How To Get More Followers on TikToK in 2025

In a wide landscape of social media-driven growth, TikTok’s built-in discovery engine has proved a huge lever for companies looking to expand their audience. Over the last two years, the platform has layered on TikTok Shop, the Creator Affiliate program, and long-form uploads—reflecting serious efforts to become not just a social media site—but a search engine.

From auto products to consulting, workflow automation, and local services, TikTok has placed itself among the top players in customer acquisition pathways. According to Sprout Social’s 2025 TikTok Metrics, the platform still delivers the highest average engagement rate—2.5 %—of any major network. Social proof delivered through short-form video has shifted from nice-to-have to a baseline expectation for small and medium-sized businesses. This article aims to guide you through key growth tactics, each backed by actionable steps you can take to get started this week.

Optimize Your TikTok Profile for Instant Clarity

A username guide by Sitepoint, tells us that a clear message can make or break a user’s intent to revisit your page, and eventually convert into business. When looking to get found on TikTok, this can be especially useful. Social media users are constantly bombarded with tons of ads, content, and clickbait – it’s easy to lose attention as soon as you gain it.

Your bio should be easily digestible. Approach it like a concise thesis statement – aiming to communicate as much value with the most clarity and the fewest characters. Your bio should be a one-liner value proposition with a keyword that accurately reflects user search intent.

• Usernames should avoid random characters and stay below 10 characters.
• Users should be able to easily identify your product or service at a glance.
• Implement a link-in-bio strategy, use platforms like Linktree to optimize for multiple links instead of one. Optimize link listing from the highest converting to the lowest. If you’re familiar with your SOV, this can help you choose how to order them.

Make your page easy to remember and easy to find.

Define Repeatable Content Pillars and a Niche

Posting in too many areas can confuse the algorithm of where to send your product or services to. And while you may still get views, it’ll be much more difficult to convert a customer who’s simply not interested in your niche.

• Choose themes that map straight to your offer (tutorials, case studies) and resist the temptation to chase every viral trend.
• Catch users’ attention by kicking off with motion like jump-ins, fast cuts, bold overlays, and meme-able contexts to create an immediate sense of urgency.
• Track saves by community;  double down on the clusters that beat your account average, because that engagement translates into higher-intent traffic.

The bottom line: TikTok rewards specialization over generalization. While it’s tempting to cast a wide net and chase every trending sound or challenge, the algorithm—and your conversion rates—favor depth over breadth. By committing to your specific interest communities and speaking their language consistently, you build the kind of authentic authority that transforms casual scrollers into loyal customers. Remember, you don’t need to be everywhere on TikTok; you just need to be exactly where your ideal customers are already spending their time.

Aim for Audience Retention

Dwell-time refers to the retention rate your videos receive when a user falls on your video. The more they consume your form of content, the more likely they are to watch it all the way through.

TikTok prioritizes and pushes content based on a point system, and retention rate (how many people watch through 70%+) is a large factor in how much further they’ll push your content out to other users. Choose themes that map straight to your offer (tutorials, case studies) and resist the temptation to chase every viral trend. Align captions, spoken keywords, and hashtags so TikTok’s model can reliably route you to the right topic neighborhood.

• Front-load keywords and treat captions as meta titles.
• Voicing the primary terms in one sentence, then reinforcing with bold mid-screen subtitles that mirror the audio, allows TikTok’s SEO pipeline to send your content to the correct niche.

Create a familiar vibe. Using opening hooks like “wait till you see…”, “oh my ….”, while promising a reveal and keeping the camera conversational, can lead to an immediate sense of familiarity with the audience.

Post Consistently at Audience Peak Times

Timing is a key multiplier behind every high-performing TikTok account. According to Shopify’s 2025, ‘Best Time to Post’ study, brands that post in their top three follower‑activity windows lifted median views by 30 %. Your analytics may reveal when followers cluster on the app – posting during these windows puts content at the forefront of primed scroll. Consistency then trains the model to expect you, rewarding punctual uploads with faster distribution and steadier reach.

Volume is a diagnostic tool, not necessarily a vanity metric. Launch with a sprint to collect enough engagement data for statistical weight. Once patterns emerge, taper to the minimum frequency that sustains ≥80 % of your peak reach, preserving quality while protecting creative bandwidth.

• Start with roughly 2-4 posts per day, tag each video A, B, C, D in a simple spreadsheet so you can spot performance patterns by slot.
• Audit TikTok Analytics to spot peak windows. Export the hourly heat-map and highlight the three most interactive books–those are your key conversion windows.
• Compare weekday and weekend spikes, many SMB accounts see a secondary surge around Sunday evenings when users plan their week. Monitor bi-monthly, follower peaks may shift as you gain new audiences and TikTok’s recommendation algorithm re-routes them.

