How I Grew From 0 to 100K Followers on TikTok

Looking to grow your online presence on TikTok? I’ve got the goods.

This *might* sound like I’m tooting my own horn a little bit - but what the hell, I’m proud of this:

🎺 I went from 0 to 100K followers on TikTok in less than a year. 🎺

Yep!

In late 2019, I got on TikTok solely for personal use.

I just wanted to see what all the hype was about and have a little fun.

I’d heard about all the hype back when TikTok was called Musically but at the time I was like,

“I’m just a gal in her mid 20’s. Musically is DEFS not made for me.🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️”

But soon, the app really started to pick up steam.

ESPECIALLY when people started to get tired of other social media apps like Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

(I will always be a die-hard Instagram fan, but that’s beside the point 😉.)

So HOW did I go from posting random videos of my dogs to having a following of 100K people? 

Let’s break it down.👇🏻

I Noticed Holes in the Market that I Could Fill

The more familiar I became with TikTok, the more I realized there was a giant gap in the content market that I could fill.

At the start of my TikTok journey, there was very little social media content education.

To fill that gap, I started posting tutorials.

These tutorials were usually screen recordings demonstrating how to use certain social media features or how to improve your social media content.

No voice-over. No showing my face. Nothing. 😬

Just a screen recording and some music for a whole 60 seconds.

Surprise, surprise. These did NOT perform very well. ❌

SO - naturally, I kept evolving.👇🏻

The Inside Scoop On My TikTok Strategy

In March 2020, the pandemic hit and the world was falling apart.

But TikTok had never been doing better.

The online business world was shifting and heading full-speed towards relying heavily on short-form video content.

This is when I decided it was time to implement a solid TikTok strategy. ✅

1.Niching Down is Key

First thing’s first, I niched down to educate business owners *exclusively* on marketing and social media content.

⚡ And this finally hit home with people. ⚡

I started focusing on giving Canva tips, tricks, and hacks and showing off the social media strategies I use with my clients.

And people ate it up.

I realized that if I’m not gonna be doing a viral dance, I better be able to provide the high-value content that people are actively looking for. 💃🏻 

2. Showing Your Face Matters

It’s funny... I’ve been working in social media for so long, but when I first got on TikTok I was like,

“Nooooo, nobody wants to see MY face. Who cares?”

But time and time again, across every social media platform, we see that content that features your face performs a zillion times better.

And of course, people love when you show up with your hair and makeup all done, but TikTok more than any other platform can be SUPER casual. 

Don’t sweat it if you aren’t looking your best. Just get on there and show your smiling face serving up some serious knowledge. ⚡ 

3. Get Their Attention Right Away

I don’t know about you, but when I’m on TikTok I am scrolling FAST. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

Remember this when you’re creating TikTok content.

What I like to do is make sure I grab the audience’s attention in the first 2.8 seconds.

Call me crazy, but that’s the number that seems to work for my ideal audience.

I do this by using my voice to give my viewers a headline about exactly what they will learn in my video. ✅

That way, as long as they have the patience to watch 2.8 seconds of my video, I have a solid chance at getting a view from them (and even better, a follow!)

4.Provide Value Quickly

The more I use TikTok, the more I feel myself getting bored of longer videos on social media.

And I am willing to bet that I’m not the only one who feels this way! 

This is why it’s SO important to provide high-value content as quickly as possible. ⏱️

Yeah - I sometimes use the 60-second feature on TikTok. But that is VERY rare for me.

My priority is making my videos clear, snappy, and fun. 💃🏻

I speak the bullet-points version of the topic and sometimes add extra info in text on the screen.

That way people can pause and read if they need to, but you don’t risk boring your audience with long drawn-out tutorials. 😴

The key thing to understand is that TikTok prioritizes videos that get watched all the way through, as well as videos that get watched more than once.

So if you’re making 60-second long-drawn-out videos, they better be REALLY good if you want people to make it all the way to the end and then to decide to rewatch it. ⚡⚡ 

When you make your TikToks short and sweet, you have a WAY higher chance of having your video favored by the algorithm if your audience is watching AND rewatching your content.

