How to Get Followers on TikTok (150k+ in Under a Year!)

Wondering how to get followers on TikTok? When I started on TikTok, I remember not having a clue how to make a video.

I looked up videos on YouTube to try and figure it out and found it to be somewhat overwhelming at first. But I pushed past the learning curve, and after a few tutorials, I eventually got the hang of it.

I tested a few different types of videos and found a “style” that seemed to get more traffic. I stayed consistent with it, and a few videos later I found myself sitting at 150,000+ followers! 

Can you go viral on TikTok overnight? Absolutely. It’s nuts sometimes. But here’s the catch: Like most things, it doesn’t just happen by snapping your fingers. You’re going to need to do some work and apply a couple of tactics to get the results you want. 

And it doesn’t stop at fame and virality. Once you’ve picked up some traction, you can learn how to make money from your TikTok account.

So if you’re new to TikTok and are looking to grow your following, you’re in the right place. In this article, I’m going to share the methods that I used to get 150,000 followers in under one year. These tactics are sure to help you increase your reach and attract more viewers.

Whether you’re just starting, or you’ve been using TikTok for a while and haven’t seen the results you want, keep reading!

How to get more followers on TikTok

Here are the main methods that I used to get 150K+ followers on TikTok in under one year.

Identify your target audience

If you want to know how to get more followers on TikTok, you’re going to have to know who you’re targeting. But how can you identify this?

It’s pretty simple actually. First, look at the types of TikToks you like to watch. What topics are you interested in? What TikToks make you laugh or inspire you?

If you’re not sure what types of videos you’re interested in, spend some time on the For You page on TikTok and you’ll get a feel for what you like.

Once you have a good sense of the types of TikToks that you enjoy, you can start to narrow down your target audience.

For example, if you’re interested in fashion, your target audience might be TikTok users who are also interested in fashion. Or, if you’re interested in comedy, your target audience might be TikTok users who are also interested in comedy.

For me, it was pretty simple. I’m a graphic designer and not only love coming across cool and thought-provoking work, but I also enjoyed seeing the designer’s process so that I can learn a thing or two.

By identifying your target audience and focusing on getting targeted followers, you can make sure that your videos are seen by the right people and get more TikTok fans and followers in the process.

Consistency is key

When it comes to short-form content like TikTok, consistency is the name of the game. You can’t grow an account or get high view counts if you don’t do this.

There are several reasons why posting TikTok videos consistently can help you get more followers on the platform.

First, it helps you build up a body of work that potential followers can watch and enjoy. Second, it shows that you’re committed to using the platform and creating content, which can encourage others to follow you. Finally, by posting regularly, you’re more likely to show up in people’s feeds and be seen by potential followers.

For myself, I aimed at posting one TikTok per day and was happy with the results. I’ve tested posting only once a week and my view counts dipped dramatically.

You can play around with the frequency of your video uploads, but from my experience, you’ll want to post at least one a day. If you can post 2-3 times a day, even better. Any more than that, the quality of your videos might suffer. It’s all about finding a balance between quality and quantity and maintaining both!

Ultimately, consistency is key when it comes to growing your following on TikTok or any other social media platform. By posting quality content regularly, you’ll have the best chance of attracting new followers and keeping them engaged.

Stir up controversy

TikTok is all about being creative and having fun. But how do you get more TikTok followers? One way to get more followers is to create controversy. That’s right, go against the grain and stir up some trouble.

Whether you’re taking a stand on a current issue or just goofing around, creating controversy is a great way to get more followers on TikTok. After all, people love to watch drama unfold.

As much as this can easily get you more TikTok followers, in my opinion, creating controversy isn’t something you’ll necessarily want to strive for. However, it’s still a good thing to be aware of. I once got five million views on a TikTok video by unintentionally “stirring the pot.”

Were the comments from TikTok users mostly negative? Absolutely. You have to have some thick skin when you put yourself out there on social media. But at the end of the day, these comments (both positive and negative) were pushing my video up the algorithm. So I was the winner at the end of the day.

Rather than putting out intentionally controversial content and getting people angry and divided (the world is divided enough as it is), see if you can create videos that spark a conversation and get people talking. If you do end up stirring up controversy, ignore the negative comments and just roll with it. You’ll be sky-rocketing up the algorithm in no time.

So if you can get people talking, you’re more likely to attract new followers. Just be sure not to take things too far – you don’t want to end up getting banned from TikTok!

Throw in a call to action

If you’re wondering how to get more followers on TikTok, one strategy is to include a call to action in your video descriptions. This lets your target audience know what you want them to do, whether it’s subscribing to your channel, following your Instagram account, or checking out your website.

By specifying the action, you want people to take, you’re more likely to get the results you’re looking for because it plants a seed in their minds for how they could take action if they enjoyed your content. In addition, a call to action can help to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to follow through with your request while they’re still engaged with your content.

The videos I posted on TikTok were behind-the-scenes of my graphic design process, so it only made sense for me to encourage people to take a look at my work on Instagram for the static version of my work in higher quality. This meant a percentage of people who found me on TikTok would follow me on Instagram as well, so I would be getting followers from two channels: natively from Instagram, and externally from TikTok.

Since Instagram is a lot more difficult to grow on compared to TikTok, this is a great way to get another stream of followers to your Instagram account. Just make sure you have connected your Instagram account to your TikTok, and try not to constantly tell people to follow you on Instagram. This might get annoying for people and they’ll want to unfollow you, so remember to remain engaging and likable in your TikTok descriptions.

With so many videos competing for attention on TikTok, making sure yours stand out from the crowd is essential for success. Including a call to action is one way to do that and get the followers you want.

Cross-promote on other platforms

Platforms like TikTok have taken the social media world by storm in recent years. With their unique format and engaging content, they’ve managed to attract a large audience.

