On TikTok, viral hits aren’t created by luck, but by a set of replicable strategies.

Many brands either spend heavily on ads with little effect, or collaborate with influencers but see poor conversion, or blindly follow trending topics without boosting sales. Today, let’s break down a proven “three-stage explosion method” and use real cases to show you how to turn a product into a viral hit step by step.

Image source: Google

Stage One: Cold Start Driven by UGC Viral Spread

When launching a new product on TikTok, the key is to inspire users to spread the word spontaneously. Instead of spending big on ads, it’s better to design a content mechanism that encourages users to participate. Successful UGC viral spread needs to meet three conditions: low participation threshold, content that’s easy to imitate, and rewards for sharing.

Case Study: McDonald’s Thailand Ice Cream Challenge

McDonald’s Thailand’s ice cream challenge perfectly illustrates this strategy. Instead of traditional product ads, they launched the #MCDChallenge hashtag, inviting users to create videos of creative ways to eat ice cream.

To encourage participation, McDonald’s specially designed a “multi-scoop ice cream set” and unique containers, so users could easily imitate creative eating methods just by purchasing the set. Meanwhile, McDonald’s used Spark Ads to precisely promote high-quality UGC content, gaining 9 million views in just 72 hours and creating a viral effect on both Instagram and TikTok. Final data showed this campaign boosted ice cream sales by 130%, increased store traffic by 83%, and, most impressively, the 6-second ad completion rate was 10 times higher than traditional ads.

Image source: TikTok

Stage Two: Professional Influencers Overcome Trust Barriers

When a product enters its growth phase, especially for high-ticket items, UGC alone isn’t enough to build trust. This is when you need to bring in professional influencers from vertical fields to eliminate user doubts through in-depth reviews and real experiences. Influencer selection should focus on professional relevance rather than follower count; small and medium-sized influencers often deliver better cooperation and conversion.

Case Study: Smart Cat Litter Box Brand Meowant

The smart cat litter box brand Meowant understands this well. Addressing users’ main concerns like “anti-pinch safety” and “suitability for multi-cat households,” they developed a systematic influencer collaboration strategy: sending samples to 300+ pet niche influencers monthly and offering a high 20% commission incentive.

These influencers demonstrated product features live, personally tested the anti-pinch mechanism, and answered audience questions in real time. Combined with a “follow the account to get samples” strategy, the average live room stay time reached 90 seconds. This combo proved highly effective: Black Friday sales exceeded $1 million in a single day, and the repurchase rate stabilized at a high 35% afterwards.

Image source: TikTok

Stage Three: Cross-Platform Closed-Loop Traffic Conversion

Many brands get exposure on TikTok but fail to convert, often due to poor traffic handling. To achieve efficient conversion, you must build a complete marketing closed loop, ensuring seamless user journeys across platforms. The key is content consistency, data integration, and continuous optimization.

Case Study: Consumer Electronics Brand Oraimo

Consumer electronics brand Oraimo created a successful conversion path through “TikTok+Shopee” dual-platform synergy. They produced localized short video content on TikTok to attract users, then precisely directed traffic to Shopee live rooms, where hosts demonstrated product features and offered limited-time deals.

Data shows this cross-platform strategy helped Oraimo achieve over $100,000 in single live stream sales in Indonesia, with some popular headphones seeing monthly sales growth of 200%, successfully completing the full loop from content exposure to sales conversion.

Image source: TikTok

Summary: The Ultimate Secret to Creating Viral Hits

The essence of TikTok virality isn’t ad spend, but designing a mechanism that encourages users to spread content actively. Just remember this formula: Real user testimonials × vertical influencer trust × precise traffic conversion = viral hit.

Stop wasting money on ineffective ads. Master these three moves, and the next viral hit could be yours!