The New TikTok Algorithm and What It Means for Business
Things have massively changed on TikTok. You’re going to want to grab a notepad for this one, cause TikTok is a totally different space to what it used to be back in 2020.
We’re shocked by the amount of misinformation from credible blogs published in August 2022 about the TikTok algorithm while we were doing our research. Some of the main takeaways were 1) using a ton of generic hashtags, 2) prioritizing uploading shorter videos, and 3) using short captions. This is wrong because in July - August of 2022, TikTok have announced massive changes to the algorithm, which we will be breaking down in this week’s blog.
THE TIKTOK ALGORITHM, ACCORDING TO TIKTOK
TikTok doesn’t want to be a dancing app anymore. They want to monetize and compete with the big guys, like YouTube. As business owners and content creators, we have to adapt and use these algorithm changes in our favour.
According to TikTok, the For You Page algorithm is based on 3 main factors.
User Interactions
what you like, scroll past, save, watch until the end, what you search, what you post etc…
Video Information
the keywords in the video, the caption, the hashtags and the sound used
Device & Account Settings
language preference, country setting and device - although TikTok has said that this is not given much weight, as oppose to the other two.
Good news - follower count is not a ranking factor on the TikTok algorithm at all. The app doesn’t give accounts with more followers, more reach. We do see accounts with more followers receiving more reach and engagement, but this is because they have established a community, which should be everyone’s goal on social media and this takes time to build; however, when talking virality - an account with 300 followers or an account 500k followers, both have the same potential to go viral.
THE FYP: FOR YOU PAGE
This means that no two For You Page’s will be exactly the same, because TikTok looks at your behavioural patterns to determine which videos are “for you”. When you first open a TikTok account, the app will offer you a variety of content, and then it will pay attention to what you search, what you engage with, what videos you watch until the end, what videos you scroll right past and more. There is a terminology circulating around TikTok that refers to which “side” of TikTok you are.
For example if you’re a fitness expert and you watch & create fitness videos, you’re on the “fitness side of TikTok”. Or if you’re a personal account, that enjoys lifestyle content, skincare and makeup, you might find yourself on the '“skincare” side of TikTok. This perfectly depicts how TikTok’s algorithm works and how it pays close attention to what type of content you enjoy and then “categorizes” you.
This is always subject to change, according to your behavioural patterns on the app. If you start or stop engaging with one type of content, the TikTok algorithm will adjust to you. For example, if you have recently become pregnant and begin interacting with content that supports your pregnancy (e.g. tips, exercises etc…), the TikTok algorithm will begin to feed you more content like that.
LEAKED DOCUMENTS
That’s the algorithm according to TikTok on the surface level, but there’s more. A document was leaked to the New York Times, named “TikTok Algo 101,” which described the TikTok algorithm to non-tech employees. It states that TikTok’s main internal goal is to increase the number of users on the platform. They outline 2 main ways that they aim to achieve this.
Optimizing videos for retention (getting users to come back for more)
Optimizing videos for time spent (getting users to spend more time on the app)
They also outline 4 main goals for the direction of their algorithm, which are…
User value: giving value to users
Long-term user value: keeping users coming back for more
Creator value: giving value to creators
Platform value: improving the TikTok app through an optimized algorithm
These are some great goals from TikTok, that as creators, business owners and consumers - we can see that they are moving away from being known as “a dancing app” and really harnessing value-giving. With value, comes monetization and money, which is a good thing for them and for us. This also demonstrates that they are competing with YouTube, because these are some of YouTube’s goals too. Now that we know everything we need to know about TikTok’s algorithm and internal goals, let’s get into 2 things that have changed on the app, and how implementing the best practices for both of these things will help you grow according to TikTok’s algorithm in 2022.
VIDEO LENGTH
When you search what the best type of videos are to post on TikTok, the most common answer you get is, “the shorter the better”. This is wrong now. According to an analysis conducted with 100 accounts by a TikTok expert, the optimal length to post on TikTok ranges between 55-65 seconds.
Remember, TikTok is also competing with YouTube, you might notice yourself that as you scroll through your For You Page, you will most likely see longer videos as well.
keep them coming back for more
Remember above, where we mentioned that one of the main goals with the TikTok algorithm optimizing videos for retention, meaning keeping users coming back for more, and long-term user value, also in the theme of keeping users coming back for more. We are seeing this a lot through TikTok’s published goals, as well as their internal goals. According to trend and marketing expert, Coco Mocoe, she predicts that creators who have performed well, and who will continue to perform well are those who harness “video series”, “episodes” or “playlists” on TikTok. The playlist feature on TikTok is unfortunately only available if you have 10k followers; however, you can do this without the playlist feature.
Start a series that will give value to your target audience, for example, if you’re a productivity and lifestyle creators, you can do a series with “30 days of trying productivity hacks so you don’t have to”. Or if you’re a makeup influencer, you can do “365 days of trying new blushes”. Use this creator’s example of trying and documenting 75 Hard, the fitness challenge. The ideas are endless, but it’s a great way to keep users coming back for more, not only on TikTok but on your page. We all know that when you conform to social media app’s guidelines, they reward you.
keywords
TikTok’s descriptions were recently upped from a 300 character limit to a 2,200 character limit. A lot of the advice we’ve seen online is advising people to keep the captions short & sweet! This couldn’t be further from the facts. This newest update shows that TikTok wants you to include more keywords, larger descriptions to contribute to giving more video information. “This is huge for TikTok’s plans to become a search engine”, Matt Navarra, social media expert, states on Twitter. TikTok is already preferred as a search engine to Google by 40% of Gen Z users, so this latest update is a step closer to TikTok going in the search engine direction. If you know SEO, you’re good, but if you don’t, here are some tis for you to takeaway…
Use long-tailed keywords more than short tailed keywords
This just means keywords that give more information. A tip to differentiate between short and long-tailed keywords, is that you will most likely be able to say long-tailed keywords out loud. For example, instead of “brown blazer”, it would be “how to style a brown blazer”.
Use TikTok’s native text on video
Always use TikTok’s native text feature when editing videos. When you repurpose from other platforms, i.e. Instagram or another editing app, TikTok will not register those keywords and it won’t help you rank in the search engine!
Create content around what people are searching
You can find this by searching keywords in the search bar. See below for a visual example.
To find out what your target audience are searching, simply type your keywords into the search bar, and there you have it, every keyword that is highly searched is there. Another way to do this is by clicking “search” and then scrolling down past all the videos that are recommended, and in those grey boxes under the title “Others searched for”, you will see longer-tailed keywords that are also highly ranked on the search engine - which are like free content ideas for you! Watch the video above for a full tutorial.
A RECAP
Here’s a recap, cause we know it’s a lot.
Ideal video length is about 55 - 65 seconds,
Include keywords in your video, captions & hashtags,
Research your keywords beforehand,
Be more descriptive in your captions from now on,
Be creative with “episodes” & “playlists” on TikTok,
Let us know if these tips helped, and be sure to implement these best practices with a solid social media marketing strategy, which we can help you with here.
