How to Grow Your TikTok Following [Expert Insights + Data]

Growing a following on TikTok can feel daunting. Trust me, I know. I first created a TikTok to promote my YouTube channel, blog, and podcast back in 2022. Though I managed to gain over a thousand followers in just a few days, that was a few years ago.

Now, I'm starting a new TikTok to promote my content for HubSpot, and I can see already the landscape has changed. Fortunately, I still know a thing or two about how to grow on TikTok, and I've done enough research to know how to do so in 2024. 

Without further ado, let's dive into the best tips and tricks to grow your TikTok.

Why Growing Your Followers on TikTok is Important

Growing your following on TikTok will increase your brand's visibility. Like I said, I joined TikTok to promote my YouTube channel, blog, and podcast. And I can't tell you how many times I would see comments saying, "I saw you on TikTok and knew I had to follow your channel." 

I've also found through HubSpot's most recent Consumer Trends survey that TikTok is especially important if you're selling products or services. In our survey, the majority of our respondents (37%) say they prefer discovering new products via short-form videos such as TikToks or Instagram Reels. 

Growing your TikTok is also an excellent way to get the attention of Gen Z. Gen Z is projected to have the fastest growth in spending power, reaching about $12 trillion by 2030.

So, if you want to tap into the Gen Z market, you'll be happy to know TikTok is a popular app among them. According to our survey, 30% of Gen Z consumers say TikTok is their favorite app, and 72% of Gen Z consumers reported using TikTok in the past three months. 

Now you know why TikTok is important. Let me give you what you came here for and present 6 ways to grow your TikTok following.

1. Niche down.

When you try to appeal to everyone, you wind up attracting no one because no one knows what to expect from you. You'll end up posting content that appeals to one crowd but turns off another. 

So, niche down by researching your target audience and creating content that is appealing to them. You can do this via focus groups, surveys, creating buyer personas, or observing what competitors in your industry are doing to engage their audience. 

For example, fashion is a popular category on TikTok. So much so that the hashtag #fashion has over 66.6 million views on the platform.

If you want to post fashion-related content, you might get lost in this competitive vertical. Instead, I suggest focusing on a sub-niche like style tips and mid-sized fashion, which has a fraction of the views but a more engaged audience.

One of my favorite fashion-related creators on TikTok is Andrea's Fashion Galaxy. Rather than tackle a wide range of fashion topics, Andrea focuses on teaching her audience how to style specific pieces or how to dress for certain occasions. 

In the TikTok below, Andrea shows viewers how to style a metallic mini skirt as a top. She even adds her own flair to her videos by incorporating her many pets. 

2. Post at the right time.

Sometimes, it's not just what you post but when you post. This is especially true on TikTok.

A recent HubSpot Blogs survey of 1,400+ global marketers found the best time to post to TikTok is between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Since TikTok is popular with the Gen Z crowd  — and they're in school for a good part of the day — the morning and early afternoon "dead zone" makes sense.

When posting content on TikTok, stay clear of these slow hours and try posting towards the end of the week or during the weekend.

3. Duet or Stitch top-performing videos.

One of the most popular videos on my TikTok is one I stitched with a well-known creator. It has about 12,000 views, while most of my videos would garner an average of 300-5,000 views.

TikTok's Stitch enables users to play up to 5 seconds of someone else's video as an intro to their own. This is usually done to respond to the original creator, answer questions, or contribute to a viral topic.

Another helpful tool is TikTok's Duet feature, which lets you play your video next to another user's video. This is ideal if you want to add commentary or a funny reaction to the original video. Here's a duet I did a while ago with Steve from Blue's Clues.

The best way to leverage these features is by engaging with top-performing videos in your niche. You can do this by using the search bar and typing keywords relating to your brand.

Then, once you've zeroed in on a video you like, tap the Stitch or Duet button and let your creativity fly.

But there's more — you can also encourage others to Duet or Stitch your videos.

For example, Tesco, a British grocery chain, asks users to Duet the following video for a chance to become the new voice of their checkout machine:

The result? Tesco's original video scored 22 million views and thousands of Duet submissions.

4. Participate in a challenge (or create your own).

It seems there's a new viral challenge making waves every time I log into TikTok, and I've seen how they can explode a follower count. The trick is finding the right one for your brand.

For example, the horror film A Quiet Place: Day One recently spawned a challenge on TikTok called The Quiet Place Challenge. The challenge was inspired by a cat in the film that manages to remain quiet enough to keep alien monsters from detecting him and his caretakers. 

To partake in the challenge, TikTok users have to run around while holding their cat to see if they'd survive the film in real life. 

This challenge was perfect for cat-themed TikTok accounts like @realsirpounce, managed by a user named Carson, who has four feline companions. Check out Carson's attempt at the challenge below.

The video went viral, gaining more than 1 million likes.

You can also create your own challenge — just make sure it's relatively simple to do. For example, Chipotle started the #LidFlip challenge, which encouraged users to flip the lid of their burrito bowl with style:

In the first six days, the challenge generated over 100,000 video responses. Even more impressive, it created a record-breaking sales day for Chipotle.

5. Jump on trending sounds and songs.

88% of TikTok users say sound is essential to the TikTok experience. Thanks to the algorithm, it's also critical for driving more engagement.

TikTok has an extensive library of sounds — but you should prioritize the ones that get a lot of love from the community. This is because the TikTok algorithm tends to favor videos that leverage trending sounds.  

For example, the most popular video on my TikTok has almost 100,000 views, way more than my usual average, and it features a sound that was trending at the time and was frequently used in the anime and manga community (the niche my account occupies). 

