How to Get Followers on TikTok for Brands and Influencers

Maybe you’re an aspiring influencer or in charge of growing your brand’s TikTok presence to increase sales.

Either way, we’ve created THE guide for how to get more followers on TikTok.

You can thank us later when you’ve done the work to make your account go viral, and you’re raking in cash. For now, let’s get to it! ⬇️

Why follower growth on TikTok is important

You might think that TikTok is all about views, but followers prove that people are interested in you, which makes a difference on TikTok.

If you’re an influencer and wondering how many followers on TikTok you need to get paid, good news. With the rise of micro-influencers, brands realize that it’s less about how many followers you have and more about how engaged your followers are. They’ll still look for you to have at least 1,000-5,000 followers, but anything above 5,000 is gold.

Here are some of the benefits you’ll see when you figure out how to get more followers on TikTok:

Increased awareness and brand engagement

The more TikTok followers you have, the more brand awareness, reach, and engagement you’ll have. What that means varies depending on the type of account you’re running.

For influencers: When more people are interested in what you have to say and the products you promote, you can negotiate better-paid deals.

For brands, TikTok will allow you to reach new customers organically. You can also use TikTok to provide a better customer experience by sharing helpful tips or connecting with your existing customers and turning them into a community. Which brings us to the next benefit…

Community building

If you’re building a legitimate following around your values and brand, you’re also taking the first steps toward creating a community. Both influencers AND brands can do this–after all, influencers are building their personal brands.

Building a strong community should be one of your top priorities. Why?

Because if you’re an influencer, your community is the factor you can leverage when striking deals with brands.

If you’re a business, building a loyal following will increase the lifetime value of your sales–aka, you’ll have more returning customers.

Of course, getting followers on TikTok is only half the game of building a community—but they’re an important piece. You need to have followers before you can turn them into your tribe.

Monetization opportunities

This one pretty much applies to creators–while you might expect to see more sales if you grow your brand’s TikTok following, getting followers on TikTok opens many doors for monetization if you’re a creator. You might be able to unlock access to the TikTok Creator Fund or simply land more brand partnerships because your numbers are great.

Either way, more followers equals more opportunities for moolah if you're an influencer.

Opportunities for UGC

You might not have thought of this one, but it’s an important one for brands:

When you have more followers (especially if you can turn that following into a community), you have more opportunities to get UGC from your current customer base. The UGC you get from customers is free, and you can use it to fuel more growth. (Like Adobe did by using this video)

You can even encourage influencers to produce UGC for you via challenges, contests, and promotions. This can be a great way to find influencers who love your brand!

How to get more followers on TikTok (10 ideas)

If you’re wondering how to get a lot of followers on TikTok, well–you’ve come to the right place.

Just keep in mind that real, genuine growth doesn’t happen overnight. Be prepared to repeatedly do the right things for your brand or influencer account, knowing that if you do, you will find the followers you’re looking for.

Some of these ideas work better for brands than influencers–and vice versa. We’ll note which ones are which! 😉

Use influencer marketing

Who’s it for? Brands (mostly).

If you’re a brand, you’ll likely see more new followers than sales after you partner with an influencer because people might be *intrigued* by your products but not yet ready to make a purchase.

Remember: it’s easy and free for people to follow your brand’s TikTok account. After they do, it’s your job to convince them to buy your products.

If you’re an influencer, you’re probably not as keen to partner with other influencers–aka, the competition. But, if you collaborate with some amazing people who are in niches related to yours (e.g. if you’re a fashion + beauty influencer but you partner with someone who’s all about skincare), it can be a great opportunity for BOTH of you to grow your following. It may not always be the best idea, but it’s a great way to mix it up sometimes!

Participate in TikTok challenges

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers.

There are so many fun (and hilarious) challenges on TikTok. Why not join some challenges?

TikTok has two main varieties of challenges: community challenges, which are created by people on TikTok just for fun, and brand challenges, which are started by brands hoping to drive awareness about their products.

