How to Get More Followers on TikTok: The Ultimate Blueprint for Beginners

Hey there! As TikTok has exploded from a niche app to one of the most influential social media platforms, competition for visibility has intensified. With over 1 billion monthly users, standing out takes strategy.

Gaining more followers rapidly expands your audience and opportunities for virality and monetization. This comprehensive guide outlines 11 proven tactics to substantially grow your TikTok account the right way.

Why Do Followers Matter on TikTok?

Let‘s quickly discuss why building your follower count should be a priority:

• Wider reach for your content: Every follower is a new person guaranteed to see your latest videos on their For You feed.

• Multiplier word-of-mouth effect: Your most engaged followers will organically boost visibility further by liking, commenting, and sharing with friends.

• Unlocked features: Higher follower counts unlock TikTok creator tools like live-streaming and the coveted verification badge.

• Influencer marketing opportunities: Brand sponsorships are very lucrative on TikTok. Most look for profiles with 10k+ authentic and active followers.

• Direct monetization: TikTok‘s Creator Fund compensates qualifying accounts for traffic to original videos. More viewers means higher payout potential.

Let‘s get into the techniques and best practices!

Set Up an Optimized Profile

Your profile is key for first impressions – studies show 89% of users decide whether to follow after viewing it. Ensure yours stands out:

🚀 Profile Optimization Checklist

❑ Appealing profile photo  
❑ Short, intriguing bio
❑ Linktree for external sites 
❑ Organized, cohesive video feed
❑ Consistent branding  
❑ Regular live broadcasts
❑ Shared user generated content

Maintaining an eye-catching profile builds potential followers‘ confidence in engaging long-term.

Benefits: Establishes brand identity. Provides existing visitors clear value. Signals you actively manage account.

Leverage Trending Features Strategically

Paying attention to populating trends allows you to tap into topics and formats already gaining huge traction. Utilize them strategically:

Hooking into popular trends shows audiences your finger is on the pulse. This builds credibility and gives you built-in topics known to gain traction.

Benefits: Leverages others‘ creativity and platforms. Lowers production barriers. Aligns your content with wider interests.

Optimize Your Posting Strategy

When and how often you post impacts initial visibility. Follow best practices:

Post Frequently

• At least 1 high-quality video daily provides fans reliable entertainment while allowing you to continually test new content styles for max engagement.

• Science indicates 2-3 posts daily is optimal, but this requires significant effort. Assess your capabilities and resources.

Post When Followers Are Online

Analyze your TikTok analytics to determine when your current followers are most active. Schedule posts during:

• Peak traffic hours between 7-9 PM
• Key days based on niche e.g. weekends may overindex for beauty content

Oberlo indicates the median posting times seeing most engagement across genres are:

Day           | Best Times

Monday        | 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM 
Tuesday       | 9 AM, 3 PM
Wednesday     | 10 AM, 11 PM  
Thursday      | 9 AM, 11 PM 
Friday        | 10 AM
Saturday      | 2 PM, 7 PM, 11 PM
Sunday        | 9 PM  

The key is catering to your existing crowd’s habits by assessing their online behavior specifically.

Analyze Performance

Pay attention to which individual posts see high view counts, likes, shares etc. indicating they strongly resonate with your audience. Replicate these video themes and formats to build on successes.

Benefits: Maximizes number of followers seeing your content by aligning with their habits. Allows you to continually refine an optimal posting strategy.

Cross-Promote Across Your Social Channels

As attention spans shorten, actively driving traffic between your platforms is essential:

Repurpose Content

Reuse successful TikTok videos on platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Tailor captions and elements for each apps‘ culture without reducing video quality.

Explicitly Invite Followers

Directly tell audiences across your YouTube, Instagram etc. to check out your TikTok via links and clear calls-to-action.

For example:

• "Want to see more day in the life vlogs? Head over to my TikTok channel using the @ handle onscreen now for daily behind the scenes!"

• "To watch full workout walkthroughs and gym advice, find me @fitnessgirl on TikTok for new posts every morning!"

Utilize Link Stickers

TikTok‘s link stickers allow you to layer external profile URLs over your videos. Use them regularly to enable cross-traffic.

Benefits: Exposes each platform’s audience to your account. Accumulates multi-channel followers.

Interact Generously With Your Niche

While great original content is essential, taking the initiative to engage directly with fellow rising creators demonstrates investment in the community critical for growth:

Thoughtfully Like & Comment

• Regularly leave supportive, personalized compliments on niche videos.

