The name of the game on TikTok is gaining followers for your account.

Your TikTok fans are key to the success of your account. TikTok’s algorithm, as seen on the For You page, favors showing content from accounts that users follow. The more TikTok followers you have, the more your content will be seen, and the more views and engagement you can get.

Of course, we’d all love to see our follower accounts explode over night, but that’s not very realistic. While it’s possible to get a major influx of new TikTok followers after one of your videos goes viral, you can’t count on that as a strategy.

According to RivalIQ, the average TikTok account sees a follower growth rate of 2 to 3% per month. That’s a bit higher for smaller accounts under 50,000 followers, at more than 4% per month.

That means that barring every single one of your TikToks going viral, your follower growth should be slow and steady.

While it does sound tempting to simply buy TikTok followers, it’s actually a bad idea.

Buying TikTok followers doesn’t work as a growth strategy because those followers are going to be bots or dead accounts — they won’t actually watch or engage with your content, which is what you really want. Additionally, buying TikTok followers is obvious to any brands looking to cut a deal with you as your follower count will be high, but your views will be low. And that’s not a good look.

Rather than buying TikTok followers, you should focus on these proven strategies to organically grow your TikTok following:

1. Create high-quality, engaging content
2. Optimize your TikTok profile
3. Practice TikTok SEO
4. Collaborate with other TikTok creators
5. Engage with the TikTok community
6. Leverage influencer marketing
7. Cross-promote on other social media platforms
8. Post consistent content with regularity
9. Analyze and optimize your TikTok performance
10. Stay up to date with TikTok trends and features

Here, we’ll take a deeper dive into each of these methods to grow your TikTok followers organically and authentically.

10 proven strategies to grow your TikTok following

Here’s an in-depth look at 10 strategies to grow your TikTok followers.

1. Create high-quality, engaging content

This is the first strategy because it’s the most important. Above anything else, you must aim to create TikToks that are worth watching. You can use every other tip and trick in the book, but nothing beats TikToks that are high-quality and engaging.

Don’t worry — the advice here isn’t just “be good at TikTok.” Creating great TikToks takes more than just creativity, it’s also about understanding the platform, from defining your niche and target audience, to being your authentic self, to tracking trends.

Understand your niche and target audience

Your goal on TikTok isn’t to appeal to everyone. Rather, TikTok is an app that’s a mosaic of communities. Your first job is to identify what your niche is and target the audience that enjoys that content.

That could be:

• Cooking
• Makeup and skincare
• E-commerce
• Fitness
• Identity-based niches
• Pets and cute animals

The list truly goes on.

By finding a niche for your account and creating content for that particular audience, you’ll more easily find interested viewers. It’s also a good idea because TikTok’s algorithm identifies topics within a video and works to show them to viewers who are interested in that topic. By sticking to a niche, the algorithm will more easily find you viewers who like your content.

Showcase your authenticity and personality

The most important thing on TikTok is authenticity. You don't need to start posting unhinged content, but less polished should be the goal. Viewers want to feel a connection to creators on the platform, not stale influencer content or soulless brands. The most successful TikTok creators center their personality in their content, which includes not only showing their faces on camera but sharing their true feelings, opinions, and sense of humor. TikTok followers want to be fans of people they connect with.

Leverage trending topics and challenges

Keep your TikToks fresh by staying on top of trends and challenges on the app. Again, the algorithm comes into play here because when something is trending on TikTok, the algorithm wants to make sure content from participating creators surfaces. Making the algorithm happy will bring in new views and new TikTok followers.

2. Optimize your TikTok profile

Your profile page is the first place you’ll establish your or your brand’s voice, so make it count.

Craft an attention-grabbing bio

TikTok bios are only 80 characters long, so every word counts. You want something short and snappy that captures your unique voice and also represents the type of content you create.

Aim to include some keywords that relate to your content, add a little humor, and perhaps an emoji or two. You can also add a call to action, such as “Follow me for daily recipes.” When people know what to expect from your account, they’ll be more likely to follow you.

Choose a memorable username

Your username is your identifier on TikTok, so it should be unique and memorable. For some people, it makes most sense to use your actual name if you’re trying to build a brand as a creator. You can also include a keyword that speaks to your content, like EmmaMakeup, or JeffCooks.

Otherwise, go for something witty, ironic, or plain funny. Just don’t be generic.

Highlight your unique selling proposition

Your unique selling proposition is what makes you different from everyone else. What’s something you can do that no one else can?

This speaks to what your niche is, but also what your unique point of view is within that niche. For example, you don't just create comedy TikToks, but you create comedy TikToks on the theme of mental health. Or, you’re not just a fashion creator, you’re also an expert at tracking down vintage pieces.

