6 Ways to Ramp Up TikTok Engagement [+ Get More Views]

Are you struggling to get over 350 views on TikTok? Do you want to ramp up levels of engagement?

There is no denying that getting more views on TikTok can seem like an impossible challenge; the platform is saturated with content and it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. However, when you know how, TikTok can be a marketing channel that builds a community feel for your brand and drives traffic to your website and other social media channels.

At Solve, our team members have created videos that achieve over 100k views (+ still growing). In this post we will show you how to get more views with techniques that are working right now.

Let’s get started!

1. Find Your Audience

The first step to TikTok success is to identify your target audience. This allows you to tap into your audiences interests and create a brand in which you highlight yourself as an authority. If your account isn’t focused or targeted towards a particular audience, you won’t grow followers. For example, if a follower finds and likes one of your videos about motorbikes, but the rest of your videos are a random assortment of art projects, Love Island quotes and baking ideas, they’re unlikely to follow you. This is because the rest of your content isn’t relevant to them and so your engagement rate will be low. Your videos need to have a common theme that connects with your audience. By targeting your videos towards a specific audience, you will receive higher engagement rates. This then has a positive effect on the TikTok algorithm, as if it sees higher engagement rates it is more likely to distribute your content to an even wider audience.

Also, creating videos that share something new, or unique insights can increase views and engagement, because videos with unique content are more likely to be shared. This results in increased views, followers and engagement, as well as TikTok algorithms sharing it with more people who may also interested in the topic of the video/your account. You may then use TikTok SEO to ensure you correctly frame and optimise your videos to reach more of your target audience.

2. Create High-Quality Videos

It goes without saying, people are now so used to high-quality videos they won’t watch anything below a certain standard. Gone are the days are gone when you could record in 480p with no image stabilisation and expect people to watch. Recording and uploading your content in the highest quality can be rewarded with higher engagement rates. Consider recording in portrait rather than landscape so those users can easily digest the content, and utilise popular video editing styles which make your videos more engaging and relevant.

@lilyyevee

cute trend <33 #friendgroup #cornwall

♬ completely different reality – beachbumblaine

3. The 3-Second Rule

Three seconds is all it takes for a user to click off your TikTok video. What does this mean? It means that if you haven’t grabbed a user’s attention in 3 seconds or less, they’re not going to continue watching. Our attention spans are shorter than ever so the first 3 seconds of your TikTok video are the most important and must be engaging.

This is relevant to the ‘batch theory‘ on TikTok which suggests that TikTok tests the popularity of a video in batches. First, TikTok will push your video to the 1% of users it thinks are the most relevant audience for the video (maybe around 300-400 people). If you get a strong engagement rate for this user set (15-20%) then TikTok will push your video to the next 1%, and if the same happens it will carry on doing this same exact formula to qualify if your content is worthy of pushing to less relevant TikTok users.

@_angelomarasigan

It’s so hard playing under pressure 😭 #funchallenge #siblingduo #comedytrending #funchallenges

♬ original sound – Angelo

4. Tap Into Your Audience Through Music

Once you have identified your audience, you can likely identify the music to use in your videos. Music connects people, and it is likely that there is a genre of music that appeals to your audience. To get this information, you could:

• Look at engagement on previous videos – is there a theme as to what style of music got the best response in the past?
• Look at your TikTok follow demographics – i.e. age, gender and location. Does this allow you to take an educated guess as to what music style may appeal to?
• Conduct a survey or poll – maybe you have thousands of followers on Instagram and can ask them what they enjoy listing to. If you’re targeting similar people, chances are it’s the same for TikTok.
• Look at other TikTok accounts – do you have competitors on TikTok? If so, what are they using and what is working for them?

Tapping into your audience through music is easier than you think – simply use the sounds that they would want to listen to as the backdrop to your videos.

Indie

If your audience is more indie culture then you could use music like Artic Monkeys, Oasis, or Indie Pop.

Rock

If your audience is more rock culture then you could use music like Foo Fighters, AC/DC or Rolling Stones.

Rap

If your audience is more rap culture then you could use music like Kendrick Lamar, Eminem or Snoop Dogg.

Folk

If your audience is more folk culture then you could use music like Bon Iver, Mumford & Sons or Dolly Parton.

Of course, your audience might not it in one genre, so mix it up and try popular artists or trending music. Also, don’t be afraid to test your assumptions. For example, if your target audience is women aged 16-21, you may assume pop is the way to go, but actually country may work well for them too.

5. Use Relevant Hashtags

Utilise TikTok hashtags to tap into your target audience. Do your research to find trending hashtags and topics that you should be targeting – this can also be a great way to find video content ideas. TikToks algorithm will show videos with similar hashtags to users who have shown an interest in other videos with the same hashtags. This means that hashtags allow you to tap into users who don’t know about your channel or business but are interested in your video topics.

How to find the right Hashtags for your video?

Type in the TikTok search bar the first word of what your video is about but don’t press enter – you’ll see hashtag ideas in the drop-down that appears. For example, if you had a video about some hidden beaches in Cornwall we would use the following hashtags…

#fyp stands for ‘For You Page’ – On the TikTok homepage you will notice a menu bar across the top of the app that has four menu items: Explore, Following, Friends and For You. You can use the #fyp hashtag to try and get your content on more users ‘For You’ page.

6. Post Your Video at the Right Time

You could follow all the steps above and not go viral. Why? Because you posted at the wrong time. You need to post videos when your target audience is engaged and this will vary by audience. So, do some research, and test this for yourself. For example, if you know your audience watches a TV Series from 6 pm to 7 pm, they’re likely not going to pick up their phone during this time, so this would be a bad time to post. But right after might be a good time as they want to catch up on the social media coverage they missed during that period. We don’t recommend using a scheduler as TikTok can pick this up as a negative sign, rather than doing that set a timer on your phone and save your video as a draft beforehand then all you have to do is send the post out!

Concluding Thoughts

So there you have it – 6 tips to ramp up levels of engagement and get more TikTok Views.

Which TikTok tip are you going to try out first? Comment below and let us know which you are going to use for your TikTok channel.

Remember, creating great content is just the first step. To truly stand out on TikTok, you must also engage with your audience, stay up to date with current trends and challenges, and be authentic and genuine in your videos. With these strategies in place, you can leverage the power of TikTok to connect with others, grow your brand, and have fun while doing it. So, go ahead and start implementing the tips outlined in this blog so that you can increase your video views and build a loyal following on the platform.

You can also check out our page about TikTok SEO, or if you would like to find out more about how to leverage the fastest growing social media platform you can talk to one of our SEO experts.