• @ mention creators to guarantee they’re notified and more likely to check out your profile.

This organically puts your name in front of potential supporters.

Duet Creatively

Blend trending sounds, transitions etc. into duets reacting to top videos from creators in your category. Highlight shared interests and humor.

For example, a food blogger could try a creator’s baked recipe then film their own duet review.

Stitch Humorously

Compile short reaction clips and compilations playing off popular niche content to credit creators while displaying your perspective.

Meme accounts in particular gain huge followings from stitched commentary on viral videos.

Share User Generated Content

Repost user photos and videos that positively feature you or your products only with consent. This spotlights your supporters while increasing your discoverability.

Benefits: Builds allies rather than rivals within your interests. Cross-collaboration maximizes collective discoverability and goodwill.

Track Essential Analytics

Monitoring metrics provides actionable direction to calibrate strategies:

Analyze:

• Follower counts
• Views per video
• Traffic sources
• Audience demographics
• Engagement rates
• Peak posting times

Identify:

• Positive trends to expand on
• Low-performing areas needing improvement
• Best days/times to reach your crowd

Analytics remove guesswork so you can make data-driven decisions optimizing account growth.

Benefits: Confirms which tactics best resonate with your current crowd to maximize returns on your effort.

Partner With Micro and Nano Influencers

Collaborating with rising stars in your niche exposes both audiences to new accounts to follow:

Vet Potential Partners

Scan their engagement levels, comment sentiment, aesthetic etc. to verify:

• Impressively supportive, tight-knit follower community
• Content style and brand values align well with yours

Co-Create Unique Content

Work together to concept fresh videos customized to resonate with both viewer groups:

• Comedy skits based on shared inside jokes
• Jointly learned TikTok dances
• Challenge reactions playing off each other‘s strengths

Hype and Co-Host Live Events

Plan highly collaborative live sessions like judging fan contest submissions to convert views into invested followers.

Benefits: Mingling aligned creator communities expands collective reach exponentially.Joints events drive participation.

Motivate Follows Via Clear Calls-to-Action

Spur conversions from viewers into permanent followers by directly prompting low-barrier engagement:

Verbally Request Follows

Politely ask supportive commenters and repeat engagers if they’d like shoutouts. Remind live broadcast viewers the follow button is readily available.

Run Follow Contests

Promise to feature accounts, give merch etc. if new followers gain X engagements within set periods. Create healthy competition.

Gate Access

Tempt viewers by previewing exciting content like prerelease music or album covers only visible to current followers, motivating sign ups.

Benefits: Articulating next steps and benefits removes barriers to following. Reward potential drives conversions.

Avoid Buying Followers

While initially tempting for inflated numbers, inorganic follower purchasing will only damage credibility:

Risks of Fake Followers:

• Suppressed reach: breaching TikTok rules leads to lower views and stunting potential growth
• Mass unfollowing: real fans lose interest realizing followings and engagements don’t align
• Loss of marketing opportunities: brands require authenticity and aligned metrics before sponsoring

There are no worthwhile shortcuts when aiming to build a lasting, profitable TikTok presence. Rely on proven organic growth strategies for genuine follower counts that earn audience trust and demonstrate real scale.

Gauge Your Progress

Compare your growth to category benchmarks:

Follower Counts

• Nano influencers: Under 10k
• Micro influencers: 10k – 50k
• Mid-tier influencers: 50k – 500k
• Macro influencers: 500k – 5M
• Mega influencers: Over 5M

Engagement Rates

Strive for over 5% on metric dividing total video likes by followers. Niches like beauty often see up to 15%.

Remember that higher production quality content tailored to sharply defined niches reliably achieves better engagement ratios than mass appeal accounts.

Focus more on nurturing your community over inflating vanity metrics – quality over quantity compounds growth.

Key Takeaways

The tactics covered form a holistic approach to account expansion centered on understanding TikTok’s unique features, interacting cooperatively with peers, monitoring analytics, and converting casual viewers into invested followers.

Be consistent posting creative content aligned to niche interests distributed and promoted through the latest engaging TikTok formats. See where you gain traction then double down.

Progress won’t always be linear, but designing quality content for your ideal viewer while actively collaborating with aligned rising creators will accumulate true supporters.

Then enjoying expanded reach, influence, and money making opportunities follows more naturally than stressing purely numeric follower counts detached from actual communities.

What techniques have you found most effective for strategically expanding your TikTok audience? Let me know in comments!