In 30 seconds:
- Proper use of viral TikTok hashtags can spell the difference between having content go viral, or getting lost to the wrong side of TikTok’s algorithm.
- The top trending TikTok hashtags change regularly, but one thing they always have? Plenty of views.
- Making sure your brand has a solid hashtag strategy that includes niche hashtags is one way to maximise TikTok success. We have all the tips you need to know to develop one.
TikTok is a growing social media platform with over a billion monthly active users. It’s known to be a viral content hub, home to many of the trends that are selling out products globally and increasing visibility for all manner of unlikely brands.
So, how do you secure a slice of that pie for your own brand? Once you’re on TikTok, the next step is getting users to find and engage with your content. The solution? Viral TikTok hashtags.
Hashtags allow fellow TikTok users and (perhaps more importantly) the algorithm find and categorise your content. Using them correctly can mean that your videos are promoted to more users who would be interested in you, reaching a larger audience, and more potential perfect customers.
But what are the hottest trending hashtags on TikTok? As you might imagine, the answer to that can change day-to-day. Luckily, our tips for finding and using them don’t. Here’s everything you need to know about using viral TikTok hashtags to skyrocket your brand’s TikTok presence.
What are viral TikTok hashtags?
Just like fellow social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram hashtags, TikTok users have the option to add hashtags to their posts. By searching specific hashtags, users are able to find content from accounts and users they don’t yet follow.
Since TikTok’s home feed, called For You page (FYP), is personalised for each user, the TikTok algorithm will take into account things like the hashtags used in video captions and even in the video itself to help determine the video’s content and decide which users to promote the video towards.
This is why it’s a good idea for brands to use hashtags in their TikTok posts and as part of their marketing campaigns, as it can increase the chance of the TikTok algorithm spreading the video more widely on the platform – towards more target customers.
An updated list of viral TikTok hashtags used to be seen under the “Discover” tab. However, trending Tiktok hashtags are now harder to find – but that’s where we can help.
Best TikTok hashtags = most popular hashtags?
Some hashtags trend for only a short time, while others are consistently popular.
While it’s tempting to use TikTok hashtags like these that are consistently popular, remember that they’re also incredibly competitive. The reason these viral TikTok hashtags have the highest view count is because there are thousands of TikTok videos using them. But if you scroll down on the hashtag’s page, you’ll eventually see many videos with these hashtags that haven’t accrued many views individually, at all. That’s because it’s hard to stand out.
A better solution is to research trending hashtags that are relevant to your audience, or learn which relevant hashtags are just beginning to trend, so that you can ride the wave as they become more popular.
What hashtags get the most likes on TikTok?
Funny TikTok hashtags, educational TikTok hashtags, hashtags that relate to specific communities, hashtags that inspire crafting, cooking, investing… There really is something for everyone.
As you can see, most of the hashtags listed are fairly generic. Again, these hashtags get the most likes because huge numbers of people use them. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll deliver the most likes for your individual video. Additionally, the engagement they garner is not guaranteed to be the most specific – or the most useful for brands.
If you want to get the best likes – and the most valuable engagement – on your Tiktok video, the hashtag you use should be relevant to your niche. You’re much better served by picking hashtags that direct your posts towards a more targeted audience of users who are more likely to be interested in your specific brand offering.
Standing out from the crowd is essential for success – which is why it’s so important to find the right hashtags to properly promote your TikTok content.
How to find the best hashtags for your TikTok videos
There’s plenty of advice out there telling brands to simply consult one of the internet’s TikTok hashtag generators to find the best hashtags for your TikTok videos. However, compared to genuine research into hashtags, this method is far less likely to land you the engagement your brand is looking for. So how do you conduct thorough hashtag research?
As we’ve seen above, finding the best hashtags for your TikTok videos means more than simply listing whichever tags are currently ranking the highest in the lists. In order to achieve the best results for your TikTok content, you need to figure out where you want your content to land. Here are three tips for making the most of your TikTok hashtags:
1. Define your target audience
With such a huge number of users – over 20% of the worldwide internet users are on TikTok – narrowing down your target audience is key to figuring out the right hashtags you’ll need to reach them. The best TikTok hashtags for music are not the same as those for cooking content, after all: both interests have specific hashtags that are popular on the platform.
