How to Use Viral TikTok Hashtags to Grow Your Following – With Examples

You've created some amazing video content for TikTok, and now you need viral TikTok hashtags to help bring it to a wider audience.

Whether you're a TikTok influencer or a social media professional managing your brand's online presence, using the right hashtag for your content is an important skill.

Let's discuss how you can use the best TikTok hashtags to grow your following, along with a list of examples broken down by category.

How to Use Viral TikTok Hashtags to Grow Your Following

Using hashtags when posting your videos on TikTok, whether they're branded hashtags or trending hashtags, is a great way to grow your following. Adding popular hashtags will help TikTok categorize your videos and send them out to the relevant audience.

For example, if you're posting a prank video and you add the hashtags #prankster and #comedy to your video, TikTok then knows what your video is about and who to push your content out to. They're going to show your content to users who already enjoy the #funny, #comedy, and #prank videos.

Here's an example from one of the most popular pranksters on TikTok.

The best TikTok hashtag strategy is one that features a diverse range of hashtags. While a trending hashtag or two would be important to include, it's also important to include more specific hashtags that are relevant to your video. If you're only using the #fyp and #viral hashtags, you're competing with a vast pool of content to be seen by your audience.

For example, on a cooking video, you could include the popular hashtags #recipe, #cooking, and #foryoupage while also including more specific hashtags like #chickenrecipe, #InstantPotrecipe, and #weeknightmeal.

The below video is a great example of how to use a mix of both popular and broad hashtags like #foodtiktok along with more specific hashtags like #cajun.

When it comes to including trending hashtags or a TikTok challenge hashtag, a great way to take full advantage of the trend is to post about it early. We've all seen those videos of someone posting about a trend that's already peaked in popularity and faded out a week ago. In order to avoid being that person or brand, notice which trends are starting to rise in popularity and join in on them early.

How to Choose Hashtags for Your Niche

Now that you've created your viral-worthy content and it's ready to be posted, it's time to find the best TikTok hashtags to help boost your chances of going viral.

When choosing TikTok hashtags to add to your videos, it's important to choose the best hashtag for your niche. Choosing the best TikTok hashtags for your videos means choosing hashtags that are relevant to the content you're posting.

For example, you wouldn't use the #recipe hashtag if you're posting a beauty tutorial.

Trying to take advantage of the wide audience behind any particular TikTok hashtag, even if it's not relevant to your videos, will actually hurt your distribution in the long run.

If you use a popular hashtag from another niche and apply it to your videos, the viewers from the niche you tagged are not going to find your video relevant to the topic you've tagged. They'll most likely keep scrolling because it's not relevant, which will hurt your distribution and viewership in the long run.

Boost Your Potential to Go Viral on TikTok

One of the most addictive parts of posting and being a creator on TikTok is the potential to go viral. Going viral can happen for a variety of reasons, but it most likely means that your content resonates with a wide audience. It's probably either relatable, educational, shocking, entertaining, funny, or unique.

Whether you want to learn how to make a viral video on Tiktok or you're riding the wave of a viral sound, using the best TikTok hashtag for your video will help set your video up for success.

Tips for Using the Best TikTok Hashtags

In addition to the strategies we've already discussed for choosing hashtags, here are our tips for incorporating them into your strategy:

• Leverage other thought leaders and influencers in your niche. Partnering with other more widely followed accounts in your niche can help you expand your audience.
• Add hashtags to more places than just your captions. Consider adding hashtags as text over the video itself and in your profile description.
• Consume popular, viral, and trending content in your category. This will help you stay updated on what's working in your niche and what white spaces are still available.

Viral TikTok Hashtags

We've broken down an expansive list of TikTok hashtags by category to help you improve your following.

Popular Hashtags

Let's start with the most commonly used hashtags on TikTok. While these hashtags are ones that stay consistently popular and featured on the "For You Page," they are also extremely competitive.

Here's a list of the most popular hashtags:

TikTok Hashtags for Pranks and Funny Content

Comedy, pranks, and funny videos make up one of the most popular categories on TikTok. After all, TikTok is meant for entertainment and spreading joy.

Here's a broad hashtag list for videos in the comedy category:

Niche Specific Hashtag for Educational Content

Here's a list of related hashtags for content creators with educational videos on a variety of topics:

TikTok Hashtags for Health, Wellness, and Fitness Related Content

Another popular category of videos on TikTok is health, wellness, and fitness.

We compiled a list of different hashtags to use in this competitive space:

Trending Hashtags about Books and Reading

The #booktok community on TikTok is massively influential. In addition to helping Colleen Hoover sell more than 20 million books and keeping Barnes & Noble from closing several locations, it's also the site of countless reading inspirations. In short, TikTok is taking the book world by storm, and retailers are taking notice.

Here's a list of hashtags to consider if your posts are about books and reading:

Hashtags for the Beauty Category

The beauty category is another popular sector on TikTok, offering countless tutorials, product reviews, and inspiration. Above all, having a targeted hashtag strategy can help you break into this category and grow your audience.

Check out our list of popular beauty hashtags to give you some ideas on where to start:

TikTok Challenge: Examples of Past Viral TikTok Hashtags

From dancing to Beyonce's latest album to dangerously climbing stacks of milk crates, there's always a TikTok challenge to participate in.

Do you remember these trending hashtags? Use the hashtags in this list to learn what trends were on TikTok and to give yourself the inspiration to start your own new trend on TikTok.

Here's a list of past trending hashtags to help you recognize what could be popular in the future:

How to Find Viral TikTok Hashtags Every Month

From learning how to be verified on TikTok to keeping up with ever-evolving trends, TikTok is a complex platform. The algorithm moves fast, and you'll need to become your own hashtag expert in order to keep up.

Here are our tips (including a pro tip or two!) for finding your own viral TikTok hashtags every month:

• Study your competition's hashtag strategy, noticing which hashtags they're using on their most-viewed videos.
• Understand who your target audience is, including the key influencers in your niche, the best time to post on TikTok for your audience based on what times they're active on the platform and where they're located.
• Pay attention to rising trends, sounds, and challenges and post about them as they're rising in popularity. You don't want to be that account that posts a week after the trend is already waning in popularity.
• Regularly consume content across a variety of niches, not just your own.

Mastering Your Hashtag Strategy on TikTok

If TikTok is a new platform for you, it can feel intimidating at first. In addition to reviewing the strategies discussed here, the best place to start is simply by consuming content on the platform.

Understanding how the platform evolves, how users interact with content, and how trends move will help you become a better TikTok content strategist.

Now it's your turn to make your content go viral!