22 TikTok Video Ideas To Inspire You & Engage Your Audience (+ Examples)
Struggling to come up with new TikTok video ideas? I’ve got you covered.
In this post, I’ll be sharing 22 ideas for TikTok videos that are proven to get more views and engagements.
Plus, I’ll also share examples of viral videos to illustrate what each idea might look like in practice and get your creative cogs whirring.
By the way: I’ve made sure to include a mix of video ideas for both brands/marketers looking to promote their business, as well as ideas for creators/influencers looking to grow their audience.
#1 – Start a product trend
Tons of products go viral on TikTok every week. And when they do, they often generate thousands of sales for the brands behind them.
Try searching for #tiktokmademebuyit or #trendingproducts for a glimpse at just how powerful it can be when you start a new product trend—the most popular TikTok videos with these hashtags get millions of views and inspire hundreds of copycat videos.
The ones that go viral often feature creators showcasing unique products in action to illustrate how useful they are in different situations.
Example
Check out this video from @myscrub.gun, which showcases their Scrub Gun product in action.
It’s a super simple, 15-second demo video showing how someone using it to clean a pan—nothing special. And yet, it’s racked up 12.3 million views. That’s a heck of a lot of exposure for very little effort.
#2 – Share your expert tips
Everyone’s an expert in something. So, why not make a TikTok video sharing some bite-sized tips about the thing you know better than anyone else? That could be dog training, vacation packing, ironing, Photoshop…anything.
These kinds of easy-to-digest, useful educational videos can go super viral on TikTok and get millions of views. They often feature captions to make it easy for the audience to follow along and absorb what you’re trying to teach them.
Example
Here’s a good example of a post we published over at Blogging Wizard:
In this short video, we cover the main 4 ways to make a blog profitable. It’s based on a blog post I wrote a few years ago.
This style of video may look complex to create but you can easily create this sort of thing using online design tools like Visme or Canva.
#3 – Use trending sounds
TikTok revolves around trending sounds—short snippets of dialogue. An easy way to get more views and engagements is to create videos that include these trending sounds.
The most straightforward example of this is lip syncing videos, in which you silently mouth the words from a movie/TV show to give it a different context.
Example
One of the most iconic trending sounds of last year was ‘I’m just a baby’. It originated from a viral video in which a mother asked her young daughter Cosette to stop misbehaving, and she responded ‘I’m just a baby’ as an excuse to carry on.
This led thousands of other creators to take that audio clip and apply it to different contexts to create their own video memes. Here’s an example from creator Laura88Lee, which garnered over 3.3 million views.
#4 – Use trending music
Aside from trending sounds, you can also create your TikTok videos around trending music. Certain songs blow up on TikTok, and featuring them in your videos is a surefire way to increase their reach.
Example
There’s no better example of the power of trending music than Strawberry Chocolate by creator @pr4yforgabs:
In the video, the creator moves her camera to the beat of ‘What You Won’t Do for Love – Bobby Caldwell’ (a trending song on TikTok) as she zooms in and out on chocolate-covered strawberries.
Nothing special, and yet it’s blown up with an eye-watering 417.2 million views (and counting). It’s so popular that it’s on its way to breaking Bella Poarch’s record for the TikTok video with the most views and likes of all time.
#5 – Educate your viewers
TikTok isn’t just for entertainment—it’s a great place to share educational content too. In particular, short educational videos about history and science tend to perform very well.
If you’re a brand, you could also create educational videos about your products, such as tutorials that show viewers how to use or assemble your products correctly.
Example
@mulligan.tv is a popular TikTok creator known for his educational videos that often cover topics like astrophysics and astrophysics. In this video, he explores what happens if you were to fall into a black hole.
Thanks to his ability to break down complex, often mind-boggling topics like black holes, string theory, and time dilation into easy-to-understand, bite-size videos, he’s gained over a million followers. And all of his videos get hundreds of thousands of views.
#6 – Start a dance trend
Like I said earlier, TikTok revolves around music and trending sounds. So naturally, some of the best-performing videos on that platform involve creators dancing to popular songs.
Over the years, there have been dozens of ‘dance trends’, in which a particular creator has choreographed a dance that has gone viral and inspired thousands of other creators to share videos with their attempt at it.
