By skyforbes 
And 2 things that no longer work
Yes, it is still relatively easy to go viral on TikTok.
The easiest platforms to go viral used to be TikTok and LinkedIn. But the difficulty has increased significantly for LinkedIn in the last few months.
The platform that has taken the place of LinkedIn right now is Threads. It is very easy right now to go viral on Threads.
More about Threads in another article. For now, let’s talk about TikTok.
What’s No Longer Working on TikTok
Just because it is relatively easy to go viral on TikTok doesn’t mean that you can do what you did last year or 2 years ago (to go viral) and get the same results.
No. These platforms are often a moving target. And if you are not the type that pays attention and experiments, you should stick close to someone (like me) who does.
There are two major things that people have relied on for virality on TikTok that are no longer working.
The first is polished videos. Fancy editing and impeccable style used to be the thing that moved the needle. Now, it is a bottleneck.
Super pretty videos now flop a lot. Why? I guess people are tired of them. And the TikTok algorithm has picked up on it.
By the way, the TikTok algorithm is the fastest and most advanced interest-based algorithm of all the social media platforms. It detects fast and reacts even faster.
People taking a lot of time and energy to make pretty videos when their genre doesn’t necessarily require it are flopping now. They are flopping big. And many are still confused and bewildered.
My advice to you — don’t do pretty videos.
Raw videos are winning. Super useful raw videos are killing it right now on TikTok. Stop worrying about how pretty your video looks, start worrying about this question…
Is my content really useful to somebody?
The second thing that is no longer working is creator search insights. If you are an active TikTok creator, you know what I am talking about.
This used to be the guide for content creators to see what they should make content about. They see what is trending based on how the TikTok algorithm perceives their account. And it makes suggestions on the kind of content to create next.
Now, this is not totally useless. I still take a look at it in my account. However, I don’t use it to determine the kind of content I make. I use it to understand how the TikTok algorithm currently sees my account.
The suggestions of creator search insights tell you who the TikTok algorithm is sending your content to. And that is a valuable piece of information.
But don’t use the suggestions to make new content. Instead, use it to think. Now, you have to come up with new ideas on your own. Ideas from creator search insights won’t help you much.
5 Things That Will Make You Go Viral
On TikTok, one of the things you cannot afford to take for granted is your hook.
Weak hook = weak content
Most people don’t spend enough time brainstorming hooks. If you are really serious, you should be brainstorming at least 10 alternative hooks for one piece of content.
And you must first be a pro at hooks. How good are you at writing hooks?
I have been writing catchy hooks since 2020, and I know for a fact that most people suck at writing hooks. Even big brands.
Experienced pros can fall off and start writing weak hooks when they decide to be lazy. If you get good at hooks, you will be in the top 0.1% of TikTok accounts.
Hook is a broad answer. But the 5 specific things to go viral on TikTok are:
- Text on screen
- The first 5 seconds
- Purpose
- Relatability or instant usability
- Cliffhanger ending
The text on your screen is the first thing people read when they stumble on your content. Most people will read it as fast as they can instead of waiting for you to talk. That is a vital hook point.
The first 5 seconds of your video must give people a compelling mental thirst to keep watching.
There are 2 main content purposes on TikTok — entertainment and education. You must be clear about where your content stands and lean heavily into it.
Relatability or instant usability determines whether 200 people see it or 200k people see it.
A cliffhanger ending means you make people want to write comments after watching the whole thing. Or you end it in a way that people want to watch it again.
Conclusion
If you get these 5 things right, you will go viral on TikTok — text on screen, your first 5 seconds, purpose, relatability or instant usability, and cliffhanger ending.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more things that need to come together to have a viral piece of content. I have taken the time to teach those principles here — contentca.teachable.com/p/100kv
Cheers.