How to Supercharge Your TikTok Engagement: 5 Essential Tips for a fresher angle

TikTok has been around since 2016, but over the last five years, it has shaken the social media world, and it hasn’t been the same ever since. To supercharge your TikTok engagement, it’s essential to understand why the platform captures attention. All other social media apps saw a decrease in time spent on them in favor of TikTok. The app’s downloads in 2019 surpassed Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. The main reason for this is the addictive algorithm—one that creators can leverage by applying a fresher angle to their content and following a few essential tips for growth.
But how did TikTok achieve it? Its goal was to focus on content optimization in a way that no other social media platform did. Its algorithm didn’t recommend videos posted by people you know or those with a high number of followers. The choice of videos that appear on TikTok’s For You page is determined by a complex interplay of users’ habits and preferences. Here are some of the factors that the algorithm takes into account when recommending videos to you:

• What type of content do users post comments on
• What videos do users like
• Which videos are users sharing
• Which videos did users say they’re not interested in
• What kind of content is being hidden or reported

Inspiring trends, unique content (e.g., UGC – user-generated content), and interaction possibilities, as well as the power to lift users’ spirits, user-friendliness, and a sense of community, are also what catapulted TikTok into being what it is today. In this blog, we will explain how to supercharge your TikTok engagement.

How to get more TikTok engagement

Are you just starting on TikTok, or have you had your account for a while but still feel stuck or not getting enough views? This post will make your life easier.  
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are reliable principles that can elevate your visibility.
Start by studying what’s currently working for similar creators in your niche. Are they using specific trends, audio clips, or video structures? Try to reverse-engineer why their videos succeed:

1. Is it the timing?
2. The tone?
3. The editing?

Utilize TikTok’s built-in analytics to determine which types of content perform best on your profile. Focus on increasing your watch time because the longer people stay on your video, the better it performs in the algorithm. Optimize your videos for this with strong hooks, fast-paced editing, and a clear payoff at the end.
TikTok has been around since 2016, but over the last few years, you might create incredible content; however, if you’re posting when your audience isn’t online, you’re missing opportunities. Experiment with different times to find your sweet spot.
As for video editing, being authentic is essential.
Your video doesn’t need to look like a professional film shoot, but it should be visually clean and compelling. When filming, consider the backgrounds, surroundings, and props that can help you achieve the best possible shoot. Avoid mess, dirt, and other sticky stuff in the front or back of your video. Use jump cuts to remove pauses, add captions for accessibility, and consider effects that enhance the content rather than distract from it. Having subtitles on your video is extremely important because people often watch videos on TikTok in environments where they can’t turn the volume up or use headphones.
Experiment with editing techniques that encourage looping, such as ending your video with the same visual or sentence it began with. A seamless loop increases repeat views, signaling high engagement to the algorithm. Apps like CapCut and InShot offer intuitive tools to help you add flair without needing a film degree. Make your message clear, concise, and captivating. Remember, if you want the user to get hooked to your video, every second counts.

TikTok trends

Being up to date with all the social media trends versus fashion trends is quite different. Fashion trends are usually more predictable and dictated by fashion experts. They are set for a specific season, while often being recycled from another time in the fashion past. Unlike fashion, TikTok trends emerge daily and are influenced by your algorithm. For this reason, if you are creating a monthly content plan, you might want to allocate some space for creating videos on emerging trends. Why is that so? If you decide to wait and publish the trend a month later, it just might be too late and irrelevant.
How to keep up with the trends? Keep an eye on what the influencers and content creators are doing. Get inspired by your FYP and be aware of the videos that use the same sound or POV. Those might be your sign to share with them on your profile as well. Don’t wait too long for them, because if you don’t address them ASAP, your video will become irrelevant.

Being consistent

As with anything in life, being consistent with uploading content that performs best for your profile and target audience is the primary goal for achieving the best results. What does this mean exactly? Embracing trends, tackling challenges, and trying something new are always options, but being true to the path you want to take is the key to success. Ensure that you combine high-quality content that is either educational or entertaining. Bear in mind that being funny online and in real life is always the most challenging route.
Initially, it will be a challenge for you to define your right path. The best advice you can get is to conduct A/B testing and try to get to know your audience by creating more content when you start. From then on, you will have more experience and data to work with.

Hooks

As with fish, users need something to catch their interest to continue watching your content. A user’s attention span is typically between three and six seconds. Not only do we want to get their attention, but also retain it for as long as possible. When talking about hooks, we differentiate several types:

