317k Account, Big Engagement drop off (shadowban??)

So I have an account currently at 317k people. Its in a very specific niche that really does resonate with the younger audience and also adults.

For all of 2019, my account started off very strong. My posts on average ranged from 100k views up to 3.2 mil views. I had very healthy daily growth.

All of a Sudden in this last month, I had issues posting a few videos that were taken down a few time, and also deleted some videos. Now my average view is at about 40k per video. My following is strong so the like to view average is still high (30%), and comments/shares are booming. But it seems my overall reach to new people is limited.

However either the tiktok algorithm or a tiktok moderator is being a straight up bitch. (I assume moderator only because Ive watched my videos jump up to 10k views in the first hour, then all of a sudden halt completely. I feel like theres some bitch at my local tiktok region center sabotaging me... just theory cuz I need someone to blame lol)

Ive noticed also that there are a few time where I post a comment, and its ghosted. I check on an alternate account and you cannot see the comment. It seems it depends on the words I use, If I say anything vulgar (even wtf or wth) its blocked, and If I say "share, instagram, follow"... its blocked.
I have I been reported for bullying or something???

Weird part is, my daily growth is lower than normal, but still ok. I go up 1-2k in followers everyday. I did all the checks listed here on the forums, I can still see my posts from PC and other non related accounts on different phone. I show up in hashtags too. So Im confused.
I even have an email for a regions manager in Europe (im in the US). He replies, but gives unhelpful info, so im at a loss.

Any ideas???
If not, hopefully my story helps others troubleshoot their issues.

ALSO: Yes I did read others warnings about Deleting posts, using alternate accounts, and having posts violate terms. Ive done all these lol, but Im not 100% shadowbanned.

Any ideas on how to fix/correct?

(Im a fairly well established social media person on other medias, so restarting on a new account isnt really what I want to do... hurts image.)

TikTok is hyper crazy about people doing things it sees as spammy. I have a few friends who have mentioned the word duet on livestream once and were hit with violations and a permanent livestreaming ban within a few minutes. Not having comments appear that include 'spammy' words is probably typical of any account. My best guess is that while you have not been shadowbanned, TikTok has limited your reach as your account has a low 'quality score' meaning the algorithm is less likely to show it to users. The EU TikTok rep I work with hasn't explicitly used the words 'quality score' but has definitely suggested that the algorithm not only treats videos individually but considers the value of the account to the platform. From what I've seen it is quite common for TikTok to only show content to followers rather than the FYP as some sort of punishment. The best thing to do is continue to consistently post and this will improve the standing of your account. Stopping posting or changing what you are doing will probably only harm you more by losing consistency points (I assume the algorithm must track this). Personally I haven't had an issue but I know a few people who have had community violations for reuploading copyrighted content so perhaps that could be a factor that plays a part. I re-uploaded videos and succeeded quite well but then had the exact same issue as you in terms of 'limited reach'. I started uploading personal content which has fixed my account. Not sure whether that's because the algorithm has noticed original content or because the audience like a real face. Interested to hear what anyone else thinks.

I re-posted an IG viral video of a police car chasing a lambo and it got away. Video taken down for "illegal activity" and next videos receiving 1 view only. Crazy.

I think I have to agree with @Putt , best off posting a few original videos to restore the trust score, even if you get low views it may be for the greater good

reissxr said:

I re-posted an IG viral video of a police car chasing a lambo and it got away. Video taken down for "illegal activity" and next videos receiving 1 view only. Crazy.

I think I have to agree with @Putt , best off posting a few original videos to restore the trust score, even if you get low views it may be for the greater good

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A lot of people seem to 'get away' with community violations for a long time but once one video is struck, it seems like they moderate your future content with a very close look.

