What we'd shoot tomorrow if we were starting from zero on TikTok.

Does a new account start at a disadvantage on TikTok?

No, and TikTok has said so directly. In its explanation of how the For You feed works, the company writes: "Neither follower count nor whether the account has had previous high-performing videos are direct factors in the recommendation system."

What the system does look at, according to TikTok:

• User interactions: the videos people like, share and comment on, the accounts they follow, the content they create.
• Video information: captions, sounds and hashtags.
• Device and account settings: language, country and device type.

Not every signal counts the same. TikTok says a strong indicator of interest, such as whether someone finishes watching a longer video from beginning to end, carries more weight than a weak one. The feed also deliberately mixes in content outside a viewer's usual interests, which gives accounts nobody follows yet a way in.

The audience is there, too. In Greece, TikTok's advertising tools reached 4.60 million adults at the end of 2025, or 55.3% of everyone aged 18 and over, according to DataReportal's Digital 2026 report.

What should you set up before the first video?

• A business account. It gives you access to TikTok's Commercial Music Library, around one million pre-cleared songs that are free for businesses to use. This matters more than it sounds: TikTok states that "businesses cannot use the general music library for commercial usage".
• A profile that explains itself in two seconds. A clear name, a one-line bio that says what you are and where, a link, a recognisable profile photo.
• Three content pillars. Three subjects you can talk about every week without running dry, for example the place, the people and the questions customers ask. They keep you consistent without making every video the same.

What makes someone stop scrolling and keep watching?

TikTok's own creative guidance, written for advertisers but just as useful for organic posts, comes down to a few principles:

• Get to the point fast. TikTok reports that 90% of ad recall impact is captured within the first six seconds. Open with the most interesting frame, the result or the question, not a logo or a slow intro.
• Treat sound as half the video. For 88% of TikTok users, sound is vital to the TikTok experience, according to TikTok. Music, a voice or natural sound should carry the video.
• Make it TikTok-first. Shoot vertically, in high resolution, and keep text and faces clear of the edges where the app's buttons and captions sit. TikTok says text overlays increase view time and help people remember what they saw.
• Use trends selectively. 77% of users say they like it when brands use trends, memes or challenges. Join the ones that genuinely fit you, with sounds from the Commercial Music Library.

And because finishing a video is one of the strongest signals, every video should be as long as its idea needs, and no longer.

What would we shoot in the first 30 days?

This is the plan we'd run for a brand with no audience yet: a hotel, a restaurant, a shop, a local service. It is built on the points above, not on a secret formula.

Week 1: Show what you are

Four short videos, each testing a different pillar: a 20-second walk through the place, the person behind the counter or the kitchen, the product or the service in action, the view or the street outside. The goal is not views yet. It is finding out which subject holds attention.

Week 2: Answer the questions people search for

Search is a big part of TikTok. According to TikTok, billions of searches happen on the platform every day, up more than 40% year over year, and in the US one in four users starts searching within 30 seconds of opening the app. Write down the ten questions customers ask you most and answer one per video. Say the key phrase out loud, put it on screen and in the caption, because captions and sounds are part of the video information TikTok uses to understand what a video is about.

Week 3: Double down on what held attention

Look at which videos kept people watching longest and turn the best one into a series: the same format, a new episode every week. Recurring formats are easier to make and give viewers a reason to follow.

Week 4: Bring in people and one or two trends

Faces, voices and behind-the-scenes moments make a brand feel like people rather than an advert. Add one or two trends that suit your tone, using commercial sounds.

How often to post

TikTok doesn't publish a fixed rule for businesses, so we'd lean on data. Buffer analysed 11.4 million TikTok posts from more than 150,000 accounts and compared each account with itself over time.

Source: Buffer, How often should you post on TikTok? (October 2025). 11.4 million posts from 150,000+ accounts.

Median views stayed around 500 whatever the frequency: posting more mostly raised the ceiling for the best videos. Buffer's own recommendation is 2 to 5 posts a week, and that is where we'd start. A rhythm you can keep for months beats a burst you can't.

How do you know it's working?

TikTok's built-in analytics show how each video performed, including whether any were made ineligible for recommendation. In the first month we'd watch three things more than views:

1. Watch time and completion: how long people stayed, and how many made it to the end.
2. Where views came from: the For You feed, search, your profile or followers.
3. Profile visits and new followers per video: the sign that a video made people want more.

Judge the month, not the single video. In Buffer's data, the typical video's views barely moved with posting frequency; what changed was how far the best ones went.

What should you avoid?

• Reposting other people's content. TikTok's rules make content ineligible for the For You feed "if it includes unoriginal or reused material without anything new".
• Using the general music library as a business. Use the Commercial Music Library instead.
• Buying followers or engagement. TikTok doesn't allow services that artificially boost engagement or trick the recommendation system.
• Panicking over one quiet video. TikTok itself notes that a video not getting many views "doesn't necessarily mean it broke a rule". Check analytics, look at the first seconds and keep going.

Vibrande is a digital marketing agency in Rhodes, Greece, and short-form video is our signature service. If you want help getting your first month on TikTok right, tell us where you're at.