How to Go Viral on TikTok:
The Ultimate Guide
- by Yiming Xuzhou
- Last Updated: July 23, 2021
- 10 Min Read
- TikTok
In this article, I’m going to show you exactly how to go viral on TikTok.
In fact:
These are the exact strategies I used to get 397,041 views and 60,365 likes.
In only 4 days.
In 4 days, I managed to grow my TikTok to 152,132 total likes. (UPDATE: total likes is now 263,565)
I did this with 4 videos, 1 for every day.
If we look at my stats over the last 28 days, you can that I also accumulated over 1,156,460 video views.
The amazing part is that before this period, I had only gotten 36 views a month with my TikToks.
I went from 36 views/month to 1,156,463 views/month…
During this period, my follower count spiked too.
Want to know how to go viral on TikTok too?
Let’s dive right in.
How to Go Viral on TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide
- 1. Remember the 3 Second Rule
- 2. Find Similar Creators in Your Niche
- 3. Make Videos with Trending Dances and Topics
- 4. The KISS Method
- 5. Become a Storyteller, but not a Story-Ender
- 6. Try an Advice Video
- 7. ALWAYS Add a Call to Action
- 8. Force Them to Rewatch
- 9. Be Careful with Hashtags
- 10. Add Text on the Opening Frame
- 11. Stir Up Some Controversy
- 12. Stay Active with Comments
- 13. Utilize Fake Siri for Keywords
- 14. Consistent Posting is Key
- 15. Demand Them to Share
- 16. Be Relatable or Hateable
- 17. Make Your Viewers Wish They Were in Your Shoes
1. Remember the 3 Second Rule
If you want to go viral on TikTok, the first step is to understand how it works.
TikTok’s algorithm revolves around something called the “3-second rule“.
It uses this rule to determine if that new video you just posted is relevant and engaging enough to go viral.
For example, check out this video by @daniel.labelle.
Can you count how many different things happen before the 3-second mark?
@daniel.labelle If people did everything in a rush. Part 2 @caleblabelle1
♬ original sound - Daniel LaBelle
By the way, this TikTok got over 198 million views.
It got to this insane statistic for a number of reasons.
First of all, it performed extremely well—right when it was posted.
Essentially, every time a new TikTok is posted the algorithm starts measuring these 3 metrics carefully:
- Watch Time – The longer the better
- Completion Rate – Are viewers skipping through or watching the whole video
- Viewer Engagement – Likes, comments, shares
The algorithm will look at these metrics across all videos on your account, as well as compare them against other users with similar follower counts and content types.
The point is—grab your viewer’s attention right away.
People have short attention spans.
Especially in 2021.
If you can envoke a reaction with the first 3 seconds of your video, you have a really great chance to go viral.
2. Find Similar Creators in Your Niche
Who is your target audience?
Being successful on TikTok means understanding what your audience wants to see from you.
Find other creators that look like you.
Or find creators that make similar videos as you.
See what type of videos they make to generate views and likes.
For example, if you are a basketball fan/TikTok creator, watch videos from people like @itspikaaaa and @b.coker_.
@itspikaaaa What’s this teams record? ##nba ##basketball
♬ NBA on ESPN Theme Song - Instrumental King
Or maybe the niche you like is male fashion.
Check out some of these popular TikToks.
@mavlarue sometimes less is more
♬ All TikTok Mashup (JVKE - Upside Down) - JVKE 🌩
@somotayo10 I’m posting 2/3 tomorrow ##fashion ##ustiktok ##foryou ##summeroutfits ##outfitideas ##outfitinspiration ##fashiontiktok
♬ why is this viral lol - 🛸💕
If you want to know who the popular creators on your niche are,
Search (on the TikTok search bar) some keywords and hashtags that are related to your topic.
3. Make Video with Trending Dances and Topics
One way to boost your chances of going viral on TikTok is going after current trends.
For example, the day after the Super Bowl there were a lot of posts of people reenacting the performance by The Weeknd.
You can see what the current trends are by looking through the discover page on TikTok.
You will also see the currently trending hashtags on your discover page.
Here is an example of the hashtags you might find on the browser version of TikTok.
You should also use a hashtag generator tool if you want to know the best ones to use for your specific video.
The best hashtag generator is on Inflact.
Just enter the keywords related to your niche and press “generate hashtags”.
If you want to grow your Instagram (and help you build an influence on TikTok), use Infact’s Instagram marketing toolkit too.
4. The KISS Method
Have you seen The Office?
