With over 1.7 billion users, TikTok is set to be the next big social media platform after Instagram. A favorite among the younger crowd, it is the perfect marketing platform for improving brand visibility.
But with tons of businesses flocking to expand their TikTok presence, how do you reach the relevant audience? That’s where the right TikTok hashtags can help you. They can:
- Enhance your visibility
- Make your content go viral
- Generate trending content ideas
- Help you identify competitors and potential collaborators
However, not all trending hashtags are relevant to your brand or add value to your marketing. You need a solid TikTok hashtag strategy to detect the right ones.
In today’s article, we bring you the ultimate guide on how to find trending hashtags on TikTok that will help you build a thriving presence on the platform.
Table of Contents
In a crowded platform like TikTok, hashtags are the key to getting in front of the right audience. When someone searches for a specific hashtag or clicks on one, TikTok presents them with a feed with the same tag. You can categorize your content, simplify discoverability, and expand brand awareness to a larger audience by using industry-relevant hashtags.
But the role of hashtags doesn’t end here. Its other perks include:
Visibility on the Explore page
Most TikTok users discover new content on the “For You” page (FYP). The right trending TikTok hashtags get the algorithm to push your content on the FYP of different audience segments. It enhances brand visibility and increases your chances of building a more diverse following.
Community engagement
Some TikTok hashtags are community-driven, i.e., they let people find and connect with others over shared interests. You can reach genuinely interested people in your niche, engage them, and build a community of like-minded audiences on TikTok.
Branding and promotion
Using custom and campaign-specific hashtags for TikTok builds brand recognition. You can create unique challenges and drive better engagement. It also encourages user-generated content and makes it easier to locate them.
Trendjacking
Trending TikTok challenges are often associated with specific hashtags. By tracking the relevant ones, brands can identify the best trends to craft engaging content.
Participating in hashtag-driven TikTok trends enhances relatability, increases content engagement, and heightens your chances of going viral.
The first step to using TikTok hashtags is to find the relevant ones in the vast sea of content on the platform. Of course, you can rely on your instinct and use descriptive hashtags to tag your content. But for best results, your chosen tags must have a proven track record of attracting engagement.
While it may seem tricky at first, there are a few simple ways to locate trending hashtags:
Explore the Discover page
Scrolling through TikTok’s “Discover” page can help you identify popular and niche-relevant hashtags to use. Simply tap on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the TikTok app. It will take you to the Discover page.
Browse the videos carefully to identify hashtags used by popular creators active in the same or similar space. Note them down and check engagement on TikToks labeled with those tags. Compare the audience response on each tag and shortlist the most popular ones.
For more targeted research, use the search feature on the page to find keyword-specific hashtags. Simply enter niche or content-relevant keywords in the search section. Then, TikTok will list the fitting ones. Skim through the search results and look for those with substantial viewership and audience interaction.
Use TikTok’s trending tabs
To find the most popular TikTok hashtags with the potential to go viral, use the platform’s “Trending” tab. It shows you the most sought-after content that uses current trends and attracts significant engagement. See what hashtags those videos have.
However, using irrelevant trends will make your TikTok presence confusing and fail to target the right people. Carefully consider your video’s topic, industry standards, and audience preferences before choosing trending hashtags.
Remember, TikTok trends change rapidly. The hashtag that made TikToks go viral a week ago may become irrelevant today. So, check the trending tabs regularly and find the most recent ones to use on your content.
Leverage third-party tools and platforms
Searching for suitable hashtags manually can be time-consuming if you plan to scale your TikTok strategy. While skimming through thousands of trending TikToks, you may end up missing out on the most important hashtags.
To save time and identify the best hashtag for TikTok, invest in a reliable social media management tool. You get real-time data on trending ones and accurate reports on whether they work for your content.
That’s where Keyhole can help you.
Besides analyzing your posts, it offers a hashtag analytics tool. You can track any hashtag or keyword related to trends and get detailed analysis in terms of posts, users, engagement, and impressions. Moreover, you’ll be able to access top influencers, media walls, and overall sentiment analysis so you get the complete picture of the trends. Don’t just know about the trend but uncover its true potential with this.
There is no shortage of similar brands on TikTok.
So, you must pick your battles by identifying your top competitors and the hashtags they use. That way, you learn more about customer habits and their responses to certain hashtags. It also helps you refine your content strategy to engage a wider audience.
