How To Go Viral on TikTok: Understanding the Algorithm for 2026

A TikTok video can go from reaching a small niche audience to having thousands of potential customers view, share, and discuss your content. The sudden success of a viral TikTok can seem unpredictable, but according to social media strategist and Content Bar cofounder Kenzie Epperson, “Virality is a lot less random than people think.” 

Take this recent example. In a viral Vita Coco video, rapper Trim goes around the Vita Coco office and slaps beverages out of the hands of anyone not drinking coconut water. As she hands them Vita Coco, she says the signature phrase from her popular song “Coconut Water.” The video has a clever concept, hooks viewers immediately, and leverages the popularity of a viral song—all of which contribute to its virality.

In this article, learn how TikTok’s algorithm determines which videos gain visibility. Get expert insights from Kenzie on improving your chances of going viral, and building a sustainable TikTok strategy for your business.

How the TikTok algorithm determines virality 

• How viewers interact with content
• What the video contains
• User and device settings

TikTok’s algorithm is a recommendation system that decides which videos appear on each user’s For You page, a personalized content feed. TikTok’s algorithm emphasizes content based on user interests, behavior, and interactions on the app. 

Playing into these factors is a part of how to go viral on TikTok. To determine which videos deserve wider distribution, TikTok analyzes three main categories: 

How viewers interact with content

TikTok pays attention to how users engage with content, including:

• Watch time
• Video completion rate
• Replays
• Shares
• Saves
• Comments
• Likes

Not all interactions carry the same weight. Actions that indicate deeper interest—like watching a video until the end—tell TikTok that viewers found the content valuable.

What the video contains

TikTok also analyzes information within a given video to understand the content, including:

• Number of video views
• Hashtags
• Sounds (both trending sounds and original audio)
• Country where content was published

This data helps the platform categorize TikTok content, and show it to users who are likely to be interested. Increasingly, TikTok also functions as a search engine, meaning videos that clearly answer specific questions may appear in TikTok’s search results. When users interact with videos they find through search, it can influence what appears on their For You feeds. Billions of searches occurred daily on the platform in 2025, a 40% increase from 2024.

User and device settings

TikTok’s algorithm also considers each user’s basic account and device information, including: 

• Language preference
• Location
• Device type
• Time zone
• Day

These signals help personalize recommendations, but they typically carry less weight than the others since they’re not based on preferences.

How to go viral on TikTok

• Hook viewers within the first few seconds
• Jump on trending topics
• Make users want to share your content
• Lead with a compelling story

No one strategy guarantees a viral video. Here are a few methods Kenzie suggests trying to help your TikTok videos gain traction: 

Hook viewers within the first few seconds

TikTok users decide quickly whether a video is worth watching, so Kenzie recommends hooking them within two to three seconds. 

“It has to create curiosity immediately,” Kenzie says. “That’s a non-negotiable.”

Leading with a surprising fact, asking an intriguing question, or making a statement that challenges a common assumption can draw viewers in. Kenzie suggests you start your video with your “why.” 

“Creating some sort of controversy in the hook is always great,” she says. “Or having an actual opinion versus just introducing yourself. Lots of times, my clients will want to introduce themselves. I find that people are uninterested in that. They’d rather you just get to the point.” 

Prebiotic soda brand Poppi created an interesting hook with their video that started with an on-screen text warning: ”Don’t drink it!!” A voice-over then explains the reasons viewers shouldn’t drink Poppi, such as having pretty packaging that will make them want to buy more than one. The unexpected approach encourages viewers to stay for the video’s payoff. 

The video got more than 56,000 likes and nearly 2,000 comments.

Jump on trending topics

Trending topics are already resonating with viewers. Engaging with them thoughtfully can be an option for how to go viral on TikTok. Jumping on a trend gives you an opportunity to add your brand’s unique perspective.

In one TikTok video showing employees eating sweet potatoes at their desks, olive oil brand Graza went for a humorous take on a trend. The on-screen text reads, “Does Courtney Cook have your office in a chokehold too?” The accompanying caption informs viewers that their space smells like sweet potato.

The video is in response to the viral video of teacher Courtney Cook showing how she stuffs cheese inside a warm sweet potato and eats it like a handheld snack. Courtney’s original video got nearly one million likes and inspired many others to try the dish. Graza’s video adds a bit of humor by showing how Courtney influenced their whole office.

