How To Get More Views On TikTok (Beginner’s Guide)
Want to learn how to get more views on TikTok? I’ve got you covered.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone complain that their TikTok video didn’t get as many views as it deserved, I’d be a very rich man.
That’s why in this post, I’ll be sharing 21 actionable strategies you can use to get more eyes on all your TikTok videos.
I’ve included all the tried-and-tested methods that are proven to work, plus a few little-known tips you probably haven’t tried yet (and that you won’t find in other blog posts on this topic).
#1 – Start every video you post with a hook
In my experience, your hook is the number one most important factor that’s going to determine how many views your videos get on TikTok.
But to understand why, you need to understand how the TikTok algorithm works.
The algorithm looks at lots of different factors to determine what videos show up on the For You Page (FYP) for each TikTok user—and this is where the vast majority of your views on TikTok will come from.
One of the most important of those factors is watch length. If lots of viewers in your target demographic are watching your video until the end, it sends positive engagement signals to the algorithm, so your video shows up on the FYP of more of those users. Thus, you get more views.
Conversely, if viewers are immediately scrolling past your video without watching, TikTok will stop pushing your video out and it’ll flop.
The best way to maximize watch length—and with it, views—is to immediately grab your viewers’ attention and ‘hook’ them in so they have to keep watching.
That hook needs to come in the first 3 seconds before they have time to click away. And it needs to create suspense.
That might mean posing an intriguing question (e.g. ‘What if I told you that everything you thought you knew about losing weight is wrong?’), making a bold statement (e.g. ‘This one simple trick can double your productivity’), or sharing a shocking/surprising visual that piques the audience’s curiosity.
Here’s a great example from TikTok creator @ErynBoughtABook, in which she asks ‘Do you want to know the meaning of life according to an Auschwitz survivor?’:
That gripping hook is why this is one of the best-performing videos on her channel, with over 1 million views.
#2 – Publish content when your audience is active
The time that you post TikTok videos has a bigger impact on views than you might think.
The same video that flops and ends up with less than 50 views when posted at 6 AM might go super viral if you shared it at 9 AM instead, and vice versa.
Unfortunately, there’s no universal best time to post on TikTok, because everyone’s audience is different. Your best time to post is when your specific audience is most active.
Social scheduling tools with analytics can usually help you to pinpoint when that is. And they can also help you to scale your content output by auto-publishing your TikTok videos (and other social media posts) for you at the perfect time.
We use SocialBee for this over at BloggingWizard. It uses your historical posting data to show you the times/days when your videos typically get the most impressions (views) or engagements:
Read our complete SocialBee review.
Extra tip: Once you know your best time to post, stick to a consistent posting schedule so your viewers know when to expect your next video to drop—this will help with views. Ideally, you should be posting a video at least once a day to stay algorithm-friendly, but several times a day is even better.
#3 – Repost videos that don’t get the views they deserve
TikTok can be oddly volatile when it comes to views.
Often, you can drop an awesome video that should get tons of views but, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t get the initial traction it needs to take off in the algorithm.
In that case, it might be worth deleting it and reposting it again later, or the next day, to give it another shot. A lot of creators report doing this and getting tens of thousands more views the second time around.
Just don’t overdo it. If you’re constantly deleting and reuploading the same content, that might be a red flag to TikTok, and you might end up shadowbanned.
As such, I’d only recommend doing this occasionally, and only for content that you’re absolutely sure deserves more views than it got.
#4 – Create TikTok Live videos around trending topics.
TikTok’s algorithm loves Live videos as they’re great at keeping people engaged and on the platform for a long time. As a result, it tends to push them out to more viewers.
Plus, going Live also gives you a chance to connect with your audience, which helps build a community around your TikTok channel so that viewers keep coming back for more.
Naturally, then, it’s a good idea to occasionally create TikTok Live videos if you want to maximize your views. Even better, theme your live discussions around trending topics for a massive boost in the algorithm.
If you’re struggling to know what to talk about in your livestreams, consider playing games, running polls, or hosting a Q&A to answer viewer questions and comments.
Here’s an example from @FatherChuckles, who went live to over 19,000 viewers at the time of writing:
#5 – Use hashtags to lock in your demographic
A lot of creators think hashtags are pointless on TikTok as few people use the search feature to find content—they just watch whatever shows up on their FYP.
And while that’s true, hashtags are still super important, just not for that reason.
The reason they’re important is because they give the algorithm an idea of what your content is about, so it knows what kind of audience to ‘seed’ your content with.
For example, if you tag your video with #gymmotivation or #workout, TikTok will know it’s about fitness. So, it’ll initially push it out to users who already watch and engage with other fitness-related videos.
Those users are more likely to interact with your video as they’ve already interacted with similar stuff. And when they do, those positive engagement signals you get are fed back into the algorithm so that your video gets pushed to more and more people, and you get more views.
Conversely, if you use irrelevant hashtags, TikTok will seed the video with the wrong initial audience. As a result, you’ll get fewer interactions, and the video will flop.