Content output scales fastest when treated as an operational process, not a daily creative gamble. By compressing production into a single sprint and automating release, you protect bandwidth for revenue-driving tasks while your feed stays reliably active. By dedicating one content sprint morning per week, you can script, film, and rough-edit 10–12 clips in one block while your lighting and energy are consistent.

Leverage Trending Sounds, Challenges, and Hashtags

Sound is TikTok’s routing language; choose the right track and your video immediately rides the momentum of every clip in the same audio pool. Taking advantage of this requires balancing discoverability with brand control.

Hashtags work similarly to indexing, as they’re practically search keywords that double as distribution signals. Using them is essential to reaching the right audience, especially if you’re still looking to grow a following for your brand.

• Use trending sounds with the orange Sponsored tag often carry a CPM boost; save them to Favorites and jump on them within 48 hours.
• Use 3–5 hyper-relevant tags (#CleanBeautyBrands, #FPVDroneTips) plus 1–2 mass tags (#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt) to widen discovery without confusing the algo.
• Jumping on a viral meme can flood your impressions, but trend-hopping only converts when the audience can still recognize who’s speaking.

The goal is to graft your expertise, aesthetics, and funnel cues onto borrowed momentum so that every new set of eyeballs lands on a fully formed brand.

Reply, Pin, and Encourage Comments to Signal Engagement

According to the TikTok content guide, the algorithm is more likely to push your content when users actively engage with it through commenting. TBy inviting users to do so, you increase the likelihood of stronger engagement. A CTA calls viewers in to directly engage with your content, creating a self-feeding loop that converts to a higher span of attention.

• End videos with a two-choice hook by asking for a snap verdict – ex. “hot or not” ? – to cut decision time and spike comment count.
• Trade insight for input by incentivizing users with a small offer, ex. “Comment ‘brew’ and we’ll DM you the code for 30% off”. Doing this exchanges expertise for engagement, raising both reply and save rates.

Reply with video comments to top or commonly asked questions, answering in video format turns a single query into fresh content and re-notifies the asker’s followers—an organic reach multiplier that costs nothing but a quick record.

• Responding within 24 hours is best. Tap “Reply with video” on high-engagement questions before momentum cools; the original commenter’s network gets an automatic ping.
• Pin high-value comments to elevate proof points by showcasing testimonials, expert shout-outs, or media mentions in pin slots to reassure cold visitors instantly.

Collaborate with Creators and Brands

Partnerships allow your brand to borrow relevance and credibility with audiences that may not be familiar with you—often at a fraction of paid-media cost. Duet or Stitch content adding genuine insight. Only remix clips when you’re able to shift the conversation, not just mirror it. Treat the original video as a springboard into fresh data, a live demo, or a contrarian angle that points users to your product or service.

Micro-influencer partnerships for budget efficiency. According to Brandwatch’s 2025 analysis, micro-influencers with less than 10k followers average engagement rates above 10%, dwarfing those of larger influencers. Mid-tier creators sit close enough to their audiences to spark real action while charging a fraction of macro rates. Leverage that intimacy by aligning incentives to performance and giving talent the freedom to sound like themselves—your brand credibility will rise with theirs.

Co-brand mini-series to cross-pollinate your audiences. A tightly planned three-part arc lets two brand pools reach an authority point without confusing the viewer. Consistent visuals and a joint finale turn casual overlap into a lasting, dually owned community.

• Design a unified visual motif—same color bar or SFX—so binge-watchers instantly recognize a series.
• Enter the TikTok Shop Affiliate Program to have influencers automatically sign up to market your products for a profit share.

The key is to integrate other voices without diluting your own, so every collaboration feels like added insight rather than rented reach.

Host TikTok Live Sessions

Livestreaming can be a strong way to actively engage consumers while you have their attention. Now’s the time to answer questions, promote upcoming products, and create real connection with your audience.

Interactive demos of the product/service in real time. Invite viewers to vote in poll stickers that may peak their interest (“Which variant first?”) and unbox top products live. Use alternate camera angles like overhead and close-up to mimic the in-store tactile experience. Drop limited-time discount codes in chat, and track code usage to quantify Live ROI.

Save Live replay for evergreen content bank. Trim moments of dead air, then publish as a long-form evergreen video. Lives often hold 2-3x average watch-time.

• Plan a routine around your livestreams, and promote them 24 hours ahead in stories.
• Slice top questions into 30-second clips for Reels/Shorts.

Strategic timing maximizes live attendance. Schedule Lives during your analytics-proven peak hours, but test counter-intuitive slots too—early morning Lives often capture commute traffic, while late-night sessions can build intimate community feels.

