TikTok Algorithm Explained: How It Works + Tips to Go Viral

How does the TikTok algorithm work right now? Figuring out the answer to that question is a m-a-s-s-i-v-e win for social media managers.

Cracking the code helps you stay on TikTok’s good side so it serves your clients’ videos to thousands of users. It also gives you the recipe for creating high-performing viral videos. As a result, your client relationships become even “stickier” since you’re producing exceptional work.

TL;DR: Understanding how the TikTok algorithm works is a big win for you and your clients. 

What is the TikTok algorithm?

From a high-level view, the TikTok algorithm is a recommendation system that decides which videos appear on a user’s For You Page. It gives highly personalized and unique content specifically “handpicked” by the algorithm based on factors such as watching preferences and recently viewed videos.

How TikTok recommends videos is rooted in continuous feedback. The algorithm constantly adjusts each user’s feed based on what they interact with and show interest in.

How the TikTok algorithm works

TikTok’s algorithm recommends For You Page content to users based on signals. The TikTok algorithm uses a mix of signals to decide what shows up in someone’s For You feed. 

1. Video information

Video information signals are influenced by what users search for on TikTok. They are also shaped by how people interact with content and how long they watch or replay videos and how they engage overall.  TikTok categorizes content based on how users interact with topics formats and audio then refines recommendations using engagement and watch behavior.

• Hashtags
• Content via video transcripts
• Captions and their keywords
• Trending topics
• Effects 
• Sound

2.  User activity

The algorithm provides TikTok video recommendations based on the user interactions with the app’s content. It gets clues about the content types the user likes through these actions and interactions:

• Comments the user posted
• The accounts the user follows
• The videos that users share or like on the TikTok app
• The videos the users added to their favorites
• The videos a user watches and how long they watch them 
• Content users flagged as inappropriate plus chose to hide
• The videos that users marked as Not Interested, including skipped videos and hidden users
• The types of content users consistently interact with on their accounts 
• The user interactions with organic content (and ads in a TikTok business account), which expresses interest
• The video completion rate or the videos that users watch until the end

3. Account and device settings

The TikTok algorithm mainly uses video information, such as recently watched videos and user interaction signals. However, the algorithm also includes device and account settings to tailor content recommendations to users, including the following:

• The mobile device type
• The language preference
• The categories of interest selected during the user onboarding 
• The country setting and posting location

Follower count alone does not determine reach, and accounts without past viral videos can still perform well if content resonates. 

What the TikTok algorithm will not recommend

TikTok reduces content you repeatedly skip or content you mark as not interested. It also limits posts you block using topic controls or keyword filters.

Some of the videos that TikTok’s algorithm won’t recommend include the following:

• Spam and misleading content that feels inauthentic
• Content users already watched
• Potentially upsetting or harmful content

TikTok’s algorithm will also not show videos that do not promote or protect user safety, such as:

• Minor safety violations
• Tobacco and alcoholic products
• Dangerous stunt and sports
• Low quality QR code content that lacks originality
• Overtly sexual content
• Graphic and violent content 

Ensure that the TikTok algorithm doesn’t flag your clients’ videos by steering clear of these content types and following the platform’s community guidelines. It is far easier to grow an account steadily than to recover one after a violation or restriction. If your clients’ accounts get banned, read this How to Get Unbanned from TikTok guide to walk you through the process. 

5 Tips to make the TikTok algorithm work for your clients

TikTok’s algorithm is constantly evolving as it continues learning from user behavior. That said, you can work with the algorithm by focusing on the behaviors it consistently rewards. 

1. Include TikTok trending audios in videos

The TikTok algorithm often favors videos that use trending music or sounds, so jump into the trend to get your clients’ content in front of more audiences. Open TikTok and find popular audio by scrolling through posts and finding commonly used songs. Tap on the audio title or icon displayed at each video’s bottom left or bottom right corner.

You’ll see the number of users that included the sound clip in their posts. 

To find trending audio, use TikTok search and tap into the Sounds tab on audio you keep seeing repeatedly in your feed.  Using trending audio helps your videos align with what people are already engaging with, which can support early distribution when the content holds attention.

2. Capture audience interest within the first three seconds

Watching a video all the way through is one of the strongest positive signals you can send to the TikTok algorithm.

• Easy to consume
• Get to the point quickly
• Include a seamless loop

A surefire way to get audiences to watch your clients’ TikTok content entirely is to capture their attention within the video’s first three seconds. Ensure your clients’ videos have an intriguing hook to spark audience interest and entice viewers to watch until the end (and even rewatch the post). TikTok videos that users watch in full and on repeat tell the algorithm that people enjoy the content, so more people should get to see it.

