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On TikTok, anyone can go viral. You don’t need to be a videographer or social media expert to get traffic to your videos.
In fact, the most popular videos I’ve seen on my For You Page aren’t overly produced or too serious. The videos that get me to stop scrolling are the ones that are short and silly and let me know exactly what I’m about to watch.
To increase your chances of being seen, there are a few tips and tricks that top marketers and content creators swear by.
From leveraging trending audio to green screen effects, read on to discover the 13 best TikTok tricks, according to HubSpot’s Social Team and TikTok marketers.
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To find out what type of organic content works well on the platform, I asked some marketers for their best tips for making great TikTok videos.
If there’s one thing marketers can agree on, it’s that your TikTok video needs a hook. Every marketer I spoke to suggests that capturing your viewers’ attention within the first few seconds is essential for engagement.
As a TikTok user myself, I couldn’t agree more. If I can’t immediately tell what the video is about, I keep scrolling.
“Viewers want to know what they’re getting from a video before they watch it,” says Petra Khan, associate director of strategy at ICUC.Social.
“Grab their attention right away with eye-catching visuals. For example, a close-up shot or a colorful visual, such as a splash of bright color or an enticing shot of a finished recipe.”
If you’re just getting started on TikTok and not getting many views yet, your hook can be what takes you to the next level.
“If your videos aren’t getting off the ground (i.e., getting less than 500 views), just focus on nailing the first three seconds,” suggests Xavier English, co-founder at Supermix.
He recommends “taking inspiration from what hooks are working for other creators in your niche and then getting very experimental with the different ways you can introduce or frame the same content.”
Meg O’Neill, a marketing expert and Instagram coach, recommends that if you’re using the storytelling format, jump right in to hook viewers immediately.
“Get right to the point!” she says. “As soon as your finger hits record, start telling your story from the middle.”
If you’ve been on TikTok for the last couple of years or so, you’re probably familiar with Creator tools, the suite of features that enable creators to see their analytics and stay on top of trends.
In May 2024, TikTok replaced its “Creator tools” with TikTok Studio. The new tool allows creators to create, edit, upload, manage, and analyze their TikTok account and content performance.
You can access it within the platform or as a separate app.
Monitoring your engagement, checking on top-performing videos, and analyzing follower behavior is essential if you want to make good TikTok videos. You have to see what’s working and what needs adjustments if you want to stand out and reach your audience.
This is also true if you plan on running ads on TikTok — you should always monitor video ad performance to make sure you’re reaching the right people and meeting your goals.
As marketers, it’s our job to be data-driven, tell our brand story, and promote the company. However, this knowledge can also get in our way.
When it comes to creating videos on TikTok, we sometimes have *too much* context to be a good judge of your own content, suggests English.
“We’ve seen a lot of videos fail because the moment we actually put them in front of fresh viewers, we realized something really basic was missing,” English says.
“For example, the start didn‘t make any sense to someone who didn’t have all the context we had about the topic, or the way they interpreted a certain visual was confusing, even though no one on our team interpreted it that way because we already knew the message we were trying to convey.”
Pro tip: So, how do you overcome this challenge? English’s suggestion is to “take off your context goggles,” especially during the scripting and editing processes.
“The algorithm favors niches. If you get traffic based on a particular style or type of content, videos outside of that won’t perform as well,” Nicole Phillip, social media lead at the Hustle, told me.
Of course, finding the right niche isn’t so easy. You have to find the sweet spot between the content that works for your brand and the content that your audience finds valuable.
To strike this balance, Phillip suggests experimenting with different types of content to see what resonates — and then stick with it.
Content creator and registered dietician Mia Swinehart has built a loyal audience (500K+ strong) by sharing health-conscious, balanced, and predominantly plant-based recipes.
While her audience has come to love her recipe videos, she also explores different angles within her niche — like grocery hauls and meal prep hacks — to keep her content fresh while staying true to her brand identity.
You post a video thinking it will get a million likes. Instead, it disappears into the TikTok void, leaving you with nothing to show for your hard work. Your gut reaction is to delete it, but Phillips has a different take.
