For many of us, while Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are likely all downloaded on our phones, TikTok is front and center on the homepage. The video-sharing platform has taken the world by storm, and users simply can’t get enough of this content on social media.
The app’s lightning-quick rise to fame has us asking the question: What’s so special about it? To find out, we analyzed hundreds of popular TikTok videos by watching the first three seconds of each and recording tons of information about their “hooks.” Using this data, including specifics about content captioning and engagement numbers, we might have the beginnings of an answer to this question.
Key Findings
- Happiness was the most common emotion triggered by viral TikTok videos: 58% were made in a way that inspired happiness over other emotions.
- More than 1 in 3 viral TikTok videos focused on a person speaking within the first three seconds.
- Some genres of TikTok videos were much more likely than others to come from verified accounts, namely life hacks, advice, and wellness along with fitness and sports.
- Popular dance videos received more plays, on average, than videos in any of the other top five genres. However, they were also among the least shared and commented on.
- More than half of viral TikTok videos used music as their primary backing sound in the first three seconds.
It’s a Happy Place
TikTok is a personal and emotional place – let’s see what kind of feelings viral videos evoke in people.
Of the viral TikTok videos we analyzed, a significant chunk focused on a person speaking directly to the camera. Many content creators try to broaden their horizons and develop more personal relationships with their viewers, which might explain why so many clips revolve around a face-to-face interaction
Here are some other interesting findings that relate to this area of investigation:
- Sixty percent of viral videos featured one person visible on screen. Only about 17% had no humans visible, and less than 10% featured more than two.
- One in 4 viral videos featured at least one animal.
- Dogs were more popular than cats: 46% of viral animal videos showed dogs, while only 28% featured cats.
There’s a reason why the app has recently hit one billion monthly users, and it might have something to do with the fact that happiness, humor, and surprise were by far the most common emotions sparked by the videos we analyzed. This sort of delightful content is a key part of the technological strategy that makes TikTok so addictive: we see something delightful, it triggers a dopamine response.
E for Everyone
Popular social media platforms have the ability to quickly skyrocket someone to stardom. Many times, people are caught by surprise when this happens. On TikTok, 83% of viral videos we analyzed came from non-verified accounts. Gaining notoriety, exposure, and fame can clearly happen to anyone, making the app the place to be for both casual users as well as aspiring influencers.
Some genres of videos are more likely than others to stem from verified accounts. 38% of viral videos in the life hacks, advice, and wellness and fitness and sports categories stemmed from verified users. For example, Demi Bagby, a CrossFit athlete and one of the top female TikTok influencers, had well over 14 million followers and 285 million likes on her page at the time of writing. Someone with that large a following is bound to produce a healthy amount of viral content. These high-profile accounts also see boosts to engagement, benefiting from higher median likes, views, comments, and shares.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
People’s feeds are curated based on their video preferences. What kind of viral videos do people watch, like, share, and comment on the most?