Think about what makes you unique and include that in your bio to show your TikTok followers who you are.

3. Practice TikTok SEO

Search engine optimization has become increasingly important on TikTok as its search function becomes more sophisticated.

Use the right keywords

TikTok’s search is able to understand more than just hashtags. It’s able to scan every part of a TikTok, from the description to the subtitles, and use that information when a user initiates a search. Including keywords in your content is important for discoverability so that users searching for a particular content can find your account and become a new TikTok follower.

For example, here’s what we found when searching for “rescue farm animals.” The first result is this TikTok from The Gentle Barn. Notice the comprehensive caption that captures keywords like “rescued cows” and “animal sanctuary.”

Use the right hashtags

Hashtags are another important part of search on the app and another way for new TikTok followers to find you. Brainstorm related hashtags when posting new content and aim to include at least three to five of them. Use a mix of trending and popular hashtags and more niche hashtags.

For example, this TikTok from @Bramble_button_and_bean came up when searching for “cute farm animals.” Notice the mix of hashtags in the description that include big hashtags like #farming and more niche hashtags like #valaisblacknoselambs.

Find and use trending audio

The other thing users search for on TikTok is particular audio clips and songs. Using trending audio will make your content discoverable via search, and give you an opportunity to gain new TikTok followers.

In the search bar, users can look for a particular artist or song and see which are currently marked as “popular.” This view will also tell you how many videos have been created with this sound.

A great way to check which songs and sounds are trending on TikTok is to look at the TikTok Creative Center. Here, you can also find trending hashtags, creators, and TikToks.

4. Collaborate with other TikTok creators

Another way to expand your reach and gain more TikTok followers is to team up with other creators.

Reach out to similar creators to collaborate

The first step is identifying creators that would make a good collaboration partner. There are two ways to approach this.

First, you can find creators within your own niche that produce similar content. For example, if you make beauty content, you could work with another beauty influencer to give each other makeovers, or play a game where you pick each other’s products for a look. The advantage here is that your audiences will be similar and likely to like content from both of you, giving you an avenue to attract new TikTok followers.

The other option is to find a creator who makes content that’s wildly different from yours. That will showcase your account to a brand new audience who probably aren’t going to see your account on their For You page and may not have otherwise become a new TikTok follower.

The best way to approach a collaboration opportunity is to message a creator on TikTok or from another one of their profile’s, like Instagram. Suggest a collaboration where you can both walk away with fresh content that attracts new viewers.

Participate in duets and react to content

TikTok comes with a built-in way to collaborate with other creators — duets and stitches. A duet places your reaction to a TikTok next to the original in a new video, and a stitch plays another TikTok before you add your own video to it.

In either case, it’s an opportunity to react to someone else’s content, drawing the attention of their followers as you now have a chance to show up on their For You page.

To create a duet, find a TikTok you want to react to, tap the Share button, and select Duet.

Cross-promote each other's profiles

Lastly, another way to work with other creators is to share each other’s profiles. This can be as simple as creating a TikTok about how much you enjoy someone’s content, and tag them in the TikTok’s description. You can create an arrangement with another creator where you both do the same thing, promoting each other to your respective TikTok followers.

This can give you a follower boost when you’re first starting out, especially if the creator you partner with already has a lot of TikTok followers.

5. Engage with the TikTok community

It’s not enough to just passively post content on TikTok — you should be a full participant in the community by engaging actively with other people’s content and your fans.

Respond to comments and messages

Smart creators will take the time to respond to comments left on their TikToks, as well as DMs. Creating personal connections with your followers, even with something as simple as answering a question, forges a relationship and encourages viewers to become TikTok followers.

Something to keep in mind as your follower count grows: You can’t possibly respond to every comment or DM. Nor should you. Set boundaries for yourself – you’ll only respond to comments or an hour or so every day, you won’t engage with hateful comments or DMs, etc. Enforcing these boundaries is especially important with viral videos, extending your reach far beyond your normal audience.

Like, comment on, and share other content

Gaining new TikTok followers is all about making yourself more visible on the app. The For You page will do some of that for you, but another way is to regularly comment and like other creator’s content. Leaving comments on popular content, or content from similar creator’s, gives comment readers a way to find your account and become a new follower.

Participate in TikTok live streams

Similarly, participating in live streams is a way to get your name out there. When a creator you enjoy goes live, participate in the comments, or give a gift. Your name and a link to your account will be shared to the other viewers. These activities also signal to the algorithm that you’re an active contributor to the TikTok community, making it more likely to feature your posts on people’s FYPs.

