How To Get Followers on TikTok and Grow Your Brand Awareness

For businesses that are new to this platform, the first question is how to get followers on TikTok. As followers bring more awareness to the brand and solidify its presence, businesses are always on the lookout for innovative ways to attract them. The likes of Addison Rae Easterling and Charli D’Amelio seem to have cracked the TikTok code and now serve as inspiration for tons of aspiring influencers who wish to make money on TikTok, but more and more brands want in on the game as well. The list of ways to increase the number of followers is long, and the challenge is discovering the one that will work best for your brand and your marketing strategy.

What Does a Large Following on TikTok Mean for Businesses?

A big following on TikTok increases brand awareness and helps a brand form a more meaningful relationship with its target audience. That, in turn, means more leads, better conversion, and eventually, increased revenue. A TikTok account with a large following attracts more likes and better engagement, which is helpful on the way to getting verified on TikTok.Brands on TikTok thrive on interaction with their followers via creative and entertaining content. The more followers a TikTok business account has, the better the perception of the brand, especially among the younger audiences.

Is It Easy To Get Followers on TikTok?

There is no straightforward answer to this question. Some brands like the NBA were lucky enough to attract more than 14 million followers on TikTok by posting funny and motivational videos of basketball players.Many businesses are trying to reach that goal, but it doesn't seem to work for them. Getting followers on TikTok requires detailed analysis, planning, and strategizing.

Can TikTok Followers Be Bought?

Believe it or not—yes, they can. There are a myriad of online ads that offer new TikTok followers for a charge. Before you jump the gun, keep in mind the following:

1. Buying followers will, in fact, increase your following base, so technically, it is not a scam
2. It is difficult to say which ad offers legitimate TikTok users
3. Most of the paid followers are allegedly bots—not actual account users
4. Followers don't mean much without engagement. Even if an account increases its following by paying for it, the followers will not like, share, or comment on the videos
5. Getting more followers on TikTok is important, but even the accounts that do not have a large following can still go viral by posting original and valuable content that appeals to many users. This strategy will, in turn, attract those new followers you wish for
6. Bought followers will ruin the account’s chances of getting on the For You page. The TikTok algorithm will catch on the discrepancy between the number of followers and engagement rates. It will deem content unworthy of sharing on the For You page, which will hurt your growth on the platform

Source: Sharon McCutcheon

Why Is My Business Not Getting Followers on TikTok?

Several factors may come into play here. Getting followers on TikTok can be particularly challenging for businesses that are not too experienced with social media platforms or do not have the right marketing team or strategy in place. There are a few potential reasons for not getting followers on TikTok that are worth looking into.

Lacking Originality

A brand needs to find ways to stand out on TikTok by offering a unique voice in each video. Posting content that is too similar to others will fall flat. While TikTok videos are generally light and fun, content posted by brands should still have quality and originality. There are many video tools on TikTok that can help you create stand-out content with a bit of imagination.

Not Following TikTok's Algorithm

Whether the goal is to get more followers on TikTok or to collect those views, being aware of TikTok's unique algorithm is vital for any new business user who wants to attract a huge audience. TikTok's For You page is personalized based on the preferences of each user and the type of content that usually grabs their attention. To ensure that you connect with your customers on TikTok and appease the almighty algorithm, you need to strategize and consider what your target audience is interested in, what makes them like and share a video, and what will get them to watch the video until the end.

Not Using TikTok Analytics

Business account owners—and since recently, general users, too—have access to a valuable feature that provides insight into performance metrics for your content and audience engagement rates across different periods. It also shows you when your followers are the most active so that you can decide on the best time to post.TikTok Analytics is a great tool for a business user who wants to focus on producing tailor-made content and find out what works for their target audience and what doesn’t. Spend some time analyzing the data and adjust your approach accordingly to see new followers flock to your account.

