TikTok is a popular social networking platform attracting over a billion monthly users. It is quickly becoming the most popular network for short-form content, with a user base nearly as large as Instagram's 1.4 billion active users.

Let the numbers speak for themselves:

As of December 2023, over 2.6 billion people across the globe have downloaded TikTok, attesting to its immense popularity. Thus, companies are hopping on the bandwagon to reach this fresh and enthusiastic customer base. Some of the most well-known companies in the world use TikTok as part of their advertising campaign, including Nike, ESPN, and The Washington Post.

New companies on the app constantly seek fresh ways to connect with users. This piece assembles useful hints for expanding your audience and making the most of this platform.

Why Should You Reach a Wider Audience on TikTok?

Tiktok's popularity necessitates that businesses should be looking to invest in its potential. If you don't want to be left behind, you have to exploit the potential that this social media platform has to offer. Here's why:

Attract more TikTok followers

As a relatively young social media network, TikTok is rising in popularity. Although the platform's initial user base was comprised mostly of young people, its popularity has now broadened to include members of many other age groups. Indeed, many companies are shifting their focus to the mobile app centred on short videos to woo a younger demographic. It helps attract more followers, which can be a massive plus for any business.

Increase user engagement

TikTok's devoted user base directly results from the platform's success in delivering engaging and relevant content to its consumers. Brands may succeed on the platform by working with their audience to produce engaging content, such as promoting UGC and hosting hashtag challenges. As a bonus, the platform is being leveraged to get companies working with influencers worldwide.

Market products among potential customers

At first blush, TikTok attracts young people who have interest in fun content. But when we take a closer look at the data, it becomes clear that TikTok is popular among people aged between 20-39 years old and this category of people are considered to be the most active online shoppers who are ready to buy products when they see them on social media platforms.

Get more gigs

Reaching a wider audience on TikTok increases your visibility, attracting potential clients or collaborators. Expanding your reach enhances opportunities to showcase your skills, leading to more gig offers. By capitalizing on TikTok's diverse user base, you elevate your chances of securing exciting and lucrative opportunities in your respective field.

Tips for reaching a wider audience on TikTok

If you are searching for methods to boost your reach, try these TikTok ideas and track your changes.

1.      Optimize for TikTok Search

Brands that take the time to produce videos for TikTok with search and discovery in mind are more likely to get positive ROI from their video marketing efforts. The initial phase in optimizing your TikTok videos for search and expanding your audience is to identify the major ideas or "content pillars" that will serve as the backbone of your channel.

Here's a good example from Furla:

Don't have these pillars sing your product's praises nonstop; no one likes a zealot. Invest effort into establishing pillars that fit your intended audience's preferences and search intent. Likewise, create a discoverable TikTok video by starting strong, providing value in the middle, and prompting viewers to act.

2.      Invest in TikTok Ad Campaigns

TikTok offers several advertising possibilities for organizations wanting to boost their platform presence while not being largely interested in generating money. These advertising forms work well with TikTok's content and may help you get more followers. Here are the many advertising options available for use with TikTok:

·         TopView Ads

These advertisements are a step up from Brand Takeovers but come at a higher price. TopView videos have a length restriction of between 5 and 60 seconds. Users may engage with the advertisements by giving them a thumbs up, providing feedback, and even sharing them with others.

·         In-Feed Ads

People's feeds on TikTok will include these advertisements as full-screen videos. In that time, you'll learn all you need to know, and you may even include external connections to relevant websites or app stores. Interactive Cards, Voting Cards, and Display Cards are just a few ways to engage your audience with your adverts and give them a better experience.

·         Brand takeovers

These commercials play as soon as the TikTok app is launched. They might be a picture lasting 3 seconds or a video lasting 3.5 seconds. They cost more than In-Feed advertising typically does. Brand Takeover ads are exclusive in that only one company per day may take advantage of their category-wide exposure.

These advertisements allow brands to promote their videos and spread their message to the TikTok community in an organic and entertaining manner.

3.      Collaborate with Popular TikTok Influencers

If you want to expand your TikTok fan base and your brand's exposure, consider forming a partnership with one or more popular producers as an element of your influencer marketing approach. Users are more likely to engage with your posts if they recognize a well-known face, such as a social media influencer, athlete, or celebrity. Also, if influencers with popular TikTok accounts post about your company on their channels, some viewers may visit your profile and enjoy some of your videos there.

For example, a Spanish fashion brand Bimba&Lola teamed up with an influencer to promote its new campaign and reach a wider audience of fans:

4.      Ask Fans for Shoutouts

Requesting shoutouts from your TikTok fans is a strategic move to amplify your reach. By engaging your existing audience to promote your content, you tap into their followers and extend your visibility across diverse user networks. It creates a ripple effect as their shoutouts introduce your profile to a broader audience, fostering organic growth.

You can leverage the supportive community on TikTok to enhance your content's discoverability, making it a collaborative method for rapidly expanding your presence and connecting with new followers.

5.      Post Videos at the Right Time

Once you've decided who your intended audience is, you can start to understand the optimum time to publish on TikTok for them. Women in the workforce, students interested in fashion, social media influencers, and corporations all utilize TikTok in diverse ways.

Fortunately, TikTok offers metrics to assist you in discovering when your videos get the most attention. The audience for your TikTok videos may not even be in the same nation as you, much less the same time zone.

While the inner workings of the TikTok algorithm remain a mystery, it is generally accepted that clips with high rates of early interaction will be promoted to a wider viewership. Sharing your video at a time when your audience is most likely to be online can help get the ball rolling.

You can also make good use of third-party tools like SproutSocial to analyse your followers' behaviour and find out the best time to post your TikTok videos for maximum reach:

6.      Use Hashtags and Trends

Using hashtags, you may expose your TikTok videos to a wider audience than your followers. They can be made quickly, found readily, and have become an important promotional tool for businesses and individuals on TikTok.

TikTok's For You Page algorithm also takes hashtags into account. Check out the trending hashtags. Remember, no hashtag can guarantee inclusion on every single person's FYP. No amount of #Foryou #FYP #ForYouPage hashtagging will guarantee you a position.

It might still seem like a shot in the dark trying to figure out what hashtags to use. Thankfully, there is a method to discover popular hashtags: the app's hashtag recommendation function. It is accessible when working on video captioning. You may get recommendations by using the # button. Those are the ones you should utilize (if they make sense in the context of your video).

7.      Respond to TikTok Comments with Videos

Responding to TikTok comments with videos is a dynamic strategy to expand your reach on the platform. By creating video responses, you engage with your audience in a personalized and entertaining manner, fostering a sense of connection. It enhances visibility within the TikTok algorithm and encourages viewers to share your content.

The TikTok community values interaction, so this approach leverages the platform's social nature, propelling your content to a wider audience through increased visibility and shareability.

8.      Use Trending Sounds and Effects

TikTok's vast sound effects and music collection stand out among other features. Video content that uses popular music and sound effects has a better possibility of becoming viral. Many popular songs have corresponding popular dances or challenges. Using a song that has already become popular is a great way to boost your video's exposure.

TikTok's algorithm boosts videos that employ currently popular songs. It is because these clips are more probable to be interacted with, talked about, and preserved, all of which the algorithm analyzes metrics when determining what to display on the 'For You' tab.

Conclusion

There is no foolproof method to become famous on TikTok. The number of people who see your material and the pages it appears on may be increased via various strategies. Without installing questionable applications or shelling out cash for bots, you may increase your chances of obtaining followers by taking advantage of trends, hashtags, and challenges, employing social media influencers to promote your product, using social media advertising, and posting at optimal times.