Struggling to grow on TikTok since my viral video, need advice

Hi everyone, I'm a psychologist/therapist and I'm having an issue with TikTok growth.

I had a viral video in 2025 that brought me around 4K followers it was a promotion for my therapy services. But now, when I post reflection content, humor videos, or therapy-related content, I get very low reach and engagement.

I tested creating a backup account from zero to see if the same content would reach more people, or if it was just an issue with my main account and I confirmed that it does reach more people on the new account.

The problem is, I'm hesitant to let go of the 4,700 followers I built over a year, even though many of them are inactive and don't engage, which I assume is why I'm not growing.

On Instagram, when I post the same content, I do see growth so it seems to be TikTok-specific.

I'm based in Latin America. Has anyone dealt with an account full of "ghost" followers? What worked for you running lives, pruning followers, starting fresh? Any advice is appreciated.

Comments

wesdacar•about 7 hours ago•2

I would be careful about treating the 4.7k as automatically worthless. A lot of accounts get a weird audience mix after one promo-heavy viral post, but starting over also means giving up the trust signals and profile history you already have.

What I would test first is a 3 to 4 week reset on the main account: make the next 10 to 15 posts very tightly aimed at the exact patient/client segment you want, not broad therapy humor. Pin one clear intro video, use a recurring series format, and avoid posting the same exact pieces that worked better on the backup account without changing the hook.

Lives can help if you have something structured, like weekly Q&A around one theme, but I would not expect them to magically prune ghost followers. The main thing is retraining the account around a narrower audience. If the new account still beats the main after that controlled test, then you have a cleaner reason to migrate.

nobsmentor•about 7 hours ago•2

What's your account @?

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