How to Get More Views On TikTok: A Beginner Guide (No Followers Needed)

How can you get more views on TikTok and make your videos go viral? If you’re a new TikToker struggling to reach even 1,000 views, don’t worry! In this article, we’ll share 11 tips that can help you break through the barriers and quickly rise to stardom on TikTok.

What is a “view” on TikTok?

On TikTok, a “view” happens the moment a video starts playing on someone’s device—usually as soon as it pops up on their screen, even if it’s just for a split second. This means TikTok counts views more easily than many other platforms, where you often need to watch longer to get a view.

Key points about TikTok views:

• A view is counted as soon as the video starts, no matter if the user watches the whole thing or just a tiny bit.
• For videos longer than three minutes, TikTok might require at least three seconds of playtime to count as a view, but for most videos, just one second (or even less) works.
• If the same user watches the same video multiple times, each view counts separately, including replays and loops.
• Views count for both organic (non-paid) and promoted content, helping to measure how far a video reaches and how popular it is.

Why you’re not getting any views on TikTok?

New or Unverified Account

If your account is brand new or hasn’t been verified yet, TikTok might limit how many people see your videos until you build some activity and trust. It can take anywhere from 2 to 24 hours (or even longer) for your videos to start getting views while TikTok checks your content and account.

TikTok Shadowban or Community Guideline Violations

If you accidentally break TikTok’s community guidelines, your account or videos might get shadowbanned. This means your content won’t be shown to others, often without you knowing. Common reasons include posting banned content, using restricted hashtags, or spamming (like posting too much too quickly).

Content Issues

If TikTok’s algorithm thinks your video is low-quality, irrelevant, or just not engaging, it might not show it on the For You Page (FYP), leading to few or no views. Sensitive or inappropriate content can also get restricted.

Posting at the Wrong Time

If you post when your target audience isn’t active, you might not get much initial engagement. This can make it less likely for the algorithm to promote your video.

11 Ways to Get More Views on TikTok

Add Hashtags to Your Content

Review successful videos from creators and brands in your niche. Note which hashtags drive high engagement for them.

If you’re a beginner and not yet familiar with niche hashtags, consider using the free TikTok hashtag generator to help you out:

Ahrefs AI TikTok Hashtag Generator

Hootsuite TikTok hashtag generator

Contentstudio TikTok hashtag generator

Generally, using 3 to 5 hashtags for your content is ideal. Try experimenting with different hashtags while ensuring they align with your content’s theme. TikTok’s algorithm analyzes the hashtags you use to understand your content and will then promote it to the right audience.

Explore on TikTok

You can visit “Explore” page to find different content. This page allows you to search by niche categories.

For instance, if you go to the Sports category and click on a video that interests you, you can take a look at its title, captions, hashtags, and the music used. The more you watch, the better you’ll understand the current popular music and styles, as well as the types of videos that work well. You’ll also get a clear idea of which themes are effective.

Additionally, you can see what hashtags are being used in high-performing content.

Spend more time on TikTok!

If you want your videos to go viral, it’s essential to understand what makes a video successful.

Set aside some time each week or even daily to check out your competitors or similar brands. Look at their recent videos to see if there are any creative ideas, themes, sound choices, or filming techniques that you can learn from. This will help ensure that your video concepts stay relevant and trendy.

Additionally, make it a habit to scroll through your For You Page (FYP) and explore trending videos that resonate with your target audience. This can spark inspiration for your own content creation.

Create Similar Content

If you have a video that’s performing well, consider creating a series of similar content to capitalize on that success. For example, you could focus on:

• Showcasing customer testimonials and interviews
• Product demonstrations, unboxings, and tutorials
• Q&A videos addressing common questions from users
• Tips and tricks for using your product

Since TikTok’s algorithm favors educational and entertaining content, using a series format can help you maintain and grow your viewership over time.

Keep Audience Watching

While the views are important, it’s equally crucial to keep the audience engaged until the end. TikTok’s recommendation algorithm prioritizes videos with higher completion rates. The algorithm aims to deliver quality content to the “For You” page, so if your video keeps viewers watching until the last second, the chances of it being featured increase significantly.

So, how can you improve your video completion rate? Here are some effective tips:

Hook them in the first 3 seconds:

The initial moments are critical in determining whether audience will stick around. Use striking visuals, suspense, questions, or jump straight into the main topic to pique curiosity. Phrases like “You won’t believe the outcome!” or “Stay tuned for a surprise at the end!” can be very effective.

