TikTok is a major platform, rivalling most of the old guard of social media. Offering a large target audience of younger consumers, it can be a handy way to advertise certain products with a focused demographic. To make the most of your marketing, you need to keep an eye on your TikTok analytics and know where to look. Let’s go over the basics of how to check analytics on TikTok and what to look out for.
How to See Analytics on TikTok
To see TikTok analytics, you have to open the application and go to your TikTok profile located in the bottom right corner. You can tap the icon in the upper right corner, where you will see the Creator Tools option, and can now select “Analytics.”
For desktop users, you have to go to tiktok.com/analytics and log into your account. You can check where your profile image is, hover over it, and select “Business Suite”.
Among the metrics available to monitor, you have your follower count, likes, comments, and shares. TikTok analytics offer deeper insights, allowing you to assess weekly and monthly growth, video performance by playtime, follower engagement with your videos, and more.
Key TikTok Insights and Metrics to Track
Using the Overview tab, you can track the number and growth rate of:
- Likes
- Comments
- Shares of your videos
- Videos you’ve shared
- Followers you’ve gained
There are additional metrics further within, including video views and profile views. The date ranges are handy for tracking growth over certain periods and contrasting timeframes.
Under the Content tab, you can track:
- Average watch time
- Total playtime
- Video views by section
- Video views by demographics
Under the Follower tab, you can check out:
- Total followers
- Net followers (new followers minus those that unfollowed over a selected period)
- Gender stats
- Age demographics
- Top countries and cities
- Most active times
Finally, under the Live section, which deals with analytics about livestreams, you can also find:
- Total views
- Total time
- New followers (TikTok users that started following you during a Live session)
- Top viewer count
- Unique viewers
- Diamonds (virtual gifts received from other users)
- Viewer ranking (which viewers view you the most or share the most gifts with you)
Does TikTok Have Robust Analytics?
TikTok’s metrics are fairly handy for most TikTok advertisers, allowing insight into unique views, rankings, and geographical and demographic data. For more comprehensive data or a better view, we recommend using additional tools like Sprout Social or Social Insider. These can be better for visualising data as well.
The platform uses fast data for TikTok analytics and user recommendations. Put simply, FastData pertains to the immediate processing and suggestion of extensive datasets, including videos and user interactions. TikTok leverages FastData to create a smooth and customized experience for its users by recommending videos that align with their interests, derived from their previous activities on the platform in real time.
You can download your TikTok data directly from the TikTok app or website. You can check your Profile at the bottom, tap the Menu button at the top and then tap Settings and Privacy. From the account option, you can download your data in various different formats.
TikTok stat tracker applications like Sprout Social will require you to get a paid account and link your TikTok profile. TikTok tracking can be crucial since the app moves so quickly and, like most businesses, you may want to complement TikTok with some 3rd party tracking systems.
TikTok Audience Insights
As of April 2024, TikTok’s user base is composed of 54.3% males and 45.7% females. The data does not include non-binary or other gender identities. Approximately 5% of young adults in the US identify as trans or nonbinary, suggesting that TikTok’s gender data might be incomplete. Brands approaching the younger LGBTQ+ community may find TikTok a suitable platform for engagement since it is comprised of younger and often more open-minded demographics concerning gender identities.
TikTok is most popular in Indonesia, with 127.5 million active users, followed by the United States with 121.52 million, Brazil with 101.8 million, Mexico with 77.93 million, and Vietnam with 69.67 million. In China, the app is known as Douyin and has over 755.5 million daily active users. TikTok is rapidly growing in other markets, with significant download growth in China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
In 2023, TikTok surpassed 1 billion downloads globally, accumulating over 4.366 billion downloads since its launch. Despite being the most downloaded app for years, it was overtaken by Instagram in 2023. TikTok is the fifth-most-popular social network worldwide, with 1.6 billion active users, behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram. More and more content creators are joining everyday, unlike legacy platforms.
How to Set Up An Ad on TikTok
If these audience insights are useful to you, you might want to set up an ad. Here’s how:
- Enter the TikTok Ads Manager with your account.
- You can check an existing ad or create a new one.
- Select the Create option.
- You should now be on the ad creation page. Here you should turn the Smart Creative ads toggle on/off.
- Name your ad for reference.
- Activate or deactivate Identity toggle.
- Select between formats: Single video, Carousel, or Collection Ads.
- Add your video, image, or other media now.
- The ad should be active now. If your TikTok ad is active but not spending, check your payment method. You might be set on manual and will need to put in more money.
Are TikTok Ads Worth It?
So, is TikTok promotion worth it for your business? This can depend on the product. TikTok offers a focused audience, comprising younger users (Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha, in this case). While this is not exclusively the sum of the audience, it is its primary power-user base. Products that target these demos will have the highest yield but more targeted strategies for older demographics may also produce modest returns.
In terms of how to promote on TikTok, if you do happen to target a younger audience it is important to remember that many Gen-Z viewers have an aversion to overt appeals in advertising. This can require a more subtle approach that speaks to values while minimising marketing-speak and hard-sells. The platform also incentivises short-form videos and similar types of content.”
TikTok ads can be easy to ignore, so it’s best to make a catchy offer early in the video. Static graphics don’t work on TikTok and high-effort videos are the way to go. This doesn’t mean overly polished ads as many brands have succeeded with mobile-based portrait ads. They do, however, need to be visually stimulating since they will be competing with other content to stand out.
Adding links to TikTok videos can be a worthwhile strategy but may not get the highest clickthrough rate since most users prefer to stay on the platform that they are using rather than navigate to outside pages. You can give incentives to click on the link (as you always should). Deals and giveaways can be a great strategy.
Many younger users also tend to gravitate towards experiences and novelty rather than physical goods. This can be a great area for event marketing and food brands. Other brands like Hyundai and Coke have also done well with the platform. TikTok creators can also provide ample room for influencer marketing.
Hopefully, this has been food for thought for your budding career as a TikTok ad creative. If you need help with social media or content for tiktok ad campaigns, check out our services to learn more about what we can do for you.