How I went from 0 to 2,500 Followers in 10 Days
The 'C' in ARC is working (real ones know what I'm talking about)
One of my New Year’s goals for Regular Hoops was to post one TikTok per day.
I published my first TikTok on January 4th, 2023 and gained 2,500 followers in 10 days. Here is the social media strategy I developed:
Investment in Long-Form Content
Call to Action
Daily Uploads
Short Clips
Investment in Long-Form Content
Long-form content has the greatest ROI because it can be repurposed for different platforms.
For example, a one-hour podcast can be cut into 30-second videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and/or YouTube Shorts. Depending on each clip’s quality, that’s 1-3 months of daily content from 60 minutes of filming.
Similarly, my 60-second mixtapes on Instagram can be broken into 5-second clips for TikTok. That’s 10-20 days of daily content from one pickup basketball run. And because I started recording in June 2022, I have 50+ hours of basketball footage that can be edited into TikTok highlights and last for months.
This investment in long-form content maximizes my time as I balance (1) Regular Hoops, (2) full-time college classes, and (3) a part-time office job.
Call to Action
In July 2022, Regular Hoops went viral on Instagram. The video reached 3.1 million views, and the brand added ~700 followers.
Looking back, I failed to convert more viewers into followers because there was no call to action. This time I was prepared, which is evident in the second line of the TikTok bio that reads…
“FOLLOW IF YOU’RE A REGULAR HOOPER 🏀”
Viewers see this and feel incentivized to follow because the word “Regular Hooper” resonates. They identify with the brand and understand the page features basketball players like them. This analysis is supported by data too.
The first 10 TikToks resulted in ~1 million views and 2500 followers. So compared to my first viral video in July 2022, Regular Hoops gained 3.5x more followers with 70% fewer views. While I acknowledge that it’s easier to attract followers on TikTok, I’m confident this increase in followers with fewer views would’ve also been reflected on Instagram.
Daily Uploads
As a viewer, I was always frustrated when creators would not upload for weeks. I recognize why this happens, but it weakens the follower experience. So to signal to viewers that followers receive new content every day, the first line in my TikTok bio is…
“DAILY pickup basketball clips”
This sets an expectation for my content and builds trust between Regular Hoops and followers.
And while I could publish multiple times per day, posting just one clip makes the content more exclusive. Said another way: I’m only sharing the best of the best, so viewers have to follow to see new posts first.
Short Clips
I’m not a TikTok expert, but I think the algorithm shared my videos with more viewers because people watch the entire clip. This high retention rate is because my posts are short (5-10 seconds long)—and it’s much easier to have a 70% retention rate on 5-second videos than on 60-second videos.
I also created engaging captions, which make the content easy to consume and enhance the follower experience. This is backed by a study from Verizon Media and Publicis Media that found…
“80% of consumers are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available” (Forbes).
YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, & Twitter
In addition to TikTok, I’ve been posting the same videos at the same time on YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, and Twitter.
Of these platforms, I saw the most success on YouTube Shorts gaining around 45,000 views and 50 subscribers. On the other hand, Twitter has seen almost no growth, which is predictable since the platform is used much differently regarding short-form video content. Facebook is in the middle with around 12,000 views and 15 followers.
PS—Shoot me a message if this resonated, or read my last post where I detail my 2023 theme: ARC
Way to go Daniel - this is huge! Taking notes from you 📝