Get to the point quickly and minimize unnecessary buildup to keep your audience engaged.

Maintain a fast-paced rhythm with highly relevant content

Keep the video moving quickly and avoid long pauses or unrelated shots. Every second should provide new information or excitement to continuously engage viewers. You can enhance the viewing experience by incorporating multiple angles, special effects, captions, and visual changes to keep the audience focused.

Create a reward or twist at the End

Make sure the conclusion offers a payoff, such as a big reveal, a humorous twist, or an emotional moment, so viewers feel it was worth their time. Techniques like “stay tuned” captions, countdowns, or suspenseful music can heighten anticipation.

Control video length

TikTok users typically have short attention spans, so it’s best to keep your videos between 15 to 30 seconds, especially when you’re just starting out or if your content isn’t very rich yet. Shorter videos are more likely to be watched in their entirety. If your content is longer, consider breaking it into multiple parts. This not only increases the completion rate for each video but also encourages viewers to visit your profile for more content.

Don’t Forget the Caption

While TikTok captions have a character limit, they play a crucial role in attracting viewers and boosting your video’s views. First, keep your caption short and impactful, clearly highlighting the main point—typically, 3 to 10 words is sufficient.

Second, ensure that the caption is highly relevant to the video content, enhancing or adding context rather than simply repeating it. You can also include emojis and 1 to 3 popular or niche hashtags closely related to your content. This not only adds personality but also improves the video’s visibility within the algorithm. However, avoid overloading on hashtags or using irrelevant ones, as this can negatively affect your recommendations.

And don’t forget to check out the “Explore” page on TikTok to see how others are crafting their captions; your competitors can be some of the best teachers!

Include Hit Songs and Viral Sounds

Up to 88% of TikTok users believe that background music plays a crucial role in videos. The platform’s algorithm tends to prioritize videos that feature popular music, as these tracks inherently attract traffic and attention, encouraging more users to click and stay. When browsing the “For You” page, users often encounter familiar trending audio, which can make them more inclined to watch the video all the way through, thereby increasing completion and engagement rates.

Using popular music and sound effects can significantly enhance a video’s appeal and memorability. Viewers are more likely to remember a brand or creator when music is involved, compared to visuals alone. Incorporating trending audio helps your content stay relevant and in sync with current community trends and challenges, increasing the chances of being discovered and shared by your target audience. This trend effect not only boosts the visibility of individual videos but also contributes to the overall growth of your account and follower count.

You can easily find trending sounds, including royalty-free songs and commercially usable tracks, on the search page. Just remember that the music you choose should fit well with your video; otherwise, it could have the opposite effect.

Promote on Other Platforms

Consider sharing your TikTok videos on other platforms to gain more exposure. Alternatively, you can distribute the same video across different platforms or repurpose it before posting.

Publishing videos one by one can be boring, especially if you’re managing multiple TikTok accounts with several devices. In that case, you might want to explore GeeLark’s automation features. GeeLark is an all-in-one anti-detection solution that allows you to securely manage multiple TikTok accounts using cloud-based Android devices, without the worry of being flagged by the algorithm for using the same device.

Here’s an overview of the automation features offered by GeeLark’s cloud phones. Imagine managing hundreds of TikTok accounts and having to post content from your phone: what an enormous task that would be! Fortunately, with GeeLark cloud phone, everything runs in the cloud. You simply upload your content, set the captions and scheduling, and then let GeeLark take care of the rest.

Understand Your Audience

If your TikTok views are low, it might be because your content isn’t resonating with your target audience. Start by researching your competitors using the same strategies:

Follow popular accounts that align with your niche and observe their content style, posting times, engagement methods, and audience feedback. By analyzing these accounts, you can gain insights into their audience demographics and content performance, helping you identify a specific niche to target. For instance, check the comments on your competitors’ popular videos to see what questions users frequently ask. After spending some time reviewing this information, you’ll develop a clearer picture of your target audience, allowing you to pinpoint the right niche for your video creation.

Additionally, consider using multiple TikTok accounts to engage with relevant videos by commenting and replying as if you were a regular user. This can help you gather questions and feedback, giving you a better understanding of the genuine needs and interests of your target audience.

