How do you use TikTok as a musician?

Are you also not an expert in how to share your music on TikTok? We understand that it can be challenging to use, especially if you’re not in the platform’s core demographic. But TikTok now has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. It’s the 6th most used social media platform globally, right after Instagram, and it’s currently still the fastest-growing platform in the world. It’s hard to argue against the app’s potential.

Currently, the majority of the user base is between 18 and 29 years old, and this is likely the age group musicians would want to reach. It’s also worth noting that TikTok is a rapidly evolving platform, attracting more users every day. For example, several international stars have used it with great success. What truly demonstrated TikTok’s potential for musicians was when the then-little-known Lil Nas X posted the now-famous song "Old Town Road" on TikTok. He promoted the song as a meme, leading others to share videos with "Old Town Road" playing in the background. Before long, the song went viral and eventually broke the record for the longest-running number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

This clearly establishes that TikTok is a unique opportunity to spread your music. Read on if you’re interested in learning more about this platform that divides opinions. If you’re not interested in all the background information and just want to get started, skip down to our guide on gaining more followers, getting more views, and how to make your music trend on TikTok.

TikTok is a Chinese social media platform owned by ByteDance, designed for sharing videos. It’s primarily used to create short music/lip-sync, dance, comedy, or talent videos ranging from 3 to 15 seconds. You can also create short looping videos that are between 3 and 60 seconds long.

ByteDance also owns the app Douyin, which previously competed alongside Musical.ly. Douyin won big in the Chinese market due to its advanced algorithm, and in 2017, ByteDance became the fastest-growing company in China. Douyin is essentially TikTok in China (with the same logo) and currently has around 850 million monthly active users. In 2018, ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, and as part of their international expansion, they rebranded it to what we now know as TikTok. You could say that Douyin is the TikTok version for the Chinese market—a sort of two-in-one app, separated in terms of user base but based on a shared algorithm. The division between TikTok and Douyin arose to comply with Chinese censorship regulations, which are notably stricter than those in the West.

It’s worth mentioning that TikTok has faced significant criticism for its handling of user data, including storage and potential resale of data, so it’s important to be mindful of what you share on the platform! It’s generally also important to consider what you post on social media. When it comes to building a large following and being seen by many, it’s crucial—but we’ll get to that later.

TikTok has a feature where you can find videos from the people you follow, but what really sets TikTok apart is its feed called "For You." Like other social media platforms, TikTok is driven by artificial intelligence (AI). TikTok’s AI, similar to other social media platforms, shows videos based on which ones you watch all the way through, like, and comment on. However, TikTok's "For You" feed is unique because it is entirely driven by a "recommendation engine." 

When you look at platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, even though they are increasingly AI-driven, especially YouTube, they still rely on users navigating through the site to choose the content they want to interact with. On TikTok, there are no active choices to be made by the user; the content displayed is entirely based on the AI’s algorithm.

Soundcharts argues that another significant factor in TikTok’s success is its algorithm, which differs from other social media platforms by fostering a many-to-many form of communication. All social media platforms operate on the principle that the more people use the platform, the more valuable it becomes, and the more active the users, the better. On TikTok, almost half of the users also upload videos, meaning there are far more content creators on the platform than on any other, a trend that TikTok capitalizes on. One reason for this could be the ease of uploading content, and another could be the rapid spread of trends, which we’ll get into later.

The major social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram) are more or less based on a one-to-many form of communication. For example, when you upload a video on Facebook, it will be shown to a portion of your followers and those who already know you, unless you pay to promote the post. 

So how does TikTok actually work in practice?

You start by setting up your account, where you can choose some interests that will guide your feed. You can also skip this step and be shown videos that have generally had the most reach on the platform. The more time you spend on the app, the more it will tailor the content to match your behavior on the site, meaning what you watch the most.

On Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, your content only reaches your friends or people who share it. On TikTok, when you upload a video, it’s shared with a small "test group" selected by TikTok. Depending on how well the video is received—liked, shared, commented on, etc.—by this group, the video is then shared with a larger group on TikTok. You can influence who your videos are sent to by using hashtags, categories, and possibly effects introduced by TikTok on their platform. This process continues until you either go viral or get lost in the noise of all the other content being shared. This process is triggered every time someone uploads a video, for every single video.

