6 popular TikTok tips, tested on real accounts
November 2026
-22%views for TikToks that say "comment X and I'll send it", against the same creator's other videos. They did get +44% comments.
Creators pass these tips to each other every day. We checked each one against real numbers: ordinary TikTok accounts picked at random, and the back catalogues of creators in 10 advice niches, comparing every video with the same account's other videos.
The top lessons you can use
- Don't make videos 7 seconds long just for the algorithm. They got the same views as the account's other videos (+1%) but fewer comments (-13%), shares (-7%) and saves (-14%) per view.
- Skip #creatorsearchinsights. Within the same account, old videos with the tag were no more likely to still be gaining views than old videos without it (3% against 4%).
- Use "comment X and I'll send it" only if you want comments. It brought +44% comments but -22% views on TikTok.
- Carousels aren't a shortcut. On ordinary accounts, photo posts got +7% views against the same account's videos; for advice creators, -14%. Either way they got fewer likes and shares per view.
- Expect views to be a small share of your followers once you grow: about 17% of followers at 1k–10k and 5% at 10k–100k, for a typical video.
- Brand deals start showing up around 1,000 followers: 12% of accounts at 1k–10k had a sponsored post in their recent videos, against 2% under 1,000.
Key points
Same views (+1%), fewer saves (-14%).
No lift: old tagged videos kept gaining no more often (3% vs 4%).
+44% comments, -22% views.
Ordinary accounts +7% views, advice creators -14%.
Views equal to 17% of followers at 1k–10k, 5% at 10k–100k.
2% of accounts under 1k, 12% at 1k–10k, 25% at 10k–100k.
The specifics
The 7-second trick doesn't add views
On ordinary accounts, videos of 7 seconds or less got +1% views against the same account's other videos (range -4% to +9%), and -5% likes, -13% comments, -7% shares and -14% saves per view. Creators in our niches got the same: +2% views and -39% saves. Longer videos (over 3 minutes) did best on views, +10%.
#creatorsearchinsights didn't keep old videos alive
We fetched 2,577 ordinary accounts' videos twice, a day apart. Among videos over a month old, 3% of tagged ones gained 1% or more in that day; within the same accounts, untagged old videos did so 4% of the time (199 accounts with both).
Old videos still matter, a little
In accounts that had posted in the last month, 43% of the views gained in a day went to videos over a month old, and 19% to videos over 3 months old. Most old videos gain nothing: 33% of videos 1–2 weeks old gained 1% or more in a day, 6% at 1–3 months and 0.5% after a year.
"Comment and I'll send it" trades views for comments
TikToks whose description asks for a comment to get something (a link, a guide, a keyword) got +44% comments per view and -22% views (range -31% to -13%) against the same creator's other videos. On Instagram, comments rose +86% and views changed -14%, not a clear difference. 1.0% of TikToks and 3.2% of Reels in our catalogues used it.
Carousels: a few more views for some, fewer for others
On ordinary accounts, photo carousels (20% of their posts) got +7% views against the same account's videos (range +5% to +9%), with -13% likes and -14% shares per view. For creators in our advice niches, carousels got -14% views (range -19% to -10%) and -26% shares.
Views are a small share of followers once you grow
A typical video's views equalled 17% of the account's followers at 1k–10k followers and 5% at 10k–100k. Under 1,000 followers, videos usually got more views than the account had followers (121%). Most views come from people who don't follow you, so this isn't the share of your followers who watched.
Brand deals start around 1,000 followers
Among each account's recent videos (a median of 32, about 5 months), 2% of accounts under 1,000 followers had a sponsored post, 12% at 1k–10k and 25% at 10k–100k.
Make your videos 7 seconds long
Each length against the same account's other videos. Ordinary accounts picked at random.
By length
| Length | Views | Comments per view | Shares per view | Saves per view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 seconds or less | +1% | -13% | -7% | -14% |
| 8–15 seconds | -0% | -4% | -2% | -5% |
| 16–30 seconds | -2% | +2% | -1% | +1% |
| 31–60 seconds | -2% | +6% | +4% | +4% |
| 1–3 minutes | +4% | +2% | +2% | +8% |
| Over 3 minutes | +10% | +6% | +14% | +19% |
7% of these accounts' videos were 7 seconds or less.
Add #creatorsearchinsights to keep videos getting views
Videos fetched twice, a day apart. Gaining means at least 1% more views in that day.
Videos still gaining, by age
Old videos (over a month), same accounts
| Still gaining | |
|---|---|
| With #creatorsearchinsights | 3% |
| Without | 4% |
199 accounts with both kinds of old video. Difference -1.3 points (range -2.9 to 0.3).
