How To Use TikTok as an Artist: Part 1 - The Algorithm

TikTok is increasingly becoming a necessary tool for expanding your reach as an artist. Fortunately, there are consistent trends used by influencers that lead to success. In this series, we’ll delve into how the algorithm works and how to harness it for viral success.

Part 1 of Our 3-Part Series

In part 1, we’ll look at how the TikTok algorithm works and how it impacts your visibility. Future parts will focus on creating compelling content and sustaining growth on TikTok.

How the Algorithm Works

The TikTok Algorithm is so accurate that it has basically become a meme at this point. It seems to know what you need before you even do. How does it make your For You Page (FYP) so accurate and how can you use this to boost your music career?

When a video is made, it is ranked higher or lower depending on its reception. Videos with high engagement earn points and those with poor engagement lose points. Once posted, your video will pop up in between popular videos so that viewers stay interested and keep watching.

To catch the algorithm's attention, your video typically needs about 1 like for every 10 views. When you post a video, it’s first shown to a small group of people. If it gets a lot of attention, then the algorithm will show it to even more people.

Every TikTok account starts at a neutral ranking of 0. Over time, successful content can earn points, while poor performances can result in point deductions, even into the negatives. A higher ranking leads to increased visibility.

Your first 3-5 TikTok videos are crucial to making or breaking your ranking. Your first videos are always shown to a large audience to gather data on your new account. It will determine the category of your content. Prepare a few videos and pick your highest quality consistent content to take advantage of this.

Key Metrics Used In Your Ranking

TikTok's algorithm ranks content based on its potential interest to users. Here are the main metrics it uses:

Comments/Reactions/Likes
Engagement to Followers Ratios
Time Watched
Deleting Videos
Community Violations
Duplicate Content

Other Metrics That Affect Ranking

Deleting videos on TikTok generally negatively effect your ranking and therefore your visibility. If your videos performed poorly, are outside of your niche, or are not meeting your standards, it's best to set them on private. No one will see them, and your account will not be affected.

It's also important to note that the TikTok algorithm occasionally recycles old video content, bringing it before large audiences and breathing new life into it. This is why you might see older videos suddenly blow up that previously had very little engagement.

The only time you SHOULD delete videos is if they are flagged for violating community guidelines.

The 4 Tiers of TikTok Rankings

When you upload a video, TikTok initially tests it with a small group (Tier 1). If it gets positive engagement, it moves through four viewing tiers:

Tier 1: Initial testing with a small audience.
Tier 2: Greater audience exposure.
Tier 3: Even larger viewership.
Tier 4: The top tier, where videos can go viral and reach millions.

An account with zero followers has the same opportunity for to go viral as one with a million followers. While videos from accounts with larger followings may receive more views due to their current audience, the algorithm still treats videos equally during the testing phase.

Once you’ve reached at least 100K authentic views in the past 30 days, your account has stood out among the masses. TikTok may initiate a “New Creator Test” for your account, If your content is successful, you may be assigned a TikTok mentor helps optimize your content.

Getting on the Good Side of the Algorithm

MAIN ALGORITHM TAKEAWAY: TikTok rewards content that performs well and penalizes content that doesn’t. It especially favors videos that adhere to these guidelines:

Engagement to Video Ratio:

The more followers you gain, the more engagement you need on each video. This is primarily done to weed out bots and to discourage users from purchasing followers.
- Focus on creating a community of engaged followers rather than just chasing numbers. Even if the number of your likes starts off small, having a dedicated group of people who resonate with your content is more valuable. Attracting uninterested followers will lead to low engagement.

Consistency & Quality

Frequently posting can help increase your account's score, but it must be paired with high-quality content. Some suggest posting anywhere from 1-4 times daily. Be careful not to spam the feed with low effort videos and duplicate posts, which will lower your score.
- Tips for Quality Editing:
  - Keep a consistent video format and posting schedule.
    - TikTok prioritizes videos in vertical format and those edited by their editing software.
- Find a Niche:
  - TikTok favors niche content so you need to find your individual brand.
  - Create related video topics with similar lengths, and aesthetic. Avoid posting seemingly unrelated content.
    - For example, if your page is all about making beats, don't post about your gym routine.
  - Post content that's relevant to TikTok that strikes a balance between form and originality. For example, keep up with current trends, but put an individual spin on them. TikTok embraces authenticity and "down-to-earth" content.

Watch-time, Re-watches, & Total Seconds

The algorithm prioritizes content that people viewed longer rather than just by the number of views. For example, a shorter video needs to be watched multiple times to match the score of a longer video, even if the longer video isn’t viewed in its entirety.

Account Settings

Language preference, country settings, and device type of users are also taken into account. Adjust your account settings to appeal to your target audience.

Now that we’ve covered the algorithm’s metrics and touched on some guidelines, our next post will look into the specifics of creating content on TikTok as an artist. Part 2 is coming soon!

This content was inspired by insights from author Josiah Soren Garrett, articles on Buffer.com, Infinte.com and guidelines from TikTok.