Here’s an example from Cute__Pet6, who used a bunch of dog-related hashtags to help this video reach millions of viewers:
#6 – Use viral sounds for a boost in the algorithm
TikTok factors viral sounds into its algorithm. So if you use them, it’s going to help you to get more views.
It’s simple enough to do this. When you next create a video, just click the Add Sounds button at the top of the screen, then grab something from the viral playlist. Easy!
Keep in mind that viral sounds don’t just include music; they also include other types of audio. For example, snippets of dialogue from movies and TV shows will often go viral in TikTok memes and lip-syncing videos:
#7 – Get your thumbnail right
Thumbnails don’t matter as much on TikTok as they do on platforms like YouTube, as viewers who find your content through their FYP won’t see them.
However, it’s worth making them informative and easy to read so that viewers who click through to browse your page after finding your content can easily figure out what each video is about. This will help to increase views on your older videos.
TikTok creator @AstroKobi does a great job of this. All of his video thumbnails feature text to tell you what they’re about, and he’s even neatly organized them into themed playlists:
#8 – Leave comments to attract new viewers
One of the most underrated ways to get more views on TikTok is what I like to call the ‘viral commenting’ strategy.
The idea is to find popular or trending videos from creators who make similar content to you (and thus have a similar target audience) and then leave comments on them.
Try to make your comment funny or interesting to farm likes so that it shows up at the top of the comment thread. Then, if any of those videos go viral, your comments will go viral with them.
And each comment you leave is a route back to your channel. You’d be surprised at how often users will click comments to check out your page, and each click is a new potential viewer.
#9 – Post multi-part videos to farm engagements
Another strategy you can try is to split your longer TikTok videos up into two-, three-, or even four-part series.
At the end of each video, add a quick CTA asking users to click your channel or subscribe for parts two/three/four.
If you do a good enough job of hooking them in and they click through, that sends a huge positive engagement signal to TikTok, which gives you a bump in the algorithm so the video gets pushed out to more and more viewers.
The flip side is that a lot of TikTok users find multi-part videos annoying, so this strategy can be a bit of a double-edged sword.
To avoid alienating your viewers/followers, I’d suggest only doing multi-part videos occasionally—the bulk of your videos should be regular, single-part videos. You should also make it easy for people to find the next part with clear thumbnails, or by leaving a comment with a link.
#10 – Run a TikTok giveaway or contest
Another idea you can try is to run a giveaway or contest.
You can use a contest tool like SweepWidget to set it up so that to enter for a chance to win the prize, users have to watch, like, and/or comment on your TikTok video:
To get the most out of this strategy, offer up a prize that your target viewers will definitely want. That might be a hamper of products, tickets to an event, an ebook, or anything else.
#11 – Share your TikTok videos on relevant subreddits
You can get even more views on TikTok by promoting your videos off the platform. And one of the best places to do that is on Reddit.
There are thousands of subreddits out there for every niche imaginable. Find a few subreddits where your target viewers hang out, and share your videos there.
Just keep in mind that a lot of subreddits will have rules prohibiting self-promotion. Try to work around these rules by sharing videos organically in a way that adds value to the community. Don’t make it obvious you’re promoting your own content unless the subreddit allows it.
#12 – Use your caption to create suspense
When you post a video on TikTok, you can write a short caption that shows up on-screen.
Use this to create suspense and give the viewer a reason to keep watching, as this will help to boost your average view length and give you a bump in the algorithm.
A good example of this would be something like ‘Wait for it…’. Viewers who read that will know that something exciting or entertaining is going to happen at the end of the video, so they’ll stick around to find out what it is.
Here’s another example from @Itsgoneviral, who added a quote from the video in the caption to give viewers an idea of what gets said and leave them hanging on for that moment:
Stuff the rest of the space in your caption with relevant and popular hashtags (as we discussed earlier in tip #5).
#13 – Add subtitles to make your videos more accessible
A lot of TikTok users browse the app with their sound turned off.
If your video contains a lot of dialogue, those viewers are going to swipe past as they won’t be able to hear it, which hurts your average watch length (and with it, your views).
That’s why using closed captions (CC) & video subtitles is so important. Viewers who browse the app muted can read them to understand what’s being said, so they’re more likely to watch your content until the end.
I’ve got a bunch of different apps that can do this. But CapCut is a popular option to add video captions & subtitles as it has some great-looking templates. It makes the process quick and easy, but you can use pretty much any editing software.
#14 – Duet and stitch viral videos
Collaborating with other popular TikTokers in your niche is a great way to reach more viewers. And one of the easiest ways to do that is to use TikTok’s Duet and Stitch features.
A Duet is when you post your video side-by-side with a video from another creator. A Stitch is when you clip a part of another creator’s video and combine it with your own.
I’d recommend Stitching and Dueting trending or viral videos to add your spin on them. That way, you’ll tap into the hype and potentially reach more viewers than you could with original content alone.
@Khaby.lame is one of the biggest influencers on TikTok, with over 160 million followers. The biggest reason for his success is that he truly cracked the Duet/Stitch formula, adding his skeptical reactions to viral hacks to rake in the views.
