Take Your TikTok Music Promotion To The Next Level With These Top Tips
TikTok is one of the most powerful platforms for musicians to sell more music and grow their fanbase. However, with so many creators, rapidly changing trends, and the ever-daunting algorithm, it can be intimidating to get started.
That’s why we created this TikTok music promotion guide to help you understand and rock your content.
Let’s get started.
Understanding TikTok’s Algorithm
TikTok’s algorithm is the reason why the app is so successful. If you’ve used the app, you’re actively using the algorithm by scrolling through your “For You Page.” The algorithm pays attention to the content you’re interacting with, so it can show you more content you like as you keep scrolling.
There are many factors this algorithm uses to decide which videos and creators to show you. None of these factors is more important than the other, so understand that all of these work together.
User Engagement
User engagement is pretty much what it sounds like. The more someone interacts with your video, the more likely it will be shown to others.
The user engagements TikTok pays attention to are:
Likes
Comments
Shares
Follows
TikTok will also pay attention to how rapidly you get these engagements and their quality. If many people comment and like within an hour of posting, the algorithm will likely keep showing it to more people.
View Count
As soon as your view starts to play, TikTok counts that as a view. It doesn’t matter whether they watch all the way through or not. When a video autoplays, repeats on a loop, or if a viewer returns to the video to watch it again, TikTok counts those as new views.
Now, don’t get too excited. TikTok is also taking into account the percentage of views to user engagement. So your video may get 900 views, but with only ten likes or comments, it won’t rank as high as a video with 500 views and 100 likes or comments.
Watch Time
Watch time for TikTok is the average time someone spends watching your video. The Watched Full Video metric is also presented as a percentage to show how many viewers watched your video through to the end.
A long video that gets someone to watch to the end is more favourable than a short video that does the same. This is because longer videos can keep the viewer on the app longer.
But remember, getting someone to watch a short video all the way through is easier, so it’s more likely to rank higher than a long video that doesn’t have good follow-through.
Video Quality
Of course, higher-quality videos will rank better because they look better to users, causing better engagement. Viewers who can’t hear or see what you’re saying are more likely to scroll away.
Always make sure you have good lighting, audio you can understand with closed captions, and include visually appealing graphics.
Relevance
When you create content that’s relevant to your audience, TikTok is going to favour that. The algorithm prefers content similar to what your audience likes to watch, so you really need to understand your audience.
Use hashtags in your TikTok music promotion strategy that your audience already interacts with. Be sure to pay attention to other creators they follow, and learn about the kind of content the users engage with more often.
How To Beat The Algorithm
There’s a lot that goes into beating the algorithm. It isn’t enough to use just one of these TikTok tips; you have to use them all for the best results.
At the end of this section, I’ll show you examples of some of the factors we’re mentioning here.
Research Using Your For You Page
When you first open the app, you’re taken to the for you page (FYP). You need to spend time here. The FYP is how you find trends, see what content works, and gives you ideas for your own content.
Look at this as research, and try to use it daily to stay on top of trends.
Fair warning about this. Don’t get stuck in the rabbit hole that is TikTok. Set a timer so you know when to get off the app. Even while researching, TikTok can suck you in, and you must make time to create your videos.
Post Consistently
You cannot tackle TikTok music promotion without posting videos often and consistently. Not only does TikTok reward this behaviour, but your fans also want it.
Choose two times a day and post a video at each of those times. Then, randomly throughout the day, post another video. Yes, that means you should post at least three videos daily.
It’s important to note that these videos need to be high quality. You can’t get away with posting low-quality, unengaging videos, even if you are doing so consistently. The algorithm knows when you’re trying to trick it based on user engagement.
We know posting multiple times a day is hard, so at the very least, post once a day until you have time to ramp it up.
If you’re looking for more content ideas outside of TikTok, be sure to sign up for a fan page to see our posting ideas to help you out. We update them often, so come back often!
Use Relevant Hashtags
#TikTok uses hashtags similarly to other social media sites, so it’s important to do your research. The best way to find relevant hashtags for your videos is to follow other creators that are similar to you and see what they’re using.
Many people consider the hashtagging process as TikTok SEO. If you know anything about SEO, you have an advantage here, as you’re basically using hashtags as keywords for your content.
Don’t worry if you don’t have SEO experience; you can still do great with hashtagging. You need the hashtags you use to be relevant to the content you share and the audience you want to reach. Look up some of your favourite creators, see the hashtags they’re using, and try some in your videos.
Use Catchy Music & Sounds
Sounds go viral on TikTok all the time. It’s an essential part of using the app, so you need to make sure that you’re using sounds and music that are catchy and trending.