A great example of a branded challenge is the #targetchallenge, where couples test how well they know each other by buying gifts for each other at Target. Here’s an example: TikTok. As a brand, you can run your challenges to get people talking about your products on TikTok–more on that in a minute.

And a community challenge that’s had everyone counting recently is the #12345678 challenge. Based on a viral TikTok voice warm-up, creators of all kinds are putting their spin on it. Here’s a fun example (notice that it got WAY more views than their other recent videos).

Run advertising

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers.

Like other social media platforms, TikTok encourages you to run ads to drive awareness, engagement, and followers to your profile. This is the best option if you want to know how to get followers on TikTok fast. And you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to see results.

Start with something small–up to $100 monthly–and take it from there. The great thing about running ads is that the followers you get from ads will be invested in your account and what you’re about.

The downside, of course, is that advertising takes money. And you may not have a lot–whether you’re working for yourself or trying to get approval to spend money for your brand. Think of it as an investment–whatever you can put toward advertising your account WILL pay dividends in the long run. You’ll see more engagement and awareness, for sure. Eventually, you’ll get more brand deals as an influencer or more sales as a brand.

Of course, running ads won’t just get you followers on TikTok. It’ll also help you learn to run ads, which is a super helpful skill. If you’re promoting a brand, that’s a skill you can use all the time. And, if you’re an influencer, learning the ins and outs of targeting, metrics, and setting up ads can help you understand your audience on a deeper level–which will allow you to grow your account faster and negotiate better deals.

Jump on ongoing trends

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers.

Jumping on trends is a GREAT way to increase engagement. As we already discussed with TikTok challenges, engaging with current TikTok trends can boost you in the algorithm.

Trends transcend niches–if it suddenly seems everyone is talking about something or making a specific kind of video, that’s probably a trend. This isn’t limited to events–it can be anything from a sound to a video format to a challenge.

The downside is that you need to know what trends are up-to-date to make the most of them. But good news! Tons of accounts help you save time by creating trend alerts. Here are a few you can check out:

Another thing you can do is engage with larger cultural events and use the relevant hashtags. For example, posting about the Paris Olympics isn’t just for the athletes–TikTok'ers worldwide share their favorite parts, reactions, and clips of their favorite players. For example, watch this video of someone reacting to Marchand’s gold medal swim.

Engage with your audience

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers (influencers have a slight edge).

One of the most beautiful things about social media is that you get to interact with your followers. This is one of the main reasons people engage with influencers and brands on TikTok in the first place–because they want to be heard and feel like they’re part of what they’re watching.

Not everyone wants this, of course–but the people who are most likely to drive engagement do. So, if you want to foster engagement, you need to be having conversations with your followers. Here’s how to do that:

Respond to comments in the comments section. You don’t have to respond to every comment, but respond to some you like the most. Responding to as many as possible in the first hour or two after the video posts is a good idea.
Ask questions. End videos with questions, or ask them in your captions. When people answer, respond!
Reply to comments with videos. TikTok makes this SUPER easy, and it’s a great way to highlight some of your favorite responses or answer questions in detail. It also shows that you’re listening to what people say, which will make them leave more comments.
Create content that’s tailored for people to duet. You can create a challenge or ask people to duet to show you their version of something. Just ensure you don’t stop there–watch your followers’ duets and comment!

You don’t want to think of your account as a billboard for your brand or a video scrapbook of your life to get more TikTok followers. It’s a place to interact with your followers–that’s how to get free followers on TikTok who will become advocates for you.

Measure and focus on what works

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers.

Monitor which types of TikTok content generate the most engagement. When you start posting, you’ll want to try a variety of posts. But once you have some data, there’s no point in creating content that doesn’t perform.