• Visual – using a specific image or video, you aim to attract your user to keep watching. To achieve this, use transitions, movement, specific shots, and other techniques.
• Transitional – This could be part of a visual hook, but it is also different because transitions are prepared during filming or in post-production.  
• Structural – Another type of transitional hook is the one that holds your attention with a countdown, a teaser, jump cuts, or, one of the most popular, looping. How is looping achieved? The last shot and the first shot connect in a way that draws you to watch the video more than once, as they are identical.
• Verbal – Vocalising a particular wording of the sentence can be incremental when you want the audience to get hooked onto your content. Often, content creators aim to capture the audience’s attention with an intriguing or even provocative phrase in the first few seconds of a video. Not only do creators use shocking phrases, but they also try to bring you in with a sentence that will, in thin, explain the context of the video you are about to watch. In the end, forgetting about CTA is like forgetting to brush your teeth – don’t do it!
• Emotional – This hook aims to evoke emotion and keep you engaged, encouraging you to continue watching the video. To do so, you may use humor, empathy, inspiration, or even FOMO (fear of missing out). To give you an example, when making a video on
• Cognitive – This bait or trap draws users in by creating a mystery, riddle, or assumption that will get resolved at the end of the video.
• Textual – When writing a specific text for the video, you can increase the audience’s retention of the video. POV (point of view) videos are very popular because they have a textual hook that further connects the user to the video content. Additionally, the text that overlays at the beginning of the video, along with other subtitles, tends to increase the likelihood that the audience will continue watching the video.

Influencer and celebrity collabs

Collaborating with influencers or celebrities on TikTok can instantly expose your content to new audiences. When connecting with an influencer, remember that authenticity is key.
Don’t chase followers, pursue shared values instead. Work with creators whose content aligns with your brand’s tone and message. Whether it’s a duet, stitch, or a fully co-created campaign, ensure the content feels native to TikTok, not like a paid advertisement.
Micro-influencers can be just as impactful as bigger names. Their audiences are usually more engaged and loyal. Think of collaborations not as quick exposure hacks, but as relationship-building tools for long-term brand equity.

UGC content

Starting with a product or a service on a new social media you haven’t been active on before can be challenging. TikTok has ushered in a relatable era in the social media world. Users are more likely to react to a specific type of content when a person demonstrates it in the video, compared to when it is not. User-generated content (UGC) plays a huge role here. It is also known as consumer-generated content because it helps to raise brand awareness. Brands find it more helpful and financially manageable to hire creators who will advocate for their products or services, rather than hiring a well-known influencer. Who can be the advocate?
A customer, an employee, or a social media follower – the options are endless. Still, they all share the same common ground: they give leverage to the brand and promote it positively, rather than the brand itself, so it carries more weight as word-of-mouth promotion. 
Additionally, UGC is usually positive, allowing you to leverage it to attract and influence new customers. 

Additional tips for TikTok engagement

In case you thought you would achieve all your monthly KPIs with only five engagement tips, these additional tips will make you see why there is always room for more.

Hashtags and keywords

Before starting to film a video, try searching for a couple of related keywords on Google and TikTok. For example, if you are creating a video about a great restaurant with local cuisine, your keywords could be: local food, local restaurant, restaurant in the city of…, must-visit restaurant in this city…
Doing so and integrating it into your video will help your video gain more views, as it will appear when people search for relevant terms in the search bar. Keep in mind that the TikTok search engine is a formidable competitor to other social media platforms and search engines, including Google. Take this to your advantage.

TikTok feed

Unlike platforms like Instagram, your TikTok feed doesn’t require aesthetic curation. What it should still be is intentional.
Make your feed scroll-stopping by using strong video thumbnails. Try the freeze frame or selected cover image that people see when visiting your profile. Select one that is visually clean, emotionally expressive, and accurately conveys the essence of the video’s content.
Think of thumbnails as mini-posters for your videos. Use text overlays sparingly, focus on high-contrast visuals, and aim for consistency in style to help build brand recognition.

Know your audience

Defining your targeted audience is something we can’t speak enough about in marketing. That applies in social media marketing as well. Before creating content, consider your audience in both broad and specific terms. Depending on whether you are a creator or a business profile, your audience can be quite different. Choose your audience based on the product or service you are selling and want to promote. Having said this, if you wish to make your TikTok feed similar to a television commercial, think twice. That will not only reflect negatively on the organic content, but also if you decide to promote it. After all, TikTok has made a significant change to the social media world by introducing the relatability era for its audience.
Before you can grow your following, you need to understand who you’re trying to attract. Are Gen Z trendsetters, millennial moms, aspiring entrepreneurs, or skincare junkies?
Utilize TikTok analytics to gain insight into audience demographics, including age, gender, and active hours. Read through comments, run polls in Stories, and listen to the language your audience uses—it’s often more revealing than the numbers.
Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Speak directly to your niche. The more straightforward your content’s voice and value proposition, the more likely it is to resonate with the right viewers and keep them coming back for more.

Live stream

Making content, increasing your following, and earning money on TikTok? You can do this with TikTok Live. By receiving gifts such as roses, you can earn money. Additionally, if you are from one of these countries, you can even earn money from TikTok views.

Conclusion on TikTok engagement

TikTok isn’t just the future of content; it’s the present. It’s now, and the opportunity to stand out has never been greater. Whether you are starting now or want to improve your account, be sure to use these tips to do so. When you ultimately create engagement with your followers, the goal is to retain it. Replying to your audience’s questions in the comments with a video response will make it more personal and authentic.

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to take a bold approach; TikTok will reward it.