How to Go Viral on TikTok: 11 Best Tips (and Why They Work)

How to Go Viral on TikTok: 11 Best Tips (and Why They Work)

On TikTok, anyone can go viral, regardless of their follower count. Try these tips and learn how to get your content into the spotlight.

Going viral on TikTok can be a challenging but rewarding experience. With more than 1 billion active users per month and millions of videos uploaded daily, it can take a lot of effort to stand out on this platform. However, it is possible — and there are known cases on TikTok where even small accounts have gone mega-viral.

Here are 11 tips to help you increase your chances of going viral on this platform:

1. Participate in trends
2. Use hashtags wisely
3. Create engaging, share-worthy content
4. Start with a hook and keep it short
5. Engage your audience
6. Become a great editor
7. Collaborate with other creators or brands
8. Post consistently
9. Promote your TikTok content on other social media platforms
10. Take advantage of duet opportunities
11. Be authentic and genuine

Bonus: Use our free TikTok engagement rate calculator to find out your engagement rate in 4 ways. Calculate it for each social network separately or for an entire campaign.

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You can help yourself by purchasing views for your TikTok videos. << You can buy views here>>

How Does Content Go Viral on TikTok?

Like most social media algorithms, TikTok serves its users content based on posts they have previously interacted with. This applies to videos that appear both in the „Following“ feed and on the „For You“ page (FYP).

The real question is, how does TikTok decide which videos make it onto our FYP?

According to TikTok, the algorithm recommends content based on videos you have interacted with (watched, liked, shared, commented on), who you follow, what content you create, demographic information about your account, and also based on what is in the video itself (captions, sounds, hashtags). TikTok then serves you a mix of similar content from accounts you both follow and don’t follow.

For your video to go viral, it must pass a crucial informal „test.“ The app shows your video to a small group of users that TikTok considers a representative sample based on the video’s content (title, hashtags, captions, sound). If the video performs well with this sample group in terms of views and engagement, TikTok may show it to a larger audience.

We don’t know how long this test takes — it can happen hours, days, or weeks after you first hit the publish button.

Does the Number of Followers or Past Performance Matter?

TikTok’s algorithm does not take into account a TikTok user’s follower count or their previous engagement. You are just as likely to see posts from someone with several million followers as from a brand new user.

What About Heating?

There is another way videos can go viral on TikTok. Some videos are manually selected by TikTok employees to receive a certain number of views, also known as heating.

„Heated“ videos reportedly account for 1–2% of TikTok’s total daily views, but so far heating has been reserved for influencers, celebrities, and brands that TikTok wants to benefit from.

How to Go Viral on TikTok: 11 Tips

Now for the good stuff. We’ve put together a list of tactics to help you achieve viral status on TikTok, from filming to hashtags to edits.

1. Participate in Trends

TikTok is well known for its use of music and sound clips, and incorporating popular sounds into your content can increase your chances of going viral. Using trending sounds can be effective because they’re catchy (and boost watch time), viewers know what to expect from your video, and users can discover your video through the sound’s search page.

Even if you’ve recorded your own audio for a video, we recommend adding a trending song in the background to optimize your chances of going viral — you can set the volume of the song to be much lower than your speaking voice.

Note that brand accounts have access to a more limited commercial music library than creators and regular users. So before jumping on a sound trend, check whether your account is able to use it. Here are a few more tips for finding business-friendly TikTok sounds.

Shoutout to Delta for using a trending sound and making it relevant to their audience!

2. Use Hashtags Wisely

Hashtags and challenges are an important part of the TikTok landscape, and using them can help increase the visibility of your content. Using relevant hashtags and participating in popular challenges can increase the chance that your content will be discovered by a wider audience.

A few hashtag tips:

• A few hashtag tips:
• Don’t use #FYP, #foryou, or other generic hashtags — they don’t work!
• Use a maximum of 3-5 hashtags.

3. Create Engaging, Share-Worthy Content

Creating share-worthy content is one of the most important factors for going viral on TikTok. What types of content are people compelled to share with their friends and followers? Here are a few proven themes:

• Funny/entertaining. We all love tagging our friends in memes and sending funny videos to group chats, right?
• Educational. #LearnOnTikTok is a popular hashtag for a reason, so teach people something! If it’s surprising or unique, people are likely to want to pass that lesson along.
• Inspirational. You can inspire people in many ways — by showing them how to solve a problem, how to improve their appearance/health/life, or something they can add to their bucket list. If you can inspire someone enough that they want to change their behavior or life in some way, they’ll likely share it with others.

Ah, the list: the oldest trick in the content marketing playbook. But hey, if you’re thinking about planning a trip to Canada, you’re likely to share it with your fellow travelers!

4. Start with a Hook and Keep It Short

As explained above, TikTok takes average watch time into account as part of its algorithm. So you need to grab the viewer’s attention within the first few seconds and give them a reason to keep watching the video for as long as possible. That’s why it’s important to start with a strong hook.

Although TikTok has been gradually increasing video lengths, the general rule is that shorter is better. However, if you want to film a longer video, tell a story and stick to a cohesive format.

