Tik-Tok videos "for you" to love as much as I do

Crazy stunts, coordinated dance videos, and viral trends. Tik Tok is one of the most popular social media platforms right now, it's been downloaded over 2 billion times and it's only getting bigger. Although the app was originally made famous by teens it is now a favourite among all demographics. The more content you watch the more personalised video recommendations you will receive.

When you open the Tik Tok app and go to the homepage, a video will automatically begin to play. This is the “For You Page”, which plays videos that TikTok’s algorithm recommends for you.

I have compiled a list of some of my favourite Tik Tok videos that should have made it onto the "For You' page (in my opinion) and explain why they probably didnt.

The first video is from Tik Tok user Bomanizer. He very hilariously sums up the inner turmoil many of us experienced (particularly during lockdown) when we realised we finally had to give in and make a Tik Tok account or die of literal boredom.

"Alright, I'll do it! I'm gonna make Tik Toks now!"

This video is from Tik Tok user Sharifaeasmin which captures a beautiful, candid moment between mother and son. Her young son's genuine excitement over his Mums "slay" is beyond adorable. We all need a hypeman in our life.

It would be a crime for a Tik Tok dance video not to make my list.

What I love about this dance duo though is that they are father and daughter although they could easily be siblings! Their routine hasn't been replicated from another Tik Tok dance trend it's completely unique and you can see they are honestly just having a good time they aren't concerned about views or likes.

This final video by anisafarah entitled "When you are trying to be depressed and the music pauses" had me in absolute stitches. I have definitely had moments where I simply want to be sad for a while, wallow a little but something or someone just won't let be depressed in peace. Yet these interruptions whatever form they may come in, often help me to laugh at myself and I realise that whatever I'm upset about really isn't "that deep".

Why didn't they go viral?

Tik Tok sounds:

Some of the reasons the videos I listed may not have gone viral could be due to the fact that they are all quite unique all but one (the dance video) use completetly original sounds.

Sounds are any audio contained in a video, this could be the music used in a dance video for example. If you click on the “sound” at the bottom of a TikTok, you can see all of the other TikTok's that use that sound, so to increase your odds of being seen it helps to use a trending sound the most common example involves a specific dance routine paired with the accompanying “sound.” The audio is the same across the plenitude of TikTok's, each user can then copy the exact same dance routine or choreograph their own moves.

TikTok Duets: Not one of my chosen Tik Tok videos were duet videos. Duets are a collaborative feature on TikTok that allow you to sample another users video and add yourself to it. Many people duet with the biggest Tik Tok influencers and celebrities to boost their chances of being noticed.

Hashtags:

Another way to garner attention and possibly go viral is to make sure you use the most appropriate hashtags. So although a Tik Tok may be viral-worthy it may not get the recognition it deserves if the relevant hashtags aren't used. It takes time to identify what hashtags work for your content.

We are all figuring out the algorithms and the best hashtags, what to post, and when to post, in the meantime, let's just make sure we have fun doing it! Tik-Tok away my friends, Tik-Tok away.