TikTok Growth

This is the TikTok-specific growth system — not a content skill. It diagnoses where growth is stuck and routes to the skills that fix it, on top of how TikTok actually distributes content in 2026. Don't carry over Instagram assumptions; TikTok is a different machine.

Three truths shape everything:

1. TikTok is an interest graph, not a social graph. Follower count is not a ranking factor — every video is tested on a cold audience, and ~70–80% of the FYP is non-followers. You don't grow by accumulating followers for reach.
2. Completion + rewatch win. The top signal is completion rate (aim ~70%+), then rewatches/loops; likes are the weakest. The first ~1 second decides everything.
3. Search and volume are growth pillars. TikTok is a search engine (evergreen discovery), and each post is a cheap at-bat — consistency + reading patterns beats one-off luck.

Followers are the business asset (LIVE/Shop/owned audience), not the reach mechanism. (Full model: references/the-growth-engine.md.)

Step 0 — Read the foundation + the current state

Load brand-profile.md, social-strategy.md, audience.md. Get the goal and the current state from native TikTok analytics (completion %, rewatch, shares, traffic source FYP vs Search vs Profile, follows-per-video) — needs a business/creator account; WoopSocial has no analytics.

Step 1 — Diagnose the broken stage/phase

Find where it's stuck in the test-and-expand loop: Phase-1 death (hook/completion) → Phase-2 plateau (cold-audience hold) → follow-conversion → search → volume/consistency → niche → community. A growth problem is almost always one stage. See the diagnosis table in references/features-and-diagnosis.md.

Step 2 — Fix completion + rewatch (the dominant signal)

If reach is the issue: rebuild the 1-second hook, raise completion toward ~70%+ (fast pacing, no dead air, right length), and add a loop/rewatch trigger. → tiktok-script, hook-writer. See references/completion-search-volume.md.

Step 3 — Build the search lane (evergreen discovery)

Put the primary keyword in spoken audio + on-screen text + caption (the triple mention), write captions like search queries, and build keyword clusters so videos get found for months independent of the FYP. → hashtag-strategy/social-seo, tiktok-script.

Step 4 — Run consistent at-bats + read patterns

A sustainable cadence (commonly ~3–5×/week, quality-gated) gives the algorithm more tests; judge by patterns across many videos, not one flop; the back-catalog resurfaces. Photo Mode carousels are cheap extra at-bats where the niche fits (high-ceiling, niche-dependent — not a reach hack) → tiktok-photo-mode. → content-calendar, viral-reverse-engineering. See references/completion-search-volume.md.

Step 5 — Convert + retain with native features

• Convert: if views are high but follows are low, it's the profile + no reason to follow → profile-optimization + a Series/Parts (drives binge + follows).
• Reach features: Stitch/Duet to piggyback momentum; pinned comment to seed engagement.
• Community/business: LIVE (needs ~1k followers), playlists, video replies — for warm fans, not early reach. See references/features-and-diagnosis.md.

Step 6 — Niche, cadence, measurement

• Tighten the niche so the interest graph can categorize and recommend you ("sides of TikTok").
• Sustainable cadence → content-calendar.
• Measure via native analytics (completion, rewatch, shares, traffic source, follows-per-video). No WoopSocial analytics; follower count isn't the goal metric.

Orchestration map

tiktok-growth diagnoses and routes; these execute: tiktok-script · tiktok-photo-mode · hook-writer · caption-writer · profile-optimization · content-calendar · hashtag-strategy · trend-jacking · viral-reverse-engineering · cross-platform-repurposing · scheduling-and-queue.

Quality bar — self-check

• Did I diagnose the broken stage/phase rather than spray generic tips?
• Did I center completion (~70%+) + rewatch as the signals, and the 1-second hook?
• Did I build the search lane and frame growth as consistent at-bats + patterns?
• Did I treat followers as a business asset, not a reach lever?
• Did I route to the right skills, with sustainable cadence and native-analytics measurement?
• No bought followers / no #fyp / no polished-ad advice / no guarantees, and the flux caveat?

Edge cases & pushback

• "Buy followers / I need followers for reach" → refuse fake engagement; follower count isn't a ranking factor; reframe to completion/search + followers-as-business-asset.
• "~200 views then dead" → Phase-1 death → hook + completion → tiktok-script/hook-writer.
• "One flop, the algorithm hates me" → single videos are noise; consistent at-bats + read patterns.
• "Guarantee me viral" → no guarantees; stack the odds; note the 2026 algorithm flux.
• Scattered niche → tighten the lane so the interest graph can categorize you.
• "Use LIVE to grow" (small account) → LIVE needs ~1k and is community/monetization, not early reach.
• "Which video performs best?" → native TikTok analytics; no WoopSocial analytics.

Related skills

• brand-profile, social-strategy, audience-research — the positioning growth rests on.
• tiktok-script, hook-writer, caption-writer — the content that earns completion + search.
• profile-optimization — converts reach to follows; content-calendar — sustainable at-bats.
• hashtag-strategy/social-seo — the search/keyword layer; trend-jacking — sounds/trends.
• viral-reverse-engineering — read patterns across videos; tiktok-video-publishing / tiktok-photo-mode + scheduling-and-queue — publish.

References

• references/the-growth-engine.md — interest graph, the 3-phase test, the signals, the loop, flux.
• references/completion-search-volume.md — the three pillars: completion/rewatch, search/SEO, volume + patterns.
• references/features-and-diagnosis.md — native features, niche, followers-as-business, symptom→stage→fix.
• references/examples.md — worked diagnoses with routing, plus honest expectations.