How to Get Views on TikTok with No Followers

Starting on TikTok with zero followers feels like shouting into the void, but it’s actually your greatest advantage. You have a completely blank slate to show the algorithm exactly what you’re about, without any data from old, off-brand videos holding you back. This guide walks you through the exact strategies to get your first videos noticed and land on the “For You” page, even when your follower count is at zero.

Forget The Follows at First – It's All About the Algorithm

On platforms like Instagram or X, your content is initially shown to your followers. If they engage, it might get shown to a wider audience. TikTok flips this model on its head. It shows your video to a small, initial test group of users on their “For You” Page (FYP), regardless of how many followers you have. Based on how that small group reacts, the algorithm decides what to do next.

If they watch the whole video, leave a like, drop a comment, or share it, TikTok pushes it to a larger group. If that group reacts well, it gets pushed even further, and so on. This is how a video from a brand new account can get millions of views overnight. Your entire job is to create content that wins over those early test groups.

What the Algorithm *Actually* Wants

The TikTok algorithm measures hundreds of signals, but the ones you need to care about when starting from scratch are simple:

• Watch Time: Did the viewer watch your entire video? The longer they stay, the better. This is arguably the most important metric.
• Completion Rate: How many people finished the video from start to finish?
• Shares: A share tells the algorithm the content was so good someone wanted to send it to a friend. This is a massive signal of quality.
• Comments & Saves: Comments signal conversation and community, while saves indicate the content was valuable enough to hold onto.
• Likes: While still important, likes are the most passive form of engagement. Prioritize the others first.

Every strategy below is designed to trigger these specific signals and show the algorithm your content is worth watching.

Your Content Blueprint: The Hook, the Story, and the Payoff

You can use all the trending sounds and hashtags in the world, but if your content is boring, no one will watch it. Getting views starts and ends with making a video that holds a stranger’s attention. It boils down to three parts.

1. Nail the First Three Seconds: Build a Brutally Effective Hook

You don't have time for a slow intro. You have about one second (three if you’re lucky) to grab someone mid-scroll. Your hook is the single most important element of your video.

Here are several hook styles that work reliably:

• The Problem Statement: Start by addressing a pain point your ideal viewer has.
  Example (for a fitness trainer): "You’re doing pushups all wrong, and it’s why your chest isn’t growing."
• The Controversial Take: State a strong opinion that makes people stop and think.
  Example (for an accountant): “Hot take: You don’t actually need a budget to save money.”
• The "In Medias Res" Start: Begin right in the middle of the action or story. No intro, no welcome.
  Example (for a chef): Start with a shot of you messily dropping a full steak into a pan of butter with text that says, “I know this looks wrong, but trust the process.”
• The Question Hook: Ask a direct question that your target audience would have.
  Example (for a marketing consultant): “Ever wonder how small brands get their first 1,000 customers?”

The goal is to stop the scroll and create an open loop in the viewer's brain that they need to see closed.

2. Sustain the View: Maximize Watch Time

Once you’ve hooked them, your next job is to keep them. Higher watch time and completion rates tell the algorithm this is a quality video. Quick cuts, fast-paced talking, and constant visual change are essential to hold attention on TikTok.

• Don't front-load the value. If your video title is “The Best Way to Clean Your Sneakers,” don’t give the answer in the first five seconds. Build up to it. Show the problem, show the supplies, walk through a step you can’t skip, and *then* reveal the secret.
• Tell a story. Even a 15-second video can have a beginning, middle, and end. The viewer's brain is wired to want to see how a story concludes.
• Use text on screen to guide the narrative. Use captions to pose questions, highlight key moments, or tell a behind-the-scenes story that adds depth to the visuals. This gives people a reason to keep watching or even re-watch to catch all the details.
• Create a loop. A "perfect loop" is a video where the end transitions seamlessly back to the beginning. This encourages people to rewatch it multiple times without realizing it, which sends your watch time metric through the roof.

3. Create an Engagement Trigger

You need to give people a reason to comment, share, or save. Don’t just end your video with “like and follow for more.” Actively build in an engagement trigger.