Don’t forget to use the search page on TikTok and take advantage of the keyword autocomplete feature. This will help you discover what terms your audience is searching for. These keywords reflect real user needs and pain points, which can serve as excellent topics and entry points for your videos.

Find the Best Times to Post on TikTok

The timing for video releases can vary significantly based on industry and brand. Additionally, other factors can influence TikTok views and how well the algorithm captures your content. Just like with Instagram’s best posting times, it’s beneficial to use multiple TikTok accounts to experiment with different posting frequencies and schedules.

You can leverage various TikTok tools to analyze competitor accounts. These tools allow you to view engagement metrics for their recent posts, overall participation rates, and the hashtags they use. At the bottom, you can also see the posting times of their latest videos and their view counts. This information can help you plan your own content release schedule.

If you notice that competitors are getting a lot of views around the same time, say 5 PM, it’s worth considering why that might be. Is it the peak activity time for your target audience, or is there another reason? You can then align your video releases with their content style and timing. Ultimately, if you’re posting on similar themes, you can use your competitors’ optimal posting times as a reference and gradually adjust based on your specific audience.

Create More Content

In the early stages of managing a TikTok account, it’s important to maintain a high posting frequency. This approach allows you to gain views through consistent content sharing while also experimenting with different video styles.

After researching your competitors, you likely have many ideas you want to implement. Consider using A/B testing to evaluate various content styles. By continuously testing different videos, you can discover what works best for you in terms of video style, hashtag usage, music choices, video length, and optimal posting times.

Avoid posting content just for the sake of it. Instead, each time you share a video, ask yourself, “What am I testing this time?” Use feedback from your videos to refine and improve your next one.

Leverage TikTok Analytics

Use “TikTok Studio” to analyze which videos have garnered the most views and engagement. This will help you make informed adjustments for your future content.

Your TikTok analytics are a treasure trove of insights that reveal which videos are driving the most interaction, allowing you to focus on what works effectively.

Retention rate

Use the “Retention rate” to determine at which second viewers stop watching your video and analyze the drop-off rate. Reflect on the reasons behind this and consider what optimizations you can make for your next video to encourage viewers to watch until the end.

Traffic sources & Search queries

By analyzing the “Traffic sources,” you can understand where your video views are coming from.

If over 80% of the traffic is labeled as “Search,” it indicates that most audience found the video through active searches, suggesting that it meets specific user needs or questions. This typically implies that the content is “functional,” “practical,” or “timely.” Examples include topics related to user interests, product unboxings, tutorials, Q&A sessions, or analyses of trending events—content that users actively seek out with a clear purpose.

On the other hand, if you notice that the “For You” traffic is relatively low, it suggests that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm hasn’t widely distributed the video to a broader audience. This could be due to key metrics like engagement rate and completion rate not meeting the platform’s thresholds for promoting “viral” content, or it may indicate that the content appeals to a narrower audience. Such videos often belong to niche areas, specialized knowledge, or obscure topics, and they may only be heavily searched in specific situations (like when the audience encounters a problem).

Is this information useful for reference?

This traffic structure indicates that if your goal is to meet specific needs, establish influence in a niche area, and build a targeted follower base, creating “search-oriented” content can be effective. This approach works well for tutorials, knowledge sharing, Q&A sessions, and product reviews. By optimizing your titles, hashtags, thumbnails, and content structure, you can produce more “search-friendly” videos, increasing your exposure and click-through rates in search scenarios. This strategy is beneficial for gaining influence in a specific field and building a professional account.

However, if your aim is to achieve broad exposure and attract general traffic (i.e., create a “viral” hit), relying solely on search traffic is insufficient. The core of TikTok’s traffic lies in the recommendation algorithm that drives distribution on the For You page. Only when your content excels in metrics like engagement rate and completion rate will it have the chance to be recommended to a wider audience, leading to exponential growth.

Conclusion

Getting more views on TikTok mainly depends on creating engaging content. Try different sounds, hashtags, and posting at the right times. Keep experimenting with different styles to see what works best. This helps your videos reach a larger target audience.

If you want to test many ideas quickly, using multiple accounts can help a lot. With several profiles, you can try different types of videos without hassle. To make managing multiple accounts easier, you can use GeeLark. It lets you run many virtual phones in the cloud, saving time and making your testing much simpler. Give it a try and see how automation can help you grow faster.