As different social media platforms rise in popularity, it’s important marketers be able to adapt to different platforms to get the most out of their audiences. TikTok has taken the world by storm, with one billion active users (or just about 1/8th of the world’s population), TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms around. Want to grow your following on TikTok or just have a better sense of how the business side of TikTok works? Well, search no further. Here is a social media marketer’s guide to TikTok analytics.
Accessing Analytics
First things first, analytics are no good if you can’t actually see them. So, in order to receive analytics or insights on your TikTok account you must first set up a business or influencer account. Users can switch their personal accounts to professional accounts by:
Tap the Hamburger icon/three lines (upper-right)> Settings & Privacy > Manage Account > Switch to a Business Account > Select your businesscategory.
You can navigate your analytics by tapping the Hamburger/three lines (upper-right) > Click Creator Tools > Click Analytics.
Navigating Analytics
There are three categories to get more data from: Overview, Content, and Followers.
Overview
TikTok offers a snapshot of how your content has been performing over a select period of time. All content metrics are available for the last 7 days only, with the percent increase or decrease in the previous period (shown in blue). TikTok allows creators to see overall video views, so you know which video content performed the best. TikTok also offers Profile Views, in this category creators can see the total number of likes, comments, and follows the TikTok account has accrued.
Additional metrics offered under the Overview tab include:
- Likes: The number of likes your videos received in the selected date range.
- Comments: The number of comments your videos received in the selected date range.
- Shares: The number of shares your videos received in the selected date range.
- Followers: The total number of users that follow your account and how that has changed within the selected date range.
- Content: The number of videos you have shared in the selected date range.
Followers
A Followers tab is also available at the top of the screen, or midway down on the overview page. Here you’ll be able to see:
- How many followers your account has.
- Your follower growth percentage since the previous period you selected.
- Demographic information about your followers, such as gender and location.
- The hours your followers are most active.
- The days your followers are most active.
- The sounds your followers have listened to.
These metrics can be used to identify and target certain audiences.
The Followers tab also offers analytics in graph form from 7-day to 28-day intervals, so users can track follower growth over time.
Creators with LIVE access can also view their analytics (for the last 7 or 28 days) on the LIVE tab, home to information like total views, new followers, total time, Diamonds earned in the last 7 days or 28 days, and more, according to Tik Tok.
*Creators are only eligible for LIVE at the 1,000-follower mark, so you’re missing out if you only have 999 followers!
Content
The content tab offers insights into which content has done the best with audiences.
You will see this tab broken up into several subsections showing data from the last seven days, including:
- Video posts: Here, you can see the last nine videos you posted and determine which video had the highest number of views.
- Trending videos: The videos with the fastest growth rate in views over the last week are presented here. (Great to see which content has gone viral)
- Video views by section: Here, you can see if people found your video via your profile, someone else’s profile, or if you appeared in their feed. (Feed=For You Page) Typically, videos ending up on the For you Page or FYP, have the most engagement.
- Video views by region: This helps you understand where your content is resonating geographically.
- Average watch time: Ideally, your video is so entertainingTikTok users will watch your video over and over!
Or, at least, finish the video. This metric shows users which of your content is the most engaging.
- Total playtime: Unlike average watch time per video, your total playtime shows you a cumulative watch time for anyone who has watched your videos.
Total Engagement Rate
Social Champ (and Social Engine Journal) have shared a formula to help creators calculate the total engagement rate.
Essentially, this metric is helpful for creators to see how engaging and interesting their content is overall. It shows how good the quality of the influencer/content creators’ posts are.
Monitoring Hashtags
The best way to find niche content and to see how well your content does
within that niche is by monitoring hashtag metrics. To find this data, use the search bar to find a hashtag.
The metrics offered are; the number of views that the hashtag has, the top videos that use the hashtag, and related hashtags, this can help content creators discover and create content that fits their niche or help them build their desired community.
Understanding these metrics and where to find them can help you;
- Pinpoint the time of day you should post, if your followers are engaging with your videos the most at 5 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, then it stands to reason video posted at 5 a.m. on Wednesday would do the best with your audience.
- Keeping track of likes, comments, and watch times helps content creators narrow down which videos performed the best, and they can continue to replicate what works. (You know what they say – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!)
- Being able to see which sounds and hashtags performed best not only on your content but across the board can help you better create enjoyable content for your audience.
Don’t want to jump on the TikTok trend quite yet? That’s fine, but know TikTok isn’t going anywhere! In 2021, TikTok generated 4 billion in ad revenue and is predicted to generate close to 14 billion in ad revenue by 2026. You can check out the stats here! Oh and if that’s not enticing enough, TikTok is predicted to grow from 1 billion to 1.8 billion by the end of 2022.
More questions? Here are my favorite guides across the internet for answering in-depth TikTok Marketing questions.
TikTok offers an in-depth guide to interpreting and understanding analytics along with tips on how to be successful on their platform.
Hootsuite offers a guide on engagement rate calculations and tips on how to increase your engagement.
Markerly offers a how-to guide for ending up on the For You Page (aka FYP) and increasing visibility.
CEO Hangout offers 10 ways to boost engagement.
