TikTok is one of the fastest-growing apps, particularly among music lovers. Within a very short period of time, TikTok has made it to the list of the top 150 most popular global apps. TikTok allows musicians to make short video clips of their songs and upload them for the viewing pleasure of their audiences. Matteo Belcastro is one such hip-hop sensation on TikTok. He has managed to effectively engage with his audience even during the pandemic thanks to this virtual medium.
Belcastro believes that the majority of TikTokers are young people who primarily use the app to discover new music. This makes TikTok an excellent platform to connect with a wider audience. However, the rising popularity of TikTok has also resulted in steep competition on the platform. Matteo Belcastro shares some tricks through which musicians can gain ground on TikTok and engage with more of their fans.
Tips for aspiring musicians to succeed on TikTok
Matteo Belcastro shares some of his proven ways for gaining fame on TikTok and growing an audience.
Collaborations: TikTok allows two musicians to take part in a duet. Duets allow both musicians to draw in more followers with a video that will be visible on both of their profiles.
Make use of the TikTok algorithm: Manipulating the TikTok algorithm can be a good way to increase the popularity of your videos. A video’s popularity can be approximately determined by monitoring the maximum view time for said video. You can use the TikTok algorithm to increase the popularity of your videos through hashtags or the use of the “FYP” comment.
Publish unique content: Any content an artist puts out has to be engaging, entertaining, original, and memorable. Musicians should focus on writing songs with simple lyrics that can better connect with their audiences. Plagiarized content has a short life.
Follow trends: There is always something trending on TikTok. By following what is trending and creating or modifying their content accordingly, a musician can increase their visibility among their audience. It doesn’t necessarily have to be related to music, but as long as a TikToker can create content to entertain and engage with his/her audience then he/she can bring more traffic to their profile and help their earlier content gain more views.
Go for challenges: Challenges always go viral on TikTok. Look for trending challenges on TikTok and upload similar content along with appropriate hashtags. Remember, a challenge should look and feel like an actual challenge and not a cakewalk. Taking part in TikTok challenges is great for building an audience.
Make “TikTok moments”: TikTok moments are short video clips that have the potential to go viral. Musicians can use the most engaging part of one of their songs or videos as a TikTok moment to reach more people.
Matteo Belcastro believes that with killer content and the right promotional strategies, any budding musician can easily gain TikTok fame. However, one needs to be patient and consistent with his/her work because miracles don’t happen overnight, even on a platform like TikTok.