First, identify your direct and indirect competitors. Check out their TikToks and track basic KPIs like:
- Top posts
- Reach
- Views
- Comments
- Likes
- Shares
Set performance benchmarks accordingly. Then shortlist their top-performing TikToks and note down their hashtags.
However, manually running competitor analysis can be error-prone.
For a hassle-free process, opt for Keyhole’s profile analytics and follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Log into your keyhole account and click on the ‘Profile Analytics’ tab to get started.
- Click on the orange ‘Add New Profile’ button (refer to the above screenshot) at the top right corner. Select the ‘Create new comparison’ option from the dropdown menu.
- This will redirect you to a new page with different social media options. Click on the TikTok option.
- On the new page, add your TikTok channel and then add the competitor pages you want to track.
- Once the “Create Comparison” button turns orange, click on it. Keyhole will automatically backfill the data and generate the report in seconds.
Now you can easily find TikTok hashtags on the competitor’s top posts and use them for your content.
Staying Relevant with Current Events and Challenges
For a business, participating in TikTok events and challenges lets you:
- Use the most popular hashtags
- Portray a fun personality on the platform
- Stay relevant among competitors
- Attract more exposure among the younger crowd
However, not every trending TikTok channel is relevant to your hashtag strategy. So, you must find the ones that fit your content style and brand.
Follow competitors and assess the challenges they are participating in. Choose the ones that are coherent with your content strategy. Notice their hashtags and assess relevance.
Keep an eye on the Discover page to stay updated on current events and challenges. You can also use social listening tools to monitor online conversations. This way, you can identify challenges your target audience engages with.
No amount of relevant hashtags or trends can get you engagement if your videos aren’t high-quality and unique. So, once you find the best challenges to participate in, plan your content carefully before jumping into the trend. Ensure it fits into the challenge’s theme but has a unique and on-brand twist. Craft suitable captions and add the challenge-relevant hashtags.
Leverage the holidays and seasonal challenges to use hashtags for TikTok. For example, not every trending hashtag will revolve around Christmas during the holiday. But your focus should be on Christmas-related hashtags for higher visibility.
While trending TikTok hashtags are essential, there is no better way to create a buzz than unique and branded hashtags. If the users come across your campaign-specific hashtags often enough, they will remember your business. Branded hashtags also develop a sense of belongingness and community among your fans, improving your TikTok presence.
Moreover, you can start your own TikTok challenges with your hashtags and encourage customers and followers to participate. This will get you more UGC, intrigue the target audience, and get them to explore more of your content.
Here are some tips to help you create the perfect branded hashtags for TikTok:
- Consider what message and theme you want your hashtag to convey. Make sure it’s memorable, catchy, and easy to understand.
- You can create a singular hashtag that represents your brand and then curate some campaign-specific ones for better visibility.
- Shorter hashtags perform better on TikTok. So make sure it’s as simple as possible without compromising its message.
- Before asking followers for UGC with your hashtag, create a few content pieces around it first to set the tone.
- Share your branded hashtag on your other social media platforms, and website. Incorporate it in your marketing copies to increase its visibility.
- Monitor the hashtag and share user-generated content across other social media channels.
- Engage with audience comments and UGC regularly.
Tracking and Measuring TikTok Hashtag Performance
To maintain engagement on your hashtags, you must examine their performance. This will help you improve your TikTok hashtag usage and stay relevant on this constantly evolving platform.
TikTok has a built-in analytics feature you can use to track and measure your hashtag performance. Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to your profile
- Open the Settings by tapping the three dots
- Select the Privacy tab
- Under Account, choose the Creator Tools tab
- Then select Analytics
For more in-depth insights, you can opt for a third-party social media analytics platform like Keyhole. Here, you can view every bit of your hashtag’s performance on a centralized dashboard. The platform also shows historical data to help you compare and measure improvements.
Using the right TikTok hashtags can take your brand from a fledgling business to a fan-favorite brand. For that, you need to stay updated on the current and upcoming trending hashtags on TikTok and create high-quality content to accommodate them.
While riding the viral waves, ensure your creativity and USPs shine through your hashtag usage. Scale your marketing efforts via TikTok ads to promote branded hashtags as well.
Finally, use a scalable tool like Keyhole to eliminate the repetitive analytics tasks and let your team concentrate on creating unique and trendy content.
To get the best hashtags and make your TikToks go viral, sign up for your free trial today!