This means that on TikTok, it’s easier to break out of your own social circles and reach a larger audience if you follow TikTok’s rules. This is why challenges and memes are so popular—both the sender and the receiver benefit from them. For example, if a song is becoming popular, other users who upload videos with that song will also get more views. The algorithm turns the receiver into the sender, through a shared trend. Lil Nas X also mentioned to the New York Times that his song was almost stagnant before he posted it on TikTok, and it was precisely because people embraced the song and uploaded their own videos with "Old Town Road" that it spread.

The big question is how to leverage TikTok as part of your professional marketing strategy. Just like on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms, building a following is crucial to increasing your content's reach on TikTok. If the goal of your TikTok profile is to guide users to your music, it's important to structure your profile around this purpose. You need to think about how to incorporate your music into the content you post.

Simply posting snippets of your music, as you might on Facebook or Instagram, isn’t enough. You must align with TikTok’s culture and algorithm, creating content that fits with the platform’s style. This means your content needs to be short and engaging, adhering to the platform’s norms.

1. Choose a Theme and Be Consistent
   If you’re trying to gain fame on TikTok, it’s important to choose a theme beyond your music that guides the content you post. By consistently creating the same type of content, it becomes easier for TikTok’s algorithm to categorize you. While it might feel like you’re compromising your original idea, it’s crucial to consider what your future TikTok profile should represent. Are you going to focus on comedy? Beauty or health tips? Music production tips? The aim is to draw attention to your music. Your creativity is the only limit, as long as you keep your audience engaged in a way that encourages them to feature your music in their videos. For example, Will Smith continues to make sketches and funny short videos, while artists like JVKE create musical content where they incorporate their songs into various creative formats, helping them build a massive fan base.
   

2. Use Hashtags!
   Hashtags are the easiest way to control the relevance of your content and make it easier for TikTok’s algorithm to define the type of content. In short, using popular hashtags that match your content increases the likelihood of your videos reaching more people—and the right people. If you’re unsure which hashtags are currently popular, check your "Discover" feed for trending hashtags.
   

3. Follow Trends and Participate in Popular Challenges
   As seen with Lil Nas X and Doja Cat, their songs gained tremendous attention because they aligned with trends and/or popular challenges. When a new challenge emerges on TikTok, users are more likely to see videos related to it. To increase your follower count, participate in these challenges and trends. This can help you attract many followers if your videos are entertaining. TikTok stands out from other social media platforms due to its quick shift from being a consumer to a creator and uploading your own content to your own audience. Again, hashtags are crucial here; there’s almost always a hashtag associated with a trend or challenge.
   

4. Feature Your Music!
   Make it clear what you’re doing outside the platform. Use your own music in the videos you post. Don’t hesitate to showcase your new track—post it while doing something you believe your followers will find entertaining. TikTok moves quickly, and users swipe past content that isn’t engaging and interesting.
   

5. Use TikTok’s Analytics Tools
   TikTok offers an analytics tool called TikTok Analytics (formerly TikTok Pro), which is free and can be activated by going to "Settings" and then "Manage Account" → "Switch to Business Account." If you plan to incorporate TikTok into your marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to switch right away since the data you collect only applies from the day you switch. TikTok Analytics provides three main overviews:

   • Profile Overview: Shows views for your videos and profile over the last 7 days and follower trends.

   • Content Insights: Provides data on the content you post, organized from newest to oldest, including likes, comments, shares, traffic sources, and audience location.

   • Follower Overview: Offers insights into your follower base, including follower count, growth graphs, gender ratio, geography, etc.
     

6. Avoid Being Banned from the Platform
   TikTok actively combats inappropriate behavior on the platform. To ensure an authentic experience, they crack down on offensive or hateful language and anything that appears as spam. Make sure to follow these rules:

   • Don’t use already banned hashtags.

   • Avoid deleting a lot of content at once.

   • Don’t follow and unfollow people repeatedly in a short time.