Here’s the metrics you’ll want to track:

Views: This is the total number of people who have seen your content. Taken alone, it’s not super helpful–but combining it with some of the other metrics on this list can give you a good idea of how appealing your content is to people who stumble across it for the first time.
Likes, Comments, and Shares: These are how you measure engagement on TikTok. Use them along with your follower count to calculate your engagement rate, which measures how appealing your content is to your audience.
Average Watch Time: This is how long people watch your video. You want this number to be at least 50% of your video’s length, but longer is better. If you want to know how to get a lot of followers on TikTok, pay close attention to the average watch time because the algorithm uses it to decide which videos to put on peoples’ For You pages.
Trending Videos: This will tell you which of your videos are performing best over a set period. It can help you make better choices about the content you create.
Net followers: This shows your change in followers and can help you see if you’re on track to reach your TikTok growth goals–whether you’re wondering how to get 10k followers on TikTok or how to get 1,000 followers on TikTok!

Use the right hashtags: How to get more TikTok views

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers

Scroll through TikTok, and you’ll see posts with the hashtags #fyp #ForYouPage, etc. But are those really how to get more TikTok views for most accounts?

In most cases, the answer is no.

Instead, you want to pick a few hashtags (3-5 is ideal) that relate to the content you’re posting and the audience you’re trying to attract. You want to pick a mix of hashtags to signal your content’s themes to TikTok perfectly. This will help them find the right audience for that video because they’re already searching for those hashtags or watching videos with them.

This is why you should avoid using too many hashtags—adding too many risks confusing the algorithm. It’s better to help it find the people who will be SUPER interested in your content than to have it show your video to a bunch of people who aren’t interested in your niche.

To keep your hashtags relevant, vary them based on the video. They have to relate to what you’re saying. For example, if you’re running an account in the beauty niche, some hashtags you might consider are #tiktokbeauty trends, #beautytrends2024, #makeup, #beautytok, #skincare, etc. You can always search for terms related to your niche and see what related terms pop up.

But you don’t have to take our word for it! Check out Neil Patel’s explanation of how to use hashtags on social media for more tips.

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers

We touched on this a little bit above, but it’s worth diving into music and trending sounds–after all, they’re a HUGE part of TikTok’s culture, and they matter if you want to know how to grow on TikTok.

Here’s how it works: Specific sounds often have *moments* on TikTok. If you can jump on the trend before it’s out of fashion, it’s a great way to get more views and introduce your account to new audiences.

For example, this influencer took a trending (at the time) sound and used it to post some dog-mom content. You can often do the same thing on your account–use trending audio and relate it to your niche. That way, people who come across your account immediately know what you’re about and whether they’ll like your posts enough to follow you.

You can use some of the TikTokers we listed earlier to find trending music and sounds, so if you haven’t already done so, check them out!

Publish when your followers are most engaged

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers (just make sure you’re signed up for a TikTok Business account)

TikTok Business accounts give you TONs of stats on your followers–their gender, area of the world, and–most relevant to this section–the days and times they’re on TikTok most. Just head to the “Followers” tab in your TikTok analytics dashboard.

Publishing at the right time can give you an edge. After all, if you post highly engaging content when your followers are most likely to engage, your posts will get a bit of a boost. It might not make a huge difference (so don’t freak out if you haven’t quite gotten the hang of this yet), but it does make a difference. So, if you’re wondering how to get followers fast on TikTok, this is one more thing to dial in and speed up your process.

To ensure you’re scheduling at the right time, look at your account’s analytics. Then, use a scheduling tool to schedule your videos for the times your audience will most likely be online. Aim to post right before the peak times so every follower who logs in when your followers are most active has a chance to see your post.

And, if you don’t have enough posts for this data yet, we’ve created a general guide to the best times to post on TikTok. Feel free to use those times as a starting point. 😄

Create TikTok Challenges

Who’s it for? Brands and influencers.

We hinted at this before–but you aren’t limited to participating in challenges others create. You can make your own, too! And if you’re strategizing about how to get popular on TikTok, sparking engagement by creating a challenge can be a GREAT way to go!

As an influencer, you can start by showcasing something you're proud of–maybe a skill you’ve worked hard on, an unexpected talent, or something goofy you want to make content about. Then, make a video about it and challenge others to do the same.

