Over the past few years, most successful TikTokers has gone from a small social media platform to a huge business that’s set to take on the big names in the social media scene, and the Top 8 Most Successful TikTokers have become celebrities in their own right.
To put things into perspective: the top TikTok influencers can pull in millions of dollars each year from sponsored posts. That’s a lot of money from some short videos. Plus, they’re known to be a tremendous growth-mechanism for businesses looking to scale.
So, who are the TikTokers running the scene? And how’d they get there?
We’ll answer both those questions in this guide to the 8 most successful TikTokers. Read on to find out some tips you can use to climb the TikTok ladder.
Covered Topics
1. Charli D’Amelio
About: Charli D’Amelio is a 17-year old TikToker who was born in Norwalk, Connecticut.
How They Made It: Charli had been a competitive dancer for a full decade before she made her debut on the popular social media app, and the skills she acquired over the years helped catapult her to TikTok stardom.
Techniques Used: Charli uses popular songs and creative editing techniques to reel in her viewers.
Follower Count: Charli has 114.9 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Her videos typically get over 1 million likes within a day of posting.
Net Worth: Estimated at $8 million
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Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@charlidamelio/video/6807971434959310085
2. Addison Rae
About: Addison Rae is a 20-year-old TikTok celebrity born in Lafayette, Louisiana.
How They Made It: She rose to fame by uploading videos of herself set to songs that were trending on TikTok.
Techniques Used: Addison Rae uses popular songs and creative cuts to grab her viewers attention.
Follower Count: Addison Rae has 80.9 million viewers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Within the first day of posting, her videos typically get over 1 million likes.
Net Worth: Estimated at $2 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@addisonre/video/6805247731762793734
3. Bella Poarch
About: Bella Poarch is a 24-year-old TikToker who was born in the Philippines. She’s known for her lip-syncing videos and is a U.S. Navy veteran.
How They Made It: Bella Poarch became famous by making lip-syncing videos using the Face Zoom effect on TikTok.
Techniques Used: The Face Zoom effect is a big part of Bella’s brand and recognition. She also uses popular songs in her videos.
Follower Count: Bella Poarch has 65.7 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Bella’s videos typically have around 2 million likes.
Net Worth: Estimated at $200-300,000
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@bellapoarch/video/6862153058223197445
4. Zach King
About: Zach King is a 31-year-old social media star. His videos typically employ illusions, which he refers to as digital sleights of hand.
How They Made It: Originally, Zach King was posting his videos on YouTube and Vine, starting as early as 2008. When TikTok started to catch on, he began posting there, and gained a following for his unique and eye-catching illusions.
Techniques Used: Zach’s videos focus primarily on clever editing and visual manipulations to fool viewers into seeing illusions.
Follower Count: Zach King has 59.3 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Zach’s videos typically have around 500,000 likes, but some have many more, reaching over a million.
Net Worth: Estimated at $3 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachking/video/6768504823336815877?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
5. Spencer X
About: Spencer X is a 28-year-old TikTok celebrity, musical artist, and beatboxer.
How They Made It: Spencer X rose to TikTok fame thanks to his beatboxing skills, which allow him to make a variety of hard-to-produce musical sounds using only his mouth.
Techniques Used: Spencer’s videos primarily focus on his beatboxing talents. They don’t typically feature flashy effects or popular songs.
Follower Count: Spencer X has 53 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Spencer’s videos typically get between 300,000 and 3 million likes, with most videos falling around 300-700,000 likes.
Net Worth: Estimated at $1.2 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@spencerx/video/6921141233096101126?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
6. Loren Gray
About: Loren Gray is a 19-year-old TikTok celebrity from Pottstown, Pennsylvania. She’s a model and singer and was previously signed to Virgin Records, although she’s now an independent artist.
How They Made It: Loren Gray originally became popular not through TikTok, but through musical.ly, TikTok’s now-defunct spiritual predecessor. Eventually, her music career began to take off, and she continued her rise to fame with the help of TikTok.
Techniques Used: Loren Gray’s TikToks typically focus on her dancing abilities or simply talking to the camera.
Follower Count: Loren Gray has 52.2 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Loren Gray’s videos typically have around 500,000 likes.
Net Worth: Estimated at $2.4 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@lorengray/video/6914336210349559046?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
7. Dixie D’Amelio
About: Dixie D’Amelio is a 19-year-old TikTok celebrity and the older sister of Charli D’Amelio, who we covered earlier in this article.
How They Made It: Dixie D’Amelio began posting on TikTok after her sister, Charli, had already started to become popular. The fact that her sister was already a popular TikToker no doubt helped her secure an audience.
Techniques Used: Her videos typically feature popular songs, dance moves, and clever editing.
Follower Count: Dixie D’Amelio has 51.6 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Dixie D’Amelio’s videos typically receive between 500,000 and 3 million likes.
Net Worth: Estimated at $2.9 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@dixiedamelio/video/6789049945992350982?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
8. Will Smith
About: Will Smith is a 52-year-old American actor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has appeared in numerous films, such as I Am Legend, and was the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
How They Made It: Will Smith didn’t rise to fame through TikTok — he was a cultural icon before the internet was even commonly used. Instead, he became famous through his television and film appearances and eventually used TikTok to engage with new audiences and continue to engage with his current fans.
Techniques Used: Will Smith’s TikToks aren’t known for any specific techniques. Instead, he uses an eclectic mix of clever editing, popular songs, trending hashtags, and simple star power to keep his audience watching.
Follower Count: Will Smith has 53.1 million followers.
Typical Likes Per Video: Will Smith’s videos typically get between 300,000 and 2 million views.
Net Worth: Estimated at $350 million
Top Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@willsmith/video/6948450170279333126
Key Takeaways
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula that you can apply to guarantee your own path to TikTok fame, there are some things that all the most popular TikToker’s share.
On the most basic level, the top TikTokers all have content that’s intriguing for one reason or another. In the case of some influencers, that’s their dancing abilities, while in others, it’s their musical talents or video editing skills. It doesn’t really matter what your hook is, but you need to have one.
Next, all of the top influencers retain a certain level of personability. None of the TikTokers on this list, even A-list celebrities, like Will Smith, come across like distant celebrities. Instead, their videos often show themselves in fairly normal situations, like sitting in their cars, in their kitchens, etc. There’s a certain feeling that when you watch their TikToks, you’re sharing an intimate moment or viewing a video your friend just sent you.
Additionally, all the TikTokers at the top have a consistent and recognizable style. While they’re not always totally unique (some of the top TikTokers have similar styles), they are consistent. That means that fans will always have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to see before from the influencer’s feed.
So, what does this all mean for you as an aspiring TikTok influencer? The best thing you can do is get out there and start posting. Your own unique style will develop over time as you get used to posting on the platform and figure out what works, and what doesn’t.
You don’t need to come across like a celebrity to become a celebrity. Just get out there, have fun, stay personable, stay consistent, make good content, and there’s a good chance that followers will come naturally.
