The Most Viral TikTok Videos of All Time
You don’t even need to download and open the app to hear what’s going viral on social media. Over the past few years, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm, becoming the go-to platform for entertainment, good vibes, and a cure for boredom. A few videos on this list have held their spot at the top, like Bella Poarch’s quirky lip synchs and the multiple chart topper, Zach King wowing us with incredible illusions. With countless unforgettable videos on the app, there is a lot to learn from the most viral videos on TikTok.
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What Does ‘Going Viral’ on TikTok Mean?
When a video goes viral on TikTok, it means that it has exploded in popularity, gaining a significant number of views, likes, comments, and shares in a short period.
The criteria for defining viral content may vary, but typically, reaching hundreds of thousands to millions of views signifies viral success on the platform. This also means that the video is probably getting widely shared across various platforms, extending its reach beyond TikTok. For example, viral TikTok videos often find their way onto platforms like Instagram Reels or Twitter (X).
Zach King created videos with the most views and Khabane Lame has gained the largest following, but views and followers aren’t the only factors that determine a viral success. While TikTok’s algorithm is still somewhat fuzzy for many users, it’s very obvious that this platform is all about user engagement. The number of likes, comments, and shares a video gets definitely helps when climbing up the most viral videos on TikTok list. But, more importantly, when people watch a video completely from start to finish, or even rewatch the same video, TikTok finds these to be a heavier influence on the videos chance to go viral.
It may come as a surprise, but many of the most viral videos on TikTok haven’t even come across your FYP, as 625M TikTok videos are viewed every minute on the platform. So let’s get started and see how many of these videos you’ve seen, liked, shared, and commented on.
Who has the Most Viewed TikTok of All Time?
Zach King has truly earned his title as the “King of TikTok” as the Digital Magician. Not only does he have four of the platform’s most viral videos, but he also holds not just any record for the most-viewed video ever, but the Guinness World Record! His videos are absolutely mind-blowing, making you watch each one over and over again. “How did he do that!?” and “I just have to show this to my friends” is exactly the kind of reaction needed for any video to go viral on TikTok.
Top Most Viral TikTok Videos
Harry Potter Illusion by Zach King
Posted with the caption “They rejected my application to Hogwarts but I still found a way to be a wizard”, Zach King flawlessly levitates and rides a broomstick better than Harry himself. He is an absolute pro when it comes to editing each video to create these masterpiece illusions. This video gained a whopping 2.2 billion views, 24.6 million likes, 668.6 thousand comments, and 1.1 million shares.
Glass and Cake Illusion by Zach King
Let’s take a nostalgic trip back to the pandemic-era “Is it cake?” craze, when the internet couldn’t get enough of trying to figure out whether everyday objects were secretly made of cake. In this clip, Zach presents what appears to be a half-full glass of a cool, refreshing beverage… only for the big reveal: it’s not a drink, and it’s not a glass—it’s all cake! Was there a sneaky cut? Clever editing? We need answers! With 13.2 million likes, 74K comments, close to a half a million shares, and almost 1 billion views, this video is blewup—but honestly, it deserves even more love. This particular video has garnered an impressive 13.2 million likes, 73,900 comments, and 491,900 shares.
“M to the B” lip-syncing by Bella Porch
Bella Porch jumped on to a wildly popular trend a while back, and it paid off in a big way. Her video racked up a staggering 752.1 million views, 66.3 million likes, 2.4 million comments, and 42.4 million shares. One reason for its viral success might be the inclusion of the iconic “Gen Z shake,” which was all the rage at the time.
James Charles’ Sister Christmas Transition
Anyone who knows anything about makeup has heard of the beauty influencer James Charles. While his makeup makeovers, dance clips, and singing collaborations are fan favorites on the platform, his top-viewed video is surprisingly a sneak peek into his 2019 Sisters Christmas Party. This divas video racked up an insane 1.7 Billion views, 9.5 million likes, 111K comments and 137.9K shares! The viral trend that pops up during the holiday season is uploaded by millions of people and James Charles topped the charts.