If you can, try to use a trending sound before it starts going viral. Of course, this is a guessing game, but it can have a huge impact when you hit the right trends. Look for music or sounds that have less than 5,000 videos.
If you can create a video that’s engaging and relevant, you not only help the sound or trend go viral, but you also get a boost since your video is established within the sound.
Always Create Closed Captions
While sounds are huge on TikTok, not everyone uses the app while listening to it, and there’s a fairly large amount of people who are deaf that use TikTok. So ensure your videos are inclusive by creating closed captions or using other text features to write what you’re saying.
Plus, captions are great for general understanding if someone has difficulty hearing what you’re saying. It’s good practice to get into, so don’t skip this.
Take Advantage Of Text And Effects
Your videos must be eye-catching; always use appealing graphics and fun effects. Try out some of the filters or other fun offerings TikTok has when you upload a new video.
Pro Tip: Always use TikTok’s video editor to add text to your videos. If you use another video software before importing into TikTok, you’ll want to strip the words from the video and use TikTok to add the text. The algorithm cannot read text inside uploaded videos, but if you use TikTok to add the text, it can then read it, helping to show it to the right viewers.
Hop On Trends FAST
Most trends on TikTok last anywhere from one to two weeks. Some trends have a shorter lifespan, and some have a longer one. When you see a trend you want to do, get up and do it right away.
Another way to use trends you may have missed is to share them one or two months after the trend disappeared. Of course, by this time, the trend has started to fall off the FYP, but it could be a good post if you add something like “are people still doing this?” or “better late than never??”
If you do this, do so sparingly. It loses its edge when it’s the second or third time you’ve been far behind trends. Also, be prepared for the possibility of the video completely flopping. For best results, try and stay up with trends and post them while trending.
Have A Good Mix Of Video Lengths
Some experts say to have many short videos, but they also say longer videos that get watched to the end perform better. So, what should you do?
It’s simple: have variety in what you post. For example, have some videos be fifteen seconds and others three minutes. Try different lengths and see what your audience likes. If you don’t have time to make videos of varying lengths, it’s best to have shorter videos up to around the sixty-second mark.
Tell a Story
Unlike other platforms, TikTok viewers don’t care about what you’re doing now. Instead, they want to be entertained and experience a story.
Don’t just look at the camera to tell the viewers about an experience you had. Instead, take them on that journey. Use graphics and the green screen to show them as much as possible to create something compelling.
It’s also important to finish your story. Leaving on a cliffhanger leaves users unsatisfied unless you have a second part for them right away. Some cliffhangers are good, but be sure to use them sparingly and only when you have a plan to finish the story.
Engage with Your Audience
Respond to your audience! You can't do TikTok music promotion without interacting with your current audience. Comment back, make video responses, and create a community for your followers.
This isn’t just to keep your fans happy. It also helps the algorithm because your commenting back causes more engagement on the video. As TikTok sees this, they show the video to more viewers. Commenting back also shows your viewers that you care about them.
It’s worth noting that commenting back is fine, but you shouldn’t start direct messaging them. If someone wants to reach out to you, let them, but don’t start reaching out to everyone who posts and DM them. TikTok can even ban you if you do it too often, so stay in public with responses unless they reach out to you first.
Give A Reason To Stay Until The End
To increase engagement on your videos, give users a reason to watch the video all the way through. For example, if you’re sharing a song, add something like “Wait for the drop” or “I can’t believe what my drummer did at the end.”
The point is to give a little teaser or reason why someone would want to watch all the way through.
Collaborate with Other Users
I think @meghantrainor and @chris are perfect examples of what a successful collab looks like. Chris could be considered a TikTok music influencer since he doesn’t personally make music, but he works with many musicians to help them go viral.
If you scroll through either of their accounts, you’ll see numerous videos of them together, using each other’s audiences to gain more followers and using the TikTok algorithm perfectly.
Find other musicians and start creating a relationship with them. Duet their videos, comment on them and feature each other in videos. There are so many ways to connect with other creators to expand both of your video views.
Create Sounds With Your Music
This is one of the most important aspects of TikTok music promotion. Upload your music and make it available to be used as a sound for other videos. If there’s a particularly catchy part of your song that people can recreate, upload that part as the song.
Promote a new song that will be released soon by making it a sound and trying to start a trend. All trends start with one video uploaded with a catchy tune. It’s not unreasonable to assume you can do the same.
Find Your Subculture
This one is easier for you since you make music. Sounds, dances, and music are all at the core of what TikTok is meant for. So depending on what type of music you create, you can be part of those subcultures.
