Recently a friend of mine started a TikTok page on perfumes and books, so I decided to help curate content and study the algorithm while at it because I found the TikTok algorithm very interesting..
Today, I’ll be sharing a few of the things I learned to help you navigate the app better when creating content.
Disclaimer: Some people post anything and their content blows up. They use TikTok as their digital diary, it does well and It can be anything and everything. But this piece is directed at those who want to either elevate their content, specialize in creating niche content, or freshly starting out as content creators.
- The type of content you create
The type of content or the niche you specialize in matters. If you specialize in a niche, for example, you can’t compare your engagement levels with that of a lifestyle creator, full-time content creator, or influencer. Speaking about niches, engagements may also be low if a lot of creators aren’t specialized in that niche.
My main example here will be perfumes. To my knowledge, we don’t have a lot of content creators that specialize mainly in perfumes and books in Nigeria, so if you decide to start creating content around that, engagement levels may not pick up as expected because you and other creators in that niche are fighting for the pool of audience that consume that type of content.
- Your audience
Aside from your niche or the type of content you intend to specialize in, another thing you need to understand is your audience. Figure out the type of content they want from you, figure out their demographics, age, life stage, what they like, what they relate to, find fascinating or find frustrating. Understanding these things and finding ways to infuse them into your content will make them find your content or your content find them. If they find your content so relatable, that’s a solid win for you.
- Invest, research, and test
Be different. Find a system that works for you. Do your research. Find ways to reel people in. Find ways to grab or retain their attention. If 90% of the people who watched your content watched to the end or watched it halfway, the algorithm tends to push your video more to people. Your content gets re-analyzed at every number and the content is pushed for as long as your content is hitting key metrics.
Sometimes a sound might be trending and some people take that sound and just slap it on content, and just expect the engagement to flow in. while others think of creative ways to infuse that sound in their content and birth a trend relating to their niche out of it. So tell me, who will the algorithm favor?
Your editing style matters, write scripts before you make your content, create aesthetically pleasing visuals, and spark curiosity to make them engage.
If you expect results, dedicate time to making your content better and invest in research. Find creators in your niche, study what they do and how they do it, and use keywords, and hashtags. TEST EVERYTHING.
- The algorithm
The algorithm of that app is alive, very conscious, and learning. I won’t be surprised if it’s fused with AI. I see the algorithm as a jigsaw puzzle, everyone has a piece but the jigsaw puzzle itself keeps changing from time to time. So your piece might fit in right now and not fit the next minute.
What this means is—what works today, may not work tomorrow, and what works for someone else, may not work for you. If you have a pattern that works for you, stick to it and milk it to the fullest. For example, some people believe there’s a specific time frame that’s good to post for massive engagements, and some believe posting time doesn’t matter.
Once again, focus on research, test everything you learned, and stick to what works as long as it works.
- 200 views jail
200 views jail is when most of your contents are stuck between 100 and 300 views. Probably stuck on below 100 or doesn’t go above 300. Mostly stuck on 200.
This is the tricky part I’m still trying to figure out but I’ll share what I know so far. First off, some of your videos definitely would have blown up, probably gone above 1k views or even more. Study those videos. Find out what you did differently in that video & try to milk or recreate the success of those videos. It may be the editing style, sound, or what was discussed in the video. Find out what it is and try to recreate it.
Also keep creating. If those videos don’t blow up now, they could do so later. If people don’t find it now, when they need it, they will find it and the engagement will come. Remember the friend I mentioned earlier, sometimes when she posts content, they get stuck in 200 views for weeks, later they pick up and do well beyond our imagination. She made content about a review for a perfume and the initial view was 180 for about a week or so. The post randomly blew up a week after and it’s currently sitting at 25k views(and it’s still raking in more views).
So keep creating.
- Engage and interact
Also, interact and engage with other content in your niche or outside your niche, don’t just post and close the app. The algorithm is also trying to learn about you and from you, so interacting and engaging with other content makes the algorithm understand you’re not a bot.
Also what that does for you is other content relating to your niche will find you which will aid your research better. know what trend to jump on, what sound to use, and what keyword is trending.
- Be resilient
That app will test your patience, but you need to show that you’re tougher.
You might get kicked down with low views even with your better content, But do not be deterred. The app kicks you down with low views? Slap back with better content. Easier said than done, I know. I hope this helps and I’m looking forward to positive reviews later on.
Remember, it’s not about going viral, it’s about building a community, having a community to fall back on is better than a few viral moments because you can go viral and all your content gets shadow-banned. But building a community has more of a lasting impact. So basically the endgame shouldn’t be about going viral but about building a community
If I learn anything new, you’ll be the first to know. Till next time, bye!
The DIY Collective 