Want to Go Viral on TikTok? Here’s How

If you haven’t heard of TikTok by now, you have probably been living under a rock. The app has become one of the most downloaded apps in both the Google play store and the app store, and is coming for the Facebook crown. With over 500 million active users and a growing adult demographic, TikTok could very well be the wave of the future. Of course, everyone who uses the app want to know how to go viral on TikTok. Though it may have happened accidentally for some, there is a way to replicate the results.

TikTok has something that other platforms do not

There is a good reason that TikTok is now the hottest app in the world. The numbers of users who go viral on TikTok or achieve an extremely high number of followers is nuts. The app appears to be the epitome of a social media app. It is fun, engaging, has business uses and does not require a long attention span. But there is one key element that works in TikTok’s favor. What is that key element? Organic reach.

When you post something on the App, people WILL see it. The ability to reach new groups of followers simply by being active on the app is something that has not been seen on social media in years. In the early days of both Facebook and Instagram, this was possible, but those days are long gone. On average, Facebook only shows your posts to 6% of your audience! This was done intentionally, of course. From a business perspective, Companies can (and do) pay good money to advertise on Facebook. They have to in order to reach customers, since only 6% of their current base can see what they post. With such limited reach, it’s no wonder people say that organic reach on the platform is dead.

The same can be said of TikTok competitor, Instagram (which is owned by Facebook). Once upon a time there was good organic reach, but this has been limited, also in favor of ads. The Instagram algorithm does still allow for organic growth, and there is a formula to it, though it is not entirely clear what that formula is.

What exactly is organic reach?

Simply put, organic reach is a metric used in the social media world. It is the number of unique viewers who have seen a piece of content and who did so through non-paid, or “organic” means. The premise of social media is, well, to be social. To be able to be connected not only to friends and family, but to anyone, anywhere in the world. To go viral is the pinnacle of this – producing content that reaches the masses. If your content reaches more people, more people can engage with it. Engagement is another big metric in the social media arena.

Theoretically, reach and engagement build on one another. The more reach you have, the more engagement your posts SHOULD have. Engagement consists of likes, comments and shares. Engagement rates can show how well certain ideas work, which is very beneficial to marketing. It has also given rise to social media influencers – platform users who are paid by brands to advertise their product. There are a number of techniques used to extend organic reach, the most common of which is the use of hashtags. Sharing of content is another technique.

How to go viral on TikTok – the algorithm

Twitter is a social media platform that, while still popular, has been on a decline compared to it’s competitors. The reason for this is that it shows all content to the user, whether the user wants to see it or not. Other platforms learned a lesson from this and began to institute algorithms – a means for the app to look at content and decide whether or not you should see it based on what it knows about you and what it knows about other users. TikTok has actually talked about the components of the algorithm they use. Here’s what they said:

Levels of exposure

This will be the key in learning how to go viral on TikTok. The algorithm looks at eight metrics

• views – how many views a video receives. The view count is one of the four basic metrics that determine whether or not a video will go viral.
• likes – how many likes a video receives. This is very important in the world of social media. Likes can instantly show how well content has been received, how much viewers engage and how popular a creator is.
• comments – how many comments a video receives. Comments are great for engagement and building a community on the platform. The more engaged a viewer is with your content, the more likely they are to repeatedly visit.
• follows – how many follows a video receives from the video that was watched. The more captivating the content, the more likely it will result in a follow.
• replays – how many times did viewers re-watch the video. Is the video so funny or so amazing that viewers watch it repeatedly? The TikTok algorithm likes repeat value.
• completion rate – how many viewers watched the entire video. Keep it short and captivating.
• video integrity – Does the video violate the terms of service?
• average play length – average time people spent watching the video before skipping it.

The importance of metrics

The metrics are applied in levels and how well your video performs in a given level will determine if it will be promoted to the next level. At the beginning level, your video will be pushed to 300 – 500 people over the course of approximately two hours. The users shown your content are chosen at random, not your friends. During this portion, TikTok’s algorithm will evaluate the number of views, likes, comments and follows that the video gets. It is basically an engagement test. If the video is determined to be promotion worthy, it will be sent to the next level, where it is pushed to a larger number (1,000 – 3,000). It is at this level that TikTok looks at replays, average play length and completion rate. The content is engaging, but is it worth watching multiple times? Does it hold attention through the full length of the video?

