Content creators and social media managers have one common goal in mind when posting content on TikTok. They want to get their videos out to the widest audience possible. In order to achieve this goal, you need to hack the TikTok algorithm and get your videos recommended to as many users of the app as possible. With thousands of videos uploaded to the site each hour, competition is stiff on TikTok today. Keep reading as we discover how does TikTok decide what to show you and the top ways to beat the TikTok algorithm.
What is the TikTok Algorithm?
Before we go any further and share our recommendations for expanding your reach on TikTok, you need to understand what the TikTok recommendation algorithm is and why it’s so important for content creators. The algorithm is a type of recommendation system which decides what videos a user will see on the app. It tries to offer users content that is relevant to their likes and preferences.
Most social media platforms use a recommendation engine today, including Instagram, Netflix, and Facebook. They work to offer you content that’s similar to other videos and posts you interact with.
The TikTok algorithm is explained best with the For You feed, which is found when you first open up the app. The For You page or FYP offers you videos that TikTok believes you’ll be interested in and is unique for each and every user of the platform.
One of the great things about TikTok is that you can curate your FYP as you use the app more. There are many different things that impact the algorithm which are important to learn about as a content creator to figure out how to end up on more people’s FYP.
The TikTok Algorithm Explained: How It Works
The TikTok algorithm is impacted by a variety of factors, which help to ensure that your videos are targeted to the right audience. Content creators who understand how to get ahead of the TikTok recommendation algorithm have the best chance of featuring on the FYP and getting more likes, comments, and followers.
User Interactions
User interactions refer how to people interact on the content you post on TikTok. These could include positive and negative interactions, but when answering the question of how does TikTok recommend videos, you need to try to have far more positive engagements than negative ones.
Interactions on your videos could include comments, gaining followers, and liking videos. The video watch time will also impact the TikTok algorithm. When you understand your viewers and what they want to watch, you’ll be able to increase the engagement on your videos. Encouraging your audience to share and favorite your content can also help you to end up on more For You pages in the future.
Video Information
While there are some elements of the TikTok algorithm which you have less control over, the videos that you put out into the world can be enhanced to increase your chances of ranking highly on the algorithm.
Video information includes the sounds you use, the captions and hashtags you add, the video descriptions, and text overlays. All of these come together when looking at how does TikTok decide what to show you and how long people will want to watch the video for.
Trending sounds are extremely popular on TikTok and they help the algorithm to identify the users who are most likely to engage with your content. This doesn’t just mean popular viral dancers either, as there are many fun music and audio snippets that brands and content creators can use to go viral.
While you might think the video will speak for itself, you need to market your uploads with clear descriptions and captions. You might be surprised to learn that a good number of users of the app listen without audio, which is where the captions come into play. Keywords can help to optimize your video descriptions as well and get your video out to a wider audience.
Take time to conduct research into the top keywords that will help you to appear in more TikTok searches. Keep these keywords short and simple and look for trending searches at the time you are uploading the video too.
Device and Account Settings
Device and account settings don’t impact the algorithm as much as the areas we’ve shared above, but they still can reduce the number of people seeing your video. The language and country settings are the two you need to consider most.
Device type is another area to look at, as you may find your videos aren’t shown on certain devices. TikTok wants everyone to have the best user experience possible, which is why older phones may receive different recommendations to newer ones.
How to Use the TikTok Algorithm to Go Viral
Now that you know how to boost the TikTok algorithm it’s time for us to help your next video to go viral. These are a few of the top things to focus on to end up a TikTok sensation with your next upload.
Find Your Niche
As a content creator, you want your viewers to know what to expect from your uploads. It’s best to focus on just one area, such as dance videos, sharing recipes, or offering travel hacks in order to gain and retain a large audience on TikTok.
Your niche can truly be anything on the site, as TikTok really is for anyone today. By uploading similar content, you’ll soon start being recommended to users who enjoy content about beauty, travel, fitness, self-improvement, or whatever your niche is.
Add Keywords to Your Captions
Don’t start uploading a video to TikTok without adding keywords to your captions. When you look at how does the TikTok FYP work, these keywords will have a huge impact on whose feed you end up on.
Captions help to give each of your videos more context, which will help you to rank higher in the algorithm based on the audience you are trying to target. It’s easier for you to be found on the search feature when you use relevant and trending keywords.
Choose Hashtags Wisely
While you might think that adding a dozen random hashtags will help you when learning how does TikTok decide what to show you, you need to have more of a strategy when adding hashtags to your uploads.
If you want to rank highly of the site, you need to find hashtags that are relevant to your niche and the video itself. Make sure the hashtags match the video, otherwise you’ll find that users are less likely to watch the whole video, undoing the hard work you’ve put into improving your uploads so far.
As you choose hashtags to add to the video, you can see the number of times that each one has been used on the site. Hashtags that have been used billions of times are sometimes too competitive, so focus on a mixture of popular and more niche ones.
Use Trending Audio
Trending audio is one of the best tricks to help you beat the TikTok algorithm. You can use any trending sound on the platform as both a business or personal user. In the past, TikTok didn’t let business accounts use some of the most popular trending music, but this paved the way for trending sounds.
Trending sounds aren’t just for dancers and other performers. They can be used to share a new product or take your viewers on a journey that’s more engaging and exciting. Look at trending sounds that fit your brand image and add them to your videos to rank higher on the algorithm.
Conclusion: How Does The TikTok Algorithm Work
By learning what is the TikTok algorithm and following the TikTok tips and tricks we’ve shared above, you can work to get your videos out to a wider audience and increase your potential as a content creator. It’s never too late to start improving your presence and reach on this social media platform, and a few little tweaks to each video can help you to get seen by thousands more users.
If you are looking to improve the quality of your videos to ensure that viewers stay until the very end, then we recommend using a TikTok Video Editor like Vizard. Vizard allows you to take longer video clips and turn them into short clips that are ideal for TikTok either manually or using AI. It will be quicker than ever before to upload quality videos to the site and increase your chances of being seen on the FYP. No video editing experience is required to use Vizard, making it ideal for new and experienced content creators alike. Visit our site for more information or upload a video now to try Vizard for yourself today.
