How can TikTok Hashtags Help You Get More Views?

13 min read

Nike’s #JustDoIt hashtag was mentioned 1544 times on TikTok during the last 30 days. These conversations indicated an estimated reach of over 10 MILION and got over 1 million interactions. A single hashtag can lead to a million interactions, but is your content ready to take on that challenge? More importantly, do you know how to measure and improve its performance for maximum impact?

TikTok hashtags work, but only when used in a wise way. Generally, a mix of trending, niche, and branded hashtags performs the best. Use social media monitoring tools to monitor hashtag sentiment, reach, and emotions and increase your chances of going viral with your TikTok videos.

Table of contents:

  1. Do hashtags work on TikTok?
  2. How to add hashtags to a TikTok video?
  3. How many hashtags should I use on TikTok?
  4. How to use TikTok hashtags to get more views?
  5. How to measure TikTok hashtag reach?
  6. Conclusion

Do hashtags work on TikTok?

Hashtags on TikTok serve as navigational tools. They categorize content and create a roadmap for users. If someone wants to find a specific trend or general content related to a keyword – they’d most probably type in a hashtag and browse the content displayed by the app. 

Have you ever found yourself endlessly entertained by a TikTok trend?

I did.

Take the trend of the dog with a humorously long nose. It’s one of those simple joys for me. No matter how many times I watch it, it never gets old.

I love how whenever the mood strikes, all I need to do is type #letmedothisforyou in TikTok’s search bar, and… I’m instantly greeted with those funny videos.

viral TikTok hashtags.

But why do I tell this story? 

I think this personal experience perfectly shows a critical point for marketers: Hashtags are powerful.

They’re key to being friends with TikTok’s algorithm and boosting your content’s visibility.

Boost your visibility with TikTok hashtags!

For regular TikTok users, hashtags are an efficient way to dive into a sea of videos aligned with their interests.

And for marketers? They create a whole list of benefits:

  • More views, likes, and comments: Using trending hashtags makes your videos easier to find. It’s like adding your video to a specific category where interested people are already looking.
    People searching for a hashtag are already interested in that topic and are likelier to engage with your video.
  • Reaching relevant people: They act as signals, guiding viewers interested in certain topics to your videos. This means people who see your videos are likelier to enjoy and engage with them. And, perhaps, even become your future sales?
  • Chance to go viral: Popular hashtags can help your video get noticed by many people quickly. If people like your video, it could start trending under that hashtag.
  • Building brand image: For businesses, using the right hashtags can make your brand more visible on TikTok and reach more potential customers.
    Plus, using a branded hashtag consistently helps people start associating it with your brand, which can make your brand more recognizable over time.
  • Influencer marketing: You can discover creators gathering large audiences relevant to your niche by following relevant hashtags.

In short, using hashtags on TikTok helps put your videos in front of the right people, increases your visibility, and can even help you build a recognizable brand.

Fun fact: Users can even follow hashtags on TikTok by adding them to their favorites.

How it looks like when you follow a hashtag on TikTok
Following hashtags on TikTok.

TikTok also pushes videos with trending hashtags on people’s “For you” pages. This is a fantastic opportunity for marketers to ride the wave of trends, add some viral TikTok hashtags, and boost their content reach.

viral hashtags on TikTok examples
Viral TikTok hashtags example.

Let’s now talk about the variety of hashtags. As you can imagine, there can be many kinds. Well, TikTok has it all – from the wildly trending to the super-specific.

TikTok hashtags types include:

  • Trending TikTok hashtags (example: #letmedoitforyou)
  • General, viral TikTok hashtags (example: #fyp)
  • Branded hashtags (example: #JustDoIt)
  • Niche hashtags (example: #PlantMoms)
  • Event hashtags (example: #SuperBowl2024)
  • Location hashtags (#NYCtips)
  • Industry-specific hashtags (example: #TechTips)
  • Product or service hashtags (example: #SkincareRoutine)

Crafting a solid hashtag strategy is not easy, but it is essential.

It’s not about adding as many hashtags as possible to every video description. It’s about choosing the right ones (and not the same hashtag over and over again).

Combining trending TikTok hashtags and unique, brand-specific ones can make your content stand out, reach the right audience, build brand awareness, and even make your TikTok go viral.

So, how to do it?

Improve your TikTok hashtags strategy!

How to add hashtags to a TikTok video?

Adding hashtags to your TikTok posts is a really simple process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

Step 1: Create your video

Open TikTok and record your video, or select one from your gallery.

Step 2: Edit and review

After recording or selecting your video, use TikTok’s editing features to make any necessary changes, like adding filters or trimming the video.

