How to Get Views on TikTok: The Psychology Behind Viral Content and Algorithmic Success
I've spent the last three years obsessing over TikTok's algorithm, and I'm convinced that most creators are thinking about views completely backwards. They're chasing trends when they should be studying human psychology. They're copying viral dances when they should be understanding why certain content makes people stop scrolling.
The truth about TikTok views isn't what you'll find in most online tutorials. It's messier, more nuanced, and honestly, a bit uncomfortable once you really understand what drives engagement on this platform.
The Algorithm Isn't Your Enemy (But It's Not Your Friend Either)
Let me start with something that might ruffle some feathers: the TikTok algorithm is essentially a mirror of human desire. It's not some mystical black box – it's a sophisticated system that tracks every micro-interaction to figure out what keeps people glued to their screens.
When I first started creating content, I thought the algorithm was this arbitrary gatekeeper. Now I see it differently. The algorithm is more like a really observant bartender who notices which drinks people actually finish versus the ones they leave half-empty on the bar.
Your first 100 views are crucial. Not because of some arbitrary metric, but because TikTok is essentially running a focus group on your content. It's showing your video to a small sample of users and watching their behavior like a hawk. Do they watch the whole thing? Do they replay it? Do they share it with friends? These micro-behaviors determine whether your content graduates to a larger audience.
I learned this the hard way when I posted what I thought was my best video – a carefully edited, high-production piece that took me hours to create. It flopped spectacularly. Meanwhile, a random 15-second clip I filmed in my kitchen while making coffee hit 2 million views. The difference? The coffee video had what I now call "thumb-stopping power" – something in the first 1.5 seconds that made people curious enough to keep watching.
The Three-Second Rule That Changed Everything
Here's where most creators mess up: they think they have 15 seconds to hook viewers. Wrong. You have three seconds, maybe less. TikTok users scroll at the speed of anxiety, and if your opening doesn't create an immediate question in their mind, you're done.
I started studying my most successful videos frame by frame, and I noticed a pattern. The ones that took off always did one of three things in the opening moments:
They showed something visually unexpected (like starting a video upside down or with an extreme close-up that made viewers wonder what they were looking at).
They made a bold statement that challenged common assumptions ("Everything you know about houseplants is wrong").
They started in the middle of action, creating a sense that viewers had stumbled into something already in progress.
The coffee video that went viral? I accidentally dropped the mug in the first second and caught it mid-air. Pure luck, but it created that "wait, what just happened?" moment that made people stop scrolling.
Why Your "Best" Content Might Be Your Worst Performer
This is going to sound counterintuitive, but perfection is often the enemy of views on TikTok. The platform thrives on authenticity, but not the manufactured kind that involves ring lights and scripted spontaneity. I'm talking about genuine human moments – the slight stumbles, the unexpected cat appearances, the unplanned laughter.
I've noticed that my videos perform better when I leave in small mistakes. Not big, distracting errors, but little human moments that remind viewers there's a real person behind the camera. A slight mispronunciation that I correct mid-sentence. A moment where I lose my train of thought and recover. These imperfections create parasocial connections that polished content can't match.
There's actually a psychological principle at play here called the pratfall effect. We tend to like people more when they show minor flaws because it makes them more relatable. On TikTok, this translates directly to engagement.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Timing
Everyone will tell you to post when your audience is most active. That's not wrong, but it's incomplete advice that misses the bigger picture. The best time to post isn't just about when people are online – it's about when they're in the right psychological state to engage with your specific type of content.
I discovered this accidentally when I started posting educational content at 11 PM instead of the "optimal" 6 PM slot. My views tripled. Why? Because my target audience – curious twenty-somethings – were in bed, looking for interesting content to fall asleep to. They weren't rushed or distracted. They had time to watch, rewatch, and share.
Think about the emotional state of your ideal viewer. Are they procrastinating at work? Winding down after dinner? Killing time on public transport? Each scenario creates different engagement patterns.
The Share Factor Nobody Talks About
Here's something I wish I'd known earlier: shares matter more than likes. Way more. The algorithm treats a share like a super-like, a signal that your content is so valuable someone wants to put their social reputation on the line by sending it to friends.
But creating shareable content isn't about making something universally appealing. It's about making content that helps people express something about themselves. When someone shares your video, they're not just saying "this is interesting." They're saying "this represents something about who I am or what I believe."
I started asking myself before posting: what does sharing this video say about the sharer? Does it make them look smart? Funny? Compassionate? In-the-know? The videos that answered this question clearly always performed better.
The Dark Psychology of the Loop
TikTok loves loops – videos that end in a way that makes you want to watch again. But most creators approach loops wrong. They think it's about creating a perfect visual loop where the end connects to the beginning. That's the surface level.
The real power of loops is psychological. The best loops create what psychologists call the Zeigarnik effect – our tendency to remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones. Your brain literally can't let go of unfinished business.
I once posted a video where I was explaining something complex, and right at the crucial moment of revelation, the video looped back to the beginning. The comments were full of people saying they watched it five times before they realized what I'd done. That video hit 5 million views, not because of the content itself, but because I'd hacked into a fundamental quirk of human psychology.
Why Trends Are a Trap (Sometimes)
Everyone says to jump on trends, but here's what they don't tell you: trends are a double-edged sword. Yes, they can give you a temporary boost in views, but they can also train the algorithm to see you as a trend-follower rather than a creator.
