13 TikTok Growth Hacks You Should Know in 2024

When most people think of TikTok, they think of teenagers making funny videos and having a good time. 

Truth be told, that still happens on the app.

However, TikTok offers way more than that now. 

It has become an important platform for people across different sectors and industries that want to:

• Improve brand awareness
• Drive conversions
• Inspire engagements 

…and more!

There’s just so much the social media platform offers regular users, creators, and of course, businesses. 

If you’re reading this, you probably already have an account and want to see it grow.

Fortunately, that’s what we talk about in this guide.

So, sit back and relax as we begin! 

Why Is It Important to Have a TikTok Growth Strategy?

A TikTok growth strategy refers to a set of plans that can help grow your personal brand on the social media app depending on your marketing objectives. 

So, why do you need a growth strategy?

Well, it can help:

• Ensure you generate leads
• Drive traffic to your website
• Increase your brand awareness

Essentially, having a growth strategy ensures you get a good return on ad spend (ROAS) on your TikTok marketing strategy.

What else?

The number of brands using and planning to use the app is on the rise and the only way to stay on top of the game is to have a growth strategy. 

There’s more, but let’s pause there as we’ve got a lot to discuss.

Let’s move on!

13 TikTok Growth Hacks You Should Know

With a population of over 1.2 billion active users and counting, there’s never been a better time for eCommerce businesses, content creators, and marketers who want to improve their presence to get started on TikTok. 

Why?

Aside from TikTok's algorithm, the social media site has the right audience and is set up to make that happen.

In the words of Planning Group Head at Carat, Maria Troitskaya, “almost everyone can be popular in TikTok.”

“How do I harness this TikTok power to grow my brand?”

We’ve put together a comprehensive list of growth hacks to help you get started.

Let’s begin! 

Hack #1: Optimize your profile

The first thing you want to do is optimize your profile or bio as it is sometimes called. 

You can think of your profile as a virtual business card people see when they open your page. 

That’s one place you need to leave a first good impression on potential customers.

When people visit your profile they should instantly know:

• Whether to follow you or not
• Who you are
• What you do

How do you do that?

• Select a remarkable username: Your username is just below your profile photo; the one with @. 

Aside from ensuring people remember your brand, a clear username can ensure you pop up in keyword searches. 

Cool, right?

People will also see it on every video you post so it has to be catchy.

• Choose a name: This is found above your profile photo. Make it searchable so it’s also found in search results. 

It’s good practice for your profile name to be added to your username.

• Use a great profile photo: If you’re a creator, you can use clear headshots showing your face and chest. Brands can use a fun logo and they’re good to go!
  
  
• Write a catchy bio: Describe what your brand does in four words or less. Add a call to action to send users where you want (in four words too). 

Remember to add emojis to keep things interesting and fun.

• Add a link in bio: Use a link in bio feature to add multiple links to your page to drive traffic. You can also add Instagram and YouTube links if you have any. 

Here’s a great example of an optimized profile:

Hack #2: Follow the latest trends

Trends are one of TikTok’s superpowers and that’s why you can view several videos within minutes with all of them using the same song. 

Why?

Because that’s what’s trending!

When there’s a trend on the app, you can leverage it to your advantage and see your business grow. 

How do you find what’s trending?

Visit the discovery page to find trending hashtags and create content accordingly using the hashtags.

Another option is to use the trending songs section to see trending sounds as this can increase the chances of TikTok users viewing your video. 

Jumping on trends is one of those few times where following the crowd isn’t bad.

What’s more, you can’t run short of trends to join as new ones keep popping up regularly. 

Hack #3: Collaborate with TikTok creators

Partnering with creators has got to be one of the easiest ways to grow your brand on TikTok. 

The reason is simple: you will be working with people who’ve already built a community.

In other words, you’ll just be leveraging the influence they have on their audience. 

Perhaps that’s why this hack is popularly referred to as influencer marketing. 

Here’s what Lewis Steel from Connecting Plots said:

“Lean on your creators as much as possible, they know the platform inside out and will know what works best for their audience. Give them creative freedom!”

How do you find creators to collaborate with?

Using a creator marketplace such as TikTok’s creator marketplace and our platform, Insense.

Using Insense to collaborate with creators is very straightforward.

First, you need to gain access to the platform by signing up or logging in.

Then, you’ll be asked to generate a creative brief where you can add details about your campaign and the kind of creators you’d like to work with.

Once that’s done, we will match you with creators who are the right fit for your campaign.

…and the collaboration can begin!

Hack #4: Leverage your analytics

Analytics provide you with insights into how your profile performs. 

More specifically, you’ll get:

• Demographic information on your audience
• Their activities
• Insight into how much time they spend on the app
• The type of content they prefer to see

Simply put, analytics will provide you with everything you need to know about your audience. 

Why is this important?

Well, because any information you get about your followers can teach you the best ways to communicate or engage with them.  

To access TikTok analytics you need to upgrade to a Pro account. 

Here’s how to do that:

• Go to your profile on the TikTok app
• Click the three lines at the top right corner

• Navigate to Settings and Privacy

‍

• Click Manage account > Switch to Pro account or Switch to a Business account

‍

• Choose a category that describes your account

• Go back to the Settings and Privacy tab and choose Analytics 

When you’ve done all this, you can easily access your analytics page without stress. 

