TikTok’s suggested accounts feature helps make your experience on the app both enjoyable and effective.
Whether you’re scrolling for entertainment or strategically building your brand, understanding how suggested accounts work can greatly boost your visibility, enhance your interactions, and help you build meaningful connections.
Let’s find out just how to take full advantage of this useful TikTok feature!
Key Takeaways
- Suggested accounts help you discover new content and connect with relevant creators.
- For creators and brands, getting featured boosts credibility, visibility, and trust.
- TikTok’s suggestion system uses behavior, interests, and engagement data to keep your feed fresh.
Table of Contents
What Does Suggested Account Mean on TikTok?
Suggested accounts are profiles TikTok believes you’ll enjoy based on how you interact with the app.
The TikTok platform learns your preferences from your viewing history, likes, shares, and comments, then uses this information to recommend similar creators and content. This is known as the TikTok algorithm.
Suggested accounts appear prominently in your main feed, notifications, and Discover tab, streamlining the process of finding new, engaging content geared specifically to your interests.
How Does TikTok Suggest Accounts?
TikTok uses a combination of advanced algorithms, machine learning models, and user data analysis to recommend accounts. This is true of any social media network out there now.
The system continuously refines its suggestions based on your interactions and feedback, creating a highly personalized experience on TikTok.
Understanding just how TikTok recommends accounts to its users will help you to create a content strategy that boosts engagement and reach!
Let’s break down each aspect in detail:
1. User Behavior
TikTok tracks every action you take: likes, comments, shares, follows, and even the time you spend watching each video.
It uses this data to build a profile of your interests and preferences. The more you interact with certain types of content, the more likely you are to see similar accounts suggested.
You should know when your target audience is online so you can decide on the best TikTok posting times for your particular account. The more engagement you get right away, the better reach you can get.
Example: If you watch cooking videos late at night, TikTok learns to recommend more cooking creators around that time.
That means you want your content to be aligned with your target audience so that you will be suggested to the right users based on their behavior.
2. User Interest
Beyond behavior, TikTok pays attention to explicit signals like hashtags you search for, accounts you visit, and challenges you follow. Anything a TikTok user clicks on informs the platform what to show you.
These signals help TikTok identify which creators align with your interests and which content you would find most valuable.
Example: Searching for “travel vlogs” prompts TikTok to suggest travel content creators, influencers, and adventure channels.
3. Location and Language
TikTok uses your location and language preferences to suggest accounts that are relevant to your region or community.
This local focus helps you connect with nearby creators and businesses. It can especially be useful for businesses that want to expand to local customers.
Example: Users in Spain might be shown local Spanish-language creators even if they follow international content.
4. Linked Accounts and Social Graph
If you link your TikTok account to other social media networks, TikTok uses those connections to understand your wider interests and recommend relevant accounts accordingly. The algorithms span between network connections to provide an even more customized and personal experience.
Example: If you have a fitness-focused Twitter, TikTok may suggest fitness creators, nutritionists, and gym enthusiasts.
5. Background Activity and Passive Data
TikTok uses an extensive range of passive signals to fine-tune its suggestions. Beyond likes and shares, TikTok looks at passive signals like watch time, scrolling speed, repeated plays, and how frequently you interact with certain content creators.
It even takes into account whether you watch videos silently or with sound. This data helps TikTok understand what captures your attention most.
If you watch multiple videos by a creator, TikTok interprets that as a strong preference and is more likely to recommend similar accounts or content by that creator.
Example: If you often watch a certain music genre with high watch time and no skips, TikTok may recommend related artists or fan accounts.
TikTok also looks at passive data, such as how long you linger on videos, how quickly you swipe away, and which videos you re-watch. These hidden signals shape recommendations more than you might think.
So, if you always watch dance videos all the way through, TikTok will pick up on that and recommend popular dance creators.
Understanding how your target audience uses TikTok is key to your success on the platform. You can get more TikTok followers and get higher levels of engagement.
6. Trending Content and Community Signals
TikTok’s algorithm takes into account what’s trending in your community and among users with similar interests. This means you’ll see suggested accounts that are relevant to the current cultural moment.
Example: If there’s a trending hashtag like #SummerSkincare, TikTok may suggest skincare influencers sharing tips and tutorials.
By analyzing all these signals together, TikTok’s algorithm creates a curated, dynamic list of suggested accounts just for a single user.
This personalized approach ensures TikTok users always find content that’s engaging, fresh, and relevant.
