Best Hashtag Strategies to Go Viral on TikTok in 2021

Many marketing affiliates will promise you the best strategies to go viral in terms of hashtags. However, since the May 2021 update in TikTok’s algorithm, some of those strategies may not work that effectively anymore! If you are looking for an optimal hashtag strategy to go viral quickly in 2021, this article gives you some insight into the nature of TikTok’s hashtags and how they work and guides you through various hashtag strategies to go viral and make money in 2021, that have been tested and worked wonders for many TikTokers.

Which hashtags and hashtag strategies will make me the most money

How are TikTok hashtags unique?

All social media applications such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok use hashtags to compartmentalize and group like niches and themes together. This is also significant in terms of indexing and bringing together content creators and relevant audiences based on a particular niche, especially when it comes to artists, businesses, and other content creators. In this way, the social media platform’s algorithm utilizes hashtags to help creators grow and businesses flourish.

TikTok has a more developed algorithm than Instagram

However, one secret that most content creators do not know is that TikTok’s algorithm is by far the most sophisticated and developed algorithm in terms of the aforementioned social media platforms, and others. This entails its ability to be highly specific in terms of indexing and compartmentalizing information from content and hashtags used in order to bring together the aptest audiences, content creators, and businesses.

Moreover, this also simultaneously presents the most relevant content on each and every user’s For You Page in order to make their experience more enjoyable and increase their time spent on the application. Especially since the update to the algorithm in May 2021, TikTok’s highly technologically developed algorithm now allows for the best forming of connections between content creators and audiences based on a content niche, than any other social media platform for content creators and businesses.

How does TikTok use its hashtags?

TikTok uses its hashtags for two main purposes:

#Indexing (sharing and finding)

This refers to helping users find the most relevant content to consume and allowing content creators to share their content to the most relevant audiences based on the hashtags they use

#Community-building

TikTok’s algorithm also allows for efficient and wholesome community-building by linking relevant audiences to content creators based on content niche or type of content.

If you have a very specific niche or theme(s) for your content, you might have a greater chance at creating a large following or community on TikTok as opposed to on Instagram or Twitter.

Types of hashtags on TikTok

In order to be able to identify the best hashtags and most suitable hashtag strategies to use for promoting your content and helping it reach as many users as possible, it is imperative to study the types of hashtags on TikTok to identify which combinations of these various types could prove to be the most fruitful for you in terms of gaining a large following.

In case you didn’t know, there are in fact five types of hashtags on TikTok.

#Broad Hashtags

The first category of hashtags consists of the hashtags that we see used on almost every post, almost all the time. They are usually used as the first or first two hashtags on a post and include the following:

#FYP

#Viral

#foryou

#TikTok

#trending

#funny

#duet

#TikTokfashion

#foryou

#challenge

#TikTokViral

Using these hashtags does not get you shadow-banned on TikTok contrary to popular belief. So, do not listen to all those Tiktokkers discouraging you from using them! In fact, it is good to use at least one broad hashtag per post in order to reach a sizable audience.

#Trending Hashtags

Trending hashtags refer to the top hashtags for a specific time frame on the application. They can be found on the Discover Page and there are new ones almost every 1-3 days.

These hashtags signify current social trends, economic trends, political trends, etc., and sometimes may have become popular due to a hashtag challenge, viral posts that used them, or events and content based on real-life events that were referenced via certain specific hashtags.

Frequently using trending hashtags on your posts is ideal if you are looking to go viral on TikTok in 2021

It is a good idea to check trending hashtags before creating and posting content as this allows you to come up with the aptest video lengths and video topics for your content.

#Niche-specific Hashtags

These imply hashtags that signify a particular niche, theme, or topic. For example, football hashtags could include #football and #NFL.

#Really popular hashtags

Some hashtags, however, are really popular due to no specific reason that could be identified. It is not because they are trending due to a hashtag challenge, viral posts or events, and current trends.

Rather, they are popular simply because of how they are apt for most kinds of content and are popular amongst the Gen-Z. These include hashtags such as #trash and #art.

#Post-specific hashtags

Certain hashtags are specific to your specific post and may not outright be used to reference your overall niche or general content themes. These are called post-specific hashtags.

For example, if you are a musician but you post a video cooking the hashtags you use on that video, for example, #cookingchallenge and #cookingqueen would make sense for that particular post but not your overall niche, which is music.

Best hashtag strategies to go viral in 2021

There are various tips and tricks that you could follow as a content creator to go viral on TikTok overnight in 2021. The most imperative thing and goal, however, is to form your own specific hashtag strategy that suits your account, niche, and content the most.  

What to not do

The first step in establishing your own hashtag strategy is realizing what you should not do in terms of hashtags or what you should actively avoid.

Firstly, it is never a good idea to merely use hashtags on your post. Video descriptions are equally important in terms of describing your content and helping the algorithm link it to relevant audiences.

They also impact your ability to get onto the For You Page therefore it is imperative to have a video description for most posts. However, avoid using confusing, boring, or offensive video descriptions that may violate any of TikTok’s Community Guidelines which can be found in the link below:

https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines?lang=en

Secondly, do not spam hashtags! This implies not using 10-12 hashtags on the same post as this decreases the amount of reach for that particular post because the TikTok algorithm suppresses videos that spam hashtags. You should ideally be using only 3-4 hashtags for each post.

Thirdly, avoid using hashtags that do not exist or are very unpopular with low views. These will take up unnecessary space that you can utilize by using a more apt hashtag for your post.