Tips on How To Get Followers on TikTok

TikTok offers endless possibilities for creating engaging content and attracting more followers—from filters and effects to hashtags and challenges. High-quality content tailored to the preferences of your target audience will organically lead to more people hitting Follow on your account. For that reason, you need to approach your TikTok activity with a lot of thought.

Create for Your Target Audience

Brands need to identify who to target with their content but also what type of content their target audience will engage with. This usually means:

1. Finding a niche that isn’t too competitive
2. Exploring relevant hashtags to find different TikTok subcultures
3. Researching what your target audience likes, shares, and comments on
4. Interacting with the audience via replying to their comments, jumping in on relevant conversations, or sharing user-generated content

Be Consistent

Posting consistently is vital for getting followers on TikTok. Setting up a well-organized content calendar will help you plan and track your content production. Consistency doesn't only refer to how frequent your posts are—quality matters as well. If a profile has frequent half-baked videos, the users will get bored and move on to the next profile quickly.

Follow TikTok Trends To Get More Followers

Following trends is a must for business accounts that want to get more followers. If a certain type of video is trending, many videos will follow similar outlines or use the same music. Riding that wave can be the key to success.Taking advantage of current TikTok trends can be fruitful, but try to find a way to incorporate your products or brand messaging in the video and don’t forget to:

• Use trending hashtags—Using random and unpopular hashtags will not draw enough attention to your post. You also shouldn’t use too many hashtags on TikTok as it can easily read as spam. You should research trending hashtags to see how many views they are getting and use them accordingly. A popular trend is to use #fyp or #foryou hashtags to get on the For You page. Their widespread use can improve the reach of your content, although it is still unclear whether it serves its original purpose
• Use trending songs—Most TikTok videos have music in the background or even as a script for the video. Searching for a trending song can give you ideas on which direction to take for the next post. Videos can quickly go viral if the trending song was used in an original way that stands out, attracting loads of new followers in the process

Source: TikTok

Cross-Promote Your Videos

For businesses that want to get TikTok famous and attract followers, being present on TikTok alone is not enough—your business should have active accounts on other social media platforms. The more followers and attention a brand has on Instagram or Twitter, the more of those followers they can transfer to TikTok.After coming up with original content and posting it on TikTok, a user should then promote it on all other platforms. Use a catchy call to action to ask your followers to see your new TikTok post.

Post at the Right Time

Many users are not aware that the time of posting can make or break a video. It is advisable to follow the time when most users are active on TikTok and engage with content. Here are the results of an analysis of over 100,000 posts for Eastern Standard Time, according to InfluencerMarketingHub:Monday6:00 a.m.10:00 a.m.10:00 p.m.Tuesday2:00 a.m.4:00 a.m.9:00 a.m.Wednesday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.11:00 p.m.Thursday9:00 a.m.12:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.Friday5:00 a.m.1:00 p.m.3:00 p.m.Saturday11:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.8:00 p.m.Sunday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.4:00 p.m.If your audience is global or lives across several time zones, you will need to adjust your approach accordingly.

Create or Participate in a TikTok Challenge

Chipotle is a good example of a brand with excellent content that draws in the TikTok crowds—it's enough just to mention the famous #GuacDance challenge. It took TikTok by storm with a simple idea of guacamole fans filming themselves dancing to a popular song. This was TikTok's highest-performing branded challenge at the time, resulting in 250,000 video submissions and generating 500 million posts and mentions.

Don’t Delete Videos

It is possible that a video you make does not get the desired response or engagement right away. Still, the same video could go viral a few weeks later. TikTok trends change every day, so the post that was not so hot could end up being on fire and drawing in new crowds with a bit of patience.

Use the Stitch Feature in Your Videos

TikTok launched a new feature called Stitch in late 2020, and it turned out to be a great way to attract new interest in content created by various brands. Stitch lets you use the first few seconds of another user's video and combine it with your own. Most people use it to share a story they have that's similar to the original video or to expand on that topic, resulting in tons of user-generated content that expands the reach of the original post.