Leveraging TikTok’s “Suggested Account” Feature As a Content Creator
Getting featured as a suggested account on TikTok can really move the needle for your content strategy. Let’s dive deeper into how each benefit can help you grow and why it matters for creators:
For creators, appearing as a suggested account can significantly boost your growth as a content creator, giving you increased credibility, enhanced visibility, and stronger brand awareness. There are three other ways.
1. Credibility
When TikTok includes your account in its suggestions, it’s like getting a stamp of approval from the platform itself.
This shows your audience that you’re a trusted creator worth following. Viewers see that your content is reliable, engaging, and high-quality. This can make them more likely to follow you, share your videos, and engage with your brand.
Think of it as TikTok giving you an organic boost in trust and reputation. Score!
Being featured in suggested accounts sends a strong signal to viewers that your content is valuable and trustworthy. It can position you as an authority figure or go-to creator in your niche, helping to build trust quickly with new followers.
Example: A fashion influencer appearing regularly in suggested accounts is more likely to attract followers who trust their fashion advice and style recommendations, quickly expanding their influence.
2. Visibility and Growth
Showing up as a suggested account boosts your visibility to a wide audience, even people who haven’t seen your content before. This can lead to a spike in followers and new fans discovering your content for the first time.
Imagine the potential: your videos could be featured on their feed, making it easier to grow your fanbase organically. This also helps you stay top-of-mind for people interested in your niche, helping you build a steady, engaged audience.
Increased visibility through TikTok’s recommendations accelerates your follower growth. Your content reaches a wider, targeted audience, driving more interactions, shares, and ultimately, potential viral growth.
Example: A new gaming creator featured in suggested accounts might quickly attract thousands of new followers, significantly boosting their engagement and visibility within the gaming community.
3. Brand Visibility
For businesses and brands, being included in TikTok’s suggested accounts is like free advertising to the right audience. It means your brand is put in front of people already interested in similar products or content.
This exposure can lead to more website visits, product inquiries, and sales. It’s a smart way to turn casual viewers into paying customers.
Plus, showing up in suggestions builds trust, making it easier for people to choose your brand over competitors.
Ultimately, appearing in suggested accounts means directly reaching audiences who are most likely to become customers, giving you more brand visibility on TikTok.
This can generate new leads and helps convert casual viewers into loyal followers or customers, which is great for businesses on the platform.
For influencers, it helps to continue monetizing TikTok and bringing in a wider audience for your content. You can make more than $100,000 as a successful influencer on TikTok, so it’s worth it!
Example: A small organic skincare brand appearing in the suggestions of beauty enthusiasts sees an increase in product inquiries, website visits, and sales. Consistent exposure in suggested accounts also helps build strong brand recall.
How to Manage Suggested Accounts on TikTok?
If you want more control over your suggested accounts on TikTok, you do have some options.
TikTok gives you control over managing suggested accounts, allowing you to customize your app experience based on your preferences. If you want to make some adjustments, follow the steps below.
Steps to Enable or Disable Suggested Accounts on TikTok:
- Open the TikTok app on your device.
- Tap the Profile icon at the bottom right corner.
- Select the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) located at the top right corner.
- Choose Settings and Privacy.
- Navigate to Privacy.
- Look under Discoverability and toggle the Suggested Accounts setting to either on or off based on your preference.
FAQs
Still have some doubts about suggested accounts on TikTok? Our FAQ has you covered!
How do I stop TikTok from showing suggested accounts?
If you prefer not to see suggested accounts, you can turn off this feature by navigating to Settings and Privacy, selecting Privacy, then Discoverability, and toggling off the Suggested Accounts option.
How does TikTok choose suggested accounts?
TikTok analyzes your activity on the app, including videos you engage with, your interests, location, linked profiles, and subtle viewing habits, to generate personalized account suggestions.
Why is someone in my suggested account on TikTok?
Someone might appear in your suggested accounts because you share mutual interests, follow similar accounts, have common followers, or have linked your social media profiles.
How to clear TikTok suggestions?
Although you can’t entirely clear suggestions, you can influence what appears by adjusting your interaction patterns or disabling suggested accounts in your settings.
Conclusion
Understanding suggested accounts on TikTok can significantly enhance your app experience, helping you discover new content easily and effectively.
For creators and businesses, mastering this feature can dramatically improve your visibility, credibility, and growth potential on the platform.
Take advantage of these insights to fully leverage TikTok’s powerful recommendation system, making your time spent on the app more rewarding, enjoyable, and successful.
