Hear the phrase “going viral” and you likely think of social media’s worst moments: Couch Guy, West Elm Caleb, Dancing Man. But there's another genre of content that has become popular on TikTok lately, and it's all heart: posts made to promote struggling small businesses, many of which are made by the business owners’ children, are getting swept up by the algorithm, and views and profits are soaring as a result. 

‍A particularly prominent example is a video from December 2022 about a Mexican restaurant in Glenview, Illinois. The daughter of the owner of Taco Bout Joys posted a video of her mother sitting in their empty restaurant, watching the door and waiting for customers to walk in. That video quickly went viral and has since been viewed over 57 million times. Taco Bout Joys was immediately flooded with customers, to the point where the restaurant had to hire additional staff to meet demand. The restaurant’s TikTok account now has over 300,000 followers. In a video recorded one month later, owner Joy’s daughter thanked everyone for their support. She said that the attention has earned them more regular customers, and they’re currently searching for a second cook. Joy is currently experimenting with potential new additions to the menu.

‍Those who originally post these heartwarming videos aren't the only ones reaping rewards. Tik Toker Keith Lee, a Las Vegas-based food critic, recognized that these videos resonate with people, and has made them his bread and butter. Lee reposted the original Taco Bout Joys video in December to his account with over 10 million followers, and his repost alone has over 9 million views. Lee did a similar thing later that month when he posted about a Hawaiian-based candy company called Ono Kine Treats. He responded to a video the store’s owner made in which she was candid about the difficulties that come with running a small business, and asked anyone interested to place an order. Lee bought and reviewed several candies from the store, and his review video garnered over 8 million views. In the span of just one day, Ono Kine Treats received over 1300 orders that, as of February 2023, they are still working through. 

‍Content like this isn’t new or exclusive to TikTok, but the nature of the platform means that it’s far easier to find viral success there than on any other platform, provided the algorithm (or, perhaps a TikTok employee) has decided to promote your video. After a worldwide pandemic and the associated economic downturn, I suspect that part of the reason videos like this strike a chord is that they allow people to demonstrate their support for struggling small businesses that were hit hard during Covid. While views on social media don’t always result in monetary gain, as Lee points out in his review of Ono Kine Treats, people can’t support businesses they don’t know exist, and this is where social media promotion becomes useful.  

‍The phenomenon doesn’t just include small businesses, but passion projects too. Another recent example of this phenomenon is a thriller written by one TikTok user’s dad. She posted a video in early February about his book, celebrating him and mentioning the fact that it took him 14 years to complete it. She said that he was proud of his achievement even if “sales aren’t great”—the book was published in 2012 and sold few copies before going viral on TikTok. That video has now been viewed more than 43 million times, and the book, Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards, shot to number 1 on Amazon’s Thrillers & Suspense Best Sellers list.

‍In some cases, TikTok users jump on a product they don’t really have use for—proving that a compelling narrative trumps actual utility. In January, a video of a user’s dad handing out flyers for his sea navigation app at a boat show went viral, and has since been viewed over 27 million times. This led to a flood (pun intended) of people to download and review the app, with commenters writing, “No boat but according to Apple reviews I use it religiously every day and it’s the best thing I’ve ever had on my phone,” and “I will buy a boat just to use this app,” in order to show their support. The Argo Navigation TikTok account now has 279,000 followers, and on the Google Play store, the app boasts a five-star rating thanks to over 580 ratings; on Apple’s App Store, it’s received over 5,000. While this kind of performative support isn’t sustainable in the long term—and as Taco Bout Joys’ case made clear, it typically dies down after the initial furor—it can help get businesses or products in front of a wider audience, which in turn can lead to people who actually have a use for it discovering it.

‍This seems like a wholesome trend in which people support independent and family-owned businesses following several years of a pandemic and inevitable economic stresses. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see brands capitalize on this genre of video and start releasing their own in an attempt to tug on consumer’s heartstrings, if they haven’t already.