In the latest iteration of social media buzz, TikTok is all everyone’s been talking about from high schoolers to advertisers and even world leaders. And while the fate of the newest kid on the social media block is up in the air — with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to ban the platform if it isn’t sold to an American company — many early users have already built up massive ultra-engaged followings.
If you’re still trying to catch up with the trends, do not fret. We at Group8A caught up with Andrew Angel, one of TikTok’s young influencers from Richmond, VA who has so far amassed over 6 million likes and more than 155,000 followers. The rising star dished out advice for anyone trying to take TikTok to the next level.
When asked what he believes is the number one key to success, Angel was generous enough to offer two: consistency and originality.
“I see a lot of beginner TikTokers not posting enough” Angel said. “For anyone who wants to do what I do I would for sure recommend them to just keep creating nonstop and the followers and supporters will come eventually.”
As for originality, Angel has a clear message up-and-comers: “original content always tends to do better than content people have already seen.” Without a doubt, Angel follows his own advice, which is evident in his recent posts, which almost always showcase his DSLR camera and creative photoshoots. In a post from August 28, Angel chronicled himself jumping into a pool at night more than 40 times just to capture the perfect photography he was looking for. That post earned him over 85,000 likes and 352,000 views.
Those two keys alone — consistency and originality — will likely not get you 100,000 dedicated followers. Any TikTok content strategy will fall short without creating beautiful art. After all, we're talking about a video-sharing platform. But there’s even a way to strategize your art on the app to win. This tip from Angel is what he describes as “the secret to making a successful TikTok.” Angel said it is “attention grabbing intros that make the viewers want to watch the entire post.” The social media app tends to favor view time, meaning the more engaging your posts, the greater the chance your content will get organically promoted within the app. He does that with music, text-on-screen captions and moving images.
Of course, the looming threat of a TikTok is top of mind for Angel, which has forced him to realize the reality that it’s isn’t wise to put all his eggs in one basket. That’s why he’s since been encouraging his TikTok followers to follow him on Instagram, as well. There, users can find some of the same content he’s posted on TikTok, setting himself up for a natural fallback if TikTok gets doomed. Either way, Angel’s success on social media isn’t because of any specific app or just because of his strategic approach, but instead, related his passion for the arts. Inspired by the legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Angel he’s his own future in filmmaking with a goal of driving his TikTok career straight to movie sets. Banned or not, TikTok is only the vehicle for Angel. He’s the driver on a one-way road to filmmaking.