., captions, sounds, hashtags).
User Interactions: As was already mentioned, a user’s use of the app and interactions with its content has an impact on the TikTok algorithm.
Device and Account Settings: Though they don’t have as much of an impact on the TikTok algorithm, device and account settings are still important to note. TikTok takes into account these account settings (such as language, country, and device type) when optimizing content.
How to Trick The Algorithm
Given these ranking criteria, it is safe to say that increasing engagement is the most effective way to “hack” the algorithm. If your brand is new to the platform and you’re still growing your following, this might seem difficult.
1- Find a Niche and focus on It
You must consistently produce content in a pertinent niche because subject matter influences the TikTok algorithm. You have a better chance of appearing in the For You pages of the appropriate users the more videos you produce in your niche.
Therefore, you must choose a subculture or niche to concentrate on first. This will enable you to tap into an existing community and increase the visibility of your content among the appropriate audience. For brands, this is relatively simple because they already have established products and identified industries. Finding out what kinds of content are popular within those industries and niches and using them as an inspiration for your TikTok content strategy is all that’s required.
2- Make the Videos Short
Aim to keep at least some of your videos brief to increase the likelihood that users will watch them through to the end because the algorithm rewards videos that are watched completely. A good goal is to aim for 15 to 20 seconds.
Shorter videos also allow you to edit your content to make it more concise and punchy. This can enhance your videos’ quality and raise the likelihood that viewers will pay attention to them.
3- The First Seconds Matter
TikTok gives importance to things like how long viewers stayed on your video. To increase the number of viewers who watch your videos all the way through, you should develop engaging content. In order to do that, you must captivate their interest within the first few seconds and keep it there so that they’ll want to watch the entire video.
That entails skipping the introduction and diving right into the action within the first couple of seconds. TikTok is a platform that moves quickly, so there is no room for slow builds that might bore viewers. If not, viewers will lose patience and quickly move on to the following video in their feed.
4- Post at the Right Time
Time is of the essence on TikTok, just like it is on other social networks. For the algorithm to properly rank your video, it looks at how many people have watched it. In other words, your video is more likely to appear on the For You pages of relevant users the more engagement it receives. In order to increase your visibility on the platform, you must drive as much engagement as you can in the first few minutes after posting.
5- Use the Right Hashtags
Go to the Discover tab, then tap Trends at the top of the screen to find trending hashtags.
Make sure to search for hashtags associated with challenges. Hashtag challenges are a good way to generate fresh content concepts and give the algorithm positive trend signals.
Also, take note that 61% of TikTok users claimed that participating in or creating a TikTok trend makes them like brands more.
6- Third-Party Tools
While TikTok given tools might not be enough, you have to use external tools that provide analytics on accounts such as engagement rates, average views, estimated earnings, and much more to give you a general idea of what content works better for your audience.
One of the best tools we found is Countik which not only has a TikTok analytics tool but also a TikTok counter to check your followers and stats in real time.
7- Trending Audio
When it comes to features for finding content on TikTok, hashtags are not the only option. It’s a location where popular content can be found using audio components. TikTok allows you to search using trending songs in addition to hashtags, as you can see in the example below.
Utilize popular songs and sounds in your videos to increase the visibility of your content. The TikTok study mentioned above discovered that using a song they like in a video helped 68% of TikTok users remember a brand. Additionally, 62% are more curious to learn about the brand, and 58% feel a stronger connection to it. This is a powerful example of the influence of popular audio elements on TikTok.
Conclusion
One of the key strategies for success on TikTok is to comprehend how the platform’s algorithm functions. So, if your company intends to use the platform, use the advice above to influence the algorithm in your favor. Additionally, this is a powerful strategy for helping content producers become more visible and influential on the platform.
While we recommend Countik as the best TikTok tool, there are many others. Make sure to use the best app or tool that fits and boosts your productivity, to create the best content out there.