10 Best Tips To Create Viral TikTok Videos in 2026

Let me guess. You’re chilling on your couch after a day at work, swiping up mindlessly, racking your brains on how in the world you could transcend into the world of TikTok and create viral TikTok videos?

With more and more businesses, creators and brands recognising the unlimited potential of TikTok, we are all beginning to leave the rather conventional types of marketing and start to think: is TikTok the new Instagram?

And that’s precisely why you’ll have to do something about it today.

But first, let’s arm yourself with the 10 best tips on how to make videos that could go viral on TikTok in 2022.

How to Make Videos Go Viral On TikTok – 10 Tips

TikTok Tip 1: Kick your video off with a strong opening hook/bang

TikTok is a fast-paced social media platform where you have to grab your audience’s attention within the first 3 seconds. Catching their attention quickly before they swipe past your video is an important factor in a video performing well.

It’s crucial to hook your viewers early to make them watch till the very end, so set the tone and topic of your content. By doing so, TikTok will be more likely to feature your video to more and more viewers. 

There are various ways to capture your audience’s attention immediately, and you’ll need to experiment here and there to find what works the best for you.

One example of delivering a strong hook is to pose a staggering question, tell your users to “stop scrolling,” or tell viewers what your video will be about while putting a unique spin on it.

For myself, I experimented with different ways to create a hook to capture my audience, especially in the first 3 seconds. My general style is to pose a question revolving around my niche while showing my face, sometimes with a voiceover. I definitely will be trying out various opening hooks that are more unique for a TikTok video series that I’m working on currently.

 

TikTok Tip 2: Keep videos as short and engaging as possible

TikTok is a short video media platform where viewers like to watch clips that are short and to the point.

Part of the algorithm favours video completion rate, meaning if viewers finish watching your video from start to end, the completion rate is 100%.

On this platform, people are more likely to watch a 15 seconds video till the end, compared to, say, a one-minute-long one. The fewer time viewers spend watching your video, the higher the chance they’ll watch to the end and not swipe next.

If you’re planning to tell a lengthy story, then break them into parts, while reminding your followers to like or follow for part 2 and so on. You could even turn the entire topic into a video series, covering the topic in more depth.

To improve your full watch time, you’ll need to make sure to follow Tip 1, which is to have a great hook right at the start. Doing so will make your audience want to stay until the end of the video. As your TikTok completion rate increases, so do your chances to go viral on TikTok.

 

TikTok Tip 3: Use trending music or sounds

Think of music on TikTok like hashtags. They play a large role in your content’s discoverability. Hence, it’s recommended to use a trending song at the right time, in such a platform where people feed off the trends. It helps boost the chances of getting your video go viral and helps the algorithm work in your favour. 

There are 3 easy ways to find popular and trending sounds to use when editing them into your videos. To get meta with your search for current popular music, you’ll need to start paying attention to the popular creators and artists and see what actually works. It could definitely help you get some viral momentum for your TikToks.

Another way is to consume some videos on your ‘For You’ page and find what music and sounds are getting the most traction. After discovering the trending music that you’d want to use, you can actually save the music at your favourites for use later.

The third option is to go to the TikTok video editor to the ‘Sounds’ section at the top, where you’ll be able to scroll through the various trending songs under ‘Discover’.

Another tip that you need to note is that you need to use trending music in your videos still even if you’re doing a voiceover. What you could do is to layer the sound quietly in the background, or turn the volume all the way to zero. Remember that the song that you use functions like hashtags.

 

TikTok Tip 4: Master the art of storytelling

The vital ingredient to virality to TikTok — and any social media — is storytelling. It’s an important part of humanity. Viewers will be quick to share videos that capture their emotions. By adding raw human emotions such as humour, fear, excitement, and inspiration, you’ll have a good chance to capture people’s attention as they can relate and connect with your story.

And yes, we all know that dances and lip-singing could do well on the app, but TikTok videos that convey a great story are more likely to go viral – unless you’re an exceptionally good dancer! The stories you can share could be about anything – from your daily routines to your perspective about life with raw human emotions, or something that people really want to know.

A strategic way to tell a story on TikTok and capture your viewer’s attention is to use text overlays. Perhaps you could try addressing a fear right off the bat, and then step by step, provide a solution. Or you could tell a story but leave some cliffhangers that’ll promote some engagement and comments on your TikTok video.

I never post a video on TikTok without text overlays. It’s what keeps the viewers engaged as they try to understand and connect with the video more.

 

TikTok Tip 5: Always close with a strong call to action

If you’re able to hook your viewers to continue watching your TikTok video until the end, then congratulations! Now, going viral isn’t just your end goal. You’ll want to encourage them to check out more of your content, follow your TikTok profile or go to your website.