Cross-promote on Email, IG Stories, Shorts + Website

Avoid keeping your TikTok videos stuck on the app alone—use them to boost your other marketing channels too. Sharing content strategically across platforms allows for your reach to really add up over time.

Embed top TikToks on blog posts and landing pages. Drop the native HTML into blog posts; dwell time on the page can jump by 25 % and boost SEO. Feature one TikTok above the fold on product pages as UGC proof. Be sure to refresh embeds monthly to showcase new social proof.

• Adding “Follow us on TikTok” CTA in email footer & receipts can be an easy reminder to the user to stay updated on your products.
• Using the export tool to remove TikTok watermarks through tools like CapCut or SnapTik, prior to uploading, allows for wider, more authentic useability.
• Rewarding cross-platform followers with an exclusive discount code announced only on TikTok can positively encourage cross-channel interaction.

Embedding TikTok content on your website can also drive increased quality traffic by boosting buyer confidence, meaning you’re more likely to see conversions from your target audience.

Test Smart Paid Boosts When Organic Plateaus

Paid advertising on TikTok should amplify what’s already working, not attempt to force virality on underperforming content. According to a Rival IQ benchmark report, TikTok ads have an average engagement rate of 5-16%, meaning for companies that target the right customers, conversion rates may be higher than any other platform.

Tools can also be useful for automating these processes. Use Spark Ads on proven posts and repurpose them to set a follower growth objective. CPG brands running Spark Ads saw 96% higher paid media ROAS vs. other channels.

• Only boost videos that already hit >1.5× account average engagement; paid spend amplifies signals, it can’t create them.
• Set the objective to profile visits if follower growth is your KPI; CTR doubles versus video views campaigns.
• Keep the comment function on—social proof fuels cheaper CPMs.
• Schedule budgets to surge during seasonal peaks (e.g., Black Friday) where ad inventory tightens.

When starting with ads, begin with $20-30/day, and optimize after 3-5 days of seeing how they work. According to a 2025 Shopify article on TikTok ads, TikTok’s minimum ad group budget is $20 (and $50 per campaign).

After doing so, write off any ad with CPA >1.3× organic baseline. Duplicate winning ads and tweak the thumbnail for the first three seconds; fresh-creative resets fatigue without losing momentum. Retarget engaged viewers by prompting them to follow. By doing so, you can build up a custom audience of users who’ve watched a high concentration of your videos in a two-week span.

When isolating this audience, use follow-up prompt ads or a deep-discount code to encourage purchases. Layer lookalike audiences (1%-3%) of that segment once ROAS proves to be stable. Aim for an average ROAS of 1.67, this will ensure TikTok delivers solid value, especially when paired with performance-driven formats like Spark Ads or Video Shopping Ads.

Organize Your Videos into Playlists & Series for Binge-Worthy Viewing

When creating content, cluster it such that newcomers binge. Create playlists like “Zero-to-Launch Tutorials” or “30-Second Recipes” so first-timers instantly self-select. Use episode numbers (Part 1/5) in titles; completion of one episode boosts the recommendation of the next. End each part with an on-screen button “Watch Part 2 ↗” to funnel sequential views.

• Add persuasive and informative playlist titles & covers. Use cover frames like a bright background with a one-line benefit, ex. “Grow herbs indoors”.
• Re-share top playlists in stories every month for fresh entry points, even better if you continue to add to them.
• TikTok will automatically place your playlist link under the videos you add it to it.

To add compounding discoverability, answer new questions with a stitched video and append it to the same playlist.

From Strategy to Sustainable Growth

Success on TikTok comes from mixing creativity with smart planning. Sure, going viral may give you that quick boost, but real, steady growth happens when you stick to strategies that are actually working.

Start with the foundation, scale with data.  Implementing 2-3 strategies that align with your current capabilities works best. Master these before adding complexity. Use TikTok Analytics religiously—export weekly reports to track pattern changes over time. What was working six months ago may no exactly be the way today; data is to revealing these shifts.

Consistency and quality make the biggest difference. Regularly posting great content allows genuine interaction with your followers, just keep tweaking the approach based on what works, and the results will compound.

• TikTok is a constantly evolving platform, so keeping up is integral. Accounts that pick up on new features sooner often receive boosts from the algorithm. Make sure to stay informed on feature updates through creator newsletters, beta programs, and community forums.
• Use your established content strategies to test out new features.

Your next steps start now. Set specific metrics for success—follower growth rate, engagement percentage, or conversion targets. The gap between knowledge and results is action. And while the opportunity on TikTok remains massive, the window for easy growth continues to narrow as competition intensifies. Track progress, stay consistent, and with time, your audience should grow authentically.