Warning: Use These Proven 5 Tips For Creating Viral TikTok Videos At Your Own Peril!

As you probably know, TikTok is currently one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world. And in this step by step guide, our Guest Contributor and Social Media Expert, Olivia Fairhurst, showcases 5 amazingly easy tips for creating viral TikTok videos!

Tik Tok gained significant popularity throughout Covid lockdowns, coming out as one of the current top social media apps. The app has become so popular that even Instagram is now changing its focus from being a photo-sharing app to an entertainment app in line with consumer demand for videos.

While social media has always consisted of images, the encouragement of videos has never really been the normality. When people became stuck indoors globally, the rise of normalizing videos from not just dancers, but the general public, came as a breath of fresh air.

It was something new, creative, fun and addictive when it comes to scrolling through the For You Page (FYP). 

For the very reason that TikTok has gained traction so fast.

And the rise of video isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s useful to learn how to create viral TikTok videos. More importantly, TikTok videos have the ability to go more viral and reach larger audiences than content on any other app. 

Here are the sure-fire ways to increase the likelihood of your videos going viral. 

#1. Keep up to date on trends 

The only way to land on the Tik Tok For You Page, which is essentially the explore feed, is by creating content that audiences will be interested in. Your number of followers doesn’t necessarily  affect this – you can still reach one million viewers with 50 followers and in the same way, you can have 1000 followers and reach only 40 people with your video. 

When it comes to trends, the TikTok algorithm will register what dances and challenges are trending through the popularity of specific songs and hashtags. From here, it will place those videos that reenact trends onto the FYP of more people. In addition, if an individual user shows interest by liking and watching the entirety of certain trend videos, TikTok will place more of this trend on that individual’s FYP. 

There are two techniques to ensure you are aware of the popular trends.  The first is to follow popular Tik Tokers. Those Tik Tokers with millions of followers tend to post multiple times a day and are consistently doing trend videos. This is the way they initially began going viral and as a result, have become quite literally the trend setters. In addition to this, click “discover” at the bottom set of buttons and look through the  current trending hashtags and songs. It’s recommended you do this at least a couple times a week as trends can be fleeting, with new ones arising every single day. 

When you do analyse the trends, come up with ideas of how you can replicate these videos by keeping note in your head, or writing notes. 

#2. Either add a unique twist or post some unique videos

Now that you know the current trends, it’s time to create your version. It’s time to be creative and as they say, “understand the assignment.” Let’s look at a candle business as an example. A common trend which is still gaining traction to this day is the #ohnono trend which shows videos of fails and adds the “Oh no” Song by Capone. You may instantly think of a time where the candle wax fell and spread wax all over the ground. This is the perfect video to repurpose for trend. This is your unique twist as it relates to your business.

Or, there is the “Questions I Get Asked” Challenge which involves a series of hand movements and the creator is required to put questions they get asked  in textboxes then answers at a certain beat in the song. Now is your chance to put questions you consistently get asked as a candle business. Joining in on trends but relating it back to your personal situation adds personality to your Tik Tok, and grows a connection with your target audience.

On top of the trends, you may also want to simply share funny or aesthetically pleasing shots. Viral videos are sometimes simply exceptional shots people have caught on film that take people’s breath away or make them laugh.

#3. Instantly capture attention

In the editing of videos, ensure you instantly capture audience attention in the three seconds. The nature of TikTok and how it’s designed is to encourage users to keep scrolling, in order to spend longer on the app. This means users will instantly swipe up if something doesn’t instantly interest them, allowing the next video to appear straight away, unlike Instagram and Facebook where there are white spaces in between.

For instance, if you are editing a video on a road trip, you may want to post the most aesthetically pleasing shot first so audience members become immediately intrigued to visit this beautiful location. This sometimes may mean the video isn’t in the order of the start of the road trip to the end, however, you can post it in chronological order after this aesthetic shot. 

#4. Utilize the right hashtags and songs

It’s all well and good doing trends but if you don’t use the right song and hashtags, Tik Tok won’t register that you have done the trend. You can use Tik Tok songs through two different avenues depending on whether you want it to auto sync  clips, which cuts different clips down and essentially automatically edits the video for you. If this is how you’d like to create the video, simply click the audio playing at the bottom of the video and then “Use this sound”. 

On the other hand, if you want each clip to remain the same length or manually cut them to include specific clip lengths, start off by clicking the plus sign at the bottom of the video. From here, add the clips saved to your phone, or record your clips, then click default. Click each clip to edit as preferred, click next and then choose your sound at the last step. 

One useful tip to see the top viral songs in order of popularity is by adding a clip, clicking sound and “Viral Songs”. If you aren’t necessarily following a trend, this is the exact technique you should use to choose a song for your video, increasing the number of FYP’s your video lands on.

Hashtags are a social media marketing technique which directly push your videos to go viral. However, using hashtags without any direction will not impact your video reach at all. The key is to hone in on the style of your video and only use hashtags related to it. This means don’t use hashtags from completely different categories just because they are popular. 

If you are doing a TikTok trend, research the hashtags other content creators are using for this trend and utilize as many of these relevant hashtags you can.

On the contrary, if you are doing a unique video, utIlize hashtags in the category this video falls under, whether that be travel or comedy, or an additional category. Ensure you use the hashtags that have had the most videos use them. You can see these numbers to the right of the hashtags when you start typing them out in your caption or search bar. It’s all about research and experimentation to find the correct hashtags.

Within each video you create, add the following hashtags #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #trend #viral to boost your reach.

#5. Post high-quality content consistently

The Tik Tok algorithm will reward you if you post daily, giving you a higher view count which then encourages more users to engage with your videos, increasing the likelihood of them going viral. However, to fully optimize your reach, you should post three times a day. You will notice the most popular Tik Tokers are consistent, and it’s this consistency that has made them go viral again and again.

Quantity should not compromise your quality.

In each video you post, ensure the camera quality is high, the editing is perfected and the captions and any text on the video makes sense and is placed correctly. Each video should generate a theme so audiences set an expectation of the style and type of content you create. Just like Emma Chamberlain has a specific style that everyone can expect when watching her Youtube videos.

TikTok is a game changer in the social media space.

It’s the only platform that allows you to reach completely new audiences at large scales, without needing to spend on advertising. This free advertising only occurs if you use the right tools to please the Tik Tok algorithm, so now is your chance to take these tips on board to boost your reach.

While generating a viral TikTok page does require a significant amount of time, your dedication will be rewarded with having a large audience right at your fingertips.

Creating viral TikTok videos – Final words

Whether you’re a business owner, blogger, or content manager, content marketing to large audiences is key to getting your message out there. Each viral TikTok video you produce will organically build up a free advertising platform of audience members who are loyal to you and your creations. 

Your main goal may be your blog, or your Youtube, or website. Tik Tok can be a tool to put your prioritized platform in front of millions of eyes. The world is your oyster!