Leveraging TikTok Trends to Appear in FYP
Published on 11.09.2026 by Chizoba T
A great way of getting your content seen on TikTok is by leveraging TikTok trends. Reports indicate that using trending hashtags, sounds, and formats on TikTok can multiply the reach of your videos by 5 to 10 times as compared to when you use original content without any trending element. Trending content formats and sounds work because they match your videos to the popular ones, making them a key element of a TikTok growth strategy in 2026.
However, if you are a brand marketing on TikTok, you should not join all trends. You need to find ones that align with your business values and goals. In addition to that, you should follow certain TikTok trend best practices to enable you to appear in FYP, which we will share in this guide.
What are TikTok Trends?
TikTok Trends refer to content formats that are used regularly on the platform, using similar visual effects, challenges, storytelling formats or sounds, commonly remixed and replicated by brands. These are structural in that they offer TikTokers a template they can follow before tailoring them to their needs, making them a powerful tool for organic content distribution on the platform.
These, therefore, differ from the traditional trends on social media that focus on a topic or a hashtag. Therefore, TikTok trends play an important role for brands and businesses seeking visibility on TikTok.
How Do TikTok Trends Work?
TikTok trends often begin with one video that users find interesting. When the algorithm determines that a trending video is gaining a high visibility level, it pushes it to a bigger audience, where other creators also see it. If they find it interesting, they also create content using a similar format but with a unique spin. When there are enough creators participating in a trend, it then turns into a trend.
At times, it may arise as a result of:
- A creator posting a video with a sound used in a unique way that people find amusing. Therefore, other creators also copy a similar format.
- A brand launching a hashtag that enables it to get organic traction that goes beyond a paid promotion.
- A new item or cultural moment that causes many videos to react to it, all with the same structure.
A key factor that makes TikTok trends unique is the speed at which a trend dies. One trend can rise from zero to thousands or even millions of views within 48 hours.
Why a TikTok Trend is so Powerful
A TikTok trend isn't a result of a fluke or luck. Its success is a result of several factors that make it highly shareable, engaging, and influential, such as:
Creativity
TikTok encourages originality and creativity, allowing users to create videos with different tools such as stickers, effects, sounds, filters, and music. The platform also encourages users to duet, remix, or react to other people’s videos while adding their own perspective and twist. This results in a culture of collaboration and innovation that ensures new trends emerge.
TikTok Algorithm
The algorithm aims at showing users content that matches their preferences, interests, and behaviors. This offers feedback that helps amplify the impact and reach of the trending topic. Additionally, when the algorithm notices that a video is getting a high number of views, shares, and likes, it rewards it and grows its reach. This results in a feedback loop that enhances the impact and reach of trending videos.
TikTok Community
TikTok is also a platform that helps to connect users with favorite brands, creators, and celebrities. When users participate in hashtags, campaigns, and memes, it helps create a sense of fun and belonging. Users also get an opportunity to interact with one another through live streams, comments, and messages, strengthening loyalty. This causes a stronger sense of community that also encourages users to follow a particular trend.
How to See TikTok Trends
A top way to leverage TikTok trends is to join them early. Otherwise, if you join when everyone else is already using them, you will not see success. That's why understanding how to notice trends is an important skill.
Some of the places where to see TikTok trends include:
Creative Center
This is the TikTok feature for finding trending hashtags, sounds, and content, as it's updated daily. To find a relevant trend, filter using industry and region. However, the downside of this method will only show you the well-established trends.
For You Page
If you want to catch trends early before they pick up, this is your best bet. However, you need to go deeper into the videos that will not be marked as trends. Instead, you should analyze the sounds and formats with which captions are regularly used in this section, which can be a sign of trending videos. A good idea would be to find videos from a small creator with better engagement and using an unfamiliar voice. This can be an indicator of a rising trend in its early phase.
Sound Page
At times, you will find a captivating sound. By clicking it, you can see how many videos are already using the sound. For instance, if you find that there are 800 videos today using yesterday as compared to 60 videos yesterday, that could be a sign of an emerging trending sound.
Third-Party Tools
If you don't want to put it in the handbook, there are third-party tools such as TrendSpottr to help you detect emerging trends. Alternatively, you can find trend-spotting accounts on Twitter and TikTok, as they often curate emerging trends early enough before they go viral. All you need to do is follow 5 to 10 such accounts to get updated on emerging, trending content before it hits its peak.
Types of TikTok Trends
Here are different categories of TikTok trends:
TikTok Challenges
These are trends requiring users to complete tasks and share when attempting them. Some of the most liked videos in this category are the dance challenges. Other challenges in this category can include cooking challenges, byproduct challenges, or challenges that showcase a skill. These challenges are often used by brands that sponsor them via the TikTok advertising tool to drive more UGC.
Trending Effects
These are trends using certain effects from the TikTok effects library, such as AR filters. Other forms of these trends are split-screen video, face changing, filters, and the green screen effect. As compared to trending sounds, these have a longer lifespan because of their broader possibilities.
Trending Sound
These are perhaps the trends people are most familiar with and often consist of a certain audio clip, such as an original sound, quotes from a movie, or a snippet from a song. When using trending music, creators may have different contexts and visuals but with the same sound. This form of trending videos has a shorter lifespan as it gets deprioritized by the algorithm fast.
Format Trends
These are trends that appear in the structure of storytelling, such as the “morning routine with me” trend, things that don't make sense to me, or a day-in-the-office format. These are among the long-lasting trends as they can easily fit into different niches. They can, therefore, be a good way of creating relatable content.
How Brands Leverage TikTok Trends
Leveraging TikTok trends is a good way of growing your TikTok account. A report by SproutSocial noted that brands that took part in trends enjoyed engagement that was 2 to 5 times higher compared to the non-trend ones.
However, after discovering trends using the methods we highlighted above, brands need to ensure that they align with their industry, audience, and product. Again, they need to use the trend quickly enough, preferably within one day, as speed matters even more than quality when it comes to trending content.
Best Practices When Leveraging TikTok Trends
Brands that want to succeed with TikTok trends must follow these best practices:
- Adapt instead of copying. Instead of copying a trend, you need to take its format and adapt it to your niche. For instance, if you are a brand selling SaaS software, you can choose trending sounds and pair them with a specific, relatable moment to improve the customer experience. Otherwise, simply recreating the content of the original creator will not provide the desired results.
- Offer value. Any trend aims to make people stop scrolling, and therefore you still need to provide value beyond the trend. For instance, if using a branded trend, you can showcase your brand in action, educate your audience, or even share an interesting story with them,
- Avoid non-matching trends. Just because something is trending doesn't mean it will be suitable for your brand. If you force participation, this will be an irrelevant signal that will show inauthenticity, and this will be seen in comments. Rather than poor participation, you are better off skipping a trend.
- Batch the trend response. If you think that a certain trend will be suitable for your brand, you can add 3 to 5 variations, rather than one. You can post these on a different account and share them over several days. This increases the chances that the algorithm will favor your trending video.
In Conclusion
A TikTok trend can be a great way of driving brand awareness for your social media account. When well used, these will help your videos appear in the FYP. Therefore, use the above tips to leverage TikTok trends, as this content structure drives virality.