CreatorOS studied the data around 250+ creator posts, and interviewed some of the biggest and best creators in the UK to write 10 Dark Arts of TikTok, a guide around some of the most popular and simplest ways to increase watch time on your social video.
Sometimes even great ideas can be optimised to get the best results
Creators are the greatest makers of social video - people who have had major success in building followers, engagement and views. But not just that - they have achieved this success by learning and studying what works to gain those metrics, and they do it every day (obsessively).
And the metric they study the most? Watch time. Not likes, comments or shares. The best creators know that the algorithm rewards videos that keep users on the platform, it's that simple. If you can buy 1 million views, but they all last 1 second - did it work?
The Dark Arts divide into 3 sections; Hooks, Storytelling, and Ending.
1. Hooks - are all about stopping that immediate swipe to the next video. How do you stop people in their tracks before your video even starts?
2. Storytelling - this focuses on techniques to tell your story, and keep people watching for longer.
3. Ending - the trick here is to achieve the holy grail - a completed view. Not 99%, but the whole video. Maybe even to watch it again.
Posted on: Wednesday 26 November 2025