The For You Page is to TikTok as the Explore page is to Instagram. The major difference is that you land on the For You Page right when you enter the app, as opposed to clicking over to it like the Explore page on Instagram. In fact, you can even scroll the For You Page (FYP) before you even create a TikTok account. This “in your face” accessibility makes the FYP a place that any content creator wants to end up. The beauty is, you don’t need a lot of followers to be featured on the FYP! Here are our top tips for getting your video to as many viewers as possible on the FYP.
Join in On Trends
Adapting a trend to your niche is one of the most sure fire ways to end up on the FYP. Much of the FYP is made up of different creators' takes on the same trend. Does anyone else remember "oooo Caroline - ooooo keep my name out of your thin mouth" from January? This sound created by @lubalin put a Facebook fight about a broccoli casserole recipe to a catchy pop tune. His original video (below) garnered 38.8M views.
This sound was adapted to all sorts of plots and niche's by millions of creators. Check out this video below from an account that only has a little over 1,000 followers but gained 338.5K views by using this sound to dramatize a fight between sisters over clothing.
Get creative and make the trends work for you. This will pay off. And if you think a trend doesn't work for your niche, just remember that a sound about a broccoli casserole recipe helped small accounts reach hundreds of thousands of new viewers.
Post at the Right Time for Your Audience
If you post when they most people are on TikTok, your video will be seen by more people right out of the gate, which causes the algorithm to show it on more user's FYPs. Check out the chart below by Influencer Marketing Hub that suggests the best times to post on TikTok globally.
But there really aren't "perfect" times to post on TikTok. To find out the best times that will work for your account, you need to dig into your insights. First make sure that you have a Pro Account. When you've switched to a Pro Account, you will be access information about your audience - like their most active days and times. Tailor your posting times to match this info - and you should see your FYP reach grow.
Use the Right Hashtags
Hashtag strategy on TikTok is very different than Instagram hashtag strategy. First off, TikTok only allows their captions to be 100 characters, so you can't fit many hashtags in. When you click on the Discover page, you can scroll through the trending hashtags. When you use the search bar, you can search hashtags in your niche and see how many views each hashtag garnered. A high view number associated with a hashtag is not necessarily a bad thing! On Instagram, you want to avoid hashtags that have been used millions of times. But on TikTok, it's not bad to hop on a hashtag that has garnered millions of views.
We suggest using 1 - 2 trending hashtags and 1 - 3 hashtags that match your content. And as for the popular #fyp #foryoupage hashtags, the jury is still out. The is no research to back up that they work, but some users swear by these hashtags.
Try Different Video Lengths
It's well known that the completion rate of a video affects how much the algorithm pushes it. What does this mean? The more people who watch your video all the way through, the better your video will do on the FYP. Some people think this means that they should only make extremely short 7 - 10 second videos. Definitely experiment with this. Try putting out some really short content, and track how it affects your views, likes, and comments. Then release longer videos (that are well thought out with a hook that will keep them watching to the end) and see how your numbers change. We try to keep all of our TikToks under 30 seconds.
Here's what we know for sure about TikTok. If you put zero effort into your videos, they won't get pushed on the FYP. We're not saying that you need to get professional lighting and buy high quality editing software. We're saying that you shouldn't try to make your content on the fly and without a plan. If you implement these tips with each TikTok you post, your reach on the FYP will increase.
