How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight: Ideas for Instant Fame

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Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: Jul 31, 2023

TikTok 101

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Did you know that TikTok took only five years to reach the one-billion-user mark? In comparison, Facebook and Instagram each took eight years to reach the same milestone. A big part of TikTok’s meteoric rise is how easy it was for anybody to reach star status. Given the fierce competition, becoming TikTok famous is more challenging now than just a few years ago. But you still have a better chance of achieving viral success on TikTok than anywhere else. Let’s explore some great ideas for how to go viral on TikTok overnight! 

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What Is Considered Viral on TikTok? 

What is considered viral on TikTok? Before we dive into how to go viral on TikTok overnight, we should know what numbers you should be targeting. 

The numbers vary depending on who you ask. Just as there are several influencer strata, so are there various viral tiers. A video can achieve viral status with a few hundred thousand views within the creator’s niche community. Within its more extensive industry community, however, a video needs one million views for legit virality. 

TikTok caters to tons of micro-niche communities or subcultures. Your video can achieve “viral” status with ten thousand views if you’re a small brand with a niche audience. Virality is a flexible and relative condition on TikTok. You have great odds of skyrocketing to fame with a single video when you know how to work TikTok’s algorithm

Fortunately, the #ForYou recommendation algorithm favors targeted community-building efforts. You don’t need to be among the pantheon of TikTok stars with the highest number of followers to go viral. You must stay true to your brand and know what your audience wants. It’s time to explore the many ways to snag the TikTok spotlight! 

How To Make a Popular Tik Tok

Knowing how to go viral on TikTok overnight starts with understanding the #ForYou algorithm. Do you want to know how to make a popular Tik Tok? You need to feel the pulse of your audience, so to speak. 

Going viral typically means getting hundreds of thousands to millions of views on a video. So you want your video content to land on hundreds of thousands to millions of For You feeds. If you’re a small brand with a niche audience, you can have a modest target of ten thousand views. So how do you get that coveted spot on people’s For You feeds to go viral?

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How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight: Stay On Top of Emerging Trends

Among all social media platforms, it’s safe to say that TikTok is the most influential trendsetter. To know how to go viral on TikTok overnight, you must stay on top of emerging trends. 

But it’s not as simple as jumping on the latest viral challenge or using the hottest sound in your video. You need to choose a trend that your target audiences can relate to. Don’t just look at what everybody else is doing. Find out what’s trending in your industry first, and then what’s trending in your niche community. 

Ideally, you should join the bandwagon when it’s still gaining traction. Remember that TikTok trends come and go in a flash. So the earlier you participate, the better your chances of going viral. Here are some tips to help you stay on top of relevant TikTok trends

How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight With Trending Hashtags

You can’t have a viral video without the right hashtags. Using trending hashtags is a crucial element of learning how to go viral on TikTok overnight. Hashtags help you rank on the #ForYou feed and in searches. They boost your discoverability. And they’re your direct connection to your niche community and the latest trends. 

How do you find popular hashtags that are relevant to your target audience? The quickest way to discover high-ranking hashtags is through the TikTok Creative Center. Here are the basic steps:

  1. Go to TikTok Creative Center
  2. Select Trends from the navigation bar on top, then select Hashtag. 
  3. Choose your location. 
  4. Choose your industry. 
  5. Select a timeframe. You can view trending hashtags in your industry for the last seven, 30, or 120 days. 
  6. To see the newest hashtag trends, tick the ‘New to top 100’ box. 

The results will give you the following:

  • Hashtags that are quickly gaining in popularity 
  • Their current ranking 
  • How many posts and views they have
  • The top creators using them
  • Their analytics

Take your research one step further. Once you identify emerging hashtag trends in your industry, do another search in the app. Type your hashtag of choice in the search box. Explore the top results, videos and users using the hashtag, sounds and places associated with it, and more. 

Keep your hashtags to three or five. These should be enough to let the algorithm know what types of audiences you’re targeting. Using too many will make your caption look spammy. 

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How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight With Trending Sounds

You can’t skip the tunes if you want to know how to go viral on TikTok overnight. 

There’s always something new to discover on TikTok’s hot playlist. Make sure to fuel your video with early hype from genuinely interested viewers.  Use the right music to energize your niche audiences enough to get them to share your video with more people. Your increased engagement will prompt TikTok’s algorithm to give your content the broadest possible dissemination on For You feeds. 

It’s best to use sounds from the Commercial Audio Library (CAL) if you want to go viral. This way, you won’t have to worry about copyright infringement whether you’re using music in an ad or organic video. 

There are several ways to find trending sounds on TikTok. The first one is via the Creative Center, which offers two options.

  1. Trends tab. Select Songs from the Trends tab, pick your location, and set your preferred timeframe. Tick the New to top 100 box to see emerging music trends first. 
  2. Audio Library tab. The Audio Library page contains pre-cleared music for organic content and ad creation. The Music category lets you choose your region and filter music according to music or artist name. You can also apply other filters, such as usage placements, genres, and themes. The Playlist section lets you explore trending sounds according to different categories, such as emerging artists, indie, or summer. Make sure to check out the TikTok Viral playlist to quickly identify the hottest sounds.  

Another way to explore TikTok’s massive audio library is via the app itself:

  1. From your mobile app, tap the Create button, then tap “Add sound.”
  2. Click “Commercial Sounds.”
  3. Under Discover, you can view Recommended songs, Playlists, TikTop, New Releases, 60s+, and more categories.

How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight With Trending Challenges

Viral TikTok challenges are responsible for many TikTok stars’ claim to fame. If you’re keen on learning the secret to how to go viral on TikTok overnight, try a trending challenge!

