The 4R of TikTok Trends

“What are the hottest trends on TikTok right now?” You may recognise this phrase, either because you’ve said it once to someone working at TikTok or you’ve heard it from someone else trying to create the next buzz on the platform. Everytime I meet a new Creative Agency, this request comes up and my answer is always the same: the best way to know more about new trends on TikTok (or even understand them)… is to be on TikTok!

Every day a new trend emerges on the platform, from the #ShoeTransition, #OutfitTransition, #OhNo, #ItsTricky, #WithoutTellingMe , #SeaShanty… or the notorious from of Nathan Apodaca aka @420doggface208 featuring the iconic song “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. Tiktok’s viral trends are evolving so fast that your experience on the platform will always bring something new and surprisingly original!

Among all of these trends mentioned above, you may have not seen it, but there is a pattern that they follow to stay viral and original. 4 different stages that will characterise a trend on the platform.

This is the anatomy of Trends on TikTok.

Recognisable

Have you ever had this moment when you are looking at a video and you think “this is a TikTok!’’ either because you recognise the song, a gesture, the execution or even the rhythm? This is the first R that characterises a trend. A trend has to be recognisable. And thanks to our Creators sharing them on all their Social Media accounts, the approach to creating TikToks became unique and recognisable. For brands, this is also an opportunity to build an identity on the platform. If someone can recognise your style, your brand, without even having to show your logo or your catchphrase, that’s a WIN!

“But, how will a trend be recognisable from the beginning? It has to start somewhere” you may ask, and you are right. The Recognisable piece depends on the next ones: Replicable and Relatable.

Replicable

It’s good to watch what others do on the platform. But, sometimes, the trend is so strong and inspiring that you just have to join in. A good trend should be replicable over and over by users. That’s why you will have the feeling of déjà vu when you scroll through your For You page, you’ll see people repeating over and over the same thing, but in their own unique way.

The power of TikTok is also about making content go viral quickly. If you told Jess Marciante, a Creator on TikTok, back in December 2020 that her iconic question “What’s a video that lives in your head rent free?” would go viral and be replicated over and over, I think she wouldn’t believe you. She reached 9M views in less than three months with that simple question. People stitched her video and used it to answer, thus her voice and her face continue to appear on our For You Page. Other Creators started to do the same thing. Just 3 days after Jess’ question, another creator, @missbeifong, asked a different question that also went viral “What’s your favorite celebrity interview moment?” (1M Views). Fun fact, the “Rent free girl and the celebrity interview girl” started to follow each other on TikTok!

It’s hard to say if Jess was the first to launch that trend, but the result was that all of a sudden we had many other users asking different questions in their own language around the World. Some were quite deep, others were also very relatable.

Relatable

Now, I want you to imagine yourself playing with your brand new smartphone and all of a sudden it falls on the floor and breaks into pieces! This is what happened to @Wonguy during a photoshoot. Or better, you are about to propose to your loved one on the bridge you two met, and then, the ring falls on the floor and disappears a few meters under that same bridge… That happened too.

When you read this, you think “Oh no!” Right? I am sure you can relate with that feeling. And that’s another characteristic of a trend on TikTok.

That’s one of the reasons why the Trend #OhNO has more than 21 Billions views on TikTok. The other reason being the soundtrack of this trend. The song is “Oh no” by Kreppa (2020), sampled from the original song “Remember” by The Shangi-Las in 1964.

If what you see is relatable, brings you an emotion, you’ll be more likely to share it, like it, comment on it and even recreate it in your own style.

Room for variation

This is the final R of TikTok’s trend and it’s the key factor of the virality of a trend. If you recognise it, if you can replicate it and if you can relate with it, how about bringing your own personality to the trend?

The room for variation is what allows users to change the trend and make it evolve through time.

Let’s take the shoe transition as an example.

The 1st generation started with a simple change: you tap your feet with the shoe and hop it’s on your feet. Here is an example done by the creator @karenxgen.

The 2nd variation consists of throwing the shoe in the air and kicking it. Thus you are going to change the shoe and the outfit at the same time. Here is how @officialtiktoknurse did it twice in the same video or Look how Jason Derulo nailed it with his sock!

The 3rd variation was almost the same as the precedent, instead of throwing it and kicking it, the user will either pretend to drop the shoe and take his or old shoe off. @karl_kugelmann did that transition and also changed his outfit too.

You think it stopped there right? Some others brought this transition to another level with a split like @pernillastryker.

TikTok is mostly a place for entertainment and the shoe transition is not only a fashion trend. It showcase how creative and funny users can be.

This is an example among many to show how powerful the room for variation is when it comes to make a trend go viral for a long time on TikTok.

Now, you know the 4R of TikTok Trends!

Recognisable, Replicable, Relatable and Room for Variation are the 4Rs for a good TikTok Trend. Remember these when you scroll on the platform and see a new trend popping up. The more you’ll spend time on TikTok, the more you’ll see these trends evolve and change thanks to people’s overflowing creativity.

It’s hard to predict what the next trend would be. This is up to the users and their imagination. But one thing is sure, each trend on TikTok is bigger than the previous one and it’s only the beginning of the new story of our Pop Culture!