Join TikTok challenges and trends

Participating in TikTok trends is one of the most fun things you can do on the app and it presents another opportunity to gain exposure for your account. Viral trends get preferred placement in TikTok’s algorithm, showing your content on more users’ For You pages. It’s a great way to participate in TikTok’s culture while also reaching new accounts and TikTok followers.

6. Leverage influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a great avenue for brands on TikTok looking to reach new followers.

Identify influencers in your niche

The first step to working with influencers is to find creators that fit into your brand. While it may be tempting to simply try and work with the most popular creators, that’s not actually a good strategy. Niche influencers have more engaged audiences and if your brand matches that niche, their followers will be more likely to want your product or service.

Check out the hashtags associated with your niche and look for creators that have a high number of not only followers, but consistently high numbers of likes and comments. The goal here is for their TikTok followers to become yours as well.

Collaborate with influencers for shoutouts or takeovers

There are many ways to work with influencers on TikTok. You can arrange a simple shoutout, where a creator tags your account and mentions your brand.

Or try a takeover where an influencer takes control of your account — with guidelines in place — and posts content from it. This will attract the attention of their existing TikTok followers and encourage them to follow you, too.

Reach new audiences with sponsored content

The most traditional way to work with influencers is to contact them to make sponsored content. This is when an influencer posts from their own account directly promoting your brand. You’ll see this type of content tagged on TikTok as #partner, #ad, or #sponsored.

Payment for this type of work varies greatly, depending on the number of followers and engagement rate an influencer has. As a rule, smaller influencers tend to be more affordable while also offering higher engagement.

Here's an example of a smaller influencer, Mariah Michelle, aka @magnoliahillhouse, who recently did a sponsored post for Spotify:

@magnoliahillhouse It’s ok to be sad, even if it’s summertime. Let the music guide you through it. #SpotifyPartner @Spotify ♬ original sound - Mariah Michelle | MHH

If an influencer is able to make great sponsored content, that can result in a flood of new TikTok followers for your brand. If you have money to spend, this is a far better investment than buying TikTok followers.

7. Cross-promote on other social media platforms

TikTok likely isn’t the only social media platform you’re active on — you probably also have accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or other sites. Use that social media presence to your advantage to attract new TikTok followers.

Promote your TikTok profile on other platforms

If someone follows you on Facebook or Instagram, it’s a good bet that they’d also like to follow you on TikTok. Make sure to include a link to your TikTok profile anywhere you have a social media presence. The best way to do this is create a link-in-bio page using a tool like Link Tree or Later that contains all of your social media links. Include this link in your bio on platforms beyond TikTok so followers from anywhere can easily find your TikTok.

Here's a LinkTree example from Reels and TikTok hair influencer Molly Katherine.

By putting her LinkTree in her IG bio, she can send Instagram followers over to her TikTok account.

Share TikTok videos on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram

Creating short videos on TikTok means you now have videos you can share across other social media platforms. TikToks are perfect for cross-posting as a YouTube Short, Instagram Reel, or Facebook video. You can either download your TikToks and post them natively on these platforms, or share a link or screenshot. Anywhere you have a social media presence, you can share your TikToks. That leads to new TikTok followers.

The reverse is also true – you can use TikTok to drive views to other platforms, too. This is especially useful if you create long-form YouTube videos. You can create short clips from using a YouTube to TikTok converter to promote your channel on TikTok. Use a call-to-action in your video caption, like, “Catch the rest of the video on my YT channel; link in bio!”

Encourage your existing audience to follow you on TikTok

A link-in-bio with a link to your TikTok is a great passive way to encourage new TikTok followers, but you can also be more direct. Routinely share your TikTok account link on places like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram Stories and explicitly encourage your followers to click and follow you.

8. Post consistent content with regularity

No one wants to follow a dead account, or an account that posts sporadically. TikTok users want to follow accounts they know will regularly post great content, so make sure you deliver that.

Establish a content schedule

Set yourself up for success by creating a content schedule for your TikTok account. TikTok itself recommends posting one to four times per day — that’s a lot! More realistically, if you’re just starting out, aim for a few times per week, like every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Challenge yourself to stick to this schedule and make it more frequent as you get more comfortable on the platform.

Experiment with video formats and lengths

Aiming for consistency doesn’t mean your content needs to be stale. Posting frequently gives you the opportunity to test out different types of TikToks as well as different lengths. One day you can try a 15-second skit, and another day you can try a two-minute explainer.

The advantage here is you can experiment with what types of content resonates with your own followers, and it keeps your feed fresh.

