How To Reach a Global Audience on TikTok

With over a billion active users worldwide, TikTok has quickly become one of the most powerful platforms for brands looking to expand their reach. As competition for attention grows, brands are constantly innovating to connect with new audiences, boost engagement, and ultimately drive sales across the globe. And with entertainment shaping modern marketing strategies, it’s no surprise that TikTok has become a platform of choice for reaching audiences at scale.

TikTok has also transformed the way online communities form, bringing people together through shared trends, sounds, and cultural moments. For brands, this presents a unique opportunity to build meaningful connections with audiences across borders. While there’s no single formula for going global on TikTok, the right strategies (with a thoughtful approach to content and community) can help set your brand up for success. 

Below, we’ll explore key tips and TikTok marketing strategies to help you reach a global audience on the platform.

When trying to reach a larger, global audience on TikTok, it’s important to keep authenticity at the center of your strategy. Don’t lose focus on creating content that reflects your brand’s true voice and values, and don’t go chasing every trend. Audiences on TikTok respond best to brands that feel genuine and relatable. 

Just as important is actively nurturing your community. Engaging with comments, participating in conversations, and building connections with your audience helps strengthen trust and encourages more people to interact with your content. By prioritizing authentic storytelling and meaningful community engagement, brands can expand their reach and connect with a broader, global audience on TikTok.

Reaching audiences in other countries on TikTok can be challenging, but it’s far from impossible. When users first join the platform, TikTok’s algorithm typically prioritizes local content first, showing videos from creators who speak the same language or are located in the same region.

This means brands often need to take a more intentional approach if they want their content to reach audiences beyond their local market. Unlike some other social platforms where brand recognition alone can drive reach, success on TikTok relies heavily on creating engaging content that performs well and earns a spot on the FYP. 

Localization also plays a significant role in expanding your reach internationally. TikTok tends to serve content that feels culturally and regionally relevant, so tailoring your strategy to specific markets can make a meaningful difference.

How Does TikTok Know Your Location?

TikTok determines your approximate location using information collected when you create and use your account. This can include your IP address, SIM card or network data, device settings, and even GPS data if you enable your location services. These signals help TikTok recommend locally relevant content for the FYP without users needing to search for it.

Contrary to popular belief, global social media marketing and reaching other countries or regions on TikTok isn’t as simple as flipping on a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or other IP masking technology. 

Because TikTok relies on multiple location signals, using a VPN to mask or adjust your location typically won’t change how the platform categorizes your region, especially since the app will still be getting location indicators from your device or network data. 

For brands looking to reach a broader audience, it’s far more effective to focus on globally relevant content and localization strategies rather than attempting to alter location signals. Below are a few key strategies that will gradually change the algorithm of your profile to show your content globally.

• Follow regional trends. Pay attention to sounds, challenges, and content formats that are trending in your target market to create timely, relevant content.
• Use locally relevant hashtags. Regional TikTok hashtags help the app categorize your content and improve discoverability among users in your target country. 
• Create culturally relevant content. Incorporate local language, humor, or references to make content feel authentic to that specific region and audience. ‍
• Partner with local creators or micro-influencers. Collaborate with creators who understand their community and can help your brand reach new audiences.

Reaching audiences in other countries on TikTok requires a thoughtful mix of localization and globally appealing content. While TikTok is a highly visual platform that allows content to travel across borders, brands that adapt their content to the culture, language, and trends of their target market are more likely to expand their reach successfully.

Find the best time to post

Identifying the best time to post on TikTok in your target country ensures your content goes live when audiences are the most active. Posting during peak engagement hours in those regions increases the likelihood that your content will gain early interactions, which can help it reach more users through TikTok’s algorithm.

Optimize your post descriptions 

Optimizing your TikTok post descriptions with relevant keywords, hashtags, and languages will help the platform better understand your content and show it to the right users. Using terms that are popular in your target market improves discoverability and increases the chances that your content reaches the right audience.

Change your SIM card

If you’re really keen to reach a specific audience and aren't having any luck with the tactics above, changing your SIM card is an option, albeit not a very easy one. Changing your SIM card signals to TikTok that your device is located in that specific region and may influence the content shown in feeds and how it’s distributed. Consider this a last-ditch option if nothing else is working.

Bondi Sands reaches a global audience on TikTok by leveraging creator partnerships, authentic content, and scalable campaigns that resonate across markets. By collaborating with creators in regions like the U.S., U.K., and Australia, they introduce their products to local audiences through trusted voices who already understand their communities. 

The brand also focuses on highly visual, demonstration-driven content such as tutorials, routines, and before-and-after transformations to encourage discovery. Combined with large volumes of creator-generated content, Bondi Sands’ strategy helps increase visibility, engagement, and product awareness with audiences around the world.

Discover how Bondi Sands builds a dynamic global content strategy and sees an 8x increase in shares on TikTok.

Read the Case Study

Is TikTok location-based?

Yes. TikTok collects your approximate location based on your device or network information when you create your account, such as your SIM card and IP address. 

Does location affect TikTok video reach? 

Yes, location can influence TikTok video reach. TikTok’s algorithm considers location signals to help determine which audiences your content is most relevant to, often prioritizing viewers in the same country when distributing a video. 

How do you change location on TikTok?

There isn’t a direct setting to change your location on TikTok. However, you can adjust factors that influence how TikTok personalizes your experience, such as your location preferences and location permissions in your device settings. Keep in mind that TikTok may still use network information to estimate your region. 

What does location not available mean on TikTok?

‘Not available’ on TikTok typically means your location settings aren’t on, and TikTok is unable to collect information based on your location to further feed customization. It’s worth noting that ‘Location Services’ aren’t always available in the US. 

Do you need to create localized TikTok content?

No, you don’t always need fully localized content to reach global audiences on TikTok. However, incorporating elements like language, trends, and references can make your content more relatable and discoverable across the globe. 

Should you create separate TikTok accounts per region?

This depends on your brand’s goals and audience. Some brands manage a single global account to maintain consistency, while others create region-specific accounts to tailor content and language to local audiences. We recommend only creating separate accounts if you have account managers already located in the specific regions. 

How do you measure success on TikTok by region? 

Success measurement doesn’t need to be wildly different from region to region. By measuring the same metrics (like video views, follower demographics, and engagement rates, for example) across various regions, you’ll actually be able to set healthy TikTok benchmarks per region, and understand which markets your content is resonating with and where your global reach is growing.