   • Avoid using copyrighted material without permission.

No matter how many followers your content generates, it’s nothing compared to the followers musicians gain when they start a trend or challenge. The large following comes when your music creates such a trend.

As mentioned several times in this blog, the big potential for musicians on TikTok lies in creating challenges. Although the competition to come up with the next big challenge is intense, it remains an open opportunity for everyone. It requires a catchy song—or just a memorable moment in the song—and a small number of well-chosen influencers to kickstart it. If it succeeds, anything is possible. Here is an updated step-by-step guide from Soundcharts on how to launch a successful challenge:

1. Spend Time on TikTok
   It cannot be emphasized enough: TikTok is a unique platform with a very specific community that dictates a certain behavior. You need to understand the language there—what’s trending, which hashtags are popular, and which challenges are circulating? Spend time on TikTok to understand the social movements at play, or risk appearing outdated and irrelevant. Try to understand which trends are popular and why. This is crucial for the upcoming steps.
   

2. Find Your 15-Second TikTok Moment
   TikTok thrives on short, quick clips, and the platform itself recommends that videos be around 9-15 seconds long. Your challenge should follow this structure. Although it's not a strict rule, videos of this length often perform the best. Choose a snippet of your song that has energy—it could be just before the big drop or an unexpected moment in the lyrics that could relate to a specific action. Identify the moment in the song with the greatest potential to go viral. It could be a dance that's easy to replicate. Think about how this short snippet can gain its own life and make others want to upload videos with your music.
   

3. Check If Your Song Is Distributed to TikTok
   It’s simple to check if your music is distributed to TikTok, but it’s a good idea to be sure. If your music isn’t available on TikTok, it will be difficult for users to share it. If you use a distributor like Ditto Music, you can be sure your music is on TikTok. Read more about music distributors in this blog.
   

4. Think About Your Challenge
   When creating a challenge, ask yourself: What do the participants get out of it? What makes your challenge memorable compared to others? Your challenge needs to engage users and be easy to understand. There must be no doubt about what your challenge is about! It's also important to consider what other creators can gain from your challenge. Can they recreate your content in creative ways that make their profiles interesting? Is it easy to replicate? Is there room for others to add to or modify your challenge so it continues to thrive? Remember, every time your challenge is shared, it takes your song along on a journey through TikTok’s universe. It doesn’t matter if it’s not an exact copy of your challenge—what matters is getting your music out there!
   

5. Choose a Memorable Hashtag!
   Come up with a memorable hashtag. Every trend needs a name, otherwise, it will be difficult for users to identify and engage with it. This name will also be associated with your music, so choose wisely. It matters!
   

6. Identify Your TikTok Audience and Locate Influencers Who Can Help
   Who is your TikTok audience? Think about what they are interested in and what types of TikTok videos they like. Once you have answers to these questions, find out which influencers have a good grasp on this audience so they can help you reach them. When contacting influencers, it’s a good idea to get their opinion on your idea. They often have more experience with what works on the platform. If an influencer likes your idea, it’s often a good indicator that your challenge could go viral. Be open to feedback—it’s part of the process.
   

7. Consider the Customer Journey!
   This may be the most important step in terms of promoting yourself on TikTok. Many songs have gone viral without having a significant impact on the artist’s career. The last thing you want is for your song to be remembered only as part of a TikTok challenge. Therefore, it’s important to consider how you convert your TikTok audience to other platforms like Instagram or Spotify, and how you keep them engaged. Although viral marketing is a great way to generate attention, it’s not the way you build a loyal fanbase. The goal is for TikTok to be part of a larger marketing strategy that has a long-term impact on your career.
   

8. Get Started!
   Once you’ve considered all the steps and are ready, just go ahead and upload your challenge. From here, there’s not much else to do but wait and see where this viral journey takes you. However, remember that TikTok is a fast-moving platform, and trends come and go quickly. Therefore, the window to convert all the attention your challenge has generated into something longer-lasting and meaningful is very narrow.

We hope these tips have been helpful and can assist you in considering how to incorporate TikTok as part of your marketing strategy and branding.