A strong call to action after every TikTok is crucial. It lets your audience know what they can expect from your other videos, and not miss out on future content. For starters, a simple call to action could be “follow me for more daily finance tips!”

Don’t forget to add a clickable link in your bio like the one you see on my profile. This can help drive your traffic to your site or a landing page, which could easily convert your TikTok audience into leads and eventually sales – the sky’s the limit.

 

TikTok Tip 6: Do something slightly controversial and don’t be afraid of being different

A lot of viral TikToks are made by creators who try out and experiment with new things out of the norm. Viewers are always used to seeing the same type of content every day on TikTok.

By trying out your different, unique or unexpected take on a certain topic, you could reach virality on the app. That’s the beauty of this social media platform. Brainstorm and share content that you yourself find interesting and chances are, your audience will too. I mean, who else still forages for wild food in this century and shares that knowledge and passion on TikTok? 

If you choose to go on the slightly controversial route, you could promote high engagement in the comment section and shares made by your audience. And by doing anything controversial, such as on an issue that people are divided on in particular, your audience on the net is likely to give their opinions and two cents on those issues online.

Also, embrace your haters. They are the ones that help you go viral on TikTok.

 

TikTok Tip 7: Make it such that your viewers have to rewatch your video

If you learn one thing from this article, you’ll already understand that video completion rate is one of the most important elements in the algorithm. Tip number 7 may sound counterintuitive to you, but it works in the way that the algorithm favours. 

An important element to help your video go viral is to create a video where some important parts are too fast for a viewer to read or understand on the first viewing.

Let me give an example. When you put an important statement, an address or a list of places for only 1 second, the interested viewer will likely have to rewatch the video to catch the text. They could probably even pause on your video again and again to re-read the text. When they do this, more time is spent watching your video, signalling to the algorithm that it’s a good video.

When performance continues to be high, your video will be shown on the For You page, and appear to more and more people… This is when your content can go viral.

On some of my TikTok videos, I put “pause to read” on a particular moment in the video – for only 1.5 seconds at most. When you actually tell your viewers what to do, the more likely they’ll follow the instruction (similar to having a strong call to action).

 

TikTok Tip 8: Reply to all your comments

Similar to other social media platforms, it’s wise to reply to all your comments fast. The number of comments on a video can help a video go viral. This is especially so if you can engage with them and try to get them to continue commenting.

For example, try to reply to the comments with a related question to keep the conversation going. Just don’t go too fast to avoid getting blocked.

Written replies and likes are not just the only way you can respond to comments from the viewers. Another great function on TikTok is that you can actually reply to a comment with a new video for greater engagement and more context!

While you grow your audience and ensure your videos go viral, it’s vital to foster a connection with your fans for long-term engagement. They’ll be happy to see a video response from their favourite TikTokers. So next time, try video replies!  

 

TikTok Tip 9: Be quick to hop on the trend wave

To go viral on TikTok, a great tip is to spot the trends before everyone else does. By doing so, you’ll stay ahead of the trend wave.

There’s a strategy to it, which is first is to check out TikTok’s Discovery pages. After you spot the trending videos revolving around your niche, it’s time for you to put your own unique twist and try to emulate the trend. 

Also, there are some trends that are spontaneous, while others are seasonal. It’s best to spot those trends which could be effective in your expertise or niche and be quick to leverage them before they fade.

 

TikTok Tip 10: Be Authentic and Original

The final tip to get your videos to go viral on TikTok is to be authentic, genuine and original. While TikTok is known to be a platform for Gen Z, don’t change too hard to make it look young and “hip” if it’s not.

Also, by creating something totally unique, yet meaningful content, you could share something new with your own trend or sound that you created.

Just remember Tip number 1, which is to keep your video engaging from the very start so that your audience will want to finish watching until the end. When people start reacting to your video or even use your sounds and hop on your very own trend, your account can go viral.

For example, if you are a new singer, you can strategically promote your original music on TikTok by collaborating with others or making trending challenges. This social media platform is definitely changing how musicians release music to their audience, giving new artists a chance to go viral and market themselves.

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You might take some days, a week, or even months before you finally figure out your own style on TikTok and find out what works.

If your videos don’t go viral overnight, don’t give up. The potential is limitless, trust me. It’s important to know your audience, keep updated on trending songs and videos, make content that drives engagement and get more attention to your account.

With so many users on TikTok now, creators and brands will always find more and more ways to innovate to go viral. Arm yourself with these 10 best tips and you’ll see progress slowly but surely.

Now, let’s not sleep on TikTok and get started with your best content out there ASAP!