Analyze and adjust posting frequency

Once you have a library of content, you can dig into your TikTok analytics and see how each video performs. You may notice that posting at a particular time of day, or on a particular day of the week, leads to higher engagement, views, or new TikTok followers.

9. Analyze and optimize your TikTok performance

TikTok’s analytics tools can be found natively in the app, or you can use a third-party analytics tool. Whichever you use, these analytics provide invaluable information on your TikTok accounts performance. Optimizing your feed will help you reach new TikTok followers.

Utilize TikTok's analytics tool to identify top-performing content

TikTok’s analytics tool contains a ton of useful information about content such as:

• Video views
• Your personal best time to post on TikTok
• Demographics of your TikTok followers
• Profile views
• Like
• Comments

This will let you know which of your videos most resonate with your TikTok followers. Use that information to keep creating content along those themes — whether that means participating in challenges, using trending audio, or covering a particular topic.

Buying TikTok followers will make this information far less useful because it won’t be accurate.

Understand your audience insights and demographics

The demographics section of your analytics reveals important information about your TikTok followers, such as their:

• Age
• Location
• Gender

Another reason not to buy TikTok followers is that this info will be useless if the accounts aren’t real.

Adjust your content strategy based on analytics

Put all this information together and you have some powerful insights into what type of content you should be creating. For example, if you create content about parenting and your TikTok followers tend to be women aged 25 to 34, you know you’re finding the right people and the right TikTok followers. Or, if participating in a hashtag challenge results in more engagements than other content, you know it’s a good strategy to continue doing those challenges.

Gaining TikTok followers correlates with views, like, and comments, so follow the data.

10. Stay up to date with TikTok trends and features

Finally, keep your TikTok account fresh and relevant by keeping up with what’s new on the platform.

Follow TikTok's official updates and announcements

Keep on top of TikTok updates by following official channels, such as:

• TikTok’s newsroom
• Your country’s TikTok account on Twitter
• TikTok For Business announcements

Explore new video editing tools and effects

TikTok is constantly updating the app with new editing tools and effects. For example, in 2021, TikTok added Giphy animations and the ability to upload high-quality videos.

The effects gallery almost always has something fresh to play with, like trendy AI filters.

You can also try a TikTok video editor like Kapwing to create something unique. Just remember to keep all your text and overlays in the safe zone.

Participate in viral challenges and memes

The best content creators on TikTok love to experiment with new challenges and memes. Not only is this great for the algorithm, but it shows that you’re an active participant on the platform.

For example, the green and red flag filter have been massively popular on the platform for summer 2023.

@kyliejenner

♬ original sound - Kylie Jenner

Experiment with new TikTok features

TikTok is always adding new features to enhance your content and profile. TikTok playlists, for example, are a more recent addition to the app and allow you to curate your videos into lists.

New TikTok followers come from creating great content

Why would you ever buy TikTok followers when there are so many other ways to gain followers organically?

Attracting new TikTok followers really comes down to gaining more exposure for your account, and that means creating consistent, high-quality content based on analytics. Before you’re tempted to buy TikTok followers, give these methods a try. It won’t happen overnight, but with time and persistence, you’ll be growing your account with real TikTok followers that genuinely love your content and your TikTok account.

TikTok followers FAQ

Who has the most followers on TikTok?

The most-followed TikTok account is Khaby Lame, known for his humor and silent reactions.

Should I buy TikTok followers?

No — buying TikTok followers will not actually help your account. When you buy TikTok followers, you’re typically buying follows from bots or dead accounts. That won’t result in any likes, comments, or other engagements. Real TikTok followers will actually interact with your content and be true fans.

Where can I buy cheap TikTok followers?

There are definitely people who will try to sell you cheap TikTok followers, but you shouldn’t do it. When you buy TikTok followers, you’ll get followers but no interactions like comments, likes, and shares — and that’s what you actually need to grow your TikTok account. True TikTok fans will follow you because your content is great.

Is buying TikTok followers worth it?

No! Only genuine TikTok followers are there because you make great content and will actually interact with your account.

How do you get followers on TikTok?

Getting TikTok followers is all about creating high-quality, consistent quality. Try participating in TikTok challenges and trends, studying your TikTok analytics, and collaborating with other creators.

How can I make my TikTok account grow faster?

To grow your TikTok account, you need to make it easier for people to discover it. The best way to do that is to find your niche and connect with fans who love that content. Also, try participating in challenges and using trending audio and filters.

Why do I need 1,000 TikTok followers?

You need 1,000 TikTok followers in order to go live on the app. Additionally, you need 10,000 TikTok followers to join the Creator Fund.