How to Use TikTok Analytics to Boost Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Written by Kelly Moser

18 minute read

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3D TikTok symbol

Are you tired of endlessly scrolling through TikTok, marveling at the success of others, wondering how they racked up millions of views so easily?

How can the very same platform that entertains billions also serve as a vital tool for your brand’s growth?

Is there a secret sauce to understanding what makes a TikTok video go viral?

The answers lie in TikTok analytics.

TikTok ‌is the current heavyweight hitter on the social media scene. But just because you have a profile and publish weekly content doesn’t guarantee overnight success for your influencer marketing campaign.

What happens after you hit publish is the most important:

  • Understand the metrics behind your videos.
  • Identify what resonates with your audience.
  • Optimize your content accordingly.

Keep reading to discover how you can unlock the full potential of TikTok, transforming those “likes” and views into tangible results for your brand.

Hand holding a phone with TikTok analytics on it

What TikTok analytics can you track?

Before we dive into how you can leverage TikTok analytics to improve your influencer marketing campaigns, let’s look at the nifty TikTok analytics native to the platform.

They fall into one of three categories: overview, content, and follower analytics.

Overview analytics

These metrics give you a glance at engagement metrics to show how your video and profile perform.

Screenshot of TikTok analytics screen with Overview highlighted

Image via TikTok

You can track these engagement metrics over the last 7, 28, or 60 days. Or use a custom date range. Here are the key metrics:

  • Video views: the number of times viewers have watched your videos (not unique)
  • Profile views: the number of times a user has viewed your profile
  • Likes: the number of likes your videos received
  • Comments: the number of comments your videos received
  • Unique viewers: the number of individual users that watched your videos
  • Shares: the number of shares your videos received

TikTok also shares the growth rate for each of these key metrics.

Content analytics

Craving a more profound understanding of your content’s performance? Explore the content tab to uncover extended data and analytics for each video you post.It’s important to remember that content analytics are only available for the last seven days, broken into two sections.

  1. Video posts: all the videos you posted (from newest to oldest) in the last seven days
  2. Trending videos: the top nine videos you’ve posted in the last seven days with the fastest growth in views

From there, you can click on each video for video analysis and performance metrics like:

Screenshot of TikTok metrics on a video

Image via TikTok

  • A quick overview of views, likes, comments, shares, and saves
  • Total play time: the combination of how long your viewers spend watching the video
  • Average watch time: the average amount of time viewers watched the video before scrolling or clicking off
  • Watched full video: the percentage of viewers who watched your entire video
  • New followers: the number of followers gained from that particular video
  • Top words used in comments: a brief overview of the top words found in the comments of that video
  • Retention: the percentage of viewers who watch your videos at a particular time.
  • Likes: the percentage of viewers who like your videos at a particular time
  • Traffic sources: where viewers find your videos, including directly from your profile, For You page, or elsewhere

You can also toggle to the “Viewers” tab for insights about the total number of unique viewers that watched your video. There are also demographic details like gender, age, top locations, your views by country/region, and city.

Follower analytics

To learn more about your followers, head to the “Followers” tab.

Screenshot of TikTok analytics section with Followers details highlighted

Screenshot by Kelly MoserUnlike the content metrics, you can select a date range to see these insights over the last 7, 28, or 60 days. Or you can choose a customer range. In this tab, you have access to the following:

  • Total followers: the total number of users that follow you
  • New followers: the number of new users that followed you in the period
  • Net followers: the count of new followers less unfollows in the period
  • Growth rate: the change in your follower count over two periods
  • Gender: the breakdown of your followers by gender (only available to users with over 100 followers)
  • Follower activity: times of the day or week when followers are most active on TikTok (only available to users with over 100 followers)
  • Top territories: the geographic distribution of your followers (only available to users with over 100 followers)

How to access TikTok analytics

Now that you are well versed in what TikTok analytics are available to you, let’s quickly walk through how you can find them.If you are using TikTok on a laptop or desktop (not the mobile app), there are two ways to access your analytics.

  1. Type www.tiktok.com/analytics into your internet browser and log into your account.
  2. Log into your account, click on your profile picture (top right corner), and select “View Analytics.”
Screenshot of TikTok with View Analytics highlighted in the account dropdown

Image via TikTok

The process is similar within the TikTok app. Here’s a simple step-by-step tutorial:

  1. Click on the profile tab in the bottom right corner of the app.
Screenshot of TikTok profile

Image via TikTok

  1. Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner.
Screenshot of TikTok account with Creator Tools highlighted

Image via TikTok

  1. Select “Creator tools.”
  2. Under General, choose “Analytics.”
Screenshot of TikTok Creator Tools menu with Analytics highlighted

Image via TikTok

Keep in mind that checking your TikTok analytics directly in the app is ideal for personal users or micro-influencers. But you’ll need a more all-inclusive solution if you’re running a large-scale influencer marketing campaign with content promoted across platforms.

That’s where social media monitoring tools come into play. You can link all your profiles to create a single source of truth to prevent any metrics from falling through the cracks. With a one-stop-shop dashboard in your tech stack, you can quickly see what campaigns are performing well and where you need to improve. Social media management tools are a blessing in that case.In other words, all the data you need to make strategic decisions is right at your fingertips. No additional login information is required. What’s not to love?

Why are TikTok analytics important to your influencer marketing campaigns?

Your TikTok analytics page might look like a bunch of random numbers and charts. But these insights are so much more than that.They’re your map to a successful influencer marketing campaign. Every. Time. What do we mean by that? Keep reading to find out.

Unlock better insights about your audience.

Imagine you’re throwing a party. You want to make sure your guest feels welcome and has a good time.

So, what would you do? You ask your guests what food to serve, what music to play, and what the theme should be. And then you choose the date and time of the party when ‌the most people can attend.

Simple right? Your party is bound to hit it off. So, why not use the same strategy for your influencer marketing campaigns?

Think about your TikTok audience as those party guests. Do you know who they are? What do they like? When are they likely to engage with your content? If not, you’re wasting time and money on posting content that gets lost in the social media abyss. Sigh.

On the flip side, when you use your TikTok analytics to understand these details about your audience, it’s like setting the perfect playlist and serving their favorite snacks at your social media party.

Your content will strike a chord with your audience. The result? High engagement. Better conversions. And your followers will look forward to more (similar) content from you.

So what TikTok analytics should you pay close attention to regarding your audience?

  • Gender: Understanding the male-to-female ratio of your audience helps you craft content that appeals to the predominant gender.
  • Geographical location: Pinpointing where your audience is globally allows you to create content that connects culturally and regionally.
  • Peak activity