As a brand, you can also make branded challenges. Consider collaborating with influencers to figure out some challenges that involve your brand. Or, if you have an idea, hire them to add momentum to your challenge.

For example, if you’re a fashion brand, you could host seasonal fashion challenges and work with influencers to get content that showcases different looks you can create with your clothing–then challenge others to do the same! But if you’re a fashion influencer, you don’t have to wait for a brand to create a challenge–you can make one for yourself and invite other people to participate.

Here are some more examples of challenge videos to inspire you to start your own:

The “Suspect Challenge,” where friends roast each other by describing them in unflattering ways.

A consistently popular option is a “partner challenge” or “couples challenge,” where you try to do something together–like this couple who attempted to balance together on one leg.

Dance challenges are also great options–people who enjoy dancing on TikTok always look for new trends! Case in point: the “Match My Energy” challenge, where influencers see if someone in their life will match the energy of their dance moves.

Cross-promote with other creators or brands

Who’s it for? Influencers, mostly.

An excellent option for how to grow TikTok followers if you’re an influencer: Collaborate with other accounts every chance you get!

This might mean collaborating with brands, who will cross-promote your account when they tag you in the content you’ve made for them. This is one of the reasons gifted campaigns can be a good option if you’re just starting as an influencer–you get the exposure and practice to add to your portfolio without convincing brands to do anything beyond giving you free products.

It could also mean making content with other influencers to grow your accounts simultaneously! The great thing about influencing is that it doesn’t have to be a competition–and in fact, you’re often rewarded for making friends with others in your space because you can introduce your followers to each other.

Here are a few ways to get started with cross-promotions if you’ve never done one before:

Reach out to brands you’d like to collaborate with to see if they’re looking for influencers and brand ambassadors. The smaller the brand, the more likely you will get a response.
Make an effort to be visible in your space and support other people’s content with comments, likes, and tags–you never know when you might make a new friend who will simultaneously help you get more followers on TikTok!
Sign up for Social Cat so you can view our brand collaboration opportunities! It’s free for influencers to use! 💓

You might think, “Why can’t I cross-promote as a brand?” The answer is that you can, but you’re generally just hiring influencers at that point.

And unless you have very trusting, mutually beneficial partnerships with other brands, you probably don’t want to be cross-promoting with them.

There are exceptions–like if you’re a brand that generates revenue through affiliate commissions–but cross-promoting is usually a game for influencers, not brands.

How many followers influencers need on TikTok to get paid

The nice thing about TikTok is that brands are hungry for TikTok influencers–so it won’t take you forever to monetize your account if you stick with it.

However, you obviously can’t start charging brands if you only have a few followers. So, how many followers do you need to start making money?

To answer this question, we surveyed the small brands we work with at Social Cat. They responded by saying that, generally speaking, you need at least 10K followers on TikTok before they’d expect you to charge for collaborations.

However, we know from experience that you can sometimes start earlier–you may be able to charge up to $150 for a collaboration if you have between 5K and 10K followers. But it’s a lot harder–if you’re hoping to make money sooner, make sure your videos are super high quality.

So–how many followers on TikTok to get paid? The answer is 10k–but if the price is low enough, you can start charging when you reach 5k. 😄

Summing it up: How to get followers on TikTok

Here’s the simplest way to put it: figuring out how to get followers on TikTok takes some time and resources. And if your only goal is to grow your following, you’re selling yourself short. What you want to do–whether you’re an influencer or running a brand account–is to grow a community.

A community is created, not bought. It takes time and effort to connect with your audience in a personal way. If you can do that, then the followers you gain will prompt even more people to follow you.

So yes, jump on trends, join or start challenges, run ads, and collaborate with influencers. But make sure every piece of content you create along the way speaks to your audience. Do things that will put you in front of followers who will LOVE everything about you and share your content with others. That’s how to get followers on TikTok. 😊

How to Get Followers on TikTok for Brands and Influencers