You are on TikTok, right? If not, stop here and read this: Time is ticking, and you’re still not on TikTok? What are you waiting for? Then COME BACK! Alright, for those who’ve got their TikTok feet wet, keep reading…

First thing’s first, what’s on your For You page videos when you scroll? Is it… Body Positivity, BIPOC Support, LGBTQIA Support, Funny Life Stories, Pets, and some Tasty Recipes thrown in there… or is that just us? While you might be a part of some of these TikTok communities with us, you probably get videos that feel uniquely tailored to just you. In fact, one can tell a lot about a person by stealing their phone and scrolling through their TikTok feed for a while. Not that we recommend this for your next Tinder date, but you know, maybe before moving in together at least. 

So how does TikTok do it? How can videos that speak to your particular childhood trauma pop up out of what seems like nowhere? No one knows the WHOLE mechanism behind the magic trick (except the TikTok gods), but we know a few key elements, so stick with us for a bit.

What Is The “For You” Page?

If you are here, you might have a basic understanding, but to put it simply, the For You page in your TikTok app is your main scrollable “Home” feed. Unlike many other social media apps (you know the ones), your TikTok home feed isn’t primarily your cousins and high school friends; it’s an algorithm designed to show you content from creators from all over the world. 

According to TikTok, “This feed is powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user likely to be of interest to that particular user. Part of the magic of TikTok is that there's no one For You feed – while different people may come upon some of the same standout videos, each person's feed is unique and tailored to that specific individual.”

How Does The TikTok Algorithm Work?

TikTok keeps the deepest secrets of the treasured algorithm locked up tight, but some key factors are available to help us learn how to customize our personal For You feeds and get our clients on the For You pages of their target audience. Regarding your For You page, two main categories determine the videos you see.

1. Device Settings

When you set up your profile, you provide TikTok information via your device’s settings. This basic information can help determine what videos you’d like to see. 

• Location (Your travel might even change up what appears on your For You page)

• Language preferences

• Type of mobile device

      2)  User Activity & Preferences

Your activity on the app is critical to your feed, but also any interests you list when setting up your profile will determine your individual results. Your interactions with a video provide TikTok with significant information about your video preferences. Any of the following contribute:

• Likes

• Comments

• Shares

• Follows

• Duration of video watch

• Re-watches

• Marking “Not Interested”

• Skipping videos

• Hiding content from specific creators

How Do You Get On The #FYP?

Alright, we understand the gist of how the For You feed works from a user perspective, but how do we as creators and marketers make it on other people’s scroll-tastic pages? There are a few key factors to keep in mind when creating a TikTok worthy of getting likes, comments, shares, and follows!

1)  Video Subject Matter

Since TikTok is excellent at feeding people the content that most interests them, having a clear direction with your videos is essential. Give the TikTok algorithm all the information you can so it knows how to send your video to the most welcoming audience.

The subject matter is determined by:

• Caption keywords

• Sounds

• Hashtags

• Effects

• Content (based on video transcripts)

1. Audio 

This is simple but very important; tapping into trending audio will allow your content to jump on the train flowing through a broad range of TikTok audiences. Creators of all genres will create content based on a single audio clip that has captured TikTok's attention, and therefore their followers will be flooded with other people’s content using the same clip.

We hope that this has helped you understand the TikTok world more!  If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Or just shoot us a DM letting us know your most surprising TikTok community flowing through your For You page. If you aren’t already, check out the official Betsy Bash TikTok to stay in the know!