How to Get More Views on TikTok

Did you know there are four simple ways to get more views on TikTok?

Things that you can implement today. Right now!

(But read through this whole post first, because I’m also going to share the common mistake business owners make when it comes to growing on TikTok.)

And remember, this has nothing to do with vanity numbers or views for the sake of views. It’s critical for business owners to get more views on TikTok videos because views mean followers, followers mean leads, and leads mean sales.

Prefer video instead?

Check out my video HERE 👆

Understand The TikTok Algorithm

Don’t skip this step, it’s oh-so-important.

Now, I cover the TikTok algorithm in-depth in my product called Videos Vault, but I’m gonna give you a little teaser right now.

When you first publish a TikTok, it goes on the For You page. (Yes, your video goes in front of people who aren’t following you.)

This is the first small test where the algorithm checks to see how people initially react to your video.

If your TikTok video gets enough points in this early phase, it’ll then move in front of a bigger group of people, and it can stay there for two or even three days.

That is where the algorithm might also perform some checks on your video to make sure that no terms were broken in it.

If your video continues to perform well, it’s then going to move in front of a larger group of people.

And finally, that is when someone from the TikTok team manually verifies that your video is a-okay to show in front of even more people.

After this stage, your video can go viral! From what we understand, when a video goes viral, it’s actually selected by the TikTok team to get that level of exposure.

Collect “Points” On TikTok

This is a system you need to know about…

How does your TikTok video collect points? Let me explain. You earn points on TikTok that lead to more views by:

1. Getting likes
2. Having people watch the WHOLE video
3. Getting comments
4. Having people share your TikToks
5. Getting repeat views

If you think about that last point, it makes sense, right?

You’ve seen TikTok dances, and you’ve probably seen videos that teach those TikTok dances.

Those are tutorial videos, which means they require people to watch them over and over again. That level of repeat views is what gives that video major momentum and can get it on the For You page in front of millions of people.

I’m proud to say that my most viral video on TikTok was when my boyfriend, now fiancé, and I went to Fyre Festival in April of 2017.

I took some of those clips from that festival and I put them together with a trending audio and it got a hundred thousand views, then 500,000 views, and then 600,000 views.

@elisedarma my boyfriend, the Sim character. #fyrefestival #fyrefest #jarule #fyp #foryoupage #viral #musicfestival #partyboy #foryou #sims #insidetheirhead ♬ Inside Their Head – TT remix

And I knew people were gonna love it because there weren’t a lot of people on TikTok who were showing footage of what it was like to actually be at Fyre Festival.

(Yes, we stayed the night, yes, it was horrendous, but that’s another story for another day.)

So in my opinion, that video did well because I shared quick clips of what we experienced at the Fyre Festival and I think it encouraged people to watch it over and over again to really take in all that goodness.

Do Niche-Specific Content Research

Nailing this step will make all the difference when it comes to getting more views on TikTok.

Let’s be clear: Yes, I am asking you to scroll TikTok for research!

This might seem basic but you have to do market research in your niche.

Go to the For You page, type in your niche (ex: marketing, travel, spirituality), and see what kind of videos show up.

As you’re scrolling, ask yourself what is already doing well in your industry or niche…

• If you’re a jewelry maker, you might find a lot of unboxing videos.
• If you’re a chef, you might find a lot of time-lapse videos where you can watch a dish get created from start to finish in 15 seconds.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t made anything in 15 seconds, but it sure is fun to watch someone else do it. 🧑‍🍳

So right now you have permission to open up TikTok in the name of research (just don’t get sucked into a scroll hole. I know it’s easy, and the algorithm is incredibly smart!)

Stay focused and look at what people in your industry are already creating.

As you’re going, be sure to take note of the length of the videos. You want to see what people are making for 8-second videos, 15-second videos, and 30-second videos. We can now even make 10-minute-long videos on TikTok. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I don’t know.

But in the name of your research, go ahead and take note of how long the videos are that you are seeing.

The next thing I want you to look at in your research is: What is the opening line or hook that people are using in the very first few seconds of their videos?

These hooks are critical to capturing people’s attention because they’re scrolling fast through that For You page.

Take note of what those popular videos are doing in the first one to three seconds.

• Are they asking a question?
• Are they showing something wild and crazy?
• What are they doing to capture attention?

And keep this in mind: in your research, you’re probably going to see a lot of trending videos which means dancing, pointing, lip-syncing.

You don’t have to do all that.

There are creators out there who have grown to a million+ followers without ever following a trend.

Take Justice Shepherd for example. He doesn’t do trends, he simply shares tips related to math, that’s it, and he’s got 1.8 million followers.

• Algorithm, check.
• Content research, check.

You know what’s coming next, right? Content creation.

Creating TikToks That Go Viral

This is what gives your videos the best chance of going viral.

Now that you’ve researched what’s already working in your niche, you should have a list of at least 5 to 10 (or even 20) video ideas in front of you.

Yes, you should have a list THAT BIG because when you go to create, you are going to “batch create”.

You are not going to make one TikTok video at a time; you are going to film a bunch in one session. This is the way that you as a busy business owner can be the most productive.

Even if you have to do your hair and makeup for one day of the week, it’s worth it.

Now, when it comes to content production, usually people like me say things like, “quality over quantity”.

But with time, my opinion on this has kind of changed when it comes to TikTok because TikTok wants volume.

It doesn’t want perfection.

I don’t want you to get hung up on making the perfect three TikToks over the course of eight hours…

I want you to make 10 TikToks in one hour. 10 TikToks in 10 minutes if you can!