Pro tip: To find out which of your hooks are working, check your TikTok analytics to see which videos have the highest average watch time.

5. Engage Your Audience

Interacting with your audience is essential for building a following on TikTok. Respond to comments and messages on your videos and engage with content in your niche (for example, videos that use the same hashtags as yours). This way, you can build a community around your content and encourage people to share your videos with their followers.

Not only does Morning Brew consistently create entertaining content, but they also do a great job of responding to comments. Sometimes their replies are even funnier than the videos themselves.

6. Become a Great Editor

TikTok is a visual platform, and if you sharpen your video editing skills, you can make your content more engaging. Editing can include anything from adding captions and stickers to leveling up your transitions and special effects.

For editing TikTok videos, we recommend using the in-app editing tools on TikTok or third-party apps. Study the transitions and trends used by popular creators in your niche. It may be challenging at first, but the more you practice editing for TikTok, the easier it will become.

This example from National Geographic showcases rapid cuts between different shots, angles, and zooms that keep you hooked until the very end. (I’m sure Chris Hemsworth being in it contributed to some of the virality.)

7. Collaborate with Other Creators or Brands

Collaborating with other accounts can be a great way to increase your reach on TikTok. By teaming up with other accounts, you both gain exposure to each other’s audiences and reach new viewers you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Before pitching a partnership, research potential collaborators‘ resources. What can you teach their audience that would be interesting and complementary to the creator’s or brand’s usual content? Make sure to include this in your pitch or DM.

Pro tip: Reach out to creators/brands with a similar (or slightly larger) following than yours. It will be less intimidating and mutually beneficial.

The brand CeraVe frequently collaborates with popular dermatologists and makes sure to tag them in the caption to ensure visibility for both accounts.

8. Post Consistently

Achieving virality is, to some extent, a numbers game. The more posts you publish, the greater the likelihood of gaining followers, and the higher the chance of a viral hit.

We know how difficult it can be to overcome the mental barrier of hitting the „publish“ button. The best way to get around this is to build a habit of posting consistently and use tools (like Hootsuite!) to plan and schedule your content. You can also check out our research on the best times to post on TikTok.

9. Promoting TikTok Content on Other Social Media Platforms

While TikTok is an excellent platform for going viral, there are other places where you can share your content. Promoting TikTok videos on other social media platforms can increase your reach and bring in new followers. Think about how popular sharing Twitter screenshots became on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Want to avoid annoying people who follow you on multiple platforms? We have a guide for you: how to post content across different platforms without it looking like spam.

10. Leverage Comment Bait Opportunities

Remember how a high engagement rate can signal TikTok to share your video on more FYPs? You can boost that engagement rate by strategically leaving „comment bait“ throughout your video.

Here are some ideas:

• Include a strong call to action at the end. Try „hit the plus button for more content like this“, „write in the comments what I should show in my next video“, etc.
• Leave some questions unanswered. Don’t be too confusing or vague, but instead of answering every question in the video, leave some to be asked and answered in the comments.
• Keep random details or slip-ups in. Don’t cut out little jokes or mistakes! People love commenting on random things and it makes the content feel more genuine.

This creator consistently includes a call to action at the end of many of her videos, including this viral one — „follow for more small space living tips“.

11. Be Authentic and Genuine

People are more likely to engage with and share content that feels real and authentic. Don’t be afraid to show your personality in your videos and be yourself. Let that guide your content creation as well — people will be more likely to follow and share videos from creators and brands who show passion in their content.

Our final tip for going viral on TikTok is to have fun and enjoy the process. TikTok is a platform where creativity and self-expression thrive, and the more fun you have creating content, the more likely it is to resonate with your audience.

Remember, going viral is not guaranteed, but with the right strategy and a little luck, you can succeed on this platform. Following these tips will help you increase your chances of creating shareable content and going viral on TikTok.

You can help yourself by purchasing followers for your TikTok profile. << You can buy followers here>>
You can help yourself by purchasing likes for your TikTok videos. << You can buy likes here>>
You can help yourself by purchasing views for your TikTok videos. << You can buy views here>>

Frequently Asked Questions About Going Viral on TikTok

How many likes or views does it take to go viral on TikTok?

The exact number of likes or views that causes a video to go viral is not known. However, aim for a healthy engagement rate of 4% of views to likes (4 likes per every 1,000 views). A 4% ratio shows that your content is engaging and gives it a better chance of going viral.

How many views is considered viral on TikTok?

Generally speaking, if a video has between 250,000 and 1 million views, it can be considered viral on TikTok.

Can you go viral on TikTok without followers?

Yes, TikTok’s algorithm does not take into account the number of followers when spreading videos, so you can go viral even without followers or with a small number of followers.

How often should you post on TikTok to go viral?

There is no specific posting frequency that will help you go viral. However, posting more frequently will increase the chance that all the right factors come together to help your TikTok video go viral.

How long does it take to go viral on TikTok?

Some videos can go viral shortly after being posted, but many go viral only after several days or weeks. For larger accounts, their videos may go viral faster, based on the engagement they receive from their followers. If you have followed all of our tips but your video hasn’t taken off immediately, be patient – the algorithm needs time to work its magic!

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