To find a trendy sound that works for your brand, check out TikTok's Creative Center, which ranks the most popular sounds each day. You can also filter by region, which is helpful if your audience lives in a different location from you.

6. Cross-promote your TikTok.

Odds are your audience is active on other social media besides TikTok. For this reason, it's important to cross-promote your videos to other channels, such as Instagram or YouTube.

Just avoid including the TikTok watermark in your videos when uploading to other platforms, as this can affect whether your content is prioritized in the algorithm. 

To avoid this issue, I usually create a single video that is kept to about 60 seconds long, and I upload the original to each platform individually. 

For example, I interviewed actress, host, and filmmaker Cheyenne Ewulu of Amazon Prime's Anime Club for my podcast Nerds At Work w/ TsundEri.

To cross-promote the episode on both Instagram and TikTok, I took a 60-second clip from the interview and uploaded it to TikTok and Instagram Reels separately rather than downloading it from TikTok and reposting it to the latter platform. 

7. Include Relevant Hashtags.

Hashtags are key to finding and connecting with the right community on TikTok. A great example of this is #BookTok on the app. The hashtag is used by both readers and authors to find, recommend, and promote books. 

The tag was instrumental in the popularity of the New York Times Best Seller "It Ends with Us" by Colleen Hoover. The book initially came out in 2016 but entered the best sellers' list in 2021 after it gained popularity with the #Booktok community. 

Just a few years later, the book was adapted to the big screen in a film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. 

So, scroll through TikTok to see what hashtags your target audience is using to find content like yours.

For example, if you're a shoe store, start by including #shoes or #sneakers in your videos and look to see what other hashtags pop up in videos within your niche. 

8. Use trending songs.

There is never a shortage of trending songs on TikTok, so you're sure to find one that matches the vibe of your content and your brand. 

For example, actress Nicola Coughlan of the Netflix series Bridgerton cleverly used the song "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter to promote the show's red carpet premiere in Italy. 

Couphlan's character on the show, Penelope, is in love with another character named Colin, and fans have dubbed the couple "Polin" (pronounced like "pollen").

"Espresso" became fans' anthem for the couple thanks to the verse "My honey bee, come get this pollen." Naturally, Coughlan used it in the TikTok video below. 

9. Use closed-captions. 

The more accessible your video is the more people can enjoy it, engage, and pass it on. One way to make your video more accessible is to include closed-captions. Fortunately, TikTok automatically adds closed captions to videos uploaded to its platform. 

However, the auto-generated captions aren't always accurate, which is why I suggest going through the captions and editing them for accuracy. To do this, click the auto-captions editor on the right-hand side of your video before uploading your video. 

From there, you can edit the captions manually and ensure your videos are accessible. 

10. Share user-generated content. 

TikTok allows users to repost content and share it with others. If you start a challenge on TikTok and you see others participating, repost their videos to share user-generated content.

You can also use the Stitch and Duet features I mentioned earlier to share user-generated content while engaging with your audience.

11. Collaborate with influencers and creators.

Most TikTok users prefer to keep up with creators and influencers instead of brands on the app, so it can be difficult to get users to become invested in your content if you're trying to promote a business.

But fear not! There is a solution. Try collaborating with creators and influencers to get them to introduce your brand to your audience. Just make sure said influencer or creator aligns well with your brand and your target audience's overlap.

For example, wallpaper brand Dizzy With Excitement collaborated with DIY home decor creator Kaarin Joy by creating a line of wallpaper patterns inspired by Kaarin's DIY projects.

Kaarin is known for quirky, out-of-this-world DIY projects, and DWE boasts an array of unique, funky patterns on its website. So, Kaarin was a perfect choice to introduce the brand to a wider audience. 

12. Create a content series.

A content series is a great way to engage your audience because it provides a consistent stream of content they can look forward to and associate with your brand.

For example, one of my favorite TikTok content series (that needs to be brought back, please) is Yes That's on Etsy. This series is on Etsy's official TikTok account and showcases the fun and unique products that can be found on Etsy's official site. 

Think of a series of videos that are simple to make, can be spread out over multiple videos, and can showcase the products and services of your brand. 

13. Keep an eye on what works for your audience.

As you post your videos, keep track of what generates the most buzz for your platform. Which of your videos tend to get the most likes, comments, or reports?

Make sure your TikTok is a business account so you'll have access to all kinds of analytics and metrics that can inform your strategy on the app.

14. Create TikTok Stories.

TikTok Stories work similarly to Instagram Stories. They allow users to post short videos that disappear after 24 hours. TikTok stories can drum up excitement for upcoming videos or be used to show quick, exclusive behind-the-scenes content of your business. 

15. Include CTAs.

If possible, always include a call-to-action that will encourage viewers to stay tuned to your content.

For example, Kaarin Joy almost always ends her videos by asking her followers to suggest more DIY home improvement projects in the comments of her videos or to check back later for updates on her projects. 

Of course, if you don't know a good CTA to add to your video, you can always stick to the classic call for viewers to follow your channel. 

16. Talk to your audience. 

Community is important on TikTok and one way to build community with your followers on the app is to simply engage with them. Reply to their comments, stitch their videos, do a duet, or repost the content that resonates with your brand. 

All of this will build loyalty with your audience and increase visibility for your brand.

Start Creating 

Ultimately, the key to growing your TikTok is to consistently create and post high-quality content that showcases your brand. So start creating now and while you're at it, try implementing any of the above tips I gave you.

I'm also trying to grow my new account, so it's time for me to stop typing and start creating. Best of luck to both of us!