5. Engage With Comments

I am by NO means telling you to respond to every single comment.

That’s just gonna drive you crazy and burn you right out. 😫

What I try to do is a video reply to the most liked comment.

That way, I know what comments people are responding to and getting an opportunity to make another TikTok.

I also L❤️VE the Q and A feature on TikTok.

And while responding to comments or using the Q and A feature does not create my highest performing content, it is an excellent way to give back to my followers and position myself as someone who is there to serve them and help them.

6.Cross-Promote Your Content

TikTok has made it super user-friendly to cross-promote your content all over the place.

So use this feature to your advantage. ✅

One of my favorite ways to do this is to post my new Tik Toks to my Instagram story.

But here’s the trick: I only post PART of my TikTok and use the swipe up feature to direct people to TikTok to view the rest.

This can work for Snapchat Spotlight, Youtube Shorts, Facebook Stories, Twitter - wherever you have the best and most robust following.

Instagram has decided that they do NOT want to make it easy for us to repurpose Tik Toks as reels. They’ve announced that they’ll restrict your reach if you repost a video with a TikTok watermark.

*Sigh...thanks Zuck*

This might sound like a lot of work, but what I’ve chosen to do is recreate my TikTok, but create it natively in the Reels feature. 

My Reel and my TikTok version look almost the same. Same music, message, and lesson.

And friends, I certainly don’t do this for every TikTok I make, just the ones that I think would perform well for my Instagram audience too. 

Even though this might be a little bit of extra work, you’re still saving yourself mental and creative energy by not having to recreate the wheel. 

When people say, TikTok is taking over they are NOT WRONG. ❌

So use this to your advantage and start spreading your Tik Toks across all platforms. ✅

My Unpopular TikTok Opinions

TikTok is literally FULL of people giving tips, tricks, and hacks.

You’re gonna hear people saying,

“Use trending hashtags no matter what! Even if they don’t relate to your content.”

Or,

“Use a trending sound behind a video of you talking at a low volume so you show up under that sound.”

Or all kinds of other crazy things that people promise will help you grow your account.

And friends, I have tried them all. 😂

While maybe it’s my own bad luck, I think I’m on to something when I say these “hacks” often don’t work when you’re trying to grow your following organically.

When it comes to caption writing, I try to put myself in the shoes of someone trying to search for my video.

I stay far, far away from trending tags and keep my hashtags limited to things that are actually related to the content of my video.

Let me show you with a little POP QUIZ. 

If I’m talking about a Canva tutorial, should my caption be:👇🏻

1. Hot tips 🔥🔥🔥 #XYZCA #Sheesh #DiceRoll #CharliDamelio #FYP
   
   OR
   
   
2. Top 3 Canva Features You Need to Know About #CanvaTutorial #CanvaTips #ContentMarketing

If you answered “2” you would be correct. ✅

If someone is trying to find my Canva tutorial how is #XYVCA gonna help them?

🚨Spoiler alert 🚨 It’s not.

This is why I’d rather spend my time providing valuable content over trying to blow up using tips, tricks, and hacks.

I would ALWAYS rather be giving back to my audience and helping them find solutions to their problems. ⚡⚡⚡

The main thing I want you to take away from this post today is to prioritize serving your ideal audience over everything else.

I know the idea of going “viral” can be enticing. 

But DON’T get distracted from your main goal of growing your audience organically.

You’ve got so much to offer! ⭐

Remember to focus and delivering that message clearly and concisely.

Someone is out there looking for the exact kind of content you are making! 

If you are curious to see all these strategies in action I would highly recommend checking out my TikTok @acreativeco here if you haven’t already.

And if you have already subscribed I want to say a huge THANK YOU for joining me on my TikTok journey and being a part of that community.

Best of luck out there! 

And be sure to drop me a question in the Q and A section of my TikTok so we can get all your questions answered. 

WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO 🎥