That viral TikTok challenge that actually wrecked my channel's reach

Back in March I tried hopping on that "flooring transformation" trend that was blowing up. I spent 3 hours filming a time lapse of me laying LVP in a house in Spokane, and it got 40k views in 2 days. But then the algorithm tanked my next 5 posts because the engagement fell off a cliff after the trend died. Has anyone else seen their account take a hit after chasing a trending format like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

singh.harper4d ago

dude i feel this so hard. i did the same thing with that "satisfying cleaning" trend last fall and my views went from 60k on a video to like 1k on the next one because people were only there for the trend. what ended up working for me was taking a week off from posting the trendy stuff and just made content about what i actually knew - basic home maintenance stuff in my area. it brought back my regular audience and then the algorithm slowly started pushing my stuff again, but it took like 3 weeks to recover.

the_miles4d ago

@singh.harper that's solid advice but taking a full week off can backfire if your channel is smaller. the algo might forget you exist if you disappear that long. i'd say just mix in one authentic video for every trend video and see if that balances your reach better.

ward.anna3d ago

So the algorithm just holds your content hostage for fun, got it.

ericcraig3d ago

Read a study once that said chasing trends can kill your channel momentum for months.