Beyond the second level

If your video passes the second level, it is put to an integrity check, where it is scanned for hate speech, prohibited content and anything that breaks the terms of service. The next level is much larger and the video remains in this phase for several (three to four) days. If the video passes this level, it is actually evaluated by a TikTok employee. This employee will determine if the video is worthy of going viral or if it needs to die, at which point it will not be shown to new viewers. As you can tell, this process is very in depth, but it does not end there.

TikTok authority rating

Every TikTok creator will eventually be assigned an authority rating. This is basically a number which TikTok uses to determine how much “star power” you have. Here’s the kicker – this rating is determined BY YOUR FIRST FIVE VIDEOS. The algorithm will evaluate these videos and determine whether or not your account will be a top tier account or lower, and your exposure is directly related to this. In addition, TikTok associates these first videos and your vertical together with your authority rating. A vertical is basically a niche. So, if your first five videos are about anime, you receive an authority ranking as an anime channel. If later, you start posting about basketball, your rating is lost and you begin again.

Putting your strategy together

Given the data that has been listed, there are now several things we can take to put together a strategy for how to go viral. Unless you are just super funny, incredibly beautiful, have already achieved some level of fame somewhere else or all of the above, it would be a good idea for your first five videos to consist of either curated content or recreations of trending, already viral videos.

TikTok makes it easy to find these videos – the first page shows all of the currently trending hashtags and the most popular videos for each hashtag. Since these videos already have proven success, recreate the video, but add your own spin to it and post it using the hashtag for that trend and several other good hashtags. Curated content is content that you did not create, you are just reposting and giving the creator credit. Most creators have no qualms with their content being reposted, as it extends their reach to a broader audience. Just remember to give credit where it is due.

The benefit that this has is obvious – your are reposting already proven viral content, which will give you a better chance of going viral yourself. This will get you through the initial stages and will secure a decent authority number. The TikTok algorithm does perform copyright checks, however so you want to ensure that you are not uploading content with copyrighted material. This will raise a flag which lowers your authority number. An interesting thing to note is that TikTok does differentiate between uploaded content and content filmed with your camera. uploaded content is scrutinized more closely and is more likely to draw a copyright flag.

Use your entire social media presence to help you go viral on TikTok

For an added boost, be sure to utilize all of your existing platforms. Post your video on LinkedIn, Facebook and any other platform you use. Ask your followers there to go view and like your content on TikTok. This quick show of support from your followers can help get you through the first phase of evaluation.

Game over?

If your account does not do well, it will become a dead account. The algorithm does not want to push content that nobody wants to see, so your content will not be pushed beyond a certain point. If this happens, it is usually best to delete the account and start another.

WARNING: Do not have multiple accounts on one phone

The algorithm DOES check to see if multiple accounts sign in from the same device. This is another red flag, and TikTok will assume that you are a business, managing multiple accounts from one device. your reach will be limited, as the company does not want to give free reach to businesses – they can pay for it. Of course, if you are a business, the workaround is simple enough – use multiple devices.

Wait, don’t delete low performing videos!

Some creators delete videos which don’t preform well. This is not a good thing for two reasons. The first is that within the TikTok app, deleting videos lowers your authority score, and as mentioned earlier, if you want to go viral on TikTok, you need a good authority score. The app also has an interesting feature which has never been seen in any other social media application. Old videos have a chance of getting a surge in views. The surge happens because the old video is suddenly shown to many users. Content given a second chance to go viral is caused by this feature, known as delayed explosion.

The algorithm TikTok uses may be one of the most fascinating so far. While it is extremely in depth, They have made it known what the algorithm looks for. Creators can benefit from this knowledge to skyrocket within the app. Has any of your content been able to go viral on TikTok? If so, let us know!

Author: Donnell Peavy