How to Increase TikTok Video Reach

Getting your TikToks seen by more people can feel like a total black box. You spend hours filming the perfect video, nail the edit, and post it, only to see it stall out with a few hundred views. This guide will walk you through actionable strategies to break that cycle, improve your video reach, and actually get your content in front of the people who will love it on the For You page.

Understanding the Signals TikTok Cares About

Before you can increase your reach, you need to know what the TikTok algorithm is looking for. While no one knows the exact secret formula, the platform's goal is to keep users watching for as long as possible. To do that, it prioritizes content that sends strong positive signals. Your job is to create videos that generate those signals.

Here’s a breakdown of what matters most:

• Watch Time & Completion Rate: This is the big one. How long are people watching your video? Did they finish it? If people are swiping away in the first two seconds, the algorithm learns that your video isn’t holding attention. If they watch it all the way through - or even multiple times - that’s a huge green flag.
• First-Hour Engagement: How your video performs right after you post it matters. A burst of early likes, comments, shares, and saves tells the algorithm that your content is resonating and should be pushed out to a wider audience.
• Shares & Saves: These are high-value interactions. A share means someone found your video so good they wanted to send it to a friend or post it elsewhere. A save means it was so useful or entertaining they wanted to come back to it. Both signal much more value than a simple like.
• Comments: Comments show that your video sparked a conversation. Questions, reactions, and discussions are all positive indicators that you've created engaging content.

Every strategy that follows is designed to optimize these core signals. Focusing on them will naturally grow your reach.

Create Videos That People Can't Swipe Away From

High-quality content is the foundation of everything on TikTok. "High-quality" doesn't mean you need a Hollywood-level production - it means your video successfully grabs attention, tells a compelling story, and delivers value.

Nail the First 3 Seconds: The Art of the Hook

You have a tiny window to convince someone to stop scrolling. If the first few seconds of your video are slow or confusing, you've lost. Your hook needs to be strong, clear, and immediate. It can be visual, auditory, or text-based.

Here are some hook formulas that work:

• Prompt a Question: "Here are three money-saving traps you're probably falling for."
• State a Controversial Opinion: "Cold brew is a scam, and here's the proof."
• Start in the Middle of the Action: Show the messy "after" shot before you show the "before" shot in a cleaning or DIY video.
• Promise Value Immediately: "This is the single best hack for getting cheap flights."
• Use Intriguing On-Screen Text: "You won't believe what happened on my walk today."

Scroll through your own For You page and notice what makes you stop. Reverse-engineer those hooks for your own content.

Go Beyond the Hook with Great Storytelling

A good hook gets them to stop, but good storytelling gets them to stay. Even a 15-second video needs a narrative arc: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Think about what emotional journey you're taking the viewer on. What's the conflict? How is it resolved? How can you add a small twist or a satisfying conclusion to hold their attention until the very end?

For example, a recipe video isn't just about listing ingredients. It's a mini-story: the problem (what to make for dinner), the process (a fast-paced, visually appealing cooking montage), and the resolution (a delicious-looking final dish that makes the viewer want to try it themselves).

Provide One of Three Types of Value

Every breakout TikTok video provides value. To consistently grow, your content should generally fall into one of these categories:

• Educational Value: This is content that teaches the viewer something. It can be a tech tip, a history lesson, a makeup tutorial, or a fitness move. These videos often get a lot of saves because people want to refer back to them later. Example: A five-minute recipe broken down into a 30-second, easy-to-follow video.
• Entertaining Value: This is content that makes people laugh, feel good, or feel surprised. This includes skits, comedy, relatable moments, trends, and satisfying ASMR clips. These often get shares because people want to send them to friends. Example: A funny, relatable skit about working from home.
• Inspirational/Aspirational Value: This is content that motivates people or shows them a lifestyle they desire. Think stunning travel videos, impressive transformation clips, or motivational stories. Example: A montage of a breathtaking hiking trip.

