Putt
Regular Member
- Jan 1, 2020
- 448
- 373
Hello friends,
It's really good to see the TikTok forum picking up as more people start to realise the potential of the platform. There's been a lot of debate and a lot of confusion over many parts of TikTok and the existing Q&A thread is a bit out of date. I'm going to cover as much as possible here but if you have any suggestions then please let me know.
Bots & Automation
Organic growth at the moment is very good so automation is not necessary like on IG but can still be very valuable. There are a few bots available at the moment (opinions are my own and results may vary):
1) AutoTokker - SaaS bot, $29.99 per month per account, f/uf method, results vary but good reviews, quick and good support, offers competitive volume pricing (email them)
2) Jeffrey - SaaS, recently changed pricing structure from EUR to USD and increased prices, $49.99 per month, per account ($24.99 for first month) or $349.99 per month for their enterprise plan which is still only one account but gives better support, good dashboard, uses f/uf, good reviews all round, owner provides great and quick support and is really friendly (helped me with non-bot related issues), volume pricing (on the old pricing structure) was incredible but this may have changed.
3) The Money is in the Bot - SaaS bot, 170EUR per month (expensive), requires contacting developer via Discord (no online purchases), I have no experience of the bot so can't comment on results or service.
If you know of any others, reply with some information and I'll add them. I think there may be a few BHW members working on bots as well.
The Algorithm + Shadow Bans
To the best of our knowledge, the TikTok algorithm is a batch-release quality-scoring system. It will show your video to x people and depending on likes, shares, WATCH TIME (this is the really important one) will assign a score and then release the video to a larger audience. This continues until your content reaches its 'score cap'. A video going viral is based on whether the first batch enjoys your video. This is why you can repost the same video a day later and have entirely different results. If a video fails, wait and repost. I also believe that this is why it is best to not change the niche or content of an existing account. As a user, your foryoupage fits into a certain niche: your account will be shown lots of dance videos etc. If TikTok thinks your account is a dance account and you start producing gaming videos, your video will be tested on an audience of 'dance liking people' who may not like your gaming content.
Account definitely seem to have quality scores and reach can be limited (shadow ban) if the quality is low enough. Community violations and bans are a big deal but there are a number of things that can affect this. Keep posting high-quality content and your score will slowly rise.
Mass Account Creation
Users on BHW have had success (not sure with what methods) but I can't think of any real benefits of creating many accounts at the moment.
Does f/uf(follow/unfollow) work?
Yes, 100%. It's the technique the bots use but also very good manually. Follow back rate is very high on TikTok and drop off is very low.
TikTok Live
TikTok live is very good (especially for non-IM, white-hat accounts). Appear to unlock at 1k followers usually but is sometime different for certain users. VERY HEAVILY MODERATED. People get banned from streaming a lot on TikTok. Examples of a user having account banned for having an account under age 13 when showing user's daughter on live stream. Organic reach seems very good though and a very captive audience if you're willing to show your face. Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the new YouNow. You cannot leave the app or even view profiles while streaming.
Coins can be bought and donated by users which can be converted to PayPal cash by creators.
Can I go viral?
Yes, it's really easy (I'm not joking). Start posting. Repost IG or YT videos, do whatever. If your content is impulsive and cool, you'll succeed.
Hashtags
They have very little bearing on success. Plenty of viral videos from new accounts with no hashtags and also viral videos with lots. In my experience, the actual hashtags have no effect but make your post seem a little more 'commercial' or 'tryhard' which make users less likely to watch. Personally, I would only use 1 or 2 hashtags. If you have had a different experience then let me know.
TikTok Pro Account
TikTok's version of an IG Business Account. Seems to have no effect on reach but does give you very useful analytics data including giving examples of other TikTok's your audience has engaged with recently. I would recommend upgrading.
In-App Content vs Imported Content
I personally think In-App content performs better but other BHW members have very strong opinions that there is no difference. TikTok would have a commercial incentive to make in-app content perform better but would be interested to hear what anyone else thinks.
