TikTok has a reputation for showing you exactly what you want to see, which can keep you scrolling for hours. Some users even claim TikTok knows them better than they know themselves, since it’s shown them videos that helped diagnose their ADHD, autism, or other condition.
It’s thanks to the app’s powerful algorithm, that learns your behaviors in a way no other social media does. But what if your feed is not all it’s cracked up to be? If you find yourself bored with TikTok, we’re here to help fix it.
The Mystery Behind TikTok’s Algorithm
For the longest time, it was hard to know what made the TikTok FYP (For You Page) so engaging. The company refused to share its formula for success and left users guessing what made the app know their preferences so well.
However, in a blog post from 2020, the company finally agreed to reveal a bit of how TikTok recommends videos for you. It determined that “the best way to curate your For You feed is to simply use and enjoy the app.” It didn’t go into too much detail, other than the advice to follow new accounts and explore the Discover tab.
Later, in 2021, some documents about the algorithm leaked to the press. They revealed that watch time isn’t the only factor for recommendations on the app.
According to The New York Times, the equation for scoring videos and including them in your recommendations is a combination of “likes, comments, and playtime, as well as an indication that the video has been played.”
Even with this revelation, it’s not very clear why one video ranks higher than others, so people have tried to work out what helps your video appear on others’ FYPs.
From the other point of view, this same information can explain what actions will help improve your FYP to better match your interests.
1. Follow
The first thing you should do once you get on TikTok is to follow accounts that you find interesting. This will ensure you keep seeing those creators on your FYP, and it will also help the app recommend content in the same areas of interest.
2. Watch and Re-Watch
While watch time is not the most important factor, according to the leaked documents, it is still a factor. So when the app recognizes that you’ve watched something all the way through, it understands that you liked it. An even better way to stress your enjoyment is to watch the same video several times.
3. Press “Not Interested”
But what happens if you watch something all the way through, only to find out it was clickbait? You know those videos. Those that say “watch what happens next” only to be completely disappointing at the end.
Just because you watch something until the end, doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to more hours of the same content. You can tell the app that you didn’t like this, and avoid similar trends and sounds in the future.
To do that, long-press the screen, until a pop-up appears. Then press the broken heart icon that says “Not Interested”. The same button also appears if you press the Share button.
4. Like and Share
Another great way to signal to the app that you like a piece of content is to hit the Like button on the right side of the screen. This is also a good way of supporting the creators that you enjoy.
Additionally, every video that you like will enter a special library in your profile for later reference. You can choose to either keep this library private or make it public.
The Share button is a natural companion of the Like button. If you enjoy something enough, you may want to send it to your favorite WhatsApp group, or add it to your Instagram stories. You can do that with the Share button on the right of the screen.
You can also go a step further and hit Save to keep the video on your device, which will also help you to share it with people who don’t have TikTok on their phones. Both of these actions will signal to the app that you want more of the same content.
5. Add to Favorites
You can even go one step future, and add a piece of content to your favorites, so you can come back to it later. Here, you can like more than a specific video. You can add videos, sounds, effects, hashtags, and questions to your Favorites library, which appears on your profile, next to the Edit Profile button.
Not only will this help the algorithm serve you better content, but if you want to create your own content, this library can help you save ideas for later.
If you’re somebody who mainly watches TikTok, and doesn’t really create (no shame in that), you may not be big on commenting either. You probably like to comment only if you have something interesting to contribute to the conversation. This is a mistake if you want to curate a better FYP.
TikTok takes into account any form of engagement to help build better recommendations, which is why comments play a key role. You’ve might’ve noticed that many people comment with lines like “commenting to stay on this side of TikTok”. And if you want to see more of the same content, you should do the same.
7. Use the Discover Tab
Like Instagram, TikTok has its own Explore Page, called Discover. It shows trending hashtags and sounds and has a search option. If there’s something specific that you want to see more of on your page, use Discover to find it. Then proceed to like and share videos from that search, to really make it easy on the algorithm.
Support Your Favorite Creators
As you can tell from these actions, making your FYP work for you takes a bit of time and investment. This comes back to the company’s initial statement that the more time you spend on the app, the better it’ll work for you.
However, don’t forget that there are actual people behind the content you consume. So if you like, share, and comment, make sure you also do that to show your appreciation for their hard work.
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