How to Build a Following on TikTok and Reach 1K Followers?

Ganinig TikTok followers may look tough and challenging, but nobody said that popularity comes easy. Each social media forces users to play by specific rules due to different algorithms, sharing and promotion methods, etc. Moreover, reaching your first 1k followers is the most challenging milestone because, at the beginning, your profile is not recognizable at all. You have to show the value of your content, so people will see the value and stay with you. So, when you start your blog on TikTok, it’s essential to know the following:

• What niches are the most trending at the moment and what will you choose?
• How to take advantage of competitor analysis and improve your content?
• How do collaborations help creators improve their content?

In this article, we give you a roadmap to reach your first 1k followers on TikTok. You’ll discover essential tactics to follow and avoid common mistakes that slow down the profile growth. Once you have a strong social media presence, it’s your first step in building a personal brand.

Focus On Creating Viral Content

Content is a power source for you on TikTok. The more you post, the more people will start following your page. Still, more than regular content posts are needed to get 1k followers on TikTok very fast. You need to make it viral to trigger the platform’s algorithm so people will see your videos in their feeds. Here’s what you can do to increase engagement:

• Work with the platform algorithm. When trying to get TikTok followers fast, pay attention to two main factors: user engagement (the actions they perform on the platform) and user interests (how long they watch your videos). If people watch your videos till the end, it’s a positive signal, so the platform will boost your videos to take higher ranks.
• Make first seconds the most impactful. The video counts as watched only when a person passes a mark of first few seconds. You need to draw attention within the first 2-3 seconds, so the users will stay and watch your video until the end. Add a hook to the description or create an intriguing preview. With it, you will get your first 1k views very fast, and this number will keep growing.
• Watch for trends. Memorable transitions, dances, filters, trigger sounds, and other features should be considered when creating content for TikTok. When you create new content, you should always stick to the latest trends to ensure your followers are interested in watching such content.
  
• Create a relevant content strategy. It has to be relevant to the niche you select so your content will be entertaining, educational, captivating, or controversial if you discuss problematic topics. Focus on catching viewers’ attention within the first seconds so they won’t skip the video in the first seconds. Stay in your niche because people don’t really enjoy it when creators randomly jump from one thing to another. To discover more about the content strategy and other tips to create viral content, watch the video below.

• Participate in challenges. Challenges are often created by brands who want more hype or content creators who want to increase engagement. How to find such challenges? Search with the hashtag “challenge,” and you will see the latest challenges. Don’t be afraid to try a challenge for yourself, but look for something that will be interesting for your audience as well.
  
• Be consistent. How to build a following on TikTok? By being consistent! Stick to the posting schedule, which is part of your content strategy, and publish new content to keep your audience interested. Post content up to 3 times a day to go viral, but don’t neglect the quality of your content. 

Don’t rush. Take time and work on your video to make it engaging and impressive. Edit, add hashtags, use additional effects, etc. If you only start as a content creator on TikTok, watch how others do it to go viral on TikTok.

Ideas for Viral Content on TikTok in 2024

TikTok content must be viral, otherwise you won't be able to build your presence and grow on this social media platform. Everything starts with choosing a niche because when creators discover new trends, they start pushing them to get as much engagement as possible.  One of the most common formats for those who may want to start on TikTok is to create a video with interesting facts, compilations, and stories. For example, when you list the most popular singers of the year or the most viral songs that blow up the Internet. 

In this video, the author explains the niche selection methods and gives hints on how to start with each one. You may be surprised but starting as a creator to grow your TikTok followers. For example, viral videos with facts can be created using artificial intelligence. 

Short Videos Give More Watch Time 

The key to virality is in getting more watch time for your content. It's important for the TikTok algorithm, as it analyzes your profile and identifies your watch time. The more you have, the more chances are that your content will be on top of the "For You" page. 

Why short videos? TikTok users prefer to scroll content quickly and quickly receive all the information from the videos. Moreover, if you add subtitles and make smooth transitions, people will memorize your content after finding it in the feed, so there are more chances that your follower count will grow.

In this video, the author explains how short TikTok videos raise your watch time and give you more chances to gain followers. You'll also discover other steps on your way to account development and monetization. Work on increasing overall watch time, not for each piece of content.

Collaborate With Content Creators and Influencers

There’s no need to do everything solo on your way to getting followers on TikTok. You can be proactive and collaborate with influencers. These people have a powerful audience and generate solid engagement. When they see that their creator collaborated with you, they will definitely pay attention to your profile. Someone will come and check it, and part of these users will stay with you.