“Don’t be discouraged by low performance, especially in the beginning. It takes a while for the algorithm to feed you to the right group of people and for you to find your footing before something takes off,” Phillips says.
Phillips also points out that virality often happens when you least expect it, so be careful when deleting videos. “Don’t delete low performing videos because you never know when the algorithm might pick it up and serve it to the right audience,” Phillips says.
According to HubSpot’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report, these are the best times to post on TikTok:
And the best day to post on TikTok is Friday.
Keep in mind that every audience is different, so it’s worth checking your analytics to see when your audience is most active. You can do this by navigating to your profile, hitting the three lines in the top-right corner, and tapping “TikTok Studio.”
Then, tap “Analytics.” This opens a dashboard with your follower growth, video views, likes, comments, traffic sources, and shares.
The Stitch tool enables you to combine another video on TikTok with the one you‘re creating. It’s another way to collaborate with other TikTokers and expand your reach.
Start by looking for top-performing videos in your niche. You can do this by using the search bar and typing keywords relating to your brand. Or, check if any videos directly mention your brand.
Once you find a video to stitch, tap the Share icon on the right-hand side.
Then, tap Stitch. This will open an editing tool where you can select five seconds of the video to use in yours.
Let’s look at stitching in action with an example from Puma.
In case you’re out of the loop, latte art is a huge deal on TikTok — amassing over 2.4 billion views. When one user put the Puma logo on top of a steaming cup of coffee, the brand decided to join the action by “stitching” the original video and attempting to recreate it.
This is a great example of a brand collaborating with its audience and leveraging user-generated content.
TikTok has an entire library of filters and effects, but one stands out from the rest: the green screen effect.
Like a traditional green screen, this effect lets you stay on-screen while different images appear in the background. By incorporating visual aids, it adds a whole new level of storytelling.
This filter is ideal for explaining topics, providing recommendations, or whenever visuals could complement your story.
For instance, suppose you’re a fitness influencer. You could explain the proper form of an exercise by referencing photos in the background. In this case, the background visuals enhance your commentary rather than distract from it.
Using the green screen effect, Levi’s recommends different jeans using product photos in the background. Viewers can easily follow along, and seeing pictures of the jeans may pique their interest.
90% of TikTok users say sound is essential to the TikTok experience. It grabs people‘s attention and adds flavor to your content. And for many users, it’s the starting point for creating a great video.
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Pro tip: Not sure what sounds are trending right now? TikTok’s Creative Center ranks the most popular music and audio clips each day. You can even filter the results by region, which is helpful if your audience is in a different location.
Duolingo is a fan favorite on the platform, especially for its funny, trendy, and sometimes chaotic videos featuring its mascot, Duo the Owl. Duo can be seen dancing to popular songs and acting in skits that incorporate popular audio clips, like in the example below.
Vlog-style videos feel more personal and intimate — which might explain why they’re so popular on TikTok.
These videos typically include multiple clips tied together with a voiceover describing the series of events. It‘s highly engaging and lets viewers feel like they’re living in your shoes.
This example shows Netflix using the vlog style to take its audience on a journey. While most of us won‘t walk a red carpet in our lifetime, we can still get a peak of what the experience entails — and how our favorite actors behave off-screen. It’s also a great way to showcase “behind the scenes” content.
Making a TikTok is half the battle — you also need to ensure it lands in front of your audience. Hashtags are one way to get there.
Adding hashtags in your description gives your videos a better chance of being seen, allowing you to drive discoverability, build brand awareness, and extend your reach. But how can you do it?
This may sound counterintuitive, but only targeting popular hashtags is ineffective. While they command a larger audience, they’re also highly competitive. On the other hand, niche hashtags have fewer people searching for them, but those who do are highly engaged and interested.
For example, #workout is a popular hashtag with over 95 billion views, but #coreworkout is more niche with a fraction of the audience.
A well-rounded hashtag strategy should include both niche and popular hashtags. Take a look at the example below.
Fall is just around the corner, and Dunkin’ is getting everyone hyped for its seasonal menu. To get the word out, the brand incorporates a variety of hashtags to reach more people.
