Over the 2020 quarantine, I picked up TikTok as a new interest! Surprising to me, the app is loaded with content from all types of creators and backgrounds. It’s not just the youth doing dances! There are vibrant communities of all sorts thriving within the notoriously busy TikTok algorithm. TikTok tips

I’ve built an audience of over 100k active followers on my account (@GwenAdora) since the end of October. And I’ve managed to have a handful of videos with 1M+ views. Gaining traction on TikTok has been a result of watching & learning how the app works, and my own personal experimentation.

This isn’t an all inclusive guide, but based on my own experience on the app. And I won’t be going over any TikTok basics, like how to upload/create videos (which can actually be difficult for new users), how to do transitions or other effects.

TikTop Tips for Sex Workers

Here’s how to best utilize the TikTok app to build your social media presence and brand:

Creating Good TikTok Content

Creating good TikTok content starts with watching other people’s content on your For You Page (FYP). You’ll need to watch a BUNCH to understand the nature of the app and the communities you’re looking to break into. TikTok works best when you have a niche, but create diverse content within that niche. For me – I make content about my queerness, sex positivity & kink, light sex work related topics and general cute content. Your niche will depend on your personal humor and interests – but there are some things I recommend taking into consideration when finding what that TikTok niche is: TikTok tips

What kind of TikToker are you?

There’s SO many different ways to can choose to create on TikTok – are you a vlogger? A lip-syncer or dancer? or maybe someone who does informative TikToks? or even comedy sketches? Much like other platforms, your TikTok presence will most likely stick to a couple of content types. As you’re watching TikToks, you’ll notice the different beats various creators will take with their videos. Experiment with various genres at the beginning – find what works with your humour. I’m not that funny so I don’t do original bits, but I utilize lip-syncing on trending audios to get my own jokes and points across.

Don’t solely rely on TikToks about sex work

The biggest mistake I see for new TikTok users in the adult industry is that they only make TikToks about their sex work experiences. That content can be great, but because TikTok is filled with a vibrant SW community, and OnlyFans is so popular right now, SW topics aren’t as surprising or taboo as they used to be. With certain trends on TikTok sounds, I end up seeing people making unoriginal, copy and paste content taking about their OF. TikTok is about personality! Be you, show your interests outside of this industry!

TikTok aesthetics – the clearer, the betterTikTok tips

When filming your TikToks, I would keep filters from other apps to a minimum. TikTok users enjoy clear, unblurry content. I actually invested in an iPhone (and I’m usually a pure android girl) to be able to put out better quality content there. Lighting is important too – naturally lit videos are key, or if that’s not a possibility, pull out those porn lights!

TikTok Production Value – How much effort should you put into your TikToks?

Thousands of TikTok videos are uploaded every minute (probably every second but I couldn’t find the statistics on that). Not all of your TikTok videos have to be maximum effort, or any effort at all to be honest. All of my most viral videos were made quickly, without much thought. And on the flip side my most thought-out videos haven’t gone “viral”. You don’t need to put a lot of effort into your videos – which will help you produce more of them…

How to Go Viral on TikTok – Leveraging the TikTok Algorithm TikTok tips

Maybe you’ve heard how amazing TikTok’s algorithm is! Compared to other social networks, TikTok’s algorithm is designed to show you content you will like, but from a variety of creators, not just the people you follow. Your feed – the For You Page – will be filled with content that is curated based on your liking and interaction with TikTok videos you enjoy. This magical algorithm makes it so that your content has the ability to reach wider than your own network. Going Viral is TikTok’s thing – so here’s how you can leverage the TikTok algorithm to get your content seen by more people on the app! TikTok tips

Following TikTok Trends TikTok tips

The essence of TikTok is community participation, which in the case of creating content, means working with trends! Trends on TikTok are mainly based on TikTok Sounds – small bits of songs, audio clips from movies or media, and original audios gone viral. These sounds can be found on the discover page (which I wouldn’t recommend finding them through), and more importantly, on videos that come across your For You Page.

My biggest piece of advice for TikTok success is to be actively consuming other TikToks. That might sound exhausting to you, but seriously, the best way to find up and coming, trending audios that your is to be scrolling on your FYP. After a week+ of use, your For You Page will be specified to you, and include content that you will enjoy.

How to Find Good TikTok Audios

When scrolling on TikTok, keep an eye out for audios that make you think, laugh or that you may not have heard before. You can click on the rotating circle in the right hand corner to get more information on the TikTok audio. This will show you how many times the audio has been used – which is important. I recommend picking Audios that that are up and coming. Audios with less than 8k videos under them can be a great opportunity to jump on a trend before it’s fully blown up. Make sure the sounds are fresh too – check the dates of the other videos to see when they were popular. Ideally they were utilized by multiple creators in the past couple days.

