Have you ever wondered why one day everyone suddenly has the same water bottle, kitchen gadget, or LED strips in their room? The answer is TikTok, a social media platform which has the ability to make products go viral overnight. You may wonder what makes these products spread so quickly. Let’s break down the mechanics of virality for TikTok.
TikTok products are spread by influencers. This can range from household names with millions of followers to people who are just starting out. These people, and even you have the ability to make something viral. One way of spreading trends is through hashtags. You may have heard of the 2025 USC ice bucket challenge to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. We all watched as it spread from the East Coast to where we live so quickly. Similar to the ice bucket challenge, viral products shown on TikTok also spread like wildfire. However, products spread across TikTok much faster, sometimes giving the impression that they spread within hours.
The driving force behind this is the TikTok algorithm, which is renowned for its ability to make content and products go viral. Until recently, with the appearance of other short form content, TikTok was one of the few which found relevant content for users without requiring the user to subscribe or follow any accounts. Each user has the ability to interact with the content, whether that be through liking, commenting, or sharing it. TikTok then collects this user’s information to find relevant content for this particular user. This granular access control, combined with the ability to serve users with content not from their followers, gives TikTok (with its 170 million users) the ability to make content go viral.
One popular example of a product going viral is the Stanley Cup. It was once only known among outdoor enthusiasts but now has become a cultural phenomenon. This explosion began with #StanleyCup. Users began to post tons of content which was spread by TikTok and amassed billions of views. Users highlighted the durability, size, and ability to keep drinks cold for hours, features which were also loved by outdoor enthusiasts. The company capitalized this by releasing limited editions and collaborations with chains such as Starbucks. These releases led to a huge following with many waiting in lines for hours just to have the opportunity to buy the latest product. The company experienced an over 10-fold increase in their revenue from 2019-2023, going from $74 million to $750 million.
https://backlinko.com/tiktok-users
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2025/04/22/als-ice-bucket-challenge-returns/83213711007/