Check out popular creators, influencers, and brands in your niche and industry to see what challenges they’re doing. If you can create a Duet or Stitch to perform a challenge, even better! You can literally attach your video to a popular name while participating in a popular challenge. 

Never take your eyes away from your primary target, which is to appeal to your niche community. Remember that your dedicated fans are your ticket to viral status. Don’t disregard their needs to appeal to a larger audience when choosing a challenge. 

Take full advantage of your actively engaged followers, who are always eagerly waiting for your next piece of content. You’ll have the highest chance of going viral overnight when you cater to their interests. 

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How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight: Collaborate With Other Creators

As previously mentioned, attaching your name to that of a more popular creator will help boost your visibility. Getting the right publicity is crucial, especially if you want to know how to go viral on TikTok overnight. 

The quickest way to viral status is, of course, through a mega-famous TikTok star. If you’re lucky enough to have a celebrity or mega-influencer share your video organically, expect to become an overnight sensation. Collaborating with somebody with a much higher follower count than you is more realistic, however. 

TikTok encourages collaboration among users. Indeed, the platform offers a number of tools that are exclusively for collaborative video creation. Duet and Stitch are great examples. The platform has Creator Marketplace to facilitate partnerships between creators and brands. 

If you use your original sound in a video, others can also use it by tapping the music name. This means your video will get immediate and wider exposure from everyone using your original sound. Recently, TikTok also introduced the Artist Impact Program to give emerging music artists monetization opportunities through business collaboration.   

How To Make Your Business Go Viral on TikTok 

Do you want to learn how to make your business go viral on TikTok? The first step is to switch to a Business Account. Having a business vs. personal account offers distinct advantages. But if you’re serious about running a successful business on the platform, go pro on TikTok. 

With a TikTok Business Account, you’ll have access to commercial-focused tools. And you can explore more opportunities for how to go viral on TikTok overnight. 

How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight With Business Tools

Having professional tools to promote your business gives you options to explore how to go viral on TikTok overnight. Here are some of the things you can enjoy with a Business Account:

  • Access to a Web Business Suite via desktop computer. This is the central location for all your Business Account features, such as Analytics, Workspace, and Activity & Support. Keep track of your account performance via your Analytics. Access the Promote tool to help more people discover your videos and website and gain more followers. Get creative ideas and helpful information on growing your business account via Activity & Support. 
  • Add an email address to your TikTok profile. 
  • Access to more than one million songs pre-cleared for commercial use via the Commercial Audio Library. 
  • Access to the in-app Business Creative Hub. Find the Business Content Guide for content strategy tips and other TikTok best practices. Use the Video Showcase to discover trending content in your country. 

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How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight With the Promote Feature

The Promote tool on TikTok can help you propel a video to viral status much faster. You can find the Promote feature via Creator Tools, from a TikTok video, or the Business Suite.

To access Promote from your Creator tools:

  1. Go to your Profile and tap the Menu icon in the upper right. 
  2. Tap Creator tools. 
  3. Tap Promote. 
  4. Select a video you want to Promote, then choose a promotion pack. 
  5. Follow the instructions to complete the Promote process.

To directly promote a video:

  1. On the video you want to promote, tap the three dots on the bottom right. 
  2. Tap Promote. 
  3. Choose a promotion pack. 
  4. Follow the instructions to complete the Promote process.  

To access Promote via the Business Suite:

  1. Go to your Profile and tap the Menu in the upper right. 
  2. Tap Business Suite. 
  3. Tap Promote. 
  4. Select a video you want to Promote, then choose a promotion pack. 
  5. Follow the instructions to complete the Promote process.

To set up your Promote video:

  1. After selecting a video to promote, choose a goal and tap Next. 
  2. If you select More website visits, enter your website URL and choose an action button for your website. 
  3. Tap Save. 
  4. Select the audience you want to reach. Tap Automatic if you want TikTok to choose your audience. Choose Custom to specify your audience’s genders, age ranges, and interests.
  5. Tap Next. 
  6. Set your budget and duration, then tap Next. 
  7. Add your payment information. 
  8. Tap Start promotion. 

Promoting a video is an excellent solution to how to go viral on TikTok overnight. You increase your chances of reaching more audiences with whom your video will resonate. You’ll also have access to more detailed audience information via the video’s Promote analytics. 

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How To Go Viral on TikTok Overnight and Sustain TikTok Success

Strategies for how to go viral on TikTok overnight are in high demand! Everybody wants to have their turn under the TikTok spotlight. Everybody’s aspiring to get the viral golden buzzer and their chance at lasting TikTok fame. 

Undoubtedly, a bit of luck is involved in achieving viral status. You may have to luck into a trending challenge that’s perfect for you. Getting the timing of your post right is equal parts calculated guesswork and fortunate circumstances. A stroke of luck may put your video in front of a TikTok star who shares it with their fans. 

You can’t just rely on luck, of course. You need to use all available tools and tricks to increase your video’s chances of going viral. You’ll likely have to make several attempts before you finally gain hundreds of thousands of views on a video. 

Remember that going viral once does not automatically guarantee lasting TikTok success. Especially if you’re a small brand or new on the platform, you need more than one viral video to succeed. You have to put a lot of time and effort into growing a dedicated fanbase on the platform. You need a strategy that ensures sustained follower growth and active engagement. 

Give yourself an added advantage with High Social’s advanced, proprietary AI technology. Like TikTok’s #ForYou algorithm, High Social’s AI will deliver your content to genuinely interested viewers. 
You won’t just have a solution to how to go viral on TikTok overnight. You’ll have a reliable strategy for lasting TikTok growth. Start growing your TikTok today!

TikTok 101