How To Get Likes on TikTok—A Complete Guide

Sep 15, 2023
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How To Get Likes on TikTok—Strategies You Can Try

In 2016, TikTok was a new platform that almost everyone predicted would go away in a few months. Today, it attracts over a billion users, and the platform’s major stars like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae Easterling are raking in millions of dollars thanks to their popularity among GenZers.As with any online buzz, businesses have started exploring TikTok and see it more and more as a new venue for growing their business. Despite having so many users, the platform is still new, and social media experts are constantly seeking ways to improve their marketing efforts and attract more attention to their content.In this article, we’ll show you how to get likes on TikTok and increase your following.

What Makes TikTok Likes Important

When you check your account’s analytics, you’ll find many metrics related to your followers, livestreams, and your posts in general. Perhaps the most useful section is the one that covers your engagement rates, and it includes the following data:

  • Video views
  • Profile views
  • Likes
  • Comments
  • Shares

All of these elements are intertwined, and you can’t excel in one of them without working on the rest. When it comes to the importance of likes, as a business account owner, you can use them to gauge how popular your videos are and what type of content you should focus on to grow your business on this platform.Likes are also a valuable indication to:

  1. Other users—They can see whether your video is “likable enough” before they decide to invest their time into watching it
  2. TikTok—The platform uses user interactions (including likes) as one of the main factors for promoting a video organically on the For You page

How To Get TikTok Likes

Source: Michael BurrowsIncreasing engagement rates on TikTok is still a conundrum for many social media marketers, especially when you take into account how spontaneous viral videos seem to be. At the face of it, it’s tough to find a pattern and a sure-fire way of getting new followers, views, and likes.Still, there are some tried-and-tested methods that you can employ in your marketing strategy. It’s important to note, though, that you should be ready for a trial-and-error process until you find that sweet spot that works best for your audience and niche.

Creating TikToks, Not Generic Videos

https://www.tiktok.com/@bellapoarch/video/6862153058223197445?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7056720794054985222Source: Bella PoarchCurrently, the most liked video on TikTok is Bella Poarch’s M to the B post, with 55.4 million likes. If you look at the video as a business, you may dismiss it immediately since it’s senseless to post something similar—it adds no value to your brand, and your audience might see it as cringeworthy.Still, the fact that this is the most liked video gives us an insight into the interests of TikTokers.TikTok is a social media platform that can’t be likened to any other. When you create an Instagram post, you can share it on Twitter and Facebook, but it won’t do you any good here.When you make a TikTok, you need to ensure your video meets the expectations of your audience. Your videos need to be spontaneous—while the production quality should be high, you shouldn’t overdo it and risk not having an off-the-cuff feel to them.When creating a video, think of:

  • Duration—While TikTok generally prefers shorter videos, that doesn’t mean you should shy away from making your TikToks last as long as 3 minutes if it makes sense for the message you’re trying to convey
  • Content—Try to make your videos funny or cute, but be wary that corny or misplaced humor can easily backfire
  • Audio—It’s an important element to TikToks as it can set the mood and change the way users perceive your video entirely. As a business, make sure to use royalty-free tracks

Following Trends

Unless you’re having some issues with getting views, every video you post will get at least some attention. TikTok puts uploaded videos on the For You page for a brief period to see how users interact with them. If you can’t generate any initial engagement, your video will no longer get exposure.To help you stay on the FYP for longer, try to jump in on a trend that’s popular at the moment. Anything can be trending on TikTok—songs, dances, hashtags, challenges, effects, etc. TikTokers love trends and like to see different users give their take on them, either by copying an influencer or by going in a different direction entirely. As a business, you shouldn’t shy away from trends as 61% of users like to see brands post a trending video.Make sure, though, not to do it at all costs. Consider whether it makes sense for your brand—don’t post a trending clothes-changing edit if your business is about car parts. Try to find a casual and organic way to incorporate your branding into whatever is trending at the moment.

