How I got 20,000 TikTok followers in one week

Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash

I had zero followers. Seven days later, I had 20,000.

I didn’t cross promote through other channels. I didn’t buy advertising, spam an email list, or beg via social media. Honestly, I didn’t even tell anyone I had a TikTok account.

So how did I do it?

Every day, hundreds of millions of 25 to 50 year olds spend hours on [TikTok] looking for content that’s relevant to them.

— Alex Monéton

Zero marketing strategy

I had no strategy. I followed simple advice for the videos themselves — keep your message concise, add subtitles, end with call-to-action — but did nothing to spread the word.

Why my content resonated

My videos were short, interesting things I’ve learned about my disorder, ADHD. Here is why I think it resonated and helped me build an audience:

1. Straightforward educational content

Forget the viral dances, my videos were a quick thought and explanation about something unique I’ve learned that has been important to my understanding of ADHD.