To build a loyal following on TikTok, it takes time and effort and no critical mistakes. Creators in an oversaturated market tend to forget what really engages audiences. You don’t want people to click that follow button and then leave, you want them to stick around.
However, nearly every popular TikTok creator has made errors that have hampered their growth at some point. The difference is learning from these slip-ups quickly, not repeating them, and realigning best practices.
Whether you’re just starting out or are already famous on TikTok, fundamental flaws will always cost you followers. Eliminate these issues, and you’ll set your profile up for stability and continued expansion.
Not Having a Consistent Brand Image
Having an inconsistent brand image is one of the biggest mistakes TikTok creators make. When your content, profile aesthetic, captions, and messaging don’t align, viewers quickly become confused by who you are and what you stand for.
To remedy this:
- Niche down, and what’s the hook that makes you stand out amongst the rest of TikTok?
- Craft branding elements like logos, color schemes, fonts, etc., that visually identify you.
- Post content that is related to your niche.
- Your captions and text overlays should all be a part of your recognizable brand voice and style.
While some creators may be tempted to grow quickly by buying cheap TikTok followers, it’s essential to ensure these followers align with your brand. A solid brand image telegraphs authenticity and keeps your audience engaged.
Posting Low-Quality Videos
High-quality videos are table stakes in the major leagues of TikTok. With advanced filters, editing capabilities, and effects at the creators’ fingertips, viewers expect a polished product.
Common video issues that detract from quality include:
- Pixelated or blurry footage.
- Bad lighting.
- Choppy editing.
- Background noise or echo.
- Horizontal videos instead of vertical.
Find out the most popular videos in your niche to replicate or surpass their production value. Set up a schedule so there is enough time for editing. Get a little bit of equipment, like ring lights, microphones, and editing software.
In return, you get a steady stream of fun, professional-quality videos.
Not Using Enough Hashtags
Hashtags unlock the discoverability of your TikToks to new viewers searching niche topics. Strategically placing relevant hashtags in captions allows the right people to encounter your content.
Best practices for harnessing hashtags’ power include:
- Place 3-5 niche hashtags at the start of captions.
- Sprinkle additional widely used hashtags throughout.
- Search top and trending hashtags for inspiration.
- Use a mix of niche tags and viral tags.
- Create your own branded hashtag to aggregate content.
Aim for 8-12 well-chosen hashtags per post, as too many can seem spammy.
Posting Inconsistently
While it can be tempting to fire daily posts when you start a TikTok account rapidly, this pace is unsustainable in the long term for most creators. But the flip side – sporadic and infrequent posting – isn’t ideal either.
To balance quality and quantity:
- Assess what posting cadence you can realistically manage.
- Aim for a minimum of 2 videos per week.
- Schedule videos in advance for consistent output without burnout.
- Space out posting times rather than batch uploads.
- Notify viewers of posting schedules or planned breaks.
This nurtures engaged followers who know when to expect new content.
Not Engaging With Your Audience
TikTok isn’t merely a broadcast channel for your content and brand. To flourish, you need a two-way relationship with viewers built on engagement.
Tactics to properly engage followers include:
- Respond to comments and questions.
- Ask questions and prompt discussion.
- Run polls to survey opinions.
- Go live to chat in real-time.
- Follow back other accounts and collaborate.
- Share user-generated content showing appreciation.
This community-building cements loyalty and gives followers a vested interest in you.
Forgetting Calls to Action
Calls to action provide clear direction to viewers on the next steps after watching your video. Without explicit CTAs, the viewer’s journey often dead-ends after consumption.
Effective call-to-action strategies involve:
- Displaying your handle and a strong follow-up call-to-action.
- Adding links to other social profiles in captions.
- Developing custom slates, graphics, or text encouraging follows shares, etc.
- Promoting your website, online store, or affiliate links.
- Prompting viewers to engage with your other videos.
This moves viewers down the marketing funnel from awareness to conversion.
Not Using Analytics
TikTok analytics provide a wealth of insight into audience demographics and video performance. Failing to consult this data leads to guesswork rather than informed decisions.
Review analytics to:
- Gauge overall account growth and health benchmarks.
- Discover your top-performing videos.
- Identify peak audience age groups and countries reached.
- Assess average view duration and drop-off rates.
- See the highest traffic sources and which videos drive follows.
- Inform content planning and strategy pivots.
Measure and optimize efforts for maximum impact.
Neglecting SEO
While hashtags help surface videos, TikTok’s algorithm also weights titles and descriptions for better exposure in searches. Ignoring this on-platform SEO hampers potential visibility.
Enhance SEO with:
- Keyword research to identify top searches in your niche.
- Strategic titling with primary keywords upfront.
- Descriptions expanded beyond auto-populated captions.
- Additional keyword integration in captions.
This gives the algorithm more signals to rank and recommend content correctly.
Overlooking TikTok Ads
Organic content can only take you so far on TikTok. Amplifying reach through paid advertising unlocks exponential growth potential most creators fail to utilize.
TikTok ads build awareness by:
- Retargeting cold viewers from your page with video views.
- Displaying your content to new audiences that match your target demographic.
- Driving massive consistent traffic to accelerate conversions.
- Complementing organic efforts with the wider broadcast.
Budget even small sums towards testing ads. The platform makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
What Not to Do on TikTok
Beyond direct follower-limiting mistakes, certain actions violate TikTok’s community guidelines and terms, leading to account suspensions or outright bans. Do NOT:
- Post illegal, dangerous, or adult content.
- Bully, harass or defame others.
- Infringe on intellectual property with unauthorized usage.
- Automate likes, comments, follows, or reposts.
- Buy views, likes, comments, or followers.
- Reveal private information without consent.
Tread carefully as TikTok moderation cracks down on policy violations. A banned account destroys your entire follower investment and brand presence.
Conclusion
Gaining followers means pleasing followers first and foremost. Avoid disengaging existing viewers, implement best practices, and put your audience at the center of every strategic decision.
TikTok presents monumental potential, but only if you build relationships correctly from the start. Once you eliminate these core mistakes, you gain trust and loyalty, forging an unstoppable foundation geared for expansion.
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