Putt said:

TikTok is hyper crazy about people doing things it sees as spammy. I have a few friends who have mentioned the word duet on livestream once and were hit with violations and a permanent livestreaming ban within a few minutes. Not having comments appear that include 'spammy' words is probably typical of any account. My best guess is that while you have not been shadowbanned, TikTok has limited your reach as your account has a low 'quality score' meaning the algorithm is less likely to show it to users. The EU TikTok rep I work with hasn't explicitly used the words 'quality score' but has definitely suggested that the algorithm not only treats videos individually but considers the value of the account to the platform. From what I've seen it is quite common for TikTok to only show content to followers rather than the FYP as some sort of punishment. The best thing to do is continue to consistently post and this will improve the standing of your account. Stopping posting or changing what you are doing will probably only harm you more by losing consistency points (I assume the algorithm must track this). Personally I haven't had an issue but I know a few people who have had community violations for reuploading copyrighted content so perhaps that could be a factor that plays a part. I re-uploaded videos and succeeded quite well but then had the exact same issue as you in terms of 'limited reach'. I started uploading personal content which has fixed my account. Not sure whether that's because the algorithm has noticed original content or because the audience like a real face. Interested to hear what anyone else thinks.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and sorry you had to deal with something similar and glad you got out of it!
Yea, "quality score" or "account health" is what Ive gathered to be the general consensus about the algorithm. Its a very strange snowflaky system to be honest if so. Every ticked I open and email I sent, I make sure to scream the fact that I know they lowered my account health for stupid reasons. lol

But anyway, unfortuately, I only post my original content... Content that takes forever for me to do, so it is frustrating to see it bomb. So my issue has something to do with something else.

With how snowflake of an app it is, i honestly wouldnt be suprised if they had some kind of system in place to cut back and punish stolen content.

reissxr said:

I re-posted an IG viral video of a police car chasing a lambo and it got away. Video taken down for "illegal activity" and next videos receiving 1 view only. Crazy.

I think I have to agree with @Putt , best off posting a few original videos to restore the trust score, even if you get low views it may be for the greater good

Click to expand...

As I just said above,, unfortunately I post my own original content with original sounds and ideas and everything. But maybe the key for me is to just be careful and not do any more violations or step on toes.

Putt said:

A lot of people seem to 'get away' with community violations for a long time but once one video is struck, it seems like they moderate your future content with a very close look.

Click to expand...

I basically do cosplay on mine and I try to do different content from what normal tiktok cosplayers do. Ive gotten tons things taken down for having prop weapons, being too raunchy, and even fire breathing (which was complete bullshit because that stunt was a lot of damn work). Atleast have had 10 things taken down. But for most of the time, my account still had super good engagement. So you could be right.

Random side story, I posted my fire breathing video about 4-5 times, each time adding a different form of disclaimer so stupid kids wouldnt try it. Each time It was taken down, so Id appeal and inevitably get denied. The final time I posted it, they took it down, I appealed it, then deleted it... a week later they said my appeal was approved. So I reposted it with a disclaimer and from then on my account health was shot.
Probably connected with that.

The only other incident after that was I deleted a video.

I still think theres some snowflake moderator out there. XD

Hey @Nate Drake , any updates to your account? I have an account with 300K followers, and just had a super similar thing happen to me. I'm wondering if you were able to get your account back in good standing?

Nate Drake said:

As I just said above,, unfortunately I post my own original content with original sounds and ideas and everything. But maybe the key for me is to just be careful and not do any more violations or step on toes.



I basically do cosplay on mine and I try to do different content from what normal tiktok cosplayers do. Ive gotten tons things taken down for having prop weapons, being too raunchy, and even fire breathing (which was complete bullshit because that stunt was a lot of damn work). Atleast have had 10 things taken down. But for most of the time, my account still had super good engagement. So you could be right.

Random side story, I posted my fire breathing video about 4-5 times, each time adding a different form of disclaimer so stupid kids wouldnt try it. Each time It was taken down, so Id appeal and inevitably get denied. The final time I posted it, they took it down, I appealed it, then deleted it... a week later they said my appeal was approved. So I reposted it with a disclaimer and from then on my account health was shot.
Probably connected with that.

The only other incident after that was I deleted a video.

I still think theres some snowflake moderator out there. XD

Click to expand...