Using in-app music
The consensus is that using music from the app is advantageous to reach and virality. Even if you set the volume to 0, as long as the music is 'tagged' that will help. I must stress, it is still possible (and easy) to go viral without this.
@anton609 's Method
@anton609 published a great method for downloading and resizing content to upload. I've been doing this for a good few months and works perfectly fine. I've succeeded in many niches. Check out his thread: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/h...-step-by-step-strategy-goals-boomers.1196947/
Downloading TikTok Videos
When you save a TikTok video, it is watermarked. The non-watermarked versions are stored and can easily be accessed. Google any TikTok downloader and it will give you the direct link.
Monetization
In terms of niche accounts and monetization, I'm not very worried at the moment because it requires so little time commitment to make money accounts grow very quickly, I think it's almost definitely worth the time. User @mehdilhy posted a method https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-for-newbies-earn-money-with-tik-tok.1196731/ which involved filming a screen with details of a CPA deal. Any method like this would probably work. I don't even think you'd need to grow an account first to do this. I look forward to seeing other peoples monetization ideas.
TikTok Ads + The Creator Marketplace
Good ad platform. No self-service, all done through account manager. Requires application process. I'm seeing a lot of ads for 'clickbaity' apps, face changers, games etc. No comment on ad results but their ads team seems very good. I showed some of the documents given to me by TikTok ads in my thread: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/tiktok-ads-information.1189526/
The Creator Marketplace is an invite-only site for TikTok ads customers that is basically an influencer-marketing marketplace. TikTok creators (selected by staff or recommended by an advertiser) are invited and connected with brands to set up sponsored content or collaborations.
Verification
There are two types of verification, Popular Creator (large TikTok accounts) and Verified Account (proper blue tick). There is no public application method although there are ways of getting verified without having an insider (if you have the right PR). There is a team at TikTok that deals with verification and can be contacted (obviously not going to share).
Conclusion
I think that's everything. I haven't covered the basics of the platform because that information is freely available. If you have questions, information or suggestions, please post them below.
Good luck on TikTok!
It's really good to see the TikTok forum picking up as more people start to realise the potential of the platform. There's been a lot of debate and a lot of confusion over many parts of TikTok and the existing Q&A thread is a bit out of date. I'm going to cover as much as possible here but if you have any suggestions then please let me know.
Bots & Automation
Organic growth at the moment is very good so automation is not necessary like on IG but can still be very valuable. There are a few bots available at the moment (opinions are my own and results may vary):
1) AutoTokker - SaaS bot, $29.99 per month per account, f/uf method, results vary but good reviews, quick and good support, offers competitive volume pricing (email them)
2) Jeffrey - SaaS, recently changed pricing structure from EUR to USD and increased prices, $49.99 per month, per account ($24.99 for first month) or $349.99 per month for their enterprise plan which is still only one account but gives better support, good dashboard, uses f/uf, good reviews all round, owner provides great and quick support and is really friendly (helped me with non-bot related issues), volume pricing (on the old pricing structure) was incredible but this may have changed.
3) The Money is in the Bot - SaaS bot, 170EUR per month (expensive), requires contacting developer via Discord (no online purchases), I have no experience of the bot so can't comment on results or service.
If you know of any others, reply with some information and I'll add them. I think there may be a few BHW members working on bots as well.
The Algorithm + Shadow Bans
To the best of our knowledge, the TikTok algorithm is a batch-release quality-scoring system. It will show your video to x people and depending on likes, shares, WATCH TIME (this is the really important one) will assign a score and then release the video to a larger audience. This continues until your content reaches its 'score cap'. A video going viral is based on whether the first batch enjoys your video. This is why you can repost the same video a day later and have entirely different results. If a video fails, wait and repost. I also believe that this is why it is best to not change the niche or content of an existing account. As a user, your foryoupage fits into a certain niche: your account will be shown lots of dance videos etc. If TikTok thinks your account is a dance account and you start producing gaming videos, your video will be tested on an audience of 'dance liking people' who may not like your gaming content.