You don’t have to be perfect. I want you to challenge yourself to just film.

C’s get degrees, as they say, and it definitely applies when it comes to TikTok.

Now, I give this advice, but I know full well it is very hard in reality.

I am an A+ student, a perfectionist, and an over-analyzer.

All of those lovely qualities and those qualities have served me well. I know I can create high-quality content.

But in the case of TikTok, it really is less about perfect polished content and more about data.

That’s why you wanna publish as many videos as you can. Because we never know which ones are gonna take off.

The more you can publish, the more data you’re gonna get, and the faster you’re gonna learn what works with the algorithm.

Now, the official word from TikTok about how many videos to post is (at minimum) at least three videos posted per week. That’s doable, right? But if you can swing it, TikTok would like to see two to five videos published a day.

I also want you to keep in mind that your TikTok content is generally going to a cold audience first, so you can create a lot of videos on and around the same topic.

It’s not going to be annoying for your audience.

In fact, when you start to see one topic or one style of video take off with your audience, keep making more just like that, in that same style or whatever is working with your audience.

I’ve made this mistake before in the past, where I’ve had a video take off and I didn’t keep that momentum going.

(In fact, I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to TikTok, so stay tuned, I’m gonna cover those at the end of this post.)

Hashtags on TikTok: Do They Matter?

What’s The Deal With #Hashtags?

Once your TikToks are created and edited, I know you’re gonna wonder about… HASHTAGS! (They’re part of my most frequently asked questions.)

Well, I have good news for you.

Hashtags won’t make or break your TikTok video.

In fact, TikTok creator, Jack Gordon, ran a lengthy experiment and he concludes the same thing.

So don’t stress about hashtags. Use a few that target your key industry and your target market, and call it a day.

Now, when it comes to actually POSTING the video, marketers like myself will tell you to post when your audience is most active and most online.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the best days to post are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. And they recommend posting early in the morning between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM or late at night between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM. (And that’s according to your timezone.)

But, there’s a caveat.

It’s always nice when some other source tells us when to post, but truly the best time to post is gonna come from the data from your account, your own analytics.

So that’s why you want to start posting, get that data, and then look at your analytics to see when TikTok is telling you the best times to post.

How To Get More Views On TikTok

Final thoughts, common mistakes, and staying consistent…

This brings me to my fourth point around generating views on TikTok, and these are the common mistakes that myself and my fellow business owners make.

Mistake #1 – Not continuing your momentum

So, remember when I had that one viral Fyre Festival video and I didn’t make any more after that?

Yeah, that was a mistake.

I should have continued the momentum of my one video around Fyre Festival and even though it’s not related to my niche, it could have still generated more traffic and eyeballs over onto my page.

Mistake #2 – Being inconsistent

One major mistake that I personally have also made is being inconsistent.

We know that the TikTok algorithm – like any algorithm – wants a consistent stream of content. But there have been times when I’ve posted every day and there have been times when I haven’t posted for months.

The algorithm doesn’t love this.

It wants to know that I’m gonna be a consistent creator of content. So, that’s again why I recommend batch creating your TikTok videos.

Mistake #3 – Making videos too long

The other mistake I’m guilty of is trying to put too much into one TikTok video.

Now, there IS merit in longer videos. When I say “long”, I’m talking about 30 to 60 seconds.

There is merit because you’re able to spend extra time with your followers who are there and you’re able to educate them and engage with them in a longer piece of video content.

The attention span of someone who isn’t your follower, someone who’s just seen your video on the For You page is a lot shorter.

I would say eight seconds is probably the average duration here. So if you have eight seconds, you gotta use them wisely.

Make sure that you’re opening up with a really good hook, you’re getting to the point really quickly, and finishing your video with a call to action (whether it’s to share the video, comment, or like).

Remember that you don’t have to pack everything into one video; you can always create a series of videos. This is a common practice on TikTok, to end your video with, “Here’s part one of XYZ, follow for part two”.

Mistake #4 – Not sticking to your niche

The next mistake is switching up your niche topic all the time.

Now I know I said to experiment with videos that work, that take off, but once the algorithm has pinpointed your account in a certain niche, you generally wanna stick with that niche.

Of course, you can share the occasional personal video or fun video every now and then, but when your account is already doing well within your niche, you want to really keep that momentum going and continue making videos around those topics.

Mistake #5 – Not engaging

Another mistake that I’m totally guilty of making is not being very social on TikTok (meaning I don’t spend a whole lot of time engaging).

Now, engaging could be replying to comments that I get on my TikToks, which I do, but I don’t spend a lot of time engaging with other accounts in my niche.

Okay, now that we’ve covered how to get more views on TikTok, we can’t forget about making money on TikTok.

So go ahead and watch this video on YouTube, where I cover how you as a business owner can make money on TikTok today. (And yes, people buy on TikTok.)

☝️ You’ll want to catch this one.

Ready to Grow Your Biz Using TikTok?

Know you need to be showing up on video, but not sure what to post that will actually make a difference in your business?

Videos Vault is my answer to your question, What the heck do I post on Tiktok and Reels?

Videos Vault is a bank of 300 evergreen, short-form video ideas that you can use all year long, with the power to drive free traffic for weeks or even months after publishing.

Perfect for COACHES, SERVICE PROVIDERS, and CREATORS, Videos Vault is the quickest and easiest way to grow your followers and organic traffic today. With Videos Vault, you’ll create videos to:

• • Get MORE visibility in your market
  • ​Drive steady traffic to your videos and business, months after posting
  • Connect with your audience in a way that suits your personality – whether that’s on or off camera!​