On TikTok, communities can be built around hashtags. The platform itself listed some of the most popular of these hashtag communities in its end-of-year roundup, where it cited #OlympicTikTok, #BookTok and #ZodiacTikTok amongst its top finds.
To start discovering your target audience – and which hashtags your audience is likely to browse, begin with a generic search to find your community. For example, if you’re a tech company, search #Tech. From there, look at which other related hashtags the best-performing videos are using alongside that umbrella term. You’ll soon be able to find specific hashtags that cater to more niche, and therefore more engaged, audiences.
The next step? Engage with the content you see. TikTok’s algorithm is finely tuned and will respond to content that you like, comment or watch several times by showing you more, similar, videos. So, start ramping up your activity as a TikTok viewer. Soon enough, TikTok’s recommendation system will show you more content that’s relevant to your niche in your FYP – and when you see those popular videos roll in, check out the hashtags they use. These are the viral TikTok hashtags you need to add to your list.
2. Keep up with the competition
When it comes to finding the secret TikTok hashtags and trends that are getting the most views, it’s a good idea to seek out your competition. Chances are they’ll be posting content similar to your own, and if they’ve had a successful video, researching which hashtags they’ve used can help you to understand how best to promote your own content.
It’s not just your brand competitors you should look at, either. Once you’ve completed step 1, you’ll start seeing TikTok influencers in your niche. Make a note of the hashtags these TikTok users employ. TikTok influencers’ livelihoods depend on their ability to make trending content, so they’ll be hot off the mark when spotting TikTok hashtags that are beginning to go viral.
The great thing about this is TikTok users who engage favourably with these hashtagged videos are more likely to be served your video with the same hashtag by the TikTok algorithm. These TikTok users are likely to be interested in your brand too. Getting your content in front of them by using the same hashtags is a great way to win over valuable audiences.
3. See viral hashtags, early on
There’s no point coming late to a hashtag trend: chances are, your video will get buried under the hundreds of videos on the hashtag that already have thousands of views, or your audience will have already moved onto the next viral hashtag trend on the platform.
But how can you ensure you’re always up-to-date with the top TikTok hashtags and incoming TikTok hashtag trends that your brand can use?
Fanbytes’ weekly TikTok trends newsletter is your solution. Landing in your inbox every Tuesday, we tell you which new hashtags are growing in popularity on TikTok, and how your brand can use them. It’s entirely free. Sign up via the button below.
How to use popular hashtags on TikTok
Once you’ve identified the viral hashtag you want to use for your TikTok video, it’s important that your video nails the brief. Here are some important tips to consider:
1. Learn from others getting it right
When you’re using already-existing hashtags on TikTok, a vital step to nailing your strategy is to examine what the most viewed videos (i.e. the videos Tiktok deems the most worthy of promoting) for that hashtag have in common.
After all, there’s a reason this hashtag is becoming popular – and it’s usually connected to something engaging in the TikTok posts. If you don’t create a TikTok video that conforms to these engaging elements, using this viral TikTok hashtag is probably not going to lead to success.
Many viral TikTok hashtags are related to memes or Tiktok sounds. They may have other common elements, too, such as specific types of transitions or style of video content. Identify the traits that crop up in the most viewed videos, then employ them in your content.
Of course – it’s important to include your own twist, too. If you’ve just copied another user, this can be easily spotted. Use the hashtag to show off your unique brand personality!
2. Use hashtags in more places
Most social media marketers use hashtags in their social captions. But there are more places you should consider using them to help increase your visibility.
If you spot a hashtag that’s beginning to go viral that has more permanent relevance to your brand, add it to your TikTok bio. This is also a great way to help your TikTok audience know how to tag their own videos when they want to be part of your conversation.
TikTok SEO also factors the content within videos themselves. This means that using the hashtag in the in-video text as well as the caption can help tell the algorithm how relevant your video is for the hashtag search.