Michael tells Dwight (a salesperson) to:
- K eep
- I t
- S imple
- S tupid
In TikTok, this acronym has a different meaning.
Keep It Short, Stupid.
If you want people to watch your TikTok over and over again, make sure it isnt over a minute long.
In fact, most viral TikToks can be fully viewed in less than 10 seconds.
5. Become a Storyteller, but not a Story-Ender
Here’s my secret.
Tell a story with your TikToks.
But don’t finish the story.
Viewers love a cliffhanger.
Or they hate it.
Either way, they will have a reaction to it. That’s all you need to go viral.
Here’s an example:
Notice how the video ended.
Right before the beat drop.
This video ended up getting over 200,000 views.
It’s not a crazy amount of views, but it did way better than the other videos on this profile.
Here’s another example.
@joshkwok technology do be getting more and more advanced doe ##tech ##harrypotter ##fypシ ##foryou
♬ Original sound - Josh Kwok
This TikTok tells a story:
California ID’s can somehow let you morph your face.
But there’s no satistying conclusion.
The viewer doesn’t know how he did that.
While they’re left wondering, they let the video replay a bunch of times.
This is how a video goes viral.
Look at how this TikTok did compared to the other videos on this user’s profile.
Clearly, it’s the only TikTok that got any attention.
In fact, it’s the only one that got more than 2 thousand views.
6. Try an Advice Video
There are lots of different types of TikToks that have the potential to go viral.
One example is the advice video.
This is when the creator provides some sort of commentary while walking through a guide/process.
Check this viral TikTok out:
The key is:
You can make an advice video about pretty much anything.
Do you know a secret trick for a video game?
Maybe you have graphic design tips for people who use Canva?
Even if your advice video is very niche, you can still go viral easily with this method.
Here’s another great example.
@seandoesmagic Teaching MAGIC with Random Items 😳🎩🙌🏼 #magictrick #howto #tutorial
♬ Lady - Hear Me Tonight - Modjo
Got it yet?
Let’s move on to the next example.
7. ALWAYS Add a Call to Action
Every time you make a new TikTok, add a call to action at the end.
For example, say
“Leave a comment about… “
or
“Tune in for part 2”
This encourages your viewers to engage with your video in multiple ways.
Which improves the chances of your TikTok going viral.
Here’s an example:
In this TikTok, the call to action is present the entire time.
It tells the viewer to “take 8 slomo vids and let TikTok sync them to the sound”.
This is an easy way to improve your chances of going viral.
Here are some other good CTA’s you might want to use:
- “Check the link in my bio”
- “Like for part 2”
- “Don’t let this flop”
- “Follow for more”
It is also a good idea to make your CTA a few seconds long to make sure people see it.
8. Force Them to Rewatch
You might be wondering,
“How am I supposed to FORCE people to rewatch my TikTok?”
Ok, obviously you can’t actually control anyone’s actions.
But you can use a few tricks to get them to watch your video multiple times.
For example, check out this one:
This viral TikTok puts the viewer in the front seat of an amazing concert view.
Notice how you need to take a few seconds to read the comment and understand what exactly you’re looking at.
Let’s take a look at the analytics for this video.
Although the video is 5.94 seconds long, the average watch time is 7.4 seconds.
This means that on average, viewers are rewatching this video.
That’s why this TikTok ended up going viral.
How to Get People to Rewatch Your TikTok Multiple Times
Here are some other methods to get people to watch your video multiple times:
- Cut to a short clip of a text message conversation: Why does this work? If someone has trouble understanding the text, they’ll likely rewatch the video to re-read the text, and maybe pause at that point.
- Make the video intentionally cryptic: Why does this work? If it’s a little hard to understand the video, people will watch it a few times in order to “get” it.
9. Be Careful with Hashtags
If you don’t have a lot of followers, generic hashtags won’t help you get noticed on TikTok.
Use niche tags so your videos are discovered in the right place by the right people.
Better yet, use a hashtag generator to pick up the best niche hashtags for your videos.
Here is a list of the most popular hashtags on TikTok, courtesy of InfluencerMarketingHub.
Although these hashtags are hugely popular, they probably won’t help you get noticed by your target audience.
Use this list of 120+ trending hashtags to pinpoint the best ones for your unique niche.
10. Add Text on the Opening Frame
People who watch your video will be more likely to spend a few extra seconds reading the text over the first slide.
If you have a great story, you’ll retain some of these viewers.
