With over one billion monthly active users, TikTok is quickly emerging as a tool essential to help fans discover new brands and music. In fact, 75% of TikTok users say they discover new artists through TikTok, and 63% of TikTok users have discovered new music on the platform. While TikTok presents many game-changing opportunities for artists, navigating the latest social platform to hit the market can take time. What worked on Instagram doesn’t necessarily work on TikTok; you’ll have to create different content in each channel to grow your followers. So, we put together some tips to help you take your TikTok to the next level, along with a pretty kick-ass way to unmask anonymous fans:

  1. Be authentic
  2. Make content that fits your brand. Users will see through it if you only promote your brand and are less likely to engage. So, connect with your fans in a way that isn’t possible with entertaining, unfiltered, and authentic content.
  3. Keep it short
  4. Attention spans are deteriorating, and TikTok’s algorithm skews heavily in favor of videos that tend to be shorter. Why? The algorithm equates the video ending and replays as a sign that your content is valuable and will push your content to more for you pages. The rule of thumb is to stay around 15 seconds for stronger watch times and video completion numbers.
  5. Deanonymize your TikTok followers
  6. What’s the point of all this growth if your audience remains anonymous? Better understand who is engaging with you on TikTok through a link in bio. Unmask passive fans and reward your most loyal fans with a branded epicenter for fan engagement that can be used across all your social media platforms.
  7. Explore TikTok Ads
  8. You can tailor TikTok advertising to your needs. From in-feed videos to Spark ads, there’s something for everyone. Similar to Facebook Ads, you can select your objective, budget, placement, custom audiences, and more.
  9. Post often
  10. To grow your audience, you’ll have to post regularly. But remember: keep your video content high quality to get people to stop doom scrolling on the app. Aim for a few times a week, but more is better.
  11. Build relationships with influencers to boost awareness
  12. With about 25% of all TikTok content curated by influencers, building partnerships with them will be crucial. They can help expand your reach by sharing you with their audience and boost you onto more for your pages (think personalized playlist of videos unique to every user).
  13. Be engaging
  14. Frequent user engagement can drive more people to check out your profile as long as your comments are authentic and not boring! Take some time to engage with other TikTokers by commenting on their videos (especially if they’re using your music!). Stitch popular videos featuring your content.
  15. Use closed captions
  16. Closed captions improve engagement and SEO. They also help make your content more accessible to a global audience. Even if you post music, overlay it with the lyrics–think karaoke so fans can focus on their devices and your content.
  17. Connect with your target audience
  18. It’d be fantastic if we could connect with the one billion monthly active users on TikTok, but realistically, you’ll have to find your audience. TikTok approaches it slightly differently. The TikTok algorithm supports smaller subcategories rather than broad categories or niches like music, art, or sports. Think elder emo, 90’s music challenges, dance challenges, #CottageCore. Thousands of subcultures fragment the audience, but if you can carve out your group, you can transcend categories like age, gender, or location. These modern tribes are exploding across TikTok, sharing their passions, engaging with one another, and discovering new ways to share their enthusiasm. Brands that can tap into a subculture can elevate themselves to cult status. These audiences will be potentially more valuable to artists in the long run.
  19. How can you find your subculture? One of the fastest ways is to explore hashtags. Type in an interest or keyword in the search bar, and you’ll see hashtags used in that conversation and the number of views they’re getting.
  20. Track your metrics
  21. TikTok has analytics built into its platform. And, if you have a Business or Pro account, you have more data at your fingertips. Use this data to inform your TikTok strategy. Find out what videos connected with your audience and what landed flat.

Some brands may stumble into TikTok infamy. But don’t worry–your growth doesn’t have to be accidental. If you incorporate these ten steps, you can set yourself up for success on the platform. As you build your audience, bring them to Volume.com with weekly livestreams like Chloe Collins, a streamer who uses her TikTok audience to grow her community on Volume.com and drives revenue by keeping 100% of her tips.