3. Make TikTok content accessible

Besides making your clients’ content interesting and entertaining, ensure their videos are accessible and inclusive to more users. Accessible content features can make your clients’ videos valuable to more users, which are always good signals to the TikTok algorithm.

For instance, add on-screen captions and texts to your clients’ TikTok posts. 

The more accessible your clients’ TikTok videos are, the more people they can reach and engage. It gives all the videos more opportunities to go viral.  

4. Engage other users and creators

TikTok isn’t just for your clients to post content and rack up views. It’s also a space for interacting and engaging other users, allowing your clients to better connect with content creators and build communities. Higher TikTok video engagement indicates that your clients’ content is valuable, prompting the algorithm to spread it like wildfire to more audiences. You can follow this up by linking how to get more views on TikTok after posting for deeper, post-publish tactics that keep momentum going.

Engage users who like, share, and comment on your clients’ posts.  For example, start conversations in your client’s comment section by asking people who posted comments simple yet engaging questions.

Remember to follow through with actions, such as sending the user a DM, to keep the engagement going and address the user’s needs. To increase engagement, your clients can also learn how to repost on TikTok and share other creators’ videos (with proper attributions and permissions).

5. Optimize client content for search

Optimizing TikTok content is a fancy way of saying that your clients create content based on hashtags and keywords that target audiences look for on the app. TL;DR: Creating content based on popular and relevant TikTok hashtags and keywords helps get your clients’ content in front of users looking for hashtags related to the specific content.

Including hashtags can boost how easily your clients’ videos are discovered. This helps the algorithm surface posts to users who are already interested in that type of content. Help your clients make the most of the 2,200-character count for captions by adding trending and relevant keywords to their posts.

Go to the TikTok Creative Center to uncover keyword insights. You can get the right hashtags to help optimize your clients’ posts and ads. The tool can also provide TikTok bio ideas and keywords that help make your clients’ profiles more visible to target audiences. It can get more clicks for your client’s profile icon.

Manage multiple TikTok accounts with ease

Handling multiple clients and their TikTok accounts can be chaotic without the right social media management tool. Fortunately, the one-stop-shop social media management platform Vista Social has you covered. It has features that help you plan, create, organize, publish, plus manage your clients’ TikTok profiles efficiently across TikTok and other social media platforms. 

Use Vista Social’s drag-and-drop Visual TikTok Planner to:

• Organize your clients’ videos for publishing
• Set and edit auto-publishing schedules 
• Create and customize videos and add TikTok quotes easily with the built-in Canva integration
• Add trending audio to your clients’ posts

Use Vista Social’s collaborative content calendar to track and plan your clients’ TikTok posts. For instance, you can create TikTok drafts and add them to the calendar before publishing. Your clients can quickly find the posts. They can review them. They can approve them before they go live. 

Use the filters in the top-right corner to quickly find TikTok posts and drafts.

The calendar helps you keep drafts and live posts organized so nothing gets missed and past decisions stay easy to revisit. This structure also makes it simpler to audit performance or trace changes when you need to find deleted TikTok videos. 

Vista Social also offers a library of trending TikTok audio you can easily add to your clients’ videos.

Vista Social takes away the complexity and hassles of managing multiple social media client accounts while supercharging your clients’ marketing and promotion efforts.

Unlock the TikTok algorithm to help your clients go viral

Only TikTok has full control over its algorithm. However your clients can be strategic across TikTok videos plus captions plus hashtags plus posting times to hack the algorithm and create viral content. 

Help your clients achieve TikTok fame while boosting brand awareness and engagement through Vista Social. Vista Social is packed with the features you need to help your clients manage and run their TikTok campaigns.

Try Vista Social for free to see the platform in action.

People also ask

Can you reset a user’s TikTok algorithm?

No, but you can retrain the algorithm to change the content that appears on your client’s For You Page by:

• Clearing the app’s cache 
• Unfollowing specific user accounts
• Liking more of the content that your clients want to appear on their FYPs  

Your clients can also view their recently viewed videos or tap watch history to review the content they want to stop or continue watching.

Can you beat TikTok’s algorithm?

You can make the TikTok algorithm work in your clients’ favor by understanding how it works and developing videos that align with the factors the algorithm uses to display content in FYPs.

Can user location affect the TikTok algorithm?

While not a main ranking factor, the TikTok algorithm considers users’ location when displaying content in FYPs.