How I grew my following to 100k on TikTok
Let me just start off by saying… if you do not have a TikTok, get one! Let’s go back to March 2020 when I started working from home & the world was shut down. I was bored. Very bored. And I had been seeing these “TikTok” dance videos & of course thought I was way too old for that app. BUT, me being me, I wanted to see what this whole thing was & how I could join in. So I did! Downloaded the app & started creating content and hopped on some of the trends.
I hopped on one trend and put my own spin on it and WOW, it blew up. I could not believe it. I was honestly just on there having fun because I found something to preoccupy me while I was stuck in my house. As I continued to create content that I found funny and insightful, I started to organically grow my followers and views.
Consistency truly is key with ANYTHING that you do and anything you want to master. I know we say this all of the time, but you won’t become famous with one video – that one video could go viral & it could gain you exposure, but you have to keep going after that. People want to learn more about you and your brand, so if you find your niche, STICK WITH IT.
That is the biggest piece of advice when it comes to TikTok & social media in general. Find your niche. And I’m telling you… it could be as specific as being “the girl who travels around & tries donuts and rates them” – no, but really, that is a thing & she has hundreds of thousands of followers.
It took me a while to nail down my “brand” or “niche”, but I started to recognize over time that the content that did the best was relatable millennial and/or mom content. That was my audience that I was speaking to and they want entertaining/relatable videos – ones they can tag their friends in and go “this is SO you!”. The more shareable and relatable your content the better because it will be shared on people’s instagram stories, be sent to their friends/family via text and they’ll tag people in the comments. More engagement, the better.
It took me a while to find my brand, but I would never have found it if I didn’t continue to post content that I loved and videos that I personally found funny. I started to build an audience of millennial women with my same sense of humor & that’s the best part! So again, consistency… KEEP POSTING.
For example, one of my videos that went viral was “getting ready at 21, 25 & 30” and I put my own spin on each age and since I’m 30 and a millennial, my audience related to it. That video now has over 7 million views! Crazy.
Another big tip is to hop on the audio trends. If you spend time on TikTok scrolling through, you will start to see the same videos & hear the same audios/songs. People take these and put their own spin on it that pertains to their specific audience. You can change the background, text, outfit, whatever to make it your own. And the great thing to know about TikTok is that everyone shares the same ideas, so don’t feel like you’re copying someone else. We all do & just change it up to fit our brand!
Lastly, be YOURSELF. Instagram has been a platform for years that has promoted “perfection” and luckily that is changing thanks to IG Reels, but TikTok I feel is the opposite. If you’re an outsider, you might feel TikTok is a dancing platform or full of Gen Z’s, but I’m telling you that is SUCH a small portion. You see people of all ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, hobbies etc. that are famous for just being themselves. If anything, I feel the content that does the best on TikTok is very vulnerable, authentic and genuine hence why I love the app so much. It’s a place where you can promote your brand/niche and find others who have the same interests & personality as you.
If you are looking to build your personal brand or business, you NEED to be on TikTok. It doesn’t matter if you have a product or service based business or if you are a dentist office, girl who loves trying new donuts, single dad looking to connect with others, millennial mom… it’s open to everyone and it can be HUGE for your growth.