Additionally, this will help you perform well on TikTok’s algorithm, which leads to more people seeing your video.
For example, let’s take another look at @yimyangg‘s viral TikTok:
The text on the opening frame combined with the voiceover brings in more viewers and longer watch times.
11. Stir Up Some Controversy
Creating controversy can incite a stir, and that stir will expand your reach like nothing else will.
By commenting on controversial topics, your content gets a lot of attention.
People on the internet love giving their two cents on just about anything.
If you are able to divide people in your comments section, it will lead to more engagement, more returning viewers, and more virality.
This is one of the comments that was left on @yimyangg‘s “so I snuck into a rave” TikTok.
Although this comment seems very negative, it actually HELPED him go even more viral.
In fact, this comment reaction video got nearly twice as many views as the original.
Remember this: When it comes to going viral on TikTok, all PR is good PR.
12. Stay Active with Comments
If you do this, there’s a good chance your video will go viral.
The more comments on your videos, the more likely they are to get noticed by the TikTok algorithm.
To get people to leave comments, you can ask them questions or get them involved in an off-topic discussion and steer it back to your video.
This way, you can get people to continue commenting on your video far after their first viewing.
13. Utilize Fake Siri for Keywords
The “Fake Siri” feature in TikTok lets you turn text into speech.
If you have noticed, TikToks that use this feature are currently trending and tend to go viral more frequently.
It also helps the algorithm pick up on keywords, which leads to your target audience receiving your content on their “for you” page.
14. Consistent Posting is Key
You can’t just expect to post once and have something go viral on TikTok.
In order for your channel/videos to grow, you need to post consistent, quality content.
The number of TikTok users is increasing rapidly, which means that your chance of getting noticed is also increasing.
Make sure to start publishing a lot of videos in order to keep up with the growing trends on a daily basis.
15. Demand Them to Share
How do you demand someone to share a TikTok?
Take a look at this example:
@tutiandyuki send this to someone 💛 #wholesome #ily #catlover #gingercat #fyp #foryou
♬ this song is brooklyn blood pop omg - anelyse
The entire point of this video is to generate shares.
As a result, it managed to bring in a ton of likes and engagement.
Try using this technique a few times!
You might find yourself getting better engagement in no time at all.
16. Be Relatable or Hateable
This tip goes back to my earlier statement:
“All PR is good PR”
The whole point of making relatable (or hateable) content is to get more people to comment on your posts.
I love the way this video explains the process of how to go viral on TikTok.
@splorin.lauren I just really love ending videos this way
♬ Bella ciao - HUGEL Remix Extended - El Profesor
17. Make Your Viewers Wish They Were in Your Shoes
My last tip for getting viral attention on TikTok is this:
Make a video that tells people,
“This person would be so fun to hang out with.”
People use social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube to live vicariously through other people’s lives.
If you can capture this feeling with your videos, you have everything it takes to go viral.
Want my Free Course: 7 Steps to Viral Social Media Growth?
Enter your name and email address and you’ll get instant access to my free course as soon as it releases—how to build and grow your viral social media presence (using content creation strategies).
BONUS CASE STUDY:
How I went viral on TikTok with my concert video...
About 2 weeks ago, I went on a road trip to Las Vegas.
Then, I attended the first concert event at the newly-built Allegiant Stadium.
Somehow, I found my way to the top catwalk of the event’s stadium.
I made a TikTok, focusing on the storyline.
In the video, I told my viewers I had the key to getting on to the top of the stadium.
I built interest, engagement, and attention with my footage and editing.
From there, I encouraged my audience to contact me for more details.
As a result, I got more viral attention with my “concert series” than I had gotten in the past 3 months on the app.
Dozens of TikTokers messaged me on my private DM’s.
I did it by making use of all the techniques I laid out in this guide.
Now It's Your Turn
I hope this guide showed you how to go viral on TikTok.
Now, it’s your turn to put these techniques to use.
What’s your biggest takeaway from this post that you want to implement first?
Are you going to make a “how-to” TikTok? Or maybe you’re going to start adding more CTA’s to your videos.
Either way, if you have any questions about the article please use the comment section below and ask away.
Additional Resources from the Author:
How to Launch a Website
109 Small Business Ideas to Get Rich in the Future
25 Business Ideas for Teens
How to Start a Blog and Make Money
Want my Free Course: 7 Steps to Viral Social Media Growth?
Enter your name and email address and you’ll get instant access to my free course as soon as it releases—how to build and grow your viral social media presence (using content creation strategies).
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