• Ask a polarizing question. At the end of a video about work productivity, ask, "Are meetings really necessary, or just a waste of time? Let me know in the comments."
• Finish with a powerful call to action. Instead of just asking for a follow, make it specific: "If you found this useful, send this to one friend who needs to hear it."
• Create "saveable" content. Videos structured as lists, tutorials, or step-by-step guides are more likely to be saved for later reference. For example, a video titled "5 Photoshop tricks you probably don't know" is a perfect candidate for saves.

Speak the Algorithm's Language: Sounds, Trends, and Hashtags

Great content is foundational, but signaling to TikTok what your video is *about* helps it find the right initial audience. This is where sounds, trends, and hashtags come in. Think of them as metadata for your video.

Use Trending Audio the Right Way

Trending sounds aren’t just background music, they are discovery tools. When a sound is trending, TikTok often creates a dedicated feed for that audio. Tapping into popular audio can place your video in another stream of potential viewers.

How to find and use them:

1. Watch your FYP: The easiest way is to pay attention to sounds you hear over and over again on your own For You page. If you hear it multiple times in a short session, it's trending with people like you.
2. The "Add sound" folder: When creating a video, tap "Add sound." TikTok curates lists of trending and new audio. Check these lists before you post.
3. Connect the sound with the content. Don’t just slap a trending Doja Cat song on a video about Excel tips. Find audio that matches the energy or context of your video, or use a sound as the format for a joke or trend.

A Hashtag Strategy That Doesn't Rely On #FYP

Stop using generic hashtags like #fyp, #tiktok, and #viral. They’re too broad and tell the algorithm nothing useful about your content.

A better strategy is to use a mix of 3-5 hashtags that accurately categorize your video:

• Category Hashtags (1-2): Broad hashtags that describe your niche.
  Example: #socialmediamarketing or #homecooking
• Specific Hashtags (2-3): Niche hashtags that drill down to the exact topic of your video.
  Example:#tiktoktips or #easypastarecipe
• Audience Hashtags (1): Describe who the video is for.
  Example: `#marketers` or `#studentchefs`

So, a marketing agency posting a tip about TikTok hooks might use: `#socialmediamarketing #tiktoktips #contentcreationtips #smallbusinessmarketingtips`. This tells the algorithm an exact story: "Show this video to small business owners who are interested in creating content for their social marketing."

Jump on Relevant Trends (But Don't Force It)

Trends are a fantastic way to get discovered, but only if they align with your account’s purpose. Find a trend and ask yourself: "How can I adapt this to my niche?" For example, the “Tell Me Without Telling Me” trend can be adapted for any industry:

• A developer: “Tell me you’re a programmer without telling me you’re a programmer.”
• An artist: "Tell me you're an artist without telling me you're an artist," followed by a shot of their paint-covered hands.

This approach gives your audience a piece of content they already recognize while reinforcing your account's theme.

Consistency Will Win the Day

Finally, your first video - or even your first ten - might not go viral. And that’s perfectly fine. TikTok is a long game, and the algorithm rewards consistency.

You don't need to post five times a day. Pick a realistic posting schedule - 3-4 times a week is a great starting place - and stick to it. Every video you post is another piece of data you give the algorithm. It learns who likes your content and gets better at finding them with each video.

Even with zero followers, you have access to TikTok Analytics. After posting a few videos, go look at your individual video stats. Pay close attention to Total Play Time and Average Watch Time. Which videos held people’s attention the longest? Which hooks worked best? Double down on what's working and scrap what isn't. Your path to more views is written in that data.

Final Thoughts

Getting views on TikTok without a single follower isn't about gaming the system, but rather about crafting content that resonates with strangers and clearly signaling your video's niche to the algorithm. Focus on creating an airtight hook, maximizing watch time, and being incredibly consistent, and you will eventually find your audience.

Putting all these ideas into practice week after week requires a solid plan, which can be tough when you’re already swamped with creating the content itself. At our company, this is exactly the kind of challenge we had in mind when we built Postbase. We wanted a simple, visual calendar to plan out our TikToks and other short-form videos so nothing fell through the cracks. It helps us stay consistent with scheduling, especially across multiple platforms, so we can spend more time focusing on what really matters: coming up with great hooks.