Yes, TikToks do better with relevant hashtags because they help the algorithm understand your content, boost discoverability for users interested in those topics, and connect you to trends, leading to more views and engagement, especially when you use 3-5 specific tags that categorize your video for the right audience. While big creators might get away with none, hashtags are crucial for new creators to get discovered beyond their existing followers.
When you use relevant hashtags, it signals to TikTok what your video is about, making it easier for the algorithm to suggest your content to the right audience. Hashtags on TikTok are essential for increasing video visibility and boosting virality.
The 3x3 hashtag rule is a social media strategy for platforms like Instagram and TikTok, suggesting you use three categories of hashtags, with three hashtags in each category, for a total of nine relevant tags per post, focusing on your audience (who), your offering (what), and the problem solved (why) to boost discoverability. It's about intentionality, not just quantity, aiming for quality, targeted tags over spammy lists, though Instagram is also testing limits of just 3-5 highly specific tags.
The TikTok 3-second rule is a content strategy emphasizing that you must hook a viewer within the first three seconds of a video to prevent them from scrolling away, significantly impacting watch time, completion rates, and algorithmic favorability for the For You Page (FYP). This rule highlights the need for immediate visual impact, strong curiosity gaps (questions/mysteries), fast cuts, emotional triggers, or bold text to stop the scroll and signal video quality to the algorithm, though some suggest the attention span is shrinking to even one second.
9 Tips to Increase TikTok Views
To make $2,000 a month on TikTok, you generally need 10,000 to 50,000 followers, focusing on brand deals, affiliate marketing, and potentially direct creator fund payouts, requiring significant views (millions monthly) and high engagement, with earnings varying greatly by niche and content quality, rather than just follower count.
Here's a recap of nine ways you can use TikTok's algorithm to your advantage:
All you gotta do is:
For content creators and influencers, appearing on a user's FYP can significantly boost visibility and reach, similar to how the Twitter algorithm can amplify posts to a wider audience. This increased exposure can lead to more followers, higher engagement rates, and potentially viral content.
TikTok doesn't pay per view. Instead, it pays per 1,000 views. TikTok pays between $0.02 - $0.04 per 1000 views for a creator's video via the “TikTok Creators Fund.” TikTok has been actively launching programs to boost the earnings of the creators and influencers on TikTok.
This study looked at 38 million posts and found that 11 was the optimum number of hashtags. Too many hashtags can definitely feel spammy, so don't go above 11 - but using several of the RIGHT hashtags really seems to pay dividends.
In general, you'll want to aim for 50% of your posts to engage, 30% to inform, and 20% to promote. Keep reading to learn about the different types of posts and why the 50-30-20 rule is a good guide to follow.
Coming up with a long list of hashtags to use can be a little exhausting, but trust me—not properly researching them is a big mistake. If you don't do your research, you'll be using inactive hashtags at best. These won't get you any traction or any new reach.
Takeaway. Despite all those possible excuses I just offered, one thing is pretty clear: just using hashtags doesn't increase engagement. If you want more likes and comments, you need to think a little more creatively.
According to experts, used to be helpful to sort the content but not needed to make it viral. And TikTok has the most advanced AI algorithm in the market. Many creators on the platform believe they no longer need hashtags to sort and make their content viral.
Conclusion. Mastering TikTok hashtags is essential for anyone serious about growing their presence on the platform. By combining trending tags with niche-specific hashtags, staying current with platform trends, and consistently analyzing your performance, you'll create a hashtag strategy that drives real results.
If TikTok identifies that your video is not the original one, it may restrict your visibility to the audience, and your post will receive little or even no push from it.
FYP originated with TikTok, the viral short-video platform launched internationally in 2017. TikTok's algorithm curates a unique stream of videos for each user—the For You Page. Over time, users started adding #FYP to video captions to increase visibility, hoping the algorithm would push their content to more viewers.
Hashtags related to self-harm or suicide are banned to protect vulnerable users and prevent the spread of harmful content. To ensure content quality and user experience, TikTok bans hashtags that lead to spammy or low-quality posts.
The TikTok 3-second rule means creators have only about three seconds (sometimes less) to hook viewers before they scroll away, making the start of the video crucial for retention, algorithm favorability, and higher view counts. This short window demands immediate action, value, or visual interest, often by showing the end result first, using fast cuts, text overlays, or trending sounds to stop the scroll and signal quality to TikTok's algorithm.
Understand the TikTok Algorithm
Now that you have a solid understanding of the TikTok algorithm, let's discuss what to keep in mind to increase your chances of going viral.
No, 7,000 views is generally not considered viral, as virality usually means reaching hundreds of thousands or millions of views rapidly, but it can be very successful for a small creator, representing a huge spike over their usual numbers and indicating good performance for their specific audience. Virality depends on your baseline: for a large account, 7,000 is low, but for a micro-influencer getting 100 views, 7,000 is a massive viral hit for them.
You can improve your TikTok reach by posting strong hooks in the first 3 seconds, using trending sounds and relevant keywords, and engaging with your niche community. High watch time, shares, and comments tell the algorithm to show your videos to more people.
Likes, comments, and shares: These indicate strong audience interest and engagement. Negative feedback: If users frequently click “Not Interested” or dislike your video, YouTube may suppress recommendations.