TikTok Tips from Creators with 1M+ Followers

Everyone wants to know how to make it big on TikTok. How do I go viral on TikTok? Get more likes? Use sounds? Catch trends? We’ve got the answers for you from creators who’ve done it themselves. Here are some tips and tricks from FreshCut partners who’ve mastered the art of TikTok. With over 1 million followers each, they’ve found the sweet spot of exciting, viral short form content.

While TikTok can be a tricky platform to master, its viral algorithm and massive userbase can be helpful in expanding a creator’s community. No platform can really match the potential in terms of rapid growth and  potential audience to reach for a creator that TikTok offers. If you can carve out your niche on TikTok and find an audience that resonates with your content, you can unlock a massive community. We hope this advice is helpful for your TikTok journey!

We talked with Shady (TikTok - @theonly_shady), 1.5M followers on TikTok, Call of Duty creator, and Theonemanny (TikTok - @theonemannytv), 2.2M followers on TikTok, variety streamer, Dog vTuber, to learn from their experience on how to master TikTok. They both have strong creator personalities that translates well to their TikTok content.

How do you get followers and likes on TikTok?

By doing what you enjoy most. When you enjoy your videos others will enjoy them. High-quality engaging clips are key - Shady

Getting followers is about creating consistent amounts of content that performs well and not just uploading to upload. A majority of my followers come from probably 10 to 15 viral posts I have that are all similar in format, if something works go with that even if it's not EXACTLY what you thought you'd go viral for - Manny

How do you make a clip go viral on TikTok?

For me if the video connects with the audience the video will go viral. Or in other cases, the video has to be super funny and unique. But the easy part is to just make videos that resonate with others - Shady

Going viral is about grabbing attention in the first 2-3 seconds and not having any buildup, short and fast. Having something recognisable but new. For me TTS (text-to-speech) reactions and Music clips do well cause of the instant "oh I remember this song" or "oh I wanna hear the punchline of this TTS joke" - Manny

How do you edit a TikTok?

The resolution for the TikTok format is the most important part. 1080x1920. I use DaVinci because I find it to be the easiest software out there. Watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to edit and people should get the hang of it - Shady

Me and my editor use extremely different methods to edit, but we both get similar results at the end when it's uploaded. I use super basic editing tools and actually have to edit my TikTok rotated 90 degrees to be in phone format since I have no idea how to do it otherwise. After teaching myself some basic tracking, cutting and how to do subtitles it's kinda easy. Some of our most viral work is the most simple edited. Captions always make things better and good quality non grainy finished product makes it nice to look at. Always use phone format when possible for TikTok - Manny

How do you use hashtags on TikTok?

Always focus on your niche. Hashtags are meant for search, nothing more than that. They will not affect your video views. Some people use them others don't. For example if you play Call of Duty, use the following #callofduty #gaming #warzone - Shady

We did a few tests with hashtags and they always do help so my advice for hashtags is basically what I do. Use 4 or 5 around these rough rules

1. Your brand (#Theonemanny)
2. The content (#mariokart #tts #dadjoke)
3. The area of content it covers (#gaming #beauty #cooking)
4. Your area (#twitch #streamer #youtuber)
5. And your style (#vtuber #fps #talkshow #podcast)

We don't always use 5 but following this helps compared to no hashtags or just 2 generic ones - Manny

How to use sounds on TikTok?

I don't really use sounds because I edit my videos on DaVinci mainly. People when they use their camera and record a video - they could use songs that are pretty famous or could pick up the sound from another famous TikTok and use it in their videos. It could help in getting the video more views for sure - Shady

So I've never actually used a sound on TikTok which is probably not what most people do. If I want a super viral post I can create a clip that's reusable as a sound or duetable but as sounds go, I think streamers have a harder time incorporating them as a lot of the clips are live and not just premade ONLY for TikTok - Manny

We hope these tips were helpful. What we’ve found with TikTok is its best to be consistent, experiment with content, and listen to the data and your community. If your content is working, stick with it! If it’s not getting the impact you’d hope, maybe it’s time to change things up and explore different styles, methods, and strategies. Stay tuned for more short form content tips from top TikTok and FreshCut creators.

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