If you make country music, some content tailored toward FarmTok makes sense. If you have a song about love or romance, see how you can relate it to a book for BookTok. Think about what else your fans like on TikTok and how your music fits into their niche interests.
Examples Of What Works
Here are some examples of musicians who are doing their TikTok music promotion right.
@parispalomaofficial
As of writing this article on March 15th, 2023, this is trending on TikTok.
@parispalomaofficial LABOUR OUT 24TH MARCH. PRE-SAVE LINK IN BIO (tiktok its beetroot and pomegranate no hearts were eaten in the making of this video) #labour #emotionallabour #women #domesticlabour #feminist #newmusic #parispaloma #singersongwriter ♬ labour - Paris Paloma
This creator is doing everything right, from the catchy music to the video quality to the hashtags used.
The hashtags she uses are:
#labour #emotionallabour #women #domesticlabour #feminist #newmusic #parispaloma #singersongwriter
With this post, she’s trying to reach women and tell them about her new song about working women. The music is powerful on its own, but the hashtags help the algorithm understand who to start showing this video to. Young women, the correct audience for the singer, picked it up and made it trending by making their own recreations using that sound and relevant hashtags.
Take a look at some of the videos made under that sound to see how people use hashtags to reach more niched audiences, like this recreation that reaches fairy, fantasy, and Greek Mythology niches.
@crazycae #POV goddesses raise their daughters to not bow down to a man #breakthecycle #generationaltrauma #domesticlabor #labour #greekmythology #greekgoddess #womenempowerment #familyline #viral #foryoupage #crazycae #womenshistorymonth ♬ labour - Paris Paloma
The creator then continues to release other snippets of the song before its release date on the 24th. She’s gone viral, gaining an audience for her new song before she’s even uploaded the entire song.
@boxofbeats
@laerzmusic Here is the story: I was in Vegas for a corporate event. My friend came with me. The day before the event she said “we should go to a club”. I thought I had never been to one in Vegas so why not. We saw @steveaoki was play at hakssan. We went. As soon as his set started I took out my phone, opened up instagram stories, took a photo with the lens pressed against my hand so the photo was blacked out, and in big bold white font I typed out “I BEATBOX YOUR MUSIC” I held it up for over an hour. At one point I was 20 ft from the dj booth. 10 min before his set was scheduled to end he stopped the music, grabbed the microphone and said “Someone here says they beatbox my music should we give him a shot?!?”. No one responded back everyone was confused why the music stopped suddenly. Steve then looked at me and said “listen man be honest cause if this goes bad I can get in trouble. Can you really Beatbox or do you suck?”. My friend screamed at the top of her lungs “HES A FUCKING BEAST”.. Steve called me up and this happened. #lifechangingmoment ♬ original sound - laerzmusic
He created an experience, and his fans love to see it. He doesn’t use any hashtags, but his comments and likes speak for themselves. As of writing this article, the video has four million views. You can see that @boxofbeats responds to the comments his fans are leaving.
@mckaylaprew
The subculture for this video is very clearly Taylor Swift, and her fans love her for it. She creates an engaging video showing off her talent and uses the right hashtags for great engagement.
@mckaylaprew CAN I GET SOME “YEE HAW’S” IN THE CHAT !!! HELP ME MAKE COUNTRY COOL AGAIN !! “The Fool” is out now !!🤠💛 #countrypopmusic #taylorswift #kaceymusgraves #swifties #swifttok #speaknowtaylorsversion #kelseaballerini #singersongwriter #oliviarodrigo #debuttaylorsversion ♬ THE FOOL McKayla Prew - MCKAYLA MAE PREW🩷
To Hide, Or Not To Hide Poor-Performing Videos
People may tell you to delete or make poor-performing videos private, but we strongly urge you not to do so. While you may not get the desired results from the video, the algorithm learns essential data from the flopping videos.
When you delete videos, it also lowers your overall like count. Don’t do yourself dirty like that. Plus, as you grow, you may find that TikTok decides to try that video on other people's FYP later, and it increases in views just because it sat there.
As long as you haven’t been offensive, blatantly incorrect, or inappropriate, or the video hasn’t been taken down for violating community guidelines, leave even your poorest performing videos up.
Take Your TikTok Music Promotion To The Next Level Today
Now that you know how to take your TikTok music promotion to the next level, it’s time for you to get started! Create your account, start making videos, and have some fun!
TikTok is a social media tool that allows you to be honest with your fans and create a fun, engaging community.
If you’re looking for more ways to create an engaged audience, consider signing up for a fan page with us. These fan pages help you give your most dedicated fans access to the content that means the most to you and can help you grow.
