Here are 6 Tips Sierra Leonean Musicians Can Use To Make Their Songs Go Viral On Tik Tok
TikTok rose to popularity during the 2020 Covid lockdown, where millions of people found themselves at home with nothing to do. Since then, the platform has recorded over 1 billion active users.
With more than 500% growth rate, it is no surprise that this video streaming platform has become largely responsible for many sounds spreading like wildfire across the world. In fact, this platform has allowed the rise to stardom of smaller artists and the global popularity of different songs irrespective of their country of origin.
TikTok users use these sounds to create viral dance trends, lip sync videos and even short films. Creating a crowdsourced experience, artists can now get their music out to a wider audience bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of the music industry (distributors and labels).
So how do you get your music to go viral on TikTok? Here are some tips to becoming the next TikTok music star.
- Know the right person to contact on Tik Tok
Wait a minute, if you are a musician/s be it establish or up and coming and you have released a new song that you have invested so much on that you want it to go viral, even if you have hundreds of followers on your platform, you still the need the Tik Tok community, one person on Tik Tok I will recommed is Juju Jeks, She is among the leading social media influencers in her country –Sierra Leone and the co-founder and CEO of Tik Tok Stars in Sierra Leone. She is connected to the most followed and engaging Tik Tokers in Sierra Leone. You can contact her on Tik Tok here
- Tailor Tracks To Match:
Think about it, many times, 15 seconds is all a song needs to go viral. So before you create your new track, think about what 15 seconds you want to go viral.
Truth is catchy lyrics which doesn’t have to be the chorus tends to go viral. You could even do a full 60-seconds snippet for users to vibe.
Whatever you opt for, find hooky lines that viewers can relate to.
- Create A Challenge:
Small secret, you don’t have to create a challenge yourself; that’s why there are influencers. If you can, find popular TikTok dance creators and collaborate with them to create a great trend/dance routine for your sound. Remember to not interfere in the creative process, giving only suggestions as these creators better understand the platform and their audience.
You can also create a challenge using this dance trend. A great example is K Camp’s Renegade challenge created by user Jalaiah Harmon which went viral in 2020, and Blanco Brown’s The Git Up challenge created by Harvey Bass, which now has over 347.4 million views on TikTok.
- Hashtags:
Dance challenges aren’t the only way to go viral on TikTok. Like with all other social platforms, hashtags are also another way to improve views and popularity on your videos.
What makes TikTok even better is that these hashtags trend on their own. So when you upload your song to TikTok’s catalogue, find the right hashtag that matches your artist and music theme. Now when fans create videos with your sound, they can use this hashtag to boost the songs visibility.
- TikTok Spotlight:
TikTok Spotlight allows independent artists to upload their sounds on the platform. This will enable users to find and use the sound improving its visibility, which is an excellent advantage for unsigned/independent artists.
- No Need To Get Fancy:
You don’t have to spend millions to create the perfect TikTok video for your song. All you need is a great space, good lighting, your phone or if you can get one a camera.
Another tip to going viral on TikTok is consistency. The truth is your first five songs might not be the ones that blow up. And in some cases, like with Ckay’s Love Nwantiti, it might take even longer. Oh! And remember, while you can’t control the algorithm, nothing should stop you from playing your part really well.