#15 – Cross-post your TikTok content on other platforms
When you share a new video on TikTok, why not cross-post it to other social media platforms, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts?
By doing so, you’ll be widening your potential audience and can potentially double or even triple your total views.
Remember to add a link back to your TikTok profile on the other platforms that you cross-post content on so that the new viewers you reach there can find their way back.
Extra tip: See my roundup of social media statistics for more information about the most popular social media platforms and the people who use them.
#16 – Stick to a specific niche
One of the biggest mistakes I see new TikTok creators make is failing to niche down.
For example, let’s say you make a video sharing your workout routine and it takes off, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and earning you tens of thousands of followers.
Now, TikTok thinks you’re a fitness creator. So the next time you post a video, it’s going to share that video with users it thinks will be interested in fitness/workout-related content.
But what if the next video you post is a cooking video where you share what you’re making for dinner? All those viewers TikTok shared it with aren’t interested in cooking—they’re interested in fitness—so it’s going to flop.
See how that works? Pick one specific niche and stick to it. Your niche could be tech reviews, productivity tips, gaming tutorials… anything. Just make sure you’re consistent with it.
The more specific, the better.
If you need help, check out my post on how to choose a blog niche. While it wasn’t written with blogging in mind, you can apply a lot of the same advice to TikTok videos.
#17 – Replicate your own success
TikTok is all about trial and error.
When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to post a lot of content, but you’ll find that most of those videos only get a small number of views.
But at some point, you might share a video that suddenly takes off and gets tens of thousands of views.
When that happens, it’s important to capitalize on that momentum. Work out what made that video so popular, and replicate your success.
That might mean posting a follow-up that covers the topic in more depth or creating a bunch of follow-up videos in which you reply to questions/comments. It might mean posting at the same time again the next day, or re-using the same music.
#18 – Reply to comments on your videos
It’s a good idea to reply to as many comments on your videos as you can, for several reasons.
First off, it helps with the algorithm as it encourages the commenter to reply to your reply, thus earning you more engagement.
Secondly, when you reply to a comment, the user who left that comment gets a notification. They might click that notification and view your video again, which gives you another view and a bump in the algorithm.
And finally, replying to comments helps you to build a closer connection with your viewers/followers. This pays dividends in the future as the closer you are to your viewers, the more likely they are to watch your stuff again in the future.
#19 – Ask viewers to follow you at the end of each video
Add a short CTA to the end of each video you share asking viewers to follow your TikTok. This could be as simple as a quick comment saying ‘Follow for more videos like this’.
This helps you to get more views as when users follow you, any content you post in the future can show up in their Following feed as well as the FYP, making it more likely that they’ll see it.
#20 – Make sure your first post is a good one
A lot of creators are convinced that TikTok has a hidden feature that boosts the reach of the first-ever post each account shares.
TikTok hasn’t confirmed this, but anecdotally, it sure does seem to be the case.
And it makes sense. If your first-ever video gets a lot of views, you’re more likely to stick around and keep creating content, so it’s a good way for TikTok to incentivize creators to use their app. It also gives you a surge of initial followers that form the basis of your audience going forward.
If you’re new to TikTok, you can take advantage of this by making sure that you absolutely nail your first video. It will have a much bigger shot at going viral than future videos you share, so make the most of it.
#21 – Use TikTok Promote to reach more viewers
Growing a TikTok audience organically from zero is hard work.
That’s why if you’re willing to invest in your success, it might be worth using TikTok Promote when you’re first starting out.
With TikTok Promote, you pay TikTok to show your videos to more people in your target audience. You can target specific demographics (based on age, gender, interests, etc.), and Promoted videos show up as an ad.
Obviously, the big downside of this is that it costs money. So naturally, it’s not a good long-term strategy.
But it is a great way to get an initial audience and grow your following when you’re first starting out in order to increase your organic reach, so you get more views in the future.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is a TikTok view?
Every time a user on TikTok plays a video, it counts as a view—even if they immediately scroll past it. That includes videos that auto-play or loop.
The only views that don’t count are those that come from the creator’s own account. In other words, you can’t juice your view count by constantly rewatching your content.
How much does TikTok pay per view?
There’s no definitive answer to this question as it’s different for every creator. But typically, you can expect to earn somewhere between $0.02 and $0.04 through the Creator Fund, or more through the Creator Rewards program.
Should I pay for views?
No, you should never purchase views from third-party providers, as these are often botted views that don’t come from real, engaged viewers. Buying views can hurt your TikTok account in the long run as it can get you shadow-banned and limit your reach in the future.
Final thoughts
That’s it for my beginner’s guide on how to get more TikTok views. I hope you found it helpful.
Remember that above all else, the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference to your views is the quality of your content. So putting out high quality videos that your audience will enjoy should be your top priority.
With that in mind, check out these awesome TikTok video ideas to engage your audience.
Not sure if TikTok is the right platform to focus on? Read our roundup of YouTube Shorts statistics to see how it compares.
You might also want to take a look at these social media automation tools that can save you time.