You can jump on already popular trends too, but your videos can get lost in Audios that have 100k+ views. In my TikTok experience, the niche audios are where it’s at in terms of achieving virality. I’ve also had luck utilizing original audios in my niches that haven’t been used by other people yet.

TikTok Audio Best Practices

If you’re planning on talking in your TikTok, add a trending or recommended sound to your video. Then during the editing process, turn the audio down. This way your video will appear under that audio in the algorithm, but people can still hear you! You can also do this if you’d like to have any sort of background music. As an example, I made an informational video answering common DMs I get on TikTok, and I used the 2 Pretty Best Friends song as the underlying audio. The just release song is by an often meme’d verified creator on the platform so I suspected TikTok was going to push it in their algorithm. Be strategic about your choices!

TikTok Hashtags

Hashtags are overused on every social media platform. For TikTok hashtags, stick to 2-4 relevant hashtags (max 5). It’s suspected that TikTok rewards videos that do well under the chosen hashtags, so if you are putting irrelevant or overused ones on your videos, your video might be penalized within the algorithm. Make your TikTok hashtags specific to your video, and to you.

How to Promote Your OnlyFans on TikTok

Don’t. Seriously.

TikTok is a content platform in itself – it is not designed for advertising the way you would use Twitter to push people to your websites. Create good content outside of “I do OnlyFans”, and the TikTok community will find your OnlyFans regardless- I guarantee. The TikTok community is very active, and will easily trickle over to your Instagram (which I recommend linking to your TikTok account), and from there to your other sites. You can even have a safe-for-work nod to ~other content~ in your profile, but don’t feel the need to push your OF too hard in your TikTok videos. If anything direct advertising can be detrimental to your success. Treat TikTok as a content platform, not an advertising platform.

Growing Your TikTok Audience

Growing your TikTok audience will naturally come with posting videos. Again, TikTok is a content first platform. As your content gains views, you’ll easily grow your following naturally. I’ve seen folks say “follow me on TikTok to try to push followers there, but in my experience I’ve found that a waste of time. Utilize the TikTok algorithm to find a new audience. Put the time into working on your content there, rather than promoting it on your other platforms (which often have little influence compared to TikTok).

Consistency

Posting consistently is the best way to grow your TikTok audience. I suggest once a day, and once you get the hang of that, even moving it up to 3 times a day. Play with different times, at first but remember to check your analytics and watch for times that work for you.

Cultivating Community & Comments

Reply to your comments! Engage with the people engaging with you!

TikTok’s comments are known for being particularly brutal, so feel free to delete and block as you see free. Negative comments may boost your videos, but often times into the wrong communities (which is also why it’s important to only use relevant hashtags).

TikTok Live

Going Live on TikTok is the best way to engage with your audience! Answer questions, chat with folks, and have fun. Whenever I go live on TikTok, I gain 200-400 new followers each time too, as TikTok puts you on the Live feed. Compared to IG Live, my TikTok followers are much more engaged and chatty! I even get sent digital gifts as a form of tips! You can go Live after you hit 1k followers, which you’ll quickly hit with these tips.

TikTok Community Guidelines – How to Avoid Banning and Shadowbanning

As a plus size person and SWer, I’m very used to being targeted by algorithms in the same of community safety. Most platforms do not want me there, so I’m used to skirting around community guidelines to exist. Here are some tips I can give you to deal with TikTok’s Community Guidelines:

• Wear clothes, not lingerie in your videos (plus size folks mainly).
• Don’t touch your body in a way that could be considered sexual (boob squeezes, butt slaps etc)
• Try using more niche hashtags for any thirst-trappy content
• Censor sexual, sex-related or crude words with code (d!ck, s3x, shrekworker)
• Consider censoring your speech manually too
• Too much cleavage can get videos flagged – and in your Lives too!
• Realistic dildos will get flagged, colourful non-phallic sex toys seem to be ok but precede with caution
• Appeal all community guideline strikes.
• If your video has 0 views, it may have been restricted right out the gate. Go to your video, and try to share it by copying the link. If it says “Under Community Review”, delete it and re-upload later in the day.
• If you’re noticing you’re getting consistently low views, and losing followers, don’t be afraid to start a new account. My first account was stuck at 27k followers and wasn’t gaining any traction. I abandoned it to start my new account and it was the best decision.

Obviously the rules of community guidelines apply to different people (which sucks) so try things out and find what works and doesn’t work for your account. Too many Community Guideline Violations can result in a 7-day posting ban on your account, and eventually account deletion. Be vigilant.

I hope these TikTok tips and tricks will help you on your TikTok journeys! The TikTok algorithm is changing as more people join the app, so get started and become apart of the community.