Every single person’s experience on TikTok Is different. When you start watching content, the app (i.e., its algorithm) immediately starts to recognize things like:
- Your age
- The content you prefer
- What you spend time looking at
And it’s completely unlike other social media platforms where you mainly see people you follow.
TikTok, plain and simple, is the most addictive personalized social media app you will ever experience.
I’m telling you, everyone I know said, “I’m not gonna download that. It’s stupid. I have no use for it. It’s just a bunch of dumb dance moves or lip dubs!”
Uh, no. Unless, of course, that’s what YOU are giving likes to.
See, the content you’re watching is entirely catered to you. Here’s an anecdotal example:
The other day, Bret and I were in the car, and he said, “Can you believe how TikTok has been completely taken over by all these how-tos?”
And I responded, “What do you mean?”
He says, “Check this out!” and proceeds to show me his feed. We’re talking How-To overload! Like, How To:
- Do Real Estate Investing
- Practice Stock Investing
- Save Money
Bottom line: Just a bunch of different financial how-tos.
It was time to give my sweet husband a wakeup call…
“Dude! I’ve got zero of those in my feed. It’s because you find those fascinating and you’ve been watching them. And so, now that’s what your feed is populated with.”
Whatever it is you watch and like on TikTok, that’s what you’re gonna get fed more of.
Because this artificial intelligence (AI), is so advanced, everybody is eventually going to jump on the app.
And unlike other social media platforms where marketers eventually show up (and ruin the experience), there’s a high probability that won’t happen on TikTok.
Why?
Well, you don’t ever have to worry about your stream — your feed — being anything other than exactly the things you like.
But what pulls the greatest weight in TikTok’s algorithm?
When you watch a video, it automatically loops until you scroll to the next video. When the video replays a couple of times, the algorithm honors that — video loops! — above all else.
Hence, if you’re a creator, keep in mind that the re-watch factor is paramount. And, ultimately, the idea behind going viral. That said, going viral shouldn’t be why you’re making content.
Other things the algorithm is paying attention to:
- Watching a video all the way to the end
- Sharing a video
- Comments
But how does one populate their feed with the type of content they eventually want to produce on TikTok? For that and so much more, you’ll want to check out this Build Your Tribe podcast:
And don’t forget to subscribe to BYT for weekly social media hacks!
