Top 10 TikTok Mistakes That Hinder Growth and Results: Avoid These to Boost Your Success

Below are the ten most significant TikTok blunders commonly made by creators, contributing to either sluggish growth or no growth whatsoever. These errors, when overlooked, hinder the potential for expanding your audience and achieving success on the platform.

Not Removing Watermarks Before Posting

If you're a creator and you're repurposing your videos from another platform like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts and there's a watermark on it, it could be resulting in you seeing little to no growth.

The TikTok app has stated that they do prefer you to post your videos without a watermark from any competitive app. So, if this is a mistake you're making, to fix or solve this issue, you could use websites or apps to remove an Instagram Reels watermark.

Lack of Hook Intentionality

Not being intentional with your hooks is a common pitfall among creators. The hook, referring to the first 3 seconds of your video, holds immense importance in capturing viewers' attention. While many creators on various platforms are casual in their approach, posting content sporadically, those aiming for rapid growth must focus on crafting intentional hooks. Failure to do so is likely a key reason behind stagnant views and limited growth.

One prevalent mistake regarding hooks is the absence of text. Incorporating text within the initial 1 to 3 seconds can effectively grab viewers' attention, providing them with a glimpse into the video's content before any dialogue or action begins. For example, if we were to create a video based on this blog post, the text might read "The Most Critical Errors Creators Are Committing." This succinct yet descriptive text immediately informs viewers of the video's focus, enhancing engagement and retention.

Another common blunder, often termed the "millennial pause," occurs when a video starts with the creator pausing, uttering phrases like "like today, you know," or taking a deep breath. Such instances disrupt the flow of the video and can deter viewers from continuing to watch. It's recommended to remove such pauses during the editing process to maintain viewer engagement.

Before sharing your video, it's crucial to critically assess the opening moments. Put yourself in the shoes of a viewer scrolling through TikTok and ask whether the beginning of your video is captivating enough to warrant further attention. This simple practice can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your hooks and ultimately contribute to increased viewership and growth.

Inconsistent posting frequency

For creators aspiring to pursue content creation as a full-time occupation, maintaining consistent posting schedules is paramount. It's essential to recognize that consistency doesn't necessarily entail posting every single day; rather, it emphasizes regularity. Your consistency is not judged against others; it's solely measured against your own account. Therefore, if your realistic capacity allows for posting every other day or exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays, adhere to that established consistency.

Discover a posting rhythm that aligns with your daily responsibilities and commitments, ensuring it's something you can realistically sustain for the next 60 to 90 days. Transitioning into a full-time content creator requires long-term dedication, spanning beyond just a year or two. Many creators fall into the trap of aiming for rapid growth by posting excessively, sometimes multiple times a day, only to find themselves overwhelmed and burnt out once they achieve initial success.

It's crucial to avoid this pitfall and instead find a sustainable posting rhythm that fits seamlessly into your weekly routine. Consistency over time is key to maintaining audience engagement and ensuring that platforms like TikTok continue to prioritize pushing your content to users.

Employing irrelevant hashtags

We often observe creators using irrelevant hashtags, but why does this matter? Employing irrelevant hashtags confuses the algorithm. While we understand the temptation to use trending or popular hashtags that seem to perform well for other creators, if they aren't relevant to your video's content, they won't make a difference. In fact, they can potentially harm your video's performance in the long term.

TikTok relies on hashtags to categorize your videos and determine the appropriate audience to push your content to. For example, if your video is about baking a cake and you use the hashtag #Messi simply because it's trending, viewers interested in soccer or the player Messi will likely ignore your content because it's unrelated. This mismatch damages your engagement rates.

When users scroll past your video without engaging, TikTok takes notice. The fewer engagements your video receives, the less likely TikTok is to continue promoting it. Therefore, it's essential to use relevant hashtags that accurately reflect the content of your video to maximize its reach and engagement.

Text Placement

One of the common errors we often notice among creators on the app involves the placement of text within their videos. Whether positioned too high or too low, improper text placement can hinder the visibility and overall appeal of your content.

Placing text too high in a video can obscure suggested search terms, limiting the discoverability of your content. Conversely, positioning text too low risks it being covered by the creator's caption, as well as the like, comment, and share icons. This can result in a cluttered appearance, potentially deterring viewers from engaging with your video.

While there is an option to utilize Clear View mode to eliminate distractions and watch in full-screen, it's essential to ensure optimal text placement to maintain a polished presentation. Whether your text is too high or too low, it can give the impression of a messy video, prompting users to scroll past it.

Removing videos

Deleting your videos, even if they're not performing well, is not advisable. Remember, TikTok's feed doesn't operate chronologically. This means that your video could potentially go viral weeks, months, or even nine months from now. Keeping your videos online increases their chances of gaining traction in the future.

Moreover, if you receive a community guideline violation after posting a video, refraining from immediate deletion is recommended. Instead, consider appealing the violation. By doing so, your video remains accessible during the appeal process. If TikTok determines that the video indeed violates their guidelines, they will remove it. However, consistently deleting videos can signal to TikTok that you may continue this practice in the future. As a result, TikTok may deprioritize promoting your content to users.

