By Michelle Bernachi, on 27 October 2022
Many brands include TikTok in their marketing strategies. But what do you have to do to appear on the TikTok FYP (For You Page)? In this post, we’ll explain how the TikTok algorithm works and what you can do to gain visibility on this popular social media platform.
What Is the TikTok FYP?
TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to record, edit, and share short videos. This content is presented to other users on their recommendations page based on their interests. This means that each user's recommendations page is unique and tailored to that person's profile since it’s created based on activity in the app.
Appearing on the TikTok FYP page, known as the For You section, is a goal of many users and businesses since it means gaining visibility and followers. However, it’s not easy to appear on this page, especially since a large amount of content is posted daily.
Factors Influencing Appearing on TikTok's For You Page
Knowing the type of content users like and how they interact with other accounts by commenting and sharing videos, as well as what they post on their own profile, can help.
Another important factor is the information contained in the videos, such as captions, music, sounds, description, hashtags, and more. These give clues about what topics are interesting to users.
And finally, the device and profile settings. At this point, the platform takes into account aspects such as language, country, the device used to connect to TikTok, and the information provided when creating the profile.
The platform processes all of the information above to generate recommendations accordingly.
However, you must bear in mind that there are other factors that also have an influence, for example, for TikTok, if a user consumes content from another country, that’s much more relevant than if they are from the same country. In addition, if a brand has a large following, it wont matter as much if it receives a high number of views on its videos.
Tips for Appearing on TikTok's FYP
Taking into account TikTok's algorithm, here are six steps that can be followed to increase the chances of going viral.
1. Find the Best Time to Post
Finding the best time to post on TikTok is one of the best ways to reach your target audience. However, the time that may be good for some users may not be suitable for others, so keep that in mind! It’s important to optimize for the timezone where the majority of your followers are from.
For a brand, it’s best to have a Pro account. With it, you can access more detailed information about the audience visiting your profile and the followers, including the time of day when they are most active. With this data, you can easily find the best time to post content.
2. Choose the Most Effective Hashtags
Hashtags are widely used in social media since they categorize content and make it easier for users to find. This means that you can increase the reach of a post with hashtags.
One of the most frequent mistakes is using too many hashtags, which can be counterproductive. It’s best to use popular hashtags with more specific ones. In addition, you shouldn’t always use the same ones.
There are two ways to find the best hashtags for TikTok, one of them is from the Discover tab, where you can see the most popular ones and those that the platform has selected as relevant. Another way to choose them is by searching for keywords within the Discover tab, but this time from the search bar.
It’s vital that the hashtags are somehow related to the content of the video so that users don’t feel misled.
3. Participate in Trends
Although trending content has an expiration date, it’s a way to gain visibility on social media and gain popularity.
Trends could include anything from a trending topic to using a song or a specific effect. The idea is to take what’s in fashion and adapt it to the topic that you want to create content for.
You should not, however, create meaningless content simply by using a song or an effect that is popular. It should be original and related to what you want to convey or communicate from the company.
4. Be Original
You should try to create original and eye-catching content that’s relevant to your brand. The more different it is from what the competition is doing, the more likely it is to go viral.
Any brand, regardless of its sector, can be on TikTok. Nowadays, even doctors are found promoting interesting content in a funny way through their profiles.
5. Experiment With Video Length
Many TikTokers have found success with short videos since they seem to be more likely to appear on the FYP. This is because the shorter the video, the higher the completion and repetition rate, which TikTok values. However, this doesn’t mean that a 60-second video can’t be successful. In other words, one minute can be good when you have a lot to say, but bad if it’s not done in the right way or fails to catch the user’s attention.
6. Collaborate With Other TikTokers
Collaborations with other content creators can be a very useful way to cross-promote your account. You should collaborate with someone who is related to the sector that your brand operates in, but who isn’t a direct competitor. It would also be useful if this person appears frequently on the recommendations page, as this means that they are already popular.
Appearing on TikTok’s For You Page isn’t easy, but with a well-designed strategy, you can slowly gain visibility!