Use TikTok’s Native Tools to Your Advantage

TikTok gives you plenty of tools to help your content get discovered. Using them signals to the platform that you’re creating content specifically for TikTok, which the algorithm favors.

Ride the Wave with Trending Audio

Trending sounds and songs act like their own discovery engine. When you use audio that is currently popular, your video can show up in a feed for that specific sound. Don't just tack on a trending song for the sake of it - find sounds that genuinely fit the mood and narrative of your video.

To find them:

• Scroll your For You page and pay attention to what sounds pop up repeatedly.
• Check the "Add Sound" page in the TikTok creator. The "TikTok Viral" section is a goldmine.
• Look for the small arrow icon on sounds to see if they're currently "trending."

Pro-Tip: The earlier you jump on a trending sound, the better. If a sound already has hundreds of thousands of videos, it might be too saturated.

Master Your Hashtag Strategy

Hashtags help TikTok understand what your video is about and who might want to see it. Avoid generic hashtags like #foryou or #fyp - they're too broad to be effective. Instead, use a mix of broad and niche hashtags that accurately describe your content.

Try a balanced approach:

• 2-3 Broad Hashtags: Describe the general category (e.g., #socialmediatips, #booktok, #veganrecipes).
• 2-3 Niche Hashtags: Get more specific to target a dedicated community (e.g., #tiktokcoach, #fantasyreads, #plantbaseddinner).
• 1-2 Specific Hashtags: Describe exactly what is in your video (e.g., #howtogetmoreviews, #bookrecommendations, #easytofurecipe).

This mix tells the algorithm who to show your video to first - the hyper-engaged niche audience - before it considers pushing it to a broader audience.

Don’t Overlook Captions and Posting Times

Your caption is another chance to boost engagement. Keep it short, but use it to add context or ask a question that encourages comments. Something as simple as “Have you ever tried this?” or “What’s your favorite go-to WFH lunch?” can dramatically increase the number of comments you get.

As for posting times, ignore the generic advice. Your best time to post is when your audience is most active. You can find this data in your TikTok Analytics:

1. Go to your profile and tap the three lines in the top right.
2. Select "Creator Tools," then "Analytics."
3. Tap the "Followers" tab and scroll down to "Follower activity."

This dashboard will show you the exact hours and days your followers are most active. Start by posting about an hour before those peak times.

Drive Engagement and Build a Community

Reach isn't just about pushing content out, it's about pulling people in. Creating a community around your content is one of the most sustainable ways to ensure long-term visibility.

Respond to as Many Comments as Possible

Replying to comments does two amazing things: it boosts your engagement metrics on that specific video, and it makes your followers feel seen and valued. That person is far more likely to comment on your future videos if they know you might reply. Use the "reply with video" feature for interesting questions to create new content while acknowledging your community.

Use Interactive Features Like Duets and Stitches

Don't just post content - interact with it. Stitching or Dueting another user's viral video is a fantastic way to insert your brand into a larger conversation and get your face in front of a new audience.

• Stitch: Add your own content at the end of another creator's video to comment on it, answer a question, or provide a follow-up.
• Duet: Create a side-by-side video to react to someone else's content in real-time.

Final Thoughts

Increasing your TikTok reach comes down to a consistent feedback loop: create value-packed content with a strong hook, give the algorithm the positive signals it craves through engagement, and pay attention to what's working so you can do more of it. It’s less about one viral video and more about building a system for creating content that resonates with your target audience month after month.

That consistency can be the hardest part, especially when you're managing TikTok alongside other short-form video platforms like Reels and YouTube Shorts. We built Postbase to streamline this entire process. With our visual calendar, you can plan all your video content in one place. You can schedule your videos to go live on multiple platforms at once without worrying about them failing, and our unified analytics dashboard makes it simple to see what’s working everywhere, not just on one platform. It’s designed to help you stay organized and consistent, taking away the chaos so you can focus on creating great content.