"Comment X and I'll send it to you"
Descriptions that ask for a comment to get something, against the same creator's other videos.
Comment bait
| TikTok | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comments per view | +44% | +86% |
| Views | -22% | -14%* |
| Saves per view | +8% | – |
| Videos using it | 4,199 | 890 |
| Creators using it | 354 | 100 |
* not a clear difference. Instagram's share and save counts aren't public.
"Post carousels, TikTok is pushing photos"
Photo posts against the same account's videos.
Photo carousels
| Ordinary accounts | Advice creators | |
|---|---|---|
| Views | +7% | -14% |
| Likes per view | -13% | -25% |
| Comments per view | -9% | -16% |
| Shares per view | -14% | -26% |
| Saves per view | -11% | -15% |
| Share of posts that are carousels | 20% | 6% |
"Only 10% of your followers see your videos"
A typical video's views (the account's median over the last 3 months) divided by its followers.
Views as a share of followers
| Followers | Typical | Middle half of accounts | Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1k | 121% | 53%–309% | 1,226 |
| 1k–10k | 17% | 9%–32% | 942 |
| 10k–100k | 5% | 2%–13% | 179 |
"You need 10,000 followers for brand deals"
Accounts with at least one sponsored post (TikTok's paid-partnership label, or #ad or #sponsored) among their recent videos.
Had a sponsored post
Short answers from this study
Questions people ask
Do 7-second TikToks get more views?
No. They got about the same views as the same account's other videos (+1%), with fewer comments, shares and saves per view.
Does #creatorsearchinsights work?
Not that we could see. Old videos with the tag were no more likely to keep gaining views than the same accounts' untagged old videos (3% against 4%).
Does "comment for the link" hurt views?
On TikTok, those videos got +44% comments and -22% views against the creator's other videos.
Do carousels get more views on TikTok?
Not reliably. On ordinary accounts, carousels got +7% views against the same account's videos; for advice creators, -14%.
What percent of your followers see your TikToks?
We can't see who watched, but a typical video's views equal about 17% of followers at 1k–10k and 5% at 10k–100k.
How many followers do you need for brand deals on TikTok?
There's no set number. 12% of accounts with 1,000 to 10,000 followers had a sponsored post recently, and 25% at 10,000 to 100,000.
Images to post, repost and embed
Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Keep the credit on the image, and link to yapanddone.com/studies/tiktok-tips-tested when you can. Feed cards are 4:5 for Instagram and LinkedIn; story cards are 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Stories.
Charts for articles
A 30-second script from this study
Free to use for your own TikTok, Reel or Short. Please keep the credit on screen.
Hook (first 2 seconds): I tested 6 TikTok tips everyone repeats.
The number: 7-second videos: +1% views. #creatorsearchinsights: no lift. "Comment and I'll send it": -22% views. We checked 2,373 random accounts.
Show: The five cards from this study, one per tip.
Takeaway: Most of these tips do nothing for views. Make the video worth watching.
On screen: Source: Yap & Done study, yapanddone.com/studies/tiktok-tips-tested
As data: script.json.
More tips tested
Our studies test hooks, captions, posting times and more, each against the same creator's other videos.
How long should your videos actually be? Do sponsored posts get fewer views?How we did it
- Photo carousels: TikTok posts with images instead of a video (they have no length).
- Ordinary accounts: 2,373 TikTok accounts picked at random from people commenting on videos in our niches, weighted so frequent commenters don't count extra. Niche creators: 1,218 TikTok creators in 10 advice niches, every video since January 2025.
- Against the same account: each video's views (or comments, shares, saves per view) against the average of that account's other videos, so big accounts don't dominate. Only accounts with both kinds of video count.
- A day apart: 2,577 accounts' recent videos were fetched again about a day after the first fetch. Videos under 7 days old were left out.
- Comment bait: a description asking for a comment and promising to send something, or to comment a word to get a link, guide, template or code.
- Sponsored: TikTok's paid-partnership label, or #ad, #sponsored, #paidpartnership or #brandpartner in the description. Gifted products and TikTok Shop links aren't counted.
- Ranges are 95% ranges from resampling accounts.
Limitations
- These show what goes with more views, not what causes them.
- Views against followers uses followers now; a fast-growing account looks like it reaches a smaller share.
- Brand deals that aren't labelled can't be seen, so the true shares are higher.
- The ordinary accounts were active enough to comment, and the niche creators were found by searching.
Use it, cite it
The aggregated results are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Journalists, researchers and AI agents can pull the full numbers below; the plain-text summary contains the whole study.
Cite as
Press questions or a custom cut of the data: contact us. We refresh this study each quarter; this page always shows the latest snapshot.