Graza’s video got 91,000 likes, 800 comments, and 6,000 shares. 

Make users want to share your content

Sharing indicates that a piece of content resonates with viewers. According to Kenzie, shareability is one of the defining characteristics of how to go viral on TikTok. There’s a simple test you can use to determine if yours is shareable. “You have to look at that piece of content and say, ‘Would I want to share this with one of my friends?’” she says. 

Recipes are one example of an especially shareable format. Prebiotic soda brand Olipop added their twist to a dot cake trend—where users made and bought cakes in a jar with a layer of sprinkles at the top—by sharing a recipe. 

Olipop’s version was a “dirty soda dot cake,” which includes their Shirley Temple beverage topped with cream and colorful sprinkles. The recipe only requires a few ingredients, and users can make it quickly.

With nearly 4,000 shares, the video was one of Olipop’s most-shared videos in 2026. 

Lead with a compelling story

Stories feel more human than sales pitches. Showcasing your brand’s story can be an important part of how to go viral on TikTok. 

“Lead with the problem, the transformation, and the story before even showing the product,” Kenzie says. “At the end of the day, it’s more about people and the story.” 

For example, cookware brand Made In shared a video of Anthony Wang, the chef at the Firstborn restaurant in Los Angeles, discussing his favorite dishes and food memories while cooking. Cookware is visible throughout the video, but the focus is on Anthony’s knowledge and experiences. The video has more than 182,000 likes and nearly 8,000 saves. 

Best practices for building on TikTok virality

• Build repeatable series
• Test more content
• Work with creators
• Add a path to purchase
• Optimize for SEO

While viral videos can generate sudden bursts of attention, following proven best practices can help you turn virality into a sustainable TikTok strategy. This can improve your chances of creating content that builds a brand audience over time: 

Build repeatable series

Kenzie recommends that brands shift their focus from creating a single viral moment to building a content engine.

“A content engine is basically a repeatable system for producing content,” she says. “So it’s like a production line, whether it’s having a pool of creators that do UGC content or a series campaign. Because [social media] is so immediate, and trends are shifting so much, and culture is shifting so much, I recommend ecommerce brands and all brands to try and create a content engine for themselves, so they’re never in a space where they’re not creating content.”

One way skincare brand Dieux consistently creates content is by responding to customer comments. For example, in one video cofounder Charlotte Palermino answers a question about mixing their Instant Angel moisturizer with a retinoid.

Test more content

To learn what clicks with audiences and how to go viral on TikTok, you need to post more. However, Kenzie notes that brands often give up before they find success. “[They’re] not publishing enough to learn what works, and then people just give up too fast,” she says. 

She recommends prioritizing experimentation over perfection by testing different hooks, formats, topics, and storytelling approaches. Consistent testing can help you uncover unexpected opportunities, and Kenzie believes persistence is key. 

“You should never give up, because there’s always going to be something that will make your brand click for an audience,” she says. 

Work with creators

Creators and influencers can expand a brand’s reach by introducing products to their audiences in an authentic way. “Often creators can convey the value of a product a lot more authentically than a brand can because they’re coming from the perspective of, ‘I’m using it because I like it, not because I’m selling it,’” Kenzie says. 

She points to peanut butter brand One Trick Pony, which received a surge of attention after creator Ashtin Earle featured the product in a TikTok video. 

To establish relationships with creators, try Shopify Collabs, a tool where you can find influencers who align with your brand. 

Add a path to purchase 

Viral videos and growing audiences can create awareness, but you should also think about how your brand can convert that attention into subscribers, customers, or community members. 

For ecommerce businesses, that might mean directing viewers to a product page, email list, TikTok Shop, or online storefront. Creators looking to make money on TikTok can use Shopify Starter plan to create a simple online storefront and sell products through social media. By giving interested viewers a clear next step, you can turn TikTok visibility into measurable business results. 

Optimize for SEO

Practicing TikTok SEO—incorporating relevant keywords into captions, hashtags, on-screen text, and spoken dialogue—can help the platform better understand what a video is about. This can improve its chances of appearing when users search for related topics.

Kenzie suggests thinking about who you want your content to reach, and use that to inspire the keywords you use. 

“Put the words on the screen that say, ‘This is the best product for acne,’ and ‘For girls that are 22 years old,’ and hone in on those demographics,” she says. “Essentially, you’re making SEO-optimized content on TikTok because it is a search engine.”