Step 3: Enter a caption

Once you’re satisfied with your video, proceed to the posting screen. You’ll find a text field to enter your video captions here.

Step 4: Add TikTok hashtags

In the video caption area, type the ‘#’ symbol followed by the relevant word or phrase to create a hashtag.

After typing a “#” symbol in the video caption, TikTok will autosuggest a list of top TikTok hashtags and highlight each one’s popularity. Try to use the most popular ones – these are usually the best TikTok hashtags.

However, highly relevant, custom hashtags will work better than popular ones that don’t match your video. The same thing happens when you’re creating branded hashtags – they will drive better results for your marketing campaigns in the long run.

List of the best hashtags by TikTok.
List of the best hashtags by TikTok.

Step 4: Post your video

After adding your desired hashtags, complete any other post details like tagging friends or selecting a cover for the video.

Then hit ‘Post’ to share your video with your followers and other TikTok users.

Remember, the effectiveness of hashtags greatly depends on their relevance to the content, the interests of your target audience, and the overall strategy of your social media presence.

You need to know your audience well to use the most relevant hashtags.

Monitor and analyze TikTok hashtags!

How many hashtags should I use on TikTok?

TikTok creators and marketers have been asking themselves this question for a long time. But just like for Instagram hashtags, there’s really no just one answer.

Most experts would say that the TikTok algorithm prefers the number of 3-5 hashtags.

You should avoid using too many hashtags. It might make your video look a bit spammy, and TikTok’s algorithm may struggle to find who your targeted audience is.

But I get it, defining the best hashtags for each post can be challenging.

That’s why specialists came up with a really interesting (and effective) strategy called the “3×3 Hashtag Rule”. The idea is to answer every need for a great hashtag strategy by adding hashtags from three crucial categories.

Here’s how it works:

1. Add 3 industry-specific hashtags:

Start with three hashtags that directly speak to your field. If you’re a new digital marketing tool, you’d consider tags like #DigitalMarketing, #SEOTools, or #MarketingStrategy.

Hashtags from this section act like your business card on TikTok, clearly defining your niche. This is also a place to include your branded hashtags.

2. Add 3 problem-solving hashtags:

Next, focus on three hashtags that address pain points or solutions in your industry. Perhaps you mentioned some in your video?

This is the place to highlight it.

Let’s say your TikTok explains how to get more traffic on a blog – #IncreaseTraffic, #EngagementTips or #BlogOptimization are your go-to.

This part of 3×3 is your chance to align your content with the specific needs or challenges your audience is facing.

3. Add 3 target audience hashtags:

Lastly, who’s your ideal viewer? Identify three hashtags that resonate with your desired demographic. For instance, #SmallBusinessOwners, #MarketingManagers, or #OnlineEntrepreneurs could be your target.

3x3 strategy on TikTok.
3×3 strategy on TikTok.

Pro tip: if you struggle to find TikTok hashtags relevant to your content – simply go for the most popular TikTok hashtags.

Improve your TikTok hashtags!

But how do you find trending hashtags? There’s a ready-to-use list in the TikTok Creative Center under “Trends”.

TikTok Creative Center and hashtag analytics.
TikTok Creative Center and hashtag analytics.

You can monitor how the list of top hashtags changes over time and what hashtags are new:

TikTok Creative Center dashboard.
Dashboard for hashtags in TikTok Creative Center

And it’s also possible to do deeper hashtag research and explore specific hashtag analytics like the number of TikTok videos:

Specific hashtag analytics.
Specific hashtag analytics.

How to use TikTok hashtags to get more views?

I don’t want you to think hashtags are complicated. They’re really getting pretty easy after some research and practice.

But I imagine stepping into the TikTok hashtags world can seem overwhelming at first. So, here’s a list of tips to focus on:

01 Test and play with hashtags you can use.

Mix popular ones like #fyp with niche hashtags such as #DigitalMarketingTips. Try the 3×3 strategy, experiment, and don’t be afraid! There’s no need to use the same hashtags over and over again.

This approach helps to reach a broad audience and increase visibility while creating content relevant to your content’s theme.

02 Use industry-specific ones.

For videos targeting specific industries, the best hashtags would be the ones related to the niche (like #MarketingTips or #MarketingTrends to attract users interested in marketing).

Struggle to find niche hashtags related to your TikTok audience? Some advanced social listening tools provide a list of related hashtags.

Here’s a list of the best Tiktok hashtags for Nike developed by Brand24:

Hashtag search by Brand24.
Hashtag search by Brand24.

03 Create branded hashtags.

Establishing your own branded hashtag (e.g., #JustDoIt) is great for building brand image and makes it easier to track user-generated content (which is great to reuse on your profile!).