Post on Time

Another way to increase the results of that initial boost TikTok gives to all videos is to time your posts right. You should post your videos when the majority of your followers (or your target audience) is actively using the app.According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the best posting times vary by day:DayTime of Day (Eastern Standard Time)Monday6:00 a.m.10:00 a.m.10:00 p.m.Tuesday2:00 a.m.4:00 a.m.9:00 a.m.Wednesday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.11:00 p.m.Thursday9:00 a.m.12:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.Friday5:00 a.m.1:00 p.m.3:00 p.m.Saturday11:00 a.m.7:00 p.m.8:00 p.m.Sunday7:00 a.m.8:00 a.m.4:00 p.m.The posting frequency matters as well. While you shouldn’t upload low-quality videos just for the sake of uploading, you should try to establish consistency in your posting schedule to create a habit among your followers and make them expect to see one of your videos.

Use Other People’s Videos

TikTok is all about user-generated content and rewards any type of content that gets people to stay on the platform. This includes using other people’s content and adding something of value to them. The two most common ways are:

  1. Stitch
  2. Duet

Stitch is an editing feature that allows you to take a part of someone’s video and add (stitch) your reaction to it. If you do it right, the original creator may like and share your video, and people will engage with it. One of the biggest TikTok stars, Khaby Lame, rose to fame by posting Stitch videos.https://www.tiktok.com/@khaby.lame/video/6961405079870115077?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7056720794054985222Source: Khaby LameDuet is an editing tool that creates a split-screen video with you on one side and another creator’s video on the other. It can be extremely effective to start a hashtag challenge and ask your followers to post Duets reacting to a brand-specific task using the same hashtag.

Collaborate With Influencers

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways of reaching new people on TikTok and getting them to engage with your brand. Aside from the Creator Fund, getting sponsored by companies is the only way creators can make money on TikTok, and many will gladly collaborate with you.As a business, you can benefit from their creativity and reach. Since influencer videos are more likely to end up on the For You page, you increase the chance of starting a trend and getting other users to post videos with your hashtag, song, or branded effect.If getting likes is your primary marketing goal, you can work with an influencer and post the video they create on your account. TikTokers will identify the influencer, and your engagement rates will naturally grow.

How To Pick the Right Influencer

Choosing an influencer is a process that consists of more than checking who has the most followers. When selecting the perfect content creator to collaborate with, you should factor in:

  • Number of followers
  • Price per post
  • Popularity within a niche

Teaming up with one of the D’Amelio sisters will bring in great numbers for sure, but their popularity allows them to ask for rates that may make the collaboration nonsensical.What’s great about TikTok is that even smaller influencers can be successful when it comes to generating traction on the For You page. This is especially true if you find a creator that’s popular within your specific niche since your target audience is more likely to engage with their content.Influencers’ rates depend on their following, with the general prices per post being as follows:TierNumber of FollowersPrice per PostNano-influencer1–10,000 followers$5–$25Micro-influencer10,000–50,000 followers$25–$125Mid-tier influencer50,000–500,000 followers$125–$1,250Macro-influencer500,000–1,000,000 followers$1,250–$2,500Mega-influencerMore than 1,000,000 followers$2,500+If you don’t have a specific name in mind already, you can browse influencers on the Creator Marketplace.

Promote Your Videos

Social media platforms like nothing more than some good, old-fashioned paid marketing—TikTok is no different.You can promote your video to reach a greater number of users. The video will show up in their For You feed between other videos that are there organically. This way, you can increase your overall engagement rates, including likes.If you’re not willing to boost all of your videos, you should wait until one of your uploads starts gaining some interest organically—promote that video to get the most out of it.Video promotion has proven to be an effective tool on TikTok for many companies, such as:

  • Strike Gently Co.—Their promoted videos reached over 700,000 views and brought in over 1,000 new website visits each day
  • At Last Entertainment & Events—The company saw a 90% increase in the number of followers during a six-month period
  • MetroTap—Thanks to increasing their following and overall presence on Tiktok through promotion, the company sources 78% of its total sales from this platform

Organize Giveaways

Giveaways are popular for a reason. Everybody loves to get free items/services and will gladly engage with a TikTok post for a chance to participate.In return for a product/service of yours, you can get TikTokers to participate in your giveaway and follow the rules you set. One of the most common giveaway rules include users:

  1. Following the brand account
  2. Liking the video
  3. Leaving a comment and tagging some of their friends

A giveaway can help you improve not only the number of your likes but your other engagement metrics as well.