I learned this lesson after spending a month chasing every trending sound and dance. My views were decent, but my follower growth stalled. Why? Because I wasn't giving people a reason to follow me specifically. I was just another face in a sea of identical content.
The sweet spot is what I call "trend-adjacent" content. Take the format or concept of a trend but twist it to fit your unique perspective. When everyone was doing the "tell me you're X without telling me you're X" trend, I flipped it: "Tell me you're NOT a morning person while trying to convince me you are." It used the familiar format but added a layer of irony that made it distinctly mine.
The Comment Section Is Your Secret Weapon
Most creators treat comments as an afterthought. Big mistake. The comment section is where views multiply. Every comment, reply, and interaction signals to the algorithm that your content is creating community.
But here's the trick: you need to engineer commentable moments. I'm not talking about explicitly asking for comments (though that can work). I'm talking about creating natural conversation starters within your content.
My most commented video ever was one where I deliberately mispronounced a common word about halfway through. Not egregiously – just enough to make people wonder if they heard correctly. The comments exploded with debates about whether I'd said it wrong on purpose. That engagement pushed the video to 10 million views.
The Myth of Consistency
Every social media guru preaches consistency, but they're usually talking about posting schedules. That's the least important type of consistency on TikTok. What really matters is conceptual consistency – giving viewers a reason to come back that goes beyond "this person posts every day at 3 PM."
I've found that creating content in "seasons" works better than random daily posts. Spend two weeks exploring one specific angle or theme. It gives viewers something to anticipate and creates natural binge-watching sessions when new people discover your profile.
Think of your TikTok presence like a Netflix series rather than a daily news broadcast. Each video should stand alone but also contribute to a larger narrative or theme that rewards continued viewing.
The Algorithm Rewards Courage
Here's something that took me too long to realize: the algorithm can smell fear. When you play it safe, when you hedge your bets, when you try to appeal to everyone, your content feels diluted. The videos that explode are often the ones where creators take a stance, share an unpopular opinion, or show genuine vulnerability.
I'm not saying to be controversial for the sake of it. But I am saying that your weird, specific, potentially polarizing content is more likely to find its tribe than your sanitized, please-everyone posts.
One of my biggest videos ever was me admitting that I don't actually like coffee – I just drink it for the ritual and the caffeine. Coffee lovers hated it. Coffee haters loved it. But everyone engaged with it because it took a position.
The Technical Stuff That Actually Matters
Let's talk about the unsexy technical elements that genuinely impact views. First, video quality matters less than audio quality. I've seen potato-quality videos go viral, but I've never seen a video with terrible audio do well. Your phone's built-in mic is usually fine, but watch out for wind, echo, and background noise.
Captions aren't just for accessibility (though that's important too). They're for people scrolling without sound, which is a huge percentage of users. But don't just transcribe – use captions creatively. Time them for comedic effect. Use them to add additional context or jokes.
The aspect ratio debate is overblown. Yes, vertical video performs better, but I've seen horizontal videos succeed when the content is strong enough. What matters more is that your key visual information is centered and visible even on small screens.
Understanding Your Analytics Without Losing Your Mind
TikTok provides a ton of data, but most creators focus on the wrong metrics. Views are vanity. What you should care about is average watch time and completion rate. A video with 100K views but 20% completion rate is less valuable than one with 10K views and 80% completion.
The "For You" page percentage tells you if the algorithm is pushing your content. If it's below 70%, you're relying too heavily on your existing followers, which limits growth potential.
But here's my controversial take: don't check analytics for the first 48 hours after posting. Your emotional reaction to early performance can lead to bad decisions, like deleting videos that might have taken off given more time.
The Long Game Nobody Wants to Play
Everyone wants to go viral overnight, but the creators who build sustainable audiences play a different game. They're not chasing views – they're building a library of content that works together.
Think of each video as a doorway into your content universe. Someone might discover you through a viral moment, but they'll stay because they find twenty other videos that speak to them. This is why having a clear content identity matters more than any individual viral hit.
I know creators with millions of followers who struggle to get views because they never developed a clear identity. And I know creators with 50K followers who get consistent millions of views because their audience knows exactly what to expect.
Final Thoughts on the View Game
After years of creating content and analyzing what works, I've come to believe that views are a byproduct, not a goal. The goal is to create content that matters to someone, somewhere. The views follow when you nail that connection.
The TikTok algorithm isn't trying to suppress your content or play favorites. It's trying to match content with the people who will love it. Your job isn't to trick the algorithm – it's to make that matching process as easy as possible by being clear about who you are and what you offer.
Stop creating for everyone. Start creating for someone. Be weird. Be specific. Be yourself, but turned up to eleven. The views will come, but more importantly, the right viewers will come – the ones who get what you're doing and want more of it.
Remember, every massive creator started with zero views. The difference between those who made it and those who didn't isn't talent or luck or knowing some secret algorithm hack. It's persistence mixed with adaptation, courage mixed with humility, and most importantly, a genuine desire to contribute something meaningful to the infinite scroll.
Now stop reading about how to get views and go make something worth viewing.
Authoritative Sources:
Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business, 2021.
Eyal, Nir. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Portfolio, 2014.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Portfolio, 2019.
"TikTok Creator Portal." TikTok.com, ByteDance, 2023, www.tiktok.com/creators/creator-portal/en-us/.
Zuboff, Shoshana. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. PublicAffairs, 2019.