What to post on TikTok for indie games with zero followers

What to post on TikTok for indie games with zero followers

Post slideshows, not polished trailers. A trailer needs editing skill, a hook in the first second, and often a following to even get seen. A slideshow just needs a handful of screenshots or gifs and a format that already works, like a progress list, a relatable feeling, or a grid of moments from your game. Zero followers is normal at the start. What matters is picking a shape people already swipe through, then filling it with your game.

Why slideshows work better than trailers when you're starting out

TikTok doesn't care how many followers you have when it decides who sees a post. It cares whether people watch to the end, and a slideshow is built for that. Each slide is a small reason to keep swiping, so even a simple screenshot set can outperform a trailer nobody finishes watching. You also don't need video editing skills, a mic, or a voiceover. You need screenshots, short text, and a shape that gives the viewer a reason to see slide six.

Shapes that work, and how to turn them into game posts

These are real formats that have pulled millions of views in other niches. Here's how to rebuild each one for an indie game.

1. The grid hook A cooking slideshow opened with a collage of all five meals before naming each one, and that single slide made viewers swipe through everything to match the names to the photos.

For a game: open with a grid of four or five screenshots, each from a different level, boss, or biome, with no labels. Caption it "every area in [game name]" or "4 bosses, can you guess which is hardest." Then one slide per area, screenshot plus name. The grid is the promise, each following slide is the payoff.

2. The relatable confession A study slideshow opened with "I don't feel like doing homework today," a feeling almost everyone has had, before showing a clever fix.

For a game: open with something every player has felt, like "when you've died to the same boss nine times" or "that feeling when you finally beat the level you've been stuck on for a week." Show the screen. Then show what happens next in your game, the retry button, the loot drop, the next area unlocking. You're not selling the game yet, you're naming a feeling, which is why people stop scrolling.

3. The "hack I wish I knew earlier" list A study-tips slideshow with about 4 million views delivered tip after tip, each one feeling like free advice, with the product slipped in as just another tip rather than an ad.

For a game: "5 things I wish I knew before playing [game name]" or even better if you're the developer, "5 things I built that most players miss." Each slide is a short, real tip: a hidden shortcut, a combo nobody tries, a setting that changes the whole feel. This works even better for devs than players, because you actually know secrets nobody else does.

4. The "I got you" reassurance A fitness slideshow opened with a title promising a complete workout, then a friendly "I got you" slide lowering the barrier before listing exercises with proof.

For a game: open with "complete beginner's guide to [game name]" then a reassurance slide like "don't worry, it only takes 2 minutes to get the hang of it." Then four or five slides, each one control, mechanic, or starting tip, with a screenshot showing it in action. This is good for your first few posts because it doubles as a tutorial for people who do download it.

5. The step-by-step build A recipe slideshow showed each cooking step as its own slide, like a recipe card, which kept viewers tapping to see the finished dish.

For a game: show your dev process the same way. "How I made the boss fight that's getting clips on Reddit" with one slide per step: the sketch, the first ugly version, the animation pass, the final result. Indie game audiences love process content because it's proof a real person made this, not a studio.

What to actually post in your first two weeks

If you have zero followers and no idea where to start, here's a simple order:

1. A grid post showing off your game's variety (areas, enemies, outfits, whatever you have more than three of)
2. A "things I wish I knew" post from the player's perspective, even if you have to imagine being a new player
3. A relatable feeling post about a specific moment in your game, the kind of moment anyone who's played any game has felt
4. A devlog step-by-step showing how one feature got built
5. A beginner's guide post, reassurance plus controls

Post one of these every couple of days, not all five at once. Watch which shape gets more swipes to the end, then make more of that shape.

How to make these without spending hours on design

You don't need Canva templates or a designer for this. Screenshots from your own game, a bold text label on each slide, and a caption with a trending sound is enough. The hard part isn't design, it's picking the right hook and not overthinking the copy on each slide.

If you'd rather not build each slideshow from scratch, Unposed does this part for you: you pick one of these proven shapes, it writes the slides for your game and scores eight hooks so you can grab the strongest one, and you post it yourself from your phone in a minute. You can try it at https://unposed.xyz.

FAQ

How many posts before I see any traction?

There's no fixed number, and nobody can promise you views. What matters more than post count is whether you're testing different shapes and watching which ones get full watch-throughs, then doing more of those.

Should I show gameplay or just screenshots?

Both work. Screenshots are faster to make into a slideshow and easier to label clearly. Short gameplay clips work well for the "relatable feeling" format, where seeing the moment happen matters more than a still image.

Do I need a trending sound if nobody follows me yet?

Yes, add one anyway. TikTok uses sound as one of many signals, and a trending sound costs you nothing to add while you're already saving and posting the slides.

What if my game isn't finished yet?

Devlog and process posts work especially well pre-launch, because people like watching something get built. The "5 things I wish I knew" format also works if you flip it to "5 things I'm building in," showing decisions instead of finished features.

Is it better to post as the game account or as myself, the developer?

For indie games, posting as the developer usually does better early on, because people are curious about the person behind the project, not just the product. You can always build the game's own account once you have a following.