One of the most popular questions among TikTok users is how to get more followers on TikTok. While there’s no simple answer, one strategy that can be effective is cross-promoting on other platforms. By sharing your TikTok content on other social media platforms, you can reach a wider audience and encourage people to follow you on TikTok.

There are a couple of ways that you can do this. First, you can connect your other social media accounts on social media platforms. For example, I connected my Instagram to my TikTok so that an Instagram icon appeared on my TikTok profile. This made it easy for people to access my other social profiles and allowed me to get more followers as a whole.

Secondly, you can use the footage you’ve already recorded for your TikTok on other social media platforms as well. If you already have footage, you may as well repurpose it on other platforms! I did this by recording videos, importing them to TikTok, and editing and uploading them to the platform. Then I used those same videos for Instagram Reels.

Finally, you can partner with brands or other influencers within your niche and promote/share each other’s videos. For example, if you find someone in your niche who is doing well and you like their content, reach out to them and see if you can share each other’s videos. You both win in the end and reach new audiences interested in the same subject.

Don’t look at other accounts in your niche as your enemy or competition. Rather, see them as an opportunity where you can both benefit and support each other!

With a little effort, you can start to get more TikTok followers and build a following to reach a larger audience.

Use hashtags and songs to leverage trends

Let’s not forget about hashtags! Hashtags are one of the most important tools on TikTok for increasing your reach and getting more TikTok followers.

To use hashtags effectively, you need to research relevant and trending hashtags that will help get your content in front of more people. You can also use TikTok’s Discover page to see which hashtags are popular at the moment.

Unfortunately in May 2022, TikTok removed the “Discover” tab which used to be on the main menu of the TikTok app, and replaced it with “Now.” Most people aren’t fans of the change (myself included).

The Discover tab was the place where you could access the latest trends and hashtags. I would often scroll through this tab and make a list of hashtags and songs that I could use in my videos to get the best results possible.

Before you start grieving the loss of the Discover tab, there is a way to “resurrect” it from the dead.

Simply log out of your TikTok account temporarily and the Discover tab will reappear on the bottom menu. You can now scroll through and write down the trending hashtags that are relevant to the content to want to create and include them in your video. Once complete, log back into your TikTok account and make your video.

But the question remains: What kind of hashtags should you include in your videos, and how many?

Generally speaking, when you post a video, be sure to include a few relevant hashtags as well as generally popular ones so that people can find your content more easily.

I would always go for the hashtags that were the most used which worked for me. If this doesn’t seem to work for you, try and use a mix of hashtags that are used a lot and not so much. Make trial and error your best friend!

Also, don’t get too obsessive over this. Go with your gut and include whatever you feel fits the most with your content. Search the hashtag and see the top-ranking videos to see if your TikTok will match the user’s search intent.

One of the first TikToks that got traction for me was one where I used #fyp. People liked the video and started commenting “fyp” which played a factor in its virality. Try using this hashtag and other popular ones that are more general to help you get on the For You page and increase your chances of virality.

Regarding the song you should use in your video, I would always look for songs in the “Trending” section and find something upbeat and fun.

It depends on what your content is about and what fits the most. Since I was showing the behind-the-scenes of my design work, which was generally fun and exciting for people to watch so I would match the song with the feeling.

Create engaging content by telling a story

There’s no doubt that TikTok is a great place to reach a huge audience and get TikTok followers with your content. But how do you create engaging TikTok videos that will capture people’s attention and get them to follow you? One way to do this is by telling a story.

People always love stories because they’re relatable and easy to follow. When you’re sharing a story on TikTok, you can use the platform’s features to make it even more engaging.

For example, you can use slow motion or editing to emphasize key points in your story. You can also use music and sound effects to add another layer of interest.

For myself, I never did anything crazy in terms of editing and sound effects. I mostly cut together my video in a “story-like” sequence with a beginning, middle, and end. For example:

• Beginning: Turning on my computer
• Middle: My process
• End: Final result

Simple. The extent of my video editing would be throwing some text on the screen and possibly adding some kind of emoji of sorts at the end. That was it.

That’s one of the things that I love about creating TikTok content and short-form video content in general. You don’t need to buy expensive high-quality equipment. It’s just you and your phone, and a few simple edits that can get you hundreds of thousands, if not millions of views.

By using these tools, you can create content that is both entertaining and informative, and that will help you build a loyal following on TikTok.

Post at peak times

People are always wondering “when” the best time is to post on TikTok. It’s hard to say because there are so many users from around the world.

A general rule of thumb is to find out when most of your audience is online and time your posts according to that. You can do this by going to your profile on the bottom right, going to “Creator tools,” selecting “Analytics,” going to “Followers,” and scrolling down to the bottom.

For me, it looks like the ideal time to post would be 11 am.

Also, it might be worth looking into TikTok Schedulers so you don’t have to worry about missing posting at your “peak” time.

So how will you get more TikTok followers?

It can be daunting to start using a new social media platform, but with a little effort, you can grow your TikTok following in no time.

By identifying your target audience, being consistent in your posts, stirring up controversy, and using hashtags and songs to leverage trends, you can create content that is engaging and will keep people coming back for more as I did.

And that’s just scratching the surface. There are other tactics beyond what we’ve discussed like getting people to duet your content, investing in TikTok ads, trying TikTok Growth Tools, creating User Generated Content, participating in challenges, commenting on videos, using TikTok Bots to go viral, and more. These are just the main methods that I’ve used!

With TikTok, the opportunities are endless and go well beyond TikTok fame and virality. There are plenty of strategies to monetize your TikTok account, from the TikTok Creator Fund to partnering with brands, and so much more.

I hope that you found this helpful. What methods are working for you to grow your TikTok following?