Still, there is a mistake you should avoid. Influencers receive dozens of emails with a request for collaboration, but only some can get positive answers. To ensure your collaboration will go well, you should first build communication and a strong relationship with the influencer. If you feel unconfident about it, don’t chase giants. Try to work with smaller accounts and increase the follower count gradually. 

Creators Who Made It on TikTok

We talk a lot about building a success on TikTok but we never mentioned personalities who actually succeed. A real examples gives inspiration and allows others to understand that success is real and could be achieved once you work hard and do everything consistently. So, let’s take a look at successful musicians who made it on TikTok.

Pinkpantheress - A Young Rising Star

This 22-year old rising star from Great Britain made her first songs in the bedroom. Now, she made a soundtrack for Barbie and found herself in top-100 rank on Bilboard. Her tracks does not belong to a specific genre. Instead, her work has led to the emergence of a new hybrid genre. It’s called bedroom pop, or alt pop, or breakbeat. Her music sounds sweet and makes people listen songs again and again.

Lil Nas X - A Record Breaker

This young man did the impossible by holding a top spot in the Bilboard chart for 19 weeks in 2019. He is known for his song “Industry Baby” that now has more than 600 million listens on YouTube and 1,953,877,516 on YouTube. Another song called “Old Town Road” went viral on TikTok as people used it for their videos. His TikTok account now has 29 million followers and gets thousands of views.

Ckay - A Young Star From Nigeira

His most famous song “Love Nwantiti” became one of the most popular among African musicians thanks to TikTok. It went viral almost immediately after the release. Also, it was second-ever song that reached the Hot 100 rating on Billboard.

Know Your Target Audience

When you start your activity as a content creator, you need to decide which subculture you belong to. It’s usually a niche people enjoy the most (sports, music, humor, video editing, etc.). Depending on what subculture people belong to, they have different target audiences. To better identify user’s preferences and see what they expect the most, analyze TikTok demographics and identify your potential followers.

You also should remember about “reached audience”. It’s a number of users who already saw your videos on TikTok. These statistics can be easily found on TikTok Analytics and become important when analyzing your content. By the number of views, you can identify which content is the most popular on the platform and what your viewers are interested in. Use this information to build greater credibility with the current followers and raise chances of reaching 1k followers faster.

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Know When to Post

Timing matters for TikTok. If you want to get solid engagement and attract more users to watch your content, you should know when to add new posts. The more people repeatedly engage with your videos, leave likes and comments, the better it is for you. If you only start your activity on the platform, post one video per day and slowly increase the number of daily posts. Three posts per day is an ideal option for your regular audience. If you will post more, there is a chance that more people will see your content and start following.

Posting schedule could be used later when you build a larger audience and your content becomes more recognizable. Moreover, you build credibility by posting videos consistently because followers will know when to expect your next post. Below is an example of posting schedule for each day of the week.

Always Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a must because they help people to find your content easily. When you work on a new post, check the most popular hashtags related to the topic and select the most relevant tags for your content. For example, if you are posting a challenge video, add a #challenge tag so that the users will find it much faster. Also, don’t use too many tags: 5 will be more than enough.

Below is the list of hashtags that make the difference in boosting your content and increasing the follower count:

• #fyp or #foryoupage to mark the “For You” page.
• #tiktok. Classic tag for content on the platform.
• #trending to mark the trending content.
• #viral to mark your videos for users who search for viral content.
• #slomo to specify your slow-motion content.
• #DIY for Do It Yourself
• #learnontiktok to highlight educational content.

Proper tag usage increases your chances of reaching a relevant audience and getting not only views but followers as well. For example, when people watch pieces of content marked with specific tags, the system analyzes their preferences and offers content marked with the same tags. Once of find proper tags, you will grow your TikTok following and engagement.

The video below contains more information about how to use hashtags correctly and make your content viral.

Promote Your TikTok

How to get a lot of followers on TikTok? Use promotion. Share links to your profile on other social media, mention it in Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, etc. Another option is to repost one of the TikTok videos from TikTok to other social media. The followers will see that you have a profile with interesting content, so they may follow you there.

With similar promotion techniques, you won't encourage followers to your TikTok profile. You have to be entertaining and creative with your promotion.

TikTok influencers always search for new ideas to get more engagement. Run a contest with one necessary challenge: follow you on TikTok. However, remember that the prize should be valuable enough to make them follow you. It may take a long time to do it without additional tools. If it’s not what you expected, you can use a special TikTok starter package to get 1k followers faster.

Use Complex Approach to Get TikTok Followers

Getting 1k followers on TikTok may is not an easy task unless you’re unprepared. However, when you have an understanding of what you need and how you can achieve it, everything gets much easier. The main thing you have to do is to focus on high-quality and engaging content your audience will enjoy. Use full potential of the platform to unleash your creativity and get more TikTok followers.