“If you have a million followers on TikTok that does give you a leg up for sure because I think I gave an estimate maybe 95% of the videos you watch on the for you page are brand new accounts that you've never seen before.”

95% of For You page videos come from accounts you've never seen

Followers offer a small boost, but ~95% of TikTok For You page watch time comes from accounts the viewer has never seen. That collapses the follower moat that ruled Instagram and Facebook — on TikTok you can reach an audience without first building one.