Neglecting to assess your analytics

We've observed that creators aiming for rapid growth often overlook their analytics. Instead, they simply churn out content without delving into the insights provided by their analytics dashboard, it's crucial to analyze your analytics thoroughly. You need to pay attention to metrics such as view duration to identify which videos are resonating the most with your audience. Understanding why certain videos perform better than others allows you to refine your content strategy.

Many creators celebrate when a video performs exceptionally well, but they often fail to capitalize on its success. The key is to replicate what works. Whether it's the topic, the style, or any other element that contributed to its success, doubling down on proven strategies yields the best and fastest results on your platform. Ideally, you want every viewer to watch your content from start to finish, maximizing watch time. Analyzing your data reveals insights such as audience retention rates, which can highlight areas for improvement. For instance, if you notice a significant drop-off at the beginning of a video, it's a clear indication that your hook needs refining. This presents an opportunity for learning and growth. By continually refining your content based on analytics, you can create more engaging and captivating videos tailored to your target audience. In essence, embracing analytics is not just a suggestion; it's a necessity for success.

Creating unnecessarily long videos

We've noticed a common mistake among creators: they often make their videos longer than necessary. Now, hear us out – we’re not suggesting that your videos need to fit into specific durations like 7 to 9 seconds or 13 to 15 seconds. While some may advise you on ideal durations for optimal performance, it's essential to recognize that every target audience, topic, and niche differs.

Your audience's preferences might vary – some may prefer concise 5-minute videos, while others may favor shorter, 5-second clips. Experiment with different durations to see what resonates best with your viewers. There's no one-size-fits-all rule for video length.

What I'm emphasizing is that each video should contain only what's necessary. For example, if you're creating a leg day workout routine video, stick to the core content. Avoid unnecessary tangents or anecdotes unrelated to the title. Keep it focused on the five exercises without veering off-topic. In essence, the key is to avoid unnecessary length. Get straight to the point and deliver the content your audience expects without unnecessary fluff.

Sharing content that doesn't align with your objectives

We often observe creators deviating from posting content that aligns with their goals or past successes. Allow us to elaborate: envision your aspirations, where ideally, three four years from now, you see yourself as a full-time fitness reviewer, visiting various gyms to critique other fitness instructors that are providing coaching, thereby boosting their customer traffic and sales. If this is your dream job, then it's crucial to align your posts with this long-term vision. Instead of creating content that has nothin to do with your goal. Focus on content that reflects your ultimate goal. It may seem obvious, but many individuals overlook this principle, opting instead to imitate popular trends such becoming a trad wife (traditional wife).

Moreover, consider whether your content aligns with the successes of others within your niche or industry. Analyze what types of content are performing well or are trending, and incorporate similar themes into your own creations. While it's beneficial to adapt successful strategies from others, it's equally important to maintain authenticity as a creator. Strive for a balance between implementing external strategies and staying true to your unique style and content preferences.

Numerous creators serve as excellent examples of effective content structures and relatability with their audience. By learning from their successes while retaining your individuality, you can enhance the quality and appeal of your content.

Sharing content centered around oneself

It's challenging for me to explain this concept because achieving a healthy balance is crucial. You don't want to tilt too far towards self-centered content nor too far in the opposite direction. The error lies in exclusively posting about yourself, resulting in self-absorbed content. This includes videos titled "How I learned to ride a bike," "Day in my life," or "How I make my lunch" – content solely revolving around you.

What's essential is incorporating selfless content – material that benefits the viewer. Instead of focusing solely on your personal experiences, consider creating content tailored to the user's needs and interests. For instance, rather than making a video titled "How I warmed up in the gym," you could produce one named "Essential warm-up exercises in the gym." This shift in focus demonstrates consideration for the audience and their concerns.

Strive for a balance between personal vlog-style content, which you enjoy creating, and content that offers value to the viewer. By doing so, you create a connection with your audience, indicating that you care about their needs and are willing to provide helpful information. While TikTok's casual and authentic atmosphere often leads to self-centered content, aspiring creators aiming for rapid growth should diversify their content strategy. Transitioning from solely "me-focused" content to more user-oriented and service-based content can significantly boost viewership, followers, and community engagement.

In conclusion, avoiding these common TikTok mistakes can significantly impact your growth and success as a creator on the platform. By being mindful of your content strategy, hooking viewers from the start, maintaining consistency, using relevant hashtags, optimizing text placement, refraining from deleting videos hastily, and leveraging analytics effectively, you can unlock the full potential of TikTok as a powerful tool for audience engagement and content dissemination.

As you continue your journey as a TikTok creator, embrace experimentation, adaptability, and creativity. Keep refining your approach, learning from your experiences, and staying true to your unique voice and vision. With dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to learn and grow, you can overcome obstacles, cultivate a thriving TikTok presence, and achieve your goals as a content creator. Here's to your continued success on TikTok!