Account definitely seem to have quality scores and reach can be limited (shadow ban) if the quality is low enough. Community violations and bans are a big deal but there are a number of things that can affect this. Keep posting high-quality content and your score will slowly rise.
Mass Account Creation
Users on BHW have had success (not sure with what methods) but I can't think of any real benefits of creating many accounts at the moment.
Does f/uf(follow/unfollow) work?
Yes, 100%. It's the technique the bots use but also very good manually. Follow back rate is very high on TikTok and drop off is very low.
TikTok Live
TikTok live is very good (especially for non-IM, white-hat accounts). Appear to unlock at 1k followers usually but is sometime different for certain users. VERY HEAVILY MODERATED. People get banned from streaming a lot on TikTok. Examples of a user having account banned for having an account under age 13 when showing user's daughter on live stream. Organic reach seems very good though and a very captive audience if you're willing to show your face. Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the new YouNow. You cannot leave the app or even view profiles while streaming.
Coins can be bought and donated by users which can be converted to PayPal cash by creators.
Can I go viral?
Yes, it's really easy (I'm not joking). Start posting. Repost IG or YT videos, do whatever. If your content is impulsive and cool, you'll succeed.
Hashtags
They have very little bearing on success. Plenty of viral videos from new accounts with no hashtags and also viral videos with lots. In my experience, the actual hashtags have no effect but make your post seem a little more 'commercial' or 'tryhard' which make users less likely to watch. Personally, I would only use 1 or 2 hashtags. If you have had a different experience then let me know.
TikTok Pro Account
TikTok's version of an IG Business Account. Seems to have no effect on reach but does give you very useful analytics data including giving examples of other TikTok's your audience has engaged with recently. I would recommend upgrading.
In-App Content vs Imported Content
I personally think In-App content performs better but other BHW members have very strong opinions that there is no difference. TikTok would have a commercial incentive to make in-app content perform better but would be interested to hear what anyone else thinks.
Using in-app music
The consensus is that using music from the app is advantageous to reach and virality. Even if you set the volume to 0, as long as the music is 'tagged' that will help. I must stress, it is still possible (and easy) to go viral without this.
@anton609 's Method
@anton609 published a great method for downloading and resizing content to upload. I've been doing this for a good few months and works perfectly fine. I've succeeded in many niches. Check out his thread: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/h...-step-by-step-strategy-goals-boomers.1196947/
Downloading TikTok Videos
When you save a TikTok video, it is watermarked. The non-watermarked versions are stored and can easily be accessed. Google any TikTok downloader and it will give you the direct link.
Monetization
In terms of niche accounts and monetization, I'm not very worried at the moment because it requires so little time commitment to make money accounts grow very quickly, I think it's almost definitely worth the time. User @mehdilhy posted a method https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-for-newbies-earn-money-with-tik-tok.1196731/ which involved filming a screen with details of a CPA deal. Any method like this would probably work. I don't even think you'd need to grow an account first to do this. I look forward to seeing other peoples monetization ideas.
TikTok Ads + The Creator Marketplace
Good ad platform. No self-service, all done through account manager. Requires application process. I'm seeing a lot of ads for 'clickbaity' apps, face changers, games etc. No comment on ad results but their ads team seems very good. I showed some of the documents given to me by TikTok ads in my thread: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/tiktok-ads-information.1189526/
The Creator Marketplace is an invite-only site for TikTok ads customers that is basically an influencer-marketing marketplace. TikTok creators (selected by staff or recommended by an advertiser) are invited and connected with brands to set up sponsored content or collaborations.
Verification
There are two types of verification, Popular Creator (large TikTok accounts) and Verified Account (proper blue tick). There is no public application method although there are ways of getting verified without having an insider (if you have the right PR). There is a team at TikTok that deals with verification and can be contacted (obviously not going to share).
Conclusion
I think that's everything. I haven't covered the basics of the platform because that information is freely available. If you have questions, information or suggestions, please post them below.
Good luck on TikTok!