3. Use influencer marketing to leverage viral TikTok hashtags into engagement with your brand
Keeping an eye on influencers ins’t just a great way to spot the best TikTok hashtags to use: well-considered influencer marketing can be your secret weapon when it comes to leveraging hashtags that are gaining popularity into engagement with your brand.
As we’ve discussed, there’s no point using a viral hashtag if your content is getting buried under better-performing videos. But TikTok influencers are naturals at creating engaging TikTok content. This is how they became influencers in the first place: people flock to them because they love watching their TikTok videos.
Let your influencer in on your creative process. They will know how to use the hashtag to create the best-performing video for their audience – and they may even be able to advise you on newer, trendier hashtags to use instead. After all, they’re the best placed to know exactly what their niche is talking about on TikTok at any given moment.
@lexnicoleta Coastal grandmother summer outfits with @Talbots #coastalgrandmother #mytalbots #ad ♬ original sound - Lex | Coastal Grandmother
This is what Talbots did when the #CoastalGrandmother hashtag became popular. Despite only having a small following themselves on TikTok, the brand accrued more than 2.1 million views by partnering with a TikTok influencer who used the brand’s products to illustrate why they’re perfect for dressing as the #CoastalGrandmother fashion trend.
This influencer got on the hashtag trend early, meaning as more TikTok users searched for #CoastalGrandmother, Talbots’ products came up at the top. And as Nielsen found that a 1% increase in awareness drives a 1% increase in future sales, that’s a huge boost to their business.
Of course, collaborations like this require having a strong brand-influencer relationship. Building this rapport is something we pride ourselves in. If you’d like to explore influencer marketing to turn hashtags into sales, get in touch.
Creating a new trending hashtag
One effective marketing method available to brands on TikTok is creating branded hashtags.
These are custom hashtags that you create to group together all of your posts around a topic. If you use it consistently, users will be able to find all of your relevant posts in one place – and even get involved themselves.
@levis @rosemaryretro is a whole vibe in the new 70s High 🌻 #70saesthetic #liveinlevis ♬ i am obsessed with this - mallorie
One example of a successful branded hashtag is clothing brand Levi’s #LiveInLevis. The hashtag incorporates their brand name, which is great for exposure, and also allows users to easily participate. The hashtag has over 634M views, and a majority of the posts under it are organic content posted by fans of the brand.
Running a hashtag challenge is another great way to encourage interaction with your brand. Hashtag Challenges encourage users to get involved and post their own content responding to a theme you dictate. It’s a great way to establish a base of User Generated Content, and it can help to popularise use of your branded hashtag.
If you want to know more about creating branded hashtags, we have the full run down of how to create new TikTok hashtags here. 
Viral TikTok hashtags: added value
TikTok is constantly evolving, with new trends surfacing every day. This means the best results are likely to come from keeping abreast of the latest hashtag trends by being an active TikToker yourself – or by subscribing to our weekly TikTok trend newsletter for a helpful roundup.
Even better: get talking to us – the reason we’re ahead of the curve with TikTok trends is because we have our own in-house social listening tool, so we can see what relevant hashtags are trending before they go viral. We can recommend the perfect ones for your brand, before everyone else sees them – and we can tell you the best time to post. You can learn more about how we do this on our page about our Bytesized tool.
Remember, hashtags are a vital component of your overall TikTok marketing strategy – but a hashtag alone won’t turn you into an overnight success on TikTok. They can be a great way to increase viewership on the TikTok app, but they’re a promotional tool – your content has to be consistently fresh for the effort you put in with hashtags to pay off, and turn into genuine engagement with your brand.
Brands seeking to develop a successful TikTok strategy should make sure they’re adhering to the cardinal rules of TikTok: maintaining authenticity, and getting involved with the community. Hashtags can help you get there, but they’re only one step in the moving picture of TikTok success. If you’d like to talk to us about how to create a winning social media marketing strategy on TikTok, including working with TikTok influencers and TikTok account growth, get in touch.
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