How To Go Viral on TikTok in 2022

TikTok

Jan 24

It’s been a long and tumultuous journey, but TikTok finally revealed how their algorithm really works. (Finally!) And we are here to tell you exactly what you need to do to succeed on this platform.

Are you ready?

Since the launch of the short-video platform TikTok in 2016, at least 1 billion people have joined to create and upload even more photos and videos on the app. But what really is the formula behind going viral on TikTok? How can you go viral with your videos on this app in such a competitive environment? Well, the folks at TikTok finally revealed how their algorithm actually works and what you can do to get a lot of views on your videos. It turns out it’s not that complicated after all!

If you prefer to watch a video, here it is! If not, you can keep reading below. 👇

If you’re here, I’m guessing you already have TikTok downloaded in your phone, and maybe you’re even addicted to it. The thing about the TikTok algorithm is that it is SO SMART that it can detect exactly what you like and show it to you NON-STOP, which makes it very hard for you to leave the app.

On Instagram, you tend to see people who you already follow, and it’s way harder to discover new people, which therefore makes it harder for you as a content creator to be discovered too.

TikTok, on the other hand, likes it when you discover new creators, which is why once you open the app the first thing you see is this thing called “FOR YOU PAGE”

But how can you even show up on the FYP of other people?

First, we need to be aware of the factors that influence the algorithm, which are the following:

User interactions: this can be considered likes, comments, accounts you interact with, videos you share, the watch time rate and the re-watches. You need to create content that makes people interact with your account constantly.
Video information: The content of your video matters. Consider using captions, sounds, hashtags and content related to your niche.
Device and account settings: TikTok cares about your account settings more than you think. They want to make sure that the system is “optimized for performance”. Some of the factors that are considered are language preference, location, device type. This is why you might get videos on your FYP from locals, and always in the language you speak and chose on the app.

“Ultimately, your For You feed is powered by your feedback: the system is designed to continuously improve, correct, and learn from your own engagement with the platform to produce personalized recommendations that we hope inspire creativity and bring joy with every refresh of your For You feed.” - TikTok

With that being said, we came up with 3 simple steps you can follow to go viral on TikTok this year:

STEP 1: Focus on ONE niche.

When it comes to TikTok, you can’t be playing around, you should REALLY focus on ONE niche only.

At first, you might feel tempted to post random content that you think is going to go viral or a lot of different things that interest you, and although that can totally work, just know that once you go viral with one niche, you’re most likely set on TikTok as one of the influencers for “that niche”

For example, if your goal is to become an influencer who shares lifestyle content or fashion, and a “funny/comedy” video goes viral, most people will only follow you if your other content relates to that funny video, and you’ll have to post more videos like that one to continue growing on the platform.

Or if you’re a business owner who wants to get more clients through TikTok and you don’t post content related to your business or your niche, just know that you might go viral, but you will probably not get your ideal clients or anyone interested in your business.

So if you’re trying to have different niches, I’d recommend creating separate accounts.

STEP 2: Hook your audience within the first 3 seconds.

Let’s be honest, most people have a short attention span nowadays, and it’s SO easy to scroll on to the next video if the one you’re watching is not entertaining.

Because of this, it’s vital that you hook your audience right away. If your video has an intriguing hook, viewers will most likely watch the entire video. Which signals to the algorithm that people are enjoying your content and as a result, it’ll be shown to more users!

These are ways you can hook your audience:

Use transitions/motions.
Call out a problem. “Are you struggling to ______”
Speak to your audience “Hey (ladies, influencers, cat lovers)”
Caption your video or use a noticeable title.
Use emotions.
Use stitch. (use another creator’s video and add something towards the end).

STEP 3: Be an early adopter of trends.

Which basically means, JUMP on as many trends as you can, but do it while it’s still early.

Do you ever notice that you’re watching a video and listening to the same sound or content repeatedly from different users? This is because the sound is probably trending. When this happens, tap on the music to see how many users have created videos with the sound. Usually whenever I see less than 30-50k videos made with the sound, I personally consider it early enough for me to get in. Now if it’s way less than that, please jump on even faster!

Also, when you’re posting a video and picking the audio, there’s a category called “TikTok viral” so you can always use the ones listed there too!

🤫 BONUS TIP: Create consistent, organic content.

Now, a BONUS step we would add is to stay CONSISTENT in the game. Don’t be discouraged if your first videos didn’t go viral. Also, focus on creating more organic content instead of highly-produced content, because simple content is easier to create, and whenever I post on TikTok I make sure I post at least 4 videos on the same day, which can be realistic if your videos are very simple. One video a day is not enough, and posting once a month is not going to help much either. You need to become a content machine, save your content ideas and POST, POST, POST!

We hope that after reading this, you now understand how TikTok’s algorithm works and can now go about using the app to the fullest extent to make your content go viral. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment at the end of the post!

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