Let’s continue!

Hack #5: Participate in challenges

Challenges are a lot like trends and involve active participation from brands, collaborations, and regular users. 

A TikTok challenge is simply inviting people to engage in a contest.

The good thing about this hack is that you can join a train or create viral videos for your brand. 

Now, they come in different forms such as:

• Skits
• Pranks
• Dances

Creating high-quality challenge videos is an opportunity for TikTok to show your content to other people participating in the challenge.

Aside from showing them, other people might be influenced to participate and that means more engagement for you including an increase in brand awareness. 

The VHS filter challenge is an example of a TikTok challenge.

It was a challenge that focused on the past where users recreated images of their younger selves using their kids or young relatives. 

Hack #6: Post at the right time

“There’s a right time to post too?”

Well, yes there is!

The right time to post your videos is when:

• Your followers are active
• You’re available to engage with them

Why is this important?

So you can build lasting relationships and boost engagement with your TikTok followers.

You can do this by responding to comments they drop and engaging in conversations with them.

Let’s continue!

Hack #7: Go after keywords

Another important hack to remember is to go after keywords people search for on TikTok and create content around them.

This way, you’ll be creating content your target audience is actively searching for or would like to engage with.  

Finding keywords to use is pretty easy and here’s how to do it:

Start by typing into TikTok’s search bar to see which keywords are coming up. 

An example is this screenshot below:

Hack #8: Take advantage of TikTok SEO

TikTok SEO is a series of different practices you can use to leverage or optimize your videos so they get more views.

In other words, it can help your posts go viral by using different strategies that will get your video content to the top of TikTok’s search page.

Why is this important?

It's because people are switching from searching for stuff on Google to searching on TikTok. 

So just like on Google’s SERP, creators and brands need to ensure their videos are at the top of TikTok’s search page.

How do you leverage TikTok SEO?

Well, there are three major things you need to take into consideration in the video:

• Audio or speech
• Captions 
• Description

Here’s an example of a TikTok video that uses SEO practices:

The audio in this video was smooth and they also added captions and descriptions. 

Aside from helping your video rank, these practices ensure viewers enjoy watching your TikTok content.

And that can result in engagement and an increase in awareness.

 Hack #9: Use hashtags strategically

Hashtags are similar to keywords—the only difference is that they are preceded by the hash sign (#). 

They help people who are searching for your content find it when they input a keyword or something related. 

What’s more, they can extend your reach to new audiences especially when they are used as a challenge.

Hashtags like the ones in the screenshot below not only help people discover you, but they can also help you build a community too.

Now, there are still misconceptions about whether hashtags mean you get a place on the popular For You Page (FYP).

One thing is certain: making it a part of your TikTok strategy will get your content in front of the right people.

How do you find hashtags?

Visit the discovery page on the TikTok app to scroll through popular hashtags and videos used with them.

Hack #10: Create niche-specific content

Any content you create should be for people in your niche who can understand and engage with your video. 

In other words, you have to build the right audience and create content that targets them.

Why is this important?

You can’t sell or market to everyone because that’s as good as marketing to no one. 

The truth is you might get more views, but what’s the point of more views without conversions or engagement?

That’s why you need to create niche-specific content.  

Also, remember that there’s a good chance your audience will be at different stages of the marketing journey from discovery to being recently aware or in need of solutions.

So keep everyone in mind as you create content for your target audience. 

Hack #11: Add captions to your content

Captions typically refer to short lines of explanation that describe a post. 

They can also be added in the form of subtitles that are displayed at the bottom of the video.

It’s good practice for your video content to have captions describing the video and subtitles so it still makes sense without sound. 

Here’s an example of a TikTok video using captions and subtitles:

Hack #12: Capture and add scroll-stopping hooks

Hooks are on-screen text, phrases in your audio, or clips you show at the beginning of your video.

Adding hooks stops people right in their tracks while scrolling through the FYP. 

It captures their attention and leaves them looking forward to what comes next.

How do you come up with hooks for TikTok videos? 

• Create a list
• Begin with a challenge
• Ask questions about a challenge
• Provide solutions to the issue
• Talk about your product

A good example of a scroll-stopping hook is seen in this post from @victorcjansson:

Hack #13: Leverage TikTok Spark Ads

Last but not least, you should consider leveraging TikTok spark ads for your campaigns.

It’s an excellent way for you to connect with the TikTok community authentically.

Spark ads involve you finding creators to collaborate with who’ll produce content featuring your product like we discussed above and amplifying the content from their profile.

So when people view the ads, they will appear to be coming from the creator.

As such, it will also look authentic and less salesy.

That’s what Vesti, a Canadian-based sneaker brand, used in one of their marketing campaigns and saw 59% lower cost per purchase including:  

• 38% lower cost per click  
• 2x increase in their ROAS

You can take this as the sign you’ve been waiting for to enable spark ads.

Let’s bring this piece to a close!

Now Over to You

It’s often said that all good things must come to an end. 

But in this case, we believe it’s the start of a new journey for your social media marketing efforts.

All of the hacks listed here can give you the kind of results you want. 

If you need more help getting started or finding creators, by all means, book a demo with Insense.

We’ll be happy to help out and see your brand grow.