If you can do the same, you can reach millions of viewers through your dance videos and get a ton of exposure for your brand.
Example
One of the biggest dance trends of 2024 was the #thaidancechallenge. It involves three or more people who start off bobbing up and down and then take turns dancing in sync before all of them dance together at the end of the clip.
Over 700k videos took part in the viral dance, including this one from creator @happykelli, which has over 20 million views.
#7 – Share something inspirational
Create a video to inspire your viewers and give them a lift. Share an inspirational quote, a personal story of how you overcame a challenge, or just offer some motivational advice to anyone who might be struggling.
Example
TikToker @GMBadass does one thing and one thing only: Uploads aggressively motivational videos for viewers to watch in the morning to get their day off to the right start.
Their videos remind viewers what they’re capable of and what they can achieve, and they get often millions of views.
And the best part is they’re super easy to make. The creator just overlays captions over inspirational images, with an AI-generated voiceover to read out the inspirational script.
#8 – Weigh in on the news
Look at what’s happening in the world right now and use that as inspiration for your TikTok videos. For example, you could weigh in on the presidential debate, give your take on the latest celeb gossip, share your Oscar pick, or react to the Superbowl commercials.
Example
Hasanabi (@hasandpiker) is a popular political commentator with over 705k followers on TikTok. He often shares TikTok videos with his reaction to the latest news in politics, and this has helped him to grow super quickly.
For example, in this video, he offers a balanced recap and analysis of Biden’s State of the Union address.
#9 – Make a shocking edit
One surefire way to get viewers to stop, take notice, and engage with your videos is to shock or surprise them.
And that should be easy if you’re a talented video editor who knows how to work with SFX and VFX. You can use those skills to cook up a video that plays with the viewer’s expectations and delivers something unexpected.
There’s a whole niche of TikTok videos that do just that, and they often get millions of views.
Example
Creator @jurrienhendrikx is a master of these types of TikTok videos. He regularly uploads ‘visual illusion’ videos that look completely innocuous but are cleverly edited to deliver a shocking twist that you weren’t expecting.
For example, in this video, the viewer is expecting to see the cat pop the balloon—but that’s not what happens at all.
Jurrien’s videos have collectively garnered over 30 million views, and the channel has racked up almost a million followers to date.
#10 – Make an epic edit
Another way you can put your video editing skills to use is to create a truly ‘epic’ TikTok video. This one’s easier to illustrate with an example, so let’s look at one.
Example
TikToker Legendary Jay recently blew up on TikTok with this epic Uno edit:
It’s had over 208.8 million views in just a couple of weeks, and there’s currently a movement to try to make it the most-liked video in TikTok history.
And the reason why it’s so popular is purely on the strength of the edit. Viewers love the way the creator has taken something as simple and uninteresting as a game of uno and turned it into a cinematic masterpiece.
#11 – Create a comedy skit
If you’ve got a good sense of humor, why not write a comedy skit and turn it into a TikTok video? If you can make the audience laugh, it’s almost guaranteed to perform well.
Just remember that TikTok viewers have short attention spans, so it’s got to be fast-paced—you’re not aiming for a 10-minute standup routine.
Example
TikToker Nicholas Flannery is a master of the comedy skit format. He’s known for his funny videos in which he plays different characters and pokes fun at common movie tropes.
#12 – Offer a sneak peek
This is another great TikTok video idea for brands, musicians, and producers. Build hype around an upcoming product launch, album drop, or movie/episode release by offering your viewers a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Example
This video from Kylie Cantrall offers viewers a sneak peek at Descendants 4, and it blew up, racking up 3.2 million views in just one week.
#13 – Show your creative process
If you’re a talented creator, why not create a TikTok video showing viewers your creative process?
For example, if you’re a graphic designer or illustrator, you could let viewers watch over your shoulder as you draw an illustration in Procreate or Illustrator. Or if you’re a game developer, you could create weekly videos showing the progress you’ve made that week. You get the idea.
Example
In this video from @vthedev, the creator breaks down the progress he made over one year of working on his game, Capybara Rush. He shares what he accomplished each week and month, and how it all came together to bring the game to life.
#14 – Make a short vlog
Vlogs (video blogs) give viewers an insight into your day. The most common format is the ‘daily vlog’ or ‘day in my life’ video, in which you share the highlights of what you got