TikTok Shadowbanned – how to get unshadowbanned?
If you think you’ve been TikTok shadowbanned, you’re not alone. The social media app has millions of users, but many share the same concerns. Their content has been doing great for months until the views and likes just stopped one day. Now, TikTok users cry out one term that describes what’s happened: TikTok shadowban!
Are they truly under a shadowban, and how can they prove this? More importantly, what is a shadowban anyway, and how does it work? Now that we often post content on the internet, you should know how those are handled. Influencers may lose a source of income, and your right to share information could be at risk.
That’s why we’ll start by explaining what the term “shadowban” means. Then, we’ll go through the red flags that indicate a shadow ban. If you notice them on your account, you could deal with it with the steps we’ll share later. What’s more, we’ll explain how you can avoid getting a TikTok shadowban.
What’s a shadowban?
TikTok users aren’t the only people who are having these issues. Shadowbans are a concern in other social media platforms too. What are these bans, anyway?
A shadowban occurs when a social media account is blocked or partially blocked, and its content stops receiving views, likes, and traffic. It’s also known as “ghost banning” or “stealth banning.”
The “shadow” part of a TikTok shadowban means the platform won’t tell you about it. Your subscribers won’t access your videos or even search for you on the social media app!
As we said, you can find this problem on other websites. Besides TikTok, you’ll find shadowban complaints from people using Instagram and YouTube.
YouTube content creator PewDiePie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) is a well-known example. Despite having more than 100 million subscribers, people couldn’t look for him on the website.
These platforms don’t admit any details regarding such activities. However, these issues are often caused by social media algorithms.
These are the rules that a computer follows when performing tasks. In the case of the TikTok algorithm, it checks for content that violates TikTok’s Community Guidelines.
Billions of people are on TikTok and other social media sites. That’s more than a million videos and content almost every minute!
This is why these websites need computers that can comb through the content for violations. Those follow a set of rules that could change after an update.
Sadly, these could change how a site ranks content. It may place your content lower on search results, so people may have difficulty getting to your videos.
This is what TikTok users define as a shadowban. It affects everyone, even those who don’t post content, and these bans could worsen your user experience.
Read More: When’s The Best Time To Post On TikTok?
What should I do if I’m shadowbanned?
Check if you’re shadowbanned first before trying the steps later. You can do this by checking your account analytics. If your TikTok app doesn’t show this feature, switch to a pro account by:
- Open the TikTok app.
- Go to your profile and tap the three dots on the upper-right.
- Select “Manage my account.”
- Tap “Switch to a Pro Account.”
- Select your business category.
- After that, tap Done.
Now that you have a pro-TikTok account, go to the Settings menu, where you’ll find the Analytics section. If the stats suddenly went down, you might be under a TikTok shadowban.
Next, get more proof by checking your content via another account. You may want to ask your friends to check too. If you can’t find your content, that may also prove a shadowban.
It’s time to try and fix the issue. First, you might want to try waiting until it passes. It only lasted a short period of time back then, but now it’s two weeks. If you can’t wait, try these methods:
- Uninstall and reinstall – You could remove the TikTok app from your phone and then put it back. Sometimes, updates could cause issues with smartphone apps.
- Send a support ticket – Go to the Settings menu, and then hit “Report a Problem.” Then, tap the notepad icon on the upper-right corner. Write details about your TikTok shadowban issue and tap the Report button.
- Create a new account – You may want to replace the shadowbanned account with a fresh one. This may not be a good choice for users doing well before the ban.
How do I avoid TikTok shadowbans?
Let’s say you’ve gotten rid of your ghost ban, or you want to avoid getting one. The following methods could reduce your chances of getting one:
- Follow guidelines – Make sure your TikTok videos follow the rules. For example, make sure you don’t put copyrighted music on it.
- Avoid spam behavior – Some people abuse social media by scamming users. You’re likely to get a shadowban if you act similarly. Avoid this by not following a lot of people within a short time.
- Use fewer hashtags – Users include a lot of hashtags on their social media content to help it go viral. This doesn’t work in TikTok, and it may cause a shadowban. Instead, make sure you show up a lot on peoples’ For You Page.
- Don’t pay for fake followers – Some websites let you buy fake followers for social media sites like TikTok. As a result, your engagement rate may change frequently, and you may get stealth banned.
- Don’t use a VPN – A virtual private network lets you post content as if you’re from a different region. Some folks use it to access content not available in their countries. If you switch areas in a short time, you may get TikTok shadowbanned.
- Don’t post low-quality content – Your video should match the quality you see on the For You page. TikTok’s moderation policy considers the environment shown in the video, the attractiveness of the person featured, and other factors. Make sure your video follows them before you post it.
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Final thoughts
If you’re not getting a lot of video shares or views, you might be TikTok shadowbanned. However, you should confirm first before trying to solve this issue.
Going viral on other platforms is considered spam behavior on TikTok. If that’s so, then you will have to find another way. Fortunately, LeadAdvisors can help you with that!
LeadAdvisors can use various strategies to draw more people into your content, such as sponsored content and social media marketing.
If you are interested in content marketing, please email [email protected]
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