Jumping on trends is a great way to boost your TikTok following. But, how do you identify trends exactly? We’re here to shed some light!

TikTok has taken over the short-form video sharing game in recent years. Popularity for the platform has begun to make Instagram sweat, often copying TikTok features in order to keep up. People have been using TikTok for a variety of reasons. A well-loved source of quick-hit entertainment, the platform can also be utilised as a social media marketing tool for businesses. If you can manage to get your TikTok video seen, or even go viral, you can really grow your customer-base and following.

One way to ensure your videos are seen by the optimum amount of people is to hop on the trend train. We’ve all heard of TikTok trends before, but what kind of things constitute a trend?

• Dances – Probably the original form of TikTok trends, a specific set of choreography that everyone is doing
• Sounds – Not so much about music, but a specific sound, clip or speech
• Challenges – Sometimes a challenge to do something, or an invitation to participate in something
• Features – Focussing more on editing tools or filters, including certain video techniques in your TikTok
• Songs – Tracks like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” have enjoyed chart success thanks to TikTok, due to it being featured on so many TikTok videos

But, even when you know what types of things equate to a trend, how do you identify trends on TikTok? We’ve got the answers.

How to Identify Trends on TikTok

The Discover tab in TikTok is the place to begin scouting out current trends. From here you will be able to identify tending dances and sounds, for example, by the frequency that they appear in videos. However, if you don’t fancy spending time checking for trends yourself, you can rely on others.

There are many altruistic TikTok users out there who will identify trends and notify others using hashtags. One popular hashtag used for this is #trendalert. Users can follow this hashtag and see which features may be trending, as judged by someone else. This is a pretty safe bet, as all you need to do yourself is jump on whatever trend they have identified.

The trends you might see depend on what content you usually spend time looking at. Since TikTok is algorithm-based, similar to the Instagram algorithm, you’ll likely see trends that are only relevant in certain areas. For instance, something that is trending in the world of food may not necessarily also be trending in tech.

If you’re aiming to create a TikTok that makes a big splash, you’ll want to get it displaying on the For You page. Starting out with a niche trend that is only specific to food is a fine place to start. The more foodie fans that see it, the higher the chances of it being pushed onto the For You page and getting a serious boost in reach.

One important thing to note, regarding the For You page, is that content isn’t exactly organised chronologically. Videos will be suggested based on their content more than when they were posted. This means that if you’re trying to identify trends yourself, pay close attention to the date. You might have noticed a song getting used lots in videos, but they may be from weeks ago. If so, the trend probably isn’t actually much of a trend any more – you may have missed that boat!