Can Someone Explain TikTok to Me?

It was a big week for TikTok.

First off, a week ago today, TikTok was banned in the United States of America. The cries of Gen Z-ers could be heard echoing through the streets. Tears of the “talented” caused levies to break. Many people, myself included, began to wonder what platform would rise up next.

But that all changed less than 12 hours later, when TikTok was promptly unbanned, with a message posted as you re-opened the app letting you know that it was back and not going anywhere.

I’m not great at TikTok. To be honest, I have never really understood how to make engaging posts on there. My first post was in 2021, when I recorded an episode of Jeopardy. There was a cocky woman who gave a HORRENDOUS answer to the Final Jeopardy question, so I posted it. It blew up. It was viewed over 325,000 times and received 32,000 likes.

A year or so later, I posted a video of Steven A. Smith struggling to do math on ESPN. Something about how 5 starters scored 15 points and that was an average of 6 points per starter. I thought it was funny. It wasn’t as successful as the Jeopardy one, but still garnered 15K views and 900 likes.

This is the promotion I need for my book — I told myself.

“BookTok” is trendy as all hell right now. Everyone in the publishing world is talking about BookTok. Post your books on TikTok, gain views and promotion, repeat.

Let’s do it.

I posted my Cover. 671 views. 3 likes.

I posted my Book Trailer. 158 views. 2 likes.

I went to Canva, thanks to some advice from other authors and creators. I crafted 10 really sleek, eye catching, promotional posts featuring quotes from the book. I put my time into them. I made them look like the ones I’d seen blow up. I made a scehdule. I’ll release every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until release date.

I posted the first on Friday morning.

56 views. 0 likes.

I don’t really understand?

Despite only the 56 views and 0 likes, I still managed to drive 7 people to my website, which is linked on my TikTok and in the video. Those people accounted for 65 clicks on the site, meaning they were exploring. I guess that’s all I can really ask for, eyeballs, but part of me feels down about the whole thing. Maybe it just takes one to blow up? Who knows? I really don’t understand the whole thing. I guess I’m getting old.

Anyway, long story short, I’m blogging today to let everyone know that I will be posting these promotional TikTok videos to my account every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the novel releases on February 18th. You can follow me on TikTok @kylefarnworth, X with the same username, or @kylefarnz on Instagram.

We’re just a little more than three weeks away from the release of Whalers on February 18th. I’m so excited to share this book with you all.

Love you guys.