Source: TikTokBecause this is a relatively new feature, TikTok is putting Stitches on the For You page more often than other videos. It is an excellent opportunity to make videos viral and attract views and followers.

Use the Duet Feature

Made popular because of virtual duets with famous musicians, Duet entails putting two separate videos side by side, and brands have been using it for all kinds of challenges and collaborations:

• Puma posted a short video of a person trying to make the Puma logo on top of their coffee and failing. The original video now has more than 6 million views, and it inspired numerous Duets of TikTok users competing with the original video
• Vessi, a Canadian shoe company, did a successful giveaway campaign involving Duets. The followers would do a video showing how they use their waterproof shoes and get an opportunity to win free products. Vessi did Duets with the winning videos announcing freebies. Doing this was an excellent way for the company to expand its follower base and advertise its products

These videos don’t need to be complicated and over-the-top; simplicity goes a long way as long as it engages your target audience.

Source: Puma

How To Get Followers on TikTok by Collaborating With Creators

Collaborating with a creator can be an effective marketing tool for raising brand awareness because popular creators and influencers already have a huge following and can easily promote your brand's message in their content. They can help you create a TikTok for your account and post a video on their page, tagging your brand, which will earn you visibility through their follower base.TikTokers who are a part of the Creator Fund have a greater chance of their content showing up as recommended videos. As these creators get their status by being original and creative, they can bring immense value to your content strategy.An example of a successful influencer campaign on TikTok is the collaboration between HP’s HyperX, a brand leader in gaming and esports, and the TikTok sensation Bella Poarch, a TikTok star with over 81 million followers. As a new HyperX ambassador and a growing gaming icon, Poarch shares stories on TikTok about her love of gaming using HyperX products, bringing the brand more exposure.

Social Media Experts Know How To Get You Followers on TikTok

Building a follower base is hard work. Even if you understand all of the platform's features, dedicating time to get followers on TikTok can turn into an around-the-clock job. Many companies are not experienced in targeting the right audiences or engaging their followers the right way. They may not have a big enough team to cover everything from social media strategy and data research to community engagement and content creation. As a result, they waste time, money, and other resources on attempts that don't work. If your TikTok account is stuck in one place no matter what you do or you don't see the results of your efforts fast enough, it might be time to look for the help of a professional social media agency.

How Working With Kubbco Can Help Your Business Get Followers on TikTok

We are Kubbco, a team of experts deeply passionate about everything related to social media. We have helped several businesses reach incredible results on TikTok, and we know how to develop innovative strategies and customize them according to the needs of your brand.Our social media consultants analyze your brand, market, and competitors to figure out the best strategy to increase your following on TikTok (or any other socials). We then create content that successfully relays the story of your brand to attract the audience and get them to stay, testing different approaches and keeping an eye on all the latest trends.We know what performs well on TikTok and can offer your business:

• An innovative social media strategy with a data-driven approach
• Social media management focused on growing your account and spreading brand awareness while constantly monitoring relevant metrics
• Original content ranging from videos and photography to graphic design and written content
• Organic and paid social media campaigns for more reach and engagement

Kubbco loves to share tips and tricks that will help your next social media campaign. The world of social media is constantly changing, so subscribe to our newsletter and stay in the loop.

Kubbco's Success Stories

Our unique and tailor-made campaigns have helped many companies improve their TikTok presence and acquire more likes, views, and followers.During our collaboration with the American haircare brand OLAPLEX, their account saw some incredible results on TikTok in only five weeks:Total ViewsInteractionsNew FollowersNumber of VideosVideos Over 100,000 ViewsViral Videos5.1 million224,00022,0002862One of the three top-performing videos that we did for OLAPLEX got 2.3 million views, 87,000 likes, and an engagement rate of 5.19%. These numbers speak for themselves, but if you're interested in finding out more about what we can do for your brand, contact our team and talk to us about your needs and the best methods to expand your brand's presence on TikTok.

Featured image: Efren Barahona