04 Utilize popular hashtags for specific locations.

For video content related to specific events or locations, the best hashtags would look like #SuperBowl2024 or #NYCtips. These provide contextual relevance and add extra local reach.

05 Analyze hashtag performance.

Regularly research trending hashtags for new opportunities and monitor how different hashtags perform.

Tools like TikTok Creative Center can provide insights into trending TikTok hashtags and how TikTok users interact with them.

However, for more in-depth insights and to monitor your branded hashtags on TikTok – consider using external tools that will provide you with sentiment analysis, competitive analysis, and many other crucial metrics

Get in-depth hashtag insights!

06 Blend with TikTok Stories

Stories are pushed a lot by the TikTok app as they want more users to try this function. That’s why it’s relatively easy to get noticed using this format.

When using TikTok Stories, include niche-relevant, trending hashtags to expand the reach of your story content to new audiences. It works wonders for the TikTok algorithm!

But remember: the effectiveness is not just in their usage but in their strategic selection and combination.

You aim to create a hashtag mix that resonates with your brand, content, and target audience.

So, keep refining your strategy based on the responses and relevant trends you observe!

Refine your TikTok hashtags strategy!

  

How to measure TikTok hashtag reach?

Measuring a hashtag’s performance without advanced tools can be challenging (if not impossible).

Social media monitoring tools can step into this process as a game-changer. These tools do more than just track hashtag reach and likes.

TikTok reach

With the release of the second part of Dune, a lot of buzz has been on TikTok. Over the past 30 days, the hashtag #dune got 5525 mentions on the platform, which generated over 405 million reach. Crazy!

TikTok reach for the Dune hashtag.
TikTok reach for the Dune hashtag.
Dune TikTok hashtag overview.
Dune TikTok hashtag overview.

Social media reach

Brand24 keeps also track of your hashtag usage on other social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Telegram, and Twitch).

You can filter what sources you need and access it within two clicks:

Brand24 data sources.
Brand24 data sources.

When looking at all sources, #dune got over 45 500 mentions during the last 30 days. And this enormous number indicated an estimated social media reach of 483M. 

Social media reach of a viral hashtag on TikTok.
#Dune social media reach by Brand24.

Fun fact: Brand24 can also find untagged mentions – so if someone makes a mistake and types # justdoit instead of #justdoit – you’ll still know about this mention.

A typo in a hashtag, an untagged mention on TikTok.
An untagged mention on TikTok casued by a typo.

Non-social reach

Sometimes people use hashtags in less obvious places like newsletters, blogs, forums, or news sites. It’s important to be aware of those mentions.

#dune was mentioned 265 times outside social media. This generated a non-social reach of 1.6M.

Non-social reach by Brand24.
Non-social reach by Brand24.

Monitor and analyze TikTok hashtags!

Another feature worth mentioning in terms of TikTok hashtags is Compare Periods. 

It allows you to check the performance of your hashtag over time. This knowledge is a game-changer in defining your top TikTok hashtags or addressing any changes.

Compare periods by Brand24.
Compare periods by Brand24.

Plus, advanced media monitoring tools can do the AI data analysis. Thanks to this, you get to focus on what truly matters – the insights and conclusions like the ones below.

AI Insights for a hashtag by Brand24.
AI Insights for a hashtag by Brand24.
AI hashtag analysis summary for a hashtag by Brand24.
AI hashtag analysis summary for a hashtag by Brand24.

And that’s not all!

These tools can also analyze your hashtags’ reach and find the source that is the most effective and provides the most visibility:

AI-based reach dominance analysis.

And… even detect the emotions around a certain hashtag:

AI-based hashtag emotion analysis.

Get AI insights for TikTok hashtags!

Conclusion

So, is it still worth using hashtags? Absolutely yes. 

Despite the ever-changing digital reality, hashtags continue to play a crucial role in improving visibility and engagement on TikTok.

However, when it comes to measuring and tracking their success, Is using TikTok’s analytics enough?

While TikTok offers some level of analytics and tools to research hashtags. They may not provide the depth of data like sentiment analysis or online presence score

TikTok’s own tools are a great starting point, but for those looking to do their TikTok seriously – consider an external analytics tool.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Hashtags are great for targeting audiences and enhancing content visibility.
  2. People suggest using 3 to 5 hashtags or the 3×3 hashtags strategy.
  3. For a better understanding of hashtag performance, TikTok’s internal analytics may fall short.
  4. Advanced tools like Brand24 extend beyond basic analytics, offering deeper insights into hashtag performance and sentiment.

Ready to dive deeper into your hashtag strategy? Start with a Brand24 trial and transform your TikTok insights into action!

Related articles