Source: Shingi Rice

Advertise

Unlike promoting your posts, TikTok advertising can’t help you with the number of likes on your videos directly. Still, you can grow your audience greatly with paid ads if you focus on brand awareness and get more followers who will engage with your content in the long run.TikTok offers three standard ad types and two types of content ads. Standard ads include:

  1. Brand takeovers—Show up full-screen once someone starts up the app
  2. Top-view ads—Appear as the first videos on the For You page. They are great for grabbing attention, and you need to make sure the video you use stands out and is engaging right from the start
  3. In-feed ads—Appear in the FYP feed between other posts and are great for increasing traffic. They last for 15 seconds and represent the least intrusive ad type

When it comes to content ads, you can pay for:

  1. Branded effects—Appear as “trending effects” when a user is editing their video. They can be stickers, 2D, 3D, or AR effects
  2. Branded hashtag challenges—Show up on the Discover page and invite users to use your hashtags in their video captions. If done properly, you can benefit from user-generated content the same way Chipotle did with #GuacDance, which received 1.1 billion views overall

How To Get More Likes on TikTok—Can It Be Done Single-Handedly?

The importance of TikTok grows by the day, and businesses (regardless of their size) are finding it impossible to ignore the platform. It’s a perfect venue to reach the younger generation and find new customers. A new, younger audience requires a new, unique approach that many social media marketers still struggle with.You need to be creative, patient, and consistent with your uploading and avoid the dreaded possibility of being labeled “just another boomer company.”Growing on TikTok and getting users to like your content is achievable, but it’s not an easy feat.To successfully manage your brand’s TikTok account, your social media managers will have their hands full. They’ll need to come up with video ideas, produce and upload them, follow trends to stay in touch, engage with the audience, create promotional and advertising campaigns, organize giveaways, etc.While they do all that, they also have Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms to concentrate on as well. It’s nearly impossible to take care of all that with a small in-house marketing team if you want to achieve the best possible results.That’s where Kubbco can jump in.

Getting More Likes on TikTok Is Our Expertise

Kubbco is a social media agency with an official partnership with TikTok. Our team consists of seasoned professionals with experience in content writing, video production, graphic design, sound engineering, data analytics, and paid ad campaigns. All of them will be at your disposal, working tirelessly to get your TikTok account booming.We have a tried-and-tested formula for achieving success on TikTok. All you need to do is get in touch and tell us what your goals are on this platform. After that, we’ll:

  1. Come up with the entire marketing and content strategy
  2. Create various types of videos to see what generates the most likes
  3. Produce high-quality videos and post them consistently according to our carefully thought-out content calendar
  4. Research and connect with influencers for sponsorships
  5. Promote your better-performing videos and set up paid ad campaigns
  6. Follow analytics closely and compile reports to optimize our efforts

Want to learn how we do it and get an insight into what you can change to optimize your marketing approach? Subscribe to our free newsletter, where we share useful tips and our take on the latest trends on various social media.

Join Matas, NATURLI’ Foods, and OLAPLEX in Finding Success on TikTok

Once you reach out and set an objective for your TikTok campaign, we’ll take over, and you can rest assured your engagement numbers will start soaring.Kubbco may not know how to create the products and services you offer, but we know how to promote them on TikTok by creating engaging videos that people will like and respond to.We’ve already been down this road many times—we’ve generated millions of views and created viral videos for multiple brands, including Matas, NATURLI’ Foods, and OLAPLEX. Here’s how the partnership with us worked out for them:

  • Matas—We created 25 videos in two months, eight of which went viral with over 300,000 views each. Their account saw over 209,000 interactions overall, and their videos had over 5.6 million views altogether
  • NATURLI’ Foods—In 23 weeks, we posted 20 viral videos and 112 TikToks overall, gaining 6.2 million views
  • OLAPLEX—It took us just five weeks to increase this brand’s follower count by 22,000. We created 28 videos for OLAPLEX, which attracted 5.1 million views. Six videos had over 100,000 views each, while two of them went viral reaching more than a million views per video

Don’t hesitate to contact us and get TikTokers to start liking your videos instantly!

Featured image: Oladimeji Ajegbile

Malene Hold
Head of TikTok

TikTok and social media expert helping clients leverage the power of viral concepts to grow their businesses.

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