An increasingly high number of TikTok users seem to think that their views on the video sharing platform are on the decline and, above all, that there hasn’t been any strong correlation between engagement and reach for some time. Along these lines, we have been seeing some people wonder “Why is my TikTok reach so bad suddenly?” or “Is organic reach on TikTok being restricted?”

Can any of these suspicions be substantiated with data? In order to see what may be going on here, we examined a cross-section of 1,000 TikTok profiles to put the hypothesis, that reach on TikTok has declined, to the test.

What Are Views On TikTok?

Before we turn to the results of our investigation, we should briefly clarify what is actually meant by views or impressions on TikTok. Impressions on TikTok show you the number of times a post has been viewed – including multiple views by individual users. If a user watches one of your TikToks twice, this counts as two views.

In addition to providing you with an overview of how many different people you are reaching with your content, the number of views on TikTok also tells you whether your target group is interested in your content. A higher number of impressions per video indicates that your target group finds your posts worth watching, since they are watching your videos again and again.

A few years ago, back when the TikTok hype started, you were able to reach a much larger number of users with your content than you were capable of reaching on other social networks such as Instagram or Facebook, for example. Today, some think that the number of video views and, as a result, reach has decreased. The first question then is whether this assumption can be confirmed analytically?

Our Study’s Finding: Views on TikTok Are on the Decline

Our team analyzed 780,000 videos published on TikTok by 1,000 accounts of various sizes. The study period spans two years, from January 2022 to December 2023. For our study, we looked at how the impressions per video per follower on TikTok have developed, and our study results are clear: You can reach a much lower number of followers with your posts on TikTok today than two years ago.

Development of impressions per video per follower

As demonstrated in the graph above, the number of impressions per video and follower on TikTok achieved by the accounts studied fluctuates slightly each month. Nevertheless, the graph clearly shows a downward trend. 

According to our study, the TikTok videos analyzed were still able to reach a much larger number of users at the beginning of 2022, with up to 24% of followers seeing the posts. Since the fall 2022, TikTok views have been steadily declining and reached their lowest point at the end of 2023. At the end of our study period, the posts we analyzed only achieved slightly more than 0.1 impressions per video per follower – meaning that only 10% of followers had seen the published videos.

Share of profiles that have won or lost

Of the 1,000 profiles analyzed, a small number were able to buck the trend: 15% of accounts have gained more views in the last two years. However, for the most part, the increases are less than 50%. The clear majority (85% of users) in our study recorded a loss of reach. In some cases, the decline is enormous meaning that most of the losers suffered losses of between 50 and 80%. 

Why is Reach on TikTok Declining?

First, let’s just point out that we are referring to TikTok organic reach, which excludes reach that you may get by running ads. A large part of the lost TikTok reach and views can be explained by natural effects. One such effect is due to the number of users on TikTok and the increase in TikToks published every day, which has multiplied over the last few years. Your videos have to compete against an ever-increasing number of posts to get on the “For you” page of your target group. 

Before the TikTok hype took off a few years ago, there were a much smaller number of users on the platform than there are today. Moreover, users were spending a lot of time online at the time due to the pandemic. The number of brands active on TikTok has also increased steadily in recent years. Your profile is now competing with more direct competitors for screen time than you were two years ago.

How To Get More Reach On TikTok: 5 Tips

Now you’re probably asking yourself: “How do I increase my reach on TikTok?” The answer revolves around your content being relevant to your target audience, your posts bing searchable, and you posting them at the right time. We have collected 5 practical tips for you to generate more TikTok reach.

1 – Create Valuable Content for Your Target Group

The best way to combat the decline in views and organic reach of your TikTok videos is to create and post content that really interests your target audience. But what does your target group want to see? Take a close look at your competitors’ content. Ask yourself which types of content work well for them, and which don’t? 

When thinking about how to increase TikTok reach, the easiest way to do this kind of analysis is with a social media tool such as Fanpage Karma. Within our tool, you will find two valuable templates for your competitor research: “Content” and “Tagging”. In our Academy, we outline how you can utilize your competitor analysis to increase your reach.

2 – Optimize Your Content for Search

You’re probably familiar with SEO, or search engine optimization. TikTok SEO works in exactly the same way: find keywords that users use to search for similar content on TikTok and incorporate these terms into your posts. Say them out loud in your videos and write them down in the subtitles, captions, or alt texts. Are there any suitable hashtags? Remember to use these too.

3 – Actively Ensure More Engagement With Your Posts

To increase your organic reach on TikTok, the algorithm needs to display your posts to more users. To achieve this, your followers need to interact with your content, especially in the first few minutes and hours. Therefore, it is important to know when your target group is most active and most willing to interact with your content. You can easily find out the best posting times for your niche with Fanpage Karma. We have summarized how to do this in our article titled The Best Times to Post on TikTok.

4 – Use TikTok Features Such as Popular Sounds, Stitches, and Duets

If you’re active on TikTok, you’re probably familiar with the platform’s special features: sounds, stitches, and duets. Keep your eyes (and ears) open for frequently used sounds and related TikTok trends, and use them if they suit your posts. Use stitches to complement other TikTok videos with your perspective. You can also create duets with other content creators. This allows you to reach new users who may not yet know your account.

Summary

The assumption of many users has been confirmed: Views and reach on TikTok have indeed fallen over the last two years across many different profiles. However, this does not necessarily mean that you can no longer reach your target group on TikTok. In any case, it’s worth finding out what your target audience is interested in and what kind of content they want to see from you.

If you want to analyze your TikTok videos with Fanpage Karma and find out what type of content works best for your target audience, you can try the all-in-one social media tool for free today.

The Fanpage Karma team also offers a free weekly live webinar where you can learn what other analytics features of the tool you can use to optimize your content.