For instance, the video below uses #fall, a trending hashtag (15+ billion views), and #pumpkinszn, a more niche hashtag with fewer views (40+ million). By including #pumpkinszn, Dunkin’ can tap into a smaller, more engaged audience.
On TikTok, almost every brand has the same goal: to connect with its audience. Often, that connection forms in the comment section. It’s where viewers go to ask questions and share opinions.
But instead of replying to a comment with text, you can now respond with another video. This allows you to dive deeper into topics, answer questions, and keep your audience coming back for more.
When a TikTok user asked Glossier how to use one of its products, the brand didn‘t miss the opportunity to reply with a video explaining all the ways to use it. In doing so, the brand adds value while highlighting the product’s versatility.
“How To” videos and tutorials are an easy way to provide value to TikTok viewers without sounding overly promotional. Plus, positioning yourself as an expert or authority in your niche keeps your brand, products, and/or services top-of-mind for viewers.
For instance, if you’re a travel brand, you could film videos of must-see attractions, restaurant recommendations, and travel tips — like the example below.
Travel + Leisure provides all the content you need to “kick your wanderlust into high gear.” From hotel recommendations to photography tips, the brand has you covered, positioning itself as a gold mine of advice for the travel-obsessed.
Need more engagement? Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking for it.
The ultimate goal of a CTA is to persuade users to do something — follow your TikTok page, visit your website, leave a comment, and so on. So ask yourself, “what do I want my viewers to do?”
Whatever you choose, it should help you move closer to your primary goal (i.e., drive website traffic, increase brand awareness, etc.).
Your description and comment section are prime real estate for CTAs. Use this area to ask questions, encourage users to follow you, or drive traffic to your website, blog, or other social channels (ie, “More tips on my blog, link in bio!”).
On top of that, if you’re running ads, we recommend using a marketing integration tool to sync all your lead data to your CRM. (P.S. You can do this using the TikTok-Hubspot ads integration!)
In this TikTok, Fenty Beauty shows different ways to use one of its products. Then, to encourage engagement, they add a relevant question in the description that also incorporates a brand-specific hashtag (“Which #POUTSICLE look was ya fave?”).
Another way to invite users to take action is to set up a TikTok shop for your business. This allows users to see the products you have available. You can even create videos where the CTA is to click on your products.
TikTok videos became more accessible with the introduction of auto-captions.
Although you can manually add captions — which allows for greater flexibility to play around with text color and font — you can also use the Captions tool. With just a click, you can generate subtitles for your videos, allowing others to read or listen to your content.
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Pro tip: Including text overlays and captions is a great way to make your content accessible and tap into social SEO, suggests Khan. “It also happens to be a workaround for instances in which people are watching on mute,” she says.
If you‘re into car racing, there’s a good chance Formula 1’s TikTok is on your radar.
But have you ever noticed how often they add subtitles to their videos?
Take the example below, which uses colorful captions and emojis to add an extra layer of interest to the video. And if you mute your phone, you can still follow along without skipping a beat.
The most successful videos on TikTok are creative, out-of-the-box, and often quirky by nature. That’s a tall order — which is why every brand should explore the top-performing videos in its niche for inspiration.
Start by typing keywords relating to your brand in the search bar. Then, click the filter icon and sort by relevance, like count or date posted. If you choose to sort by the like count, it will populate TikTok videos that have gone viral using that specific keyword.
Once you’ve identified some top-performing videos, brainstorm ways to recreate them while adding your own spin.
My biggest takeaway about TikTok tips and tricks is that there isn’t one right path to success. TikTok is a platform that relies on experimentation, and brands willing to get creative see the most success.
If you’re new to TikTok, start with the tips in this article — and give yourself room to experiment with different videos, filters, and concepts.
Don’t be discouraged if you post a video that doesn’t get much traction. Instead, try another trending tactic, see what your competitors are doing, and then lean into whatever style or format sticks.
TikTok is an engaging platform once you reach the right people. My suggestion is to keep posting videos, engaging with users, and try to have fun to get the most out of the platform.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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