Fourthly, do not use hashtags that take up too much space. This implies using hashtags with too many letters or words. They not only create unsolicited clutter but are also discouraged by TikTok’s algorithm and may usually be unpopular or never used before, in the first place.

Moreover, do not use hashtags that are completely irrelevant to your content or niche in general, or your particular post. This will confuse the TikTok algorithm and it would not be able to categorize your content as accurately as is possible.

Also, avoid using the same hashtags for all of your posts. Even in terms of broad hashtags, do not use the same ones for every post.

Using no hashtags at all?

Many Tiktokkers and marketing affiliates will tell you that it is advisable to not use any hashtags at all sometimes. Is that true? Can you get views by using no hashtags at all? The answer is, sometimes.

Usually, it is not a very good idea to not use any hashtags at all. However, sometimes not using any hashtags in a post that succeeds a post using hashtags could be a good idea. This is because the uniqueness of not using any hashtags could potentially make your content go viral.

However, this too is only guaranteed if your content in terms of the topic of the video, the video description, and the video itself, is very engaging, self-explanatory, trending, or unique with a vast potential to gain new audiences.

Suggestions for you: 8 TikTok Video Ideas That You Cannot Miss

Doing Hashtag Research

Doing hashtag research is the most important step in finding your optimal hashtag strategy.

The next crucial step in establishing your specific hashtag strategy is hashtag research.

Now that you know about the various types of hashtags, it is crucial that you research broad hashtags and make a list of all possible broad hashtags you could use.

Research on trending hashtags is also equally significant. You should keep tabs on popular hashtags that have been trending for a few days, a week, or more. You can even do this before creating your own content, in order to increase its relevance to the trending hashtags on the Discover Page.

This is helpful as it allows you to mold your content based on what is trending, which would allow you to get more views and engagement.

Furthermore, you should also not forget to research niche-specific hashtags that are relevant to the theme(s) or niche of your content. This is important as the trending hashtags on the Discover Page are very difficult to compete with hence researching niche-specific hashtags and then using the ones with the most views could be more suitable if you are looking to go viral.

During your research, it is advisable to look for keywords or jargon that are pertinent to the industry you are researching on, as well as finding relevant content creators with similar themes or a similar niche to yours and looking at what hashtags they are using. This allows you to understand what attracts their audiences, especially if you want the same or a similar audience.

Finding the best hashtag strategy in terms of types of hashtags

If however, you are not very well-versed in TikTok research or want to go viral fast without spending too much effort or time researching you could utilize the following general hashtag strategies which have been trialed and tested by a number of famous Tiktokkers:

#Using 1 Broad hashtag, 1 niche-specific hashtag, and 1-2 trending hashtags

Trending and broad hashtags help expand your audience by reaching as many people as possible and provide you with a short-term audience.

#Using 3 niche-specific hashtags and 2-3 trending hashtags

Using more niche-specific hashtags allows you to target specific long-term audiences.

#Using 1 broad or trending hashtag, 1 niche-specific hashtag, and 2-3 video or post-specific hashtags

Using post-specific hashtags helps reach audiences that may be interested in the type of content you are putting out in that particular video.

#Using the same niche-specific hashtag for every post

This helps the TikTok algorithm in classifying your content niche and main themes which then allows for greater user engagement and chances to go viral, as the algorithm is better able to show your posts to relevant audiences.

You could utilize any one or more, or all of the abovementioned hashtag strategies in order to go viral. You could even alternate between them and test them out on a few posts to find the most suitable strategies out of these four, for your content.

Moreover, it is important to reuse the best hashtag strategies that work for you, in posts on the same day. Also, remember to not be too hyper-focused on your niche and try to also expand your audience via your hashtags without compromising your overall niche and themes.

Other hashtag tips you could follow

Here are some other tricks and tips you could follow to go viral in 2021!

1) Do popular or trending hashtag challenges as they drive the most user engagement.

2) Good times to post for the highest views and user engagement are 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. on the weekdays and all day on the weekends.

In fact, according to most famous content creators on TikTok, you will unequivocally get more views on videos you post on the weekend as opposed to those you post on weekdays.

You can take a closer look at the upload time of Tiktok videos here: https://audiencegain.net/best-time-to-post-on-tiktok/

3) Before posting, upload your video in drafts and then go to Search and look for usable relevant hashtags for your video before uploading.

4) Use verified (blue-ticked) hashtags. They usually have the most views and drive the highest user engagement.  

In conclusion

Conclusively, in order to increase the views on your posts and gain a large following on TikTok in 2021, it goes without saying that you either need to establish a specific hashtag strategy or multiple strategies that work for you best or utilize existing strategies used by most content creators.

Going viral overnight is not easy but if you have apt hashtag strategies based on the types of hashtags, you remember what not to do in terms of hashtags and you do ample hashtag research daily and every time before posting a video, you might just be able to go viral overnight!

However, there are still many more interesting tricks you could use to boost your overall user engagement and have more than just one of your videos go viral!

Don’t hesitate to contact our TikTok consultants at AudienceGain who can provide you with valuable tips on the best specific hashtag strategies to use for your content and niche.

AudienceGain is committed to helping you via the best possible advice on hashtag strategies and much more, so sign up immediately!

For more information, please contact us via:

Hotline/WhatsApp: (+84)70 444 6666

Skype: admin@audiencegain.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AUDIENCEGAIN.NET