Paint Loop by Zach King
Zach King’s “Paint Loop” video has secured the 4th most viral TikTok spot with an impressive 660.2 million views, 11.3 million likes, and over 70k comments. In this illusion, he creates the perception of a long hallway, when in reality it’s just a cleverly painted wall. King’s ability to manipulate perspective and create optical illusions is truly remarkable, one of the reasons he remains the most viewed TikToker of all time.
Say it Right Dance by Jamie32Bishs
Grooving to Nelly Furtado’s timeless track, the aspiring dancer records himself busting some moves in the bathroom, and fans can’t get enough of it. In this clip, Jamie is captured standing in front of a mirror with his phone, grooving to Nelly Furtado’s hit song “Say It Right.” The video is short and straightforward, but thanks to Jamie’s loyal TikTok followers, it has skyrocketed in popularity! This short and sweet dance by Jamie32bsh has been liked more than 52 million times, and has generated 723.9 thousand comments and 1.7 million shares.
Leah Halton’s Inverted Lipsync
The last on our list of the most viral TikToks of all time, give a huge shout out to this video reaching 1 billion views!! Leah Halton, an influencer straight from Australia, has made a name for herself with her fitness and lifestyle content. Her videos often rack up tens of millions of views, but one in particular skyrocketed her popularity—a lipsync clip featuring the inverted filter. This viral TikTok video has raked in 62.4 million likes, 2.2 million comments and over 2 million shares. Its resurgence in popularity came after Halton snagged the prestigious “Video of the Year” award at the 2024 TikTok Awards.
How to Go Viral on TikTok
Thanks to TikTok’s wide audience reach and short content half-life, anyone has the chance to go viral on the platform regardless of number of followers. While there is no fixed recipe to virality, there are some ways to increase your chances.
If you want to go viral on TikTok, follow these tips to increase your chances of success:
Participate in TikTok trends
Being part of TikTok trends means diving into popular challenges, dances, and viral content circulating on the platform. These trends play a crucial role in driving the platform’s popularity, allowing users to connect, share creativity, and build a community of like-minded creators.
Participating in TikTok challenges is a fantastic way for users to immerse themselves in the platform, express their creativity, and interact with others. Challenges often gain viral status when they strike a chord with a broad audience, sparking widespread participation and inspiring various interpretations of the original idea. Brands can leverage TikTok challenges by joining existing trends, customizing challenges to fit their brand, creating unique challenges, and sharing user-generated content from other participating users.
Some tips for participating in TikTok trends:
- Putting Your Spin on Trends: When you spot trending challenges, add your unique touch that reflects your style or interests. Personalizing the challenge with your twist can make it stand out and feel more authentic to your audience.
- Teaming Up in Challenges: Joining forces with fellow creators to take on challenges or react to them can broaden your audience and interaction. Partnering with influencers or creators in your field can help you reach a wider audience and boost your visibility.
- Creating Your Own Challenges: Develop challenges tailored to your niche, inclusive themes, or topics related to causes, events, or education. Crafting unique challenges can engage your followers and encourage more interaction on the platform.
- Boosting Challenge Engagement: Make sure your challenges are clear, enjoyable, and offer incentives like rewards or shoutouts to motivate participation. Using catchy hashtags, providing guidance through tutorials, interacting with participants, and promoting challenges on other social platforms can also increase engagement levels.
Utilize relevant hashtags and keywords
Using relevant hashtags and keywords in your TikTok videos is key to boosting your chances of going viral.
Here’s why keywords matter on TikTok:
- Discoverability: Think of hashtags as the key to unlocking your content’s visibility. By using relevant and popular hashtags, you make your videos more visible to a broader audience interested in that specific topic or trend.
- Targeted Reach: Hashtags help you connect with users actively seeking or following a particular hashtag. These users are more likely to engage with your content as they have already shown interest in that subject. Mixing trending, niche, and branded hashtags can help you reach the right audience for your content.
- Increased Visibility: Videos with relevant hashtags tend to perform better in TikTok’s “For You” feed, the main feed users see upon opening the app. The algorithm favors content with hashtags matching users’ interests and interactions, leading to more views, likes, and shares.
- Joining Trends: By incorporating trending hashtags into your videos, you can tap into popular conversations and challenges on TikTok. Trending hashtags indicate high user engagement, making it easier for your videos to gain traction and potentially go viral.
- Branded Hashtags: Consistently using a branded hashtag can enhance brand awareness and make your content more recognizable. Branded hashtags also streamline content discovery for users and contribute to your overall marketing strategy.
To make the most of hashtags, mix popular, niche, and branded ones that align with your content and audience. Experiment with different hashtag strategies, monitor performance, and adjust based on what resonates best with your audience. Incorporating relevant hashtags is a straightforward yet effective method to boost your chances of going viral on TikTok.
Collaborate with other content creators
Teaming up with fellow creators is a powerful way to boost your chances of going viral on TikTok.
By collaborating with other content creators you can:
- Reach New Audiences: By joining forces with creators who already have established followings, you can tap into fresh audiences that may not have discovered your content before. This cross-promotion benefits both creators as you expand your reach.
- Increase Engagement: Collaborations usually generate more interaction as followers of the collaborating creators engage with the content, leading to more likes, shares, and comments. This heightened engagement signals to TikTok’s algorithm that your content is resonating.
- Leverage Influencers: Partnering with popular TikTok creators and influencers can help promote your content to their large, engaged audiences. Influencers can encourage their followers to participate in your challenge or video, giving it a strong push towards going viral.
- Join Trends Together: Collaborating with creators who are already riding the wave of popular challenges and trends allows you to join the momentum. Jumping on viral challenges side-by-side can help your content gain traction.
- Diversify Content: Teaming up with creators who have different styles and perspectives can lead to more unique, engaging content that appeals to a wider audience. The collaboration can result in fresh ideas and formats that make your content stand out.
- Build Lasting Relationships: Successful collaborations often lead to ongoing partnerships and friendships between creators. These relationships can open doors to future collaborations and opportunities to support each other’s growth.
Post consistently
Posting frequently and consistently greatly increases your chances of going viral on TikTok.
The more content you share, the more data the TikTok algorithm has to analyze and determine what resonates with your audience. The algorithm loves accounts that post regularly, as it indicates an active, engaged creator worthy of being pushed to a larger audience.
Posting consistently allows you to quickly jump on viral trends before they fade, increasing your chances of being discovered by a wider audience. It keeps your followers engaged and interested, preventing them from losing interest and ensuring a steady flow of new videos in their feeds.
Frequent posting provides more opportunities for your content to be seen and shared. The more videos you have out there, the higher your chances of one of them catching fire and going viral. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance between quantity and quality. Overwhelming your audience with too much low-quality content can negatively impact your engagement. The key is to post frequently, but ensure each video is engaging, on-brand, and adds value for your followers.
Aiming for 1-4 posts per day can significantly boost your chances of going viral on TikTok. But the optimal frequency may vary based on your specific audience, content type, and performance. Experiment with different posting schedules, monitor your analytics, and adjust as needed to find the sweet spot for your account.
Analyze account metrics with Metricool
Analyzing account metrics is crucial to understanding how your content is performing on TikTok and identifying opportunities to increase your chances of going viral.
Metricool offers a comprehensive analytics tool that can help you track and monitor your TikTok account metrics and make data-driven decisions to improve your content’s performance.
With Metricool you can find:
- Community Growth: The analytics tool allows you to monitor your follower growth over time, showing you the exact number of new followers gained within a specific period. This data can help you identify effective content or strategies for attracting new followers and adjust your approach accordingly.
- Audience Demographics: Metricool gives you insights into your audience demographics, such as gender distribution and the locations of your followers. This can help you customize your content to better connect with your target audience.
- Content Performance: Analyze your video performance, checking out views, interactions, and shares. Pinpoint your top-performing videos and sort them by various metrics like views, likes, comments, shares, reach, duration, and engagement to help you figure out what content resonates most with your audience.
- Engagement Patterns: The analytics tool allows you to monitor your follower growth over time, showing you the exact number of new followers gained within a specific period. This data can help you identify effective content or strategies for attracting new followers and adjust your approach accordingly.
- Impression Sources: Metricool’s analytics reveal where your video views originate, such as the For You feed, Follow feed, hashtags, video sound, personal profile, and search. Understanding how users discover your content can help you tweak your strategy to boost visibility.
