TikTok right now is one of the biggest social media in the world. Launched initially in 2017 for both android and IOS, the video hosting platform has become one of the world’s most popular websites as ranked in 2021. Today, TikTok averages over one billion videos viewed daily with more than two billion downloads worldwide. Here we will see Why is my TikTok not getting views?
A lot more people call TikTok a new way of life, citing its disruption of the social media space since its inception and mass market adoption. From celebrities, veterans and every other individual, the app have received droves of acceptance causing it to become one of the most used platforms in the world. And with each passing day, the use of the app evolves, with more people using it as an alternate search engine for different locations and several others for more than just entertainment. As influencers increase due to the fame given by the app, more people encounter issues with its use, therefore, if you’ve ever wondered why your TikTok isn’t getting any views, keep reading, we have got the answers for you.
Why Is My TikTok Not Getting Views?
There might be several reasons your video is not getting any views on TikTok, top on that list is the content posted and how exciting and engaging it is to view. Also, the time and day on which the video is uploaded. TikTok’s algorithm has a preference for the timing of posts on the platform.
Improving views on TikTok — Steps to Take
As more people continue to use the TikTok app, knowledge of how to influence the algorithm and increase engagement becomes obvious. Over time, several prominent influencers on the app have shared actionable steps on how to improve views, likes and comments on the app, increasing user engagement and building a strong following.
Some of these steps are discussed below and the actions necessary to see a measurable success rate is outlined as well.
- Posting Generic Contents: One major mistake made by a lot of users on the app is posting generic content. Generic contents are contents that are not specific. These types of content are usually very open-ended and have zero niching. They use a blanket approach and avoid saying exactly what it is trying to sell or mean. The TikTok platform encourages uniqueness and smiles at creators with newer concepts and styles of content creation.
Putting out content on a topic, trend or issue that has been talked about by many other creators, without a spin on it, will result in reduced viewership. The same theory applies to creating within a saturated niche.
When creators attempt to contest in a niche that has too much competition, it is always a big struggle to stand out. Excellence is required to help make content unique, however, this requires research and high-level creativity but not all creators have the patience to do this.
One way to avoid your videos from being seen as generic is to niche down and focus content in specific directions, to build trust and credibility from followers. As a result, this will lead to an improvement in the number of views and engagement on the content.
- Originality: Another big reason for zero views on videos can be posting copied content. The platform has a strict policy on video sharing and creation with more favour on created content. TikTok has software for flagging down copied content. When a user uploads a video that has already been uploaded before, it flags this down and prevents it from being seen by others.
A simple fix for this is to make sure that the contents are unique and original. Whether it is being created on a trending topic or a saturated niche, it is important to make sure that the content has a unique spin on its delivery.
- Inappropriate Content: TikTok frowns at sensitive content. Any video that promotes nudity, violence, hate speech, arms, or weapons will most likely get flagged by the platform. Most sensitive content might not necessarily violate a code or term of service, however, because of the diversity and largeness in the number of people that uses the platform, such posts will be restricted in their spread on the app.
TikTok’s algorithm will place a ban on the spread of videos that fall within sensitive lines and restrict its number of views.
It is a general rule of thumb to stay off areas such as politics, profanity and violence unless you have strong knowledge and relevant information to pass across. If your content in the past has been within these lines, it is advised to take them down and refresh the algorithms flag on your account by posting harmless content to improve views.
- Your Account Might Just be New: Most times, patience is all you need, especially for newly created accounts. It is common for recently created accounts to have no indexing on the platform by the algorithm. What this means is that content might not be ranking high or even featured at all on the explore and “for you” page.
The reduced view and spread of new accounts are very normal and a safe way for TikTok to monitor the people on its platform, separating new users from bots. One popular piece of advice for going past this new account limit placed by TikTok is to make sure that the account engages with other users frequently. Also, try to first interact with other accounts by watching videos, commenting and liking a few other videos before even uploading your first content on the platform.
Remember that all TikTok wants is to make sure that its users are real and not bots, therefore, know this restriction in the virality of new accounts is only temporal and will improve as more content is created by the user.
- You Might Want To Consider the Time You Send Out Posts: Like almost every other social media platform, there are peak times and seasons which when followed, can lead to more people seeing your content.
Posting TikToks randomly and not sticking to a pattern or routine is one sure way to fail on the app. Consider the people that viewing your content and monitor the period when they are mostly online. Taking time into consideration can increase the number of people that will interact with the content.
Using a content calendar is one way of sticking to a consistent posting time. There are stated ideal periods to put out your content.
It is also important to note that having an adequate spacing between posts is a great strategy for growth on the platform. Posting too much content at the same time is seen as a bad idea, therefore, having adequate balance in the number and frequency of posts is encouraged. Ideally, at least three videos per day are encouraged with at least 3 to 4 hours in between their posting time, is encouraged.
TikTok Algorithm and How Can it be Tweaked?
The TikTok algorithm is the engine of content for all creators on the app. The algorithm determines what video gets recommended and the number of views it gets. It curates videos for each user’s For You page and directs the type of videos that are shown to each user on the app. Usually, the For You page works based on the interests of the user, however, perfectly curated videos aligned to the platform’s content style enjoy more recommendations by the algorithm.
Therefore, any creator who wishes to stand out and increase views on their video will do well to study the algorithm and find ways to tweak it in their favour.
Here are some of the best things to do to enjoy more views on the TikTok
- Hashtags are your best friend: There is a thing called SEO hashtags. These are hashtags that generate high search trend returns. They enable users to rank highly on the search table on TikTok and give videos more visibility.
The hidden knowledge here is to research already existing keywords and determine the highly searched ones and then tailor content in this direction. You can discover trending hashtags by looking at the Discover page of the TikTok app and hitting trends.
Ensure to look out for hashtags that are affiliated with popular challenges. You can also use hashtags to find people within your specific niche and create content that they will enjoy watching.
- Captions will give you an edge: On TikTok, you have only got 150 characters to make an impression, you must make adequate use of this.
Captions help draw attention to what is in the video. They are an excellent way to create excitement and curiosity for videos even before they are watched. They can also be great tools for harnessing conversations, likes and proper feedback.
- Do not forget to post at the right time: Timing is everything on TikTok. Posts sent out at the right time will generate greater buzz than randomly uploaded content. Take into consideration, the type of people that view your content and the times when they receive peak engagement, this will help in knowing the perfect time to upload content on the app.
Paying attention to timing is a great way to improve engagement with any content put out. Use the analysis tool provided in-app to take determine these peak moments and days when users are most likely to interact with posted content.
- Sounds, music and audio: Music and other background sounds can increase the engagement ratio of your videos. Take advantage of popular songs and use them to increase the visibility of videos. This is one sure way of increasing views on any content on the TikTok app.
Conclusion
Whether you are new to TikTok or a veteran with an influencer status, it is important to stay updated on the changes in the platform’s algorithm. Make sure that practices are in line with what is accepted on the app. TikTok being a social app means that it is fundamentally meant for communication and engagement across users. Therefore, creativity and originality are the best tools needed to stand out on the app.
Collaboration with other creators is one way to promote engagement. Try as much as possible to make sure that whatever it is you create to be shared with an audience is good enough to hold attention.
With continued practice and tweaking of content style and practices, fame will certainly come to your content.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the most popular accounts on the TikTok app?
Answer:
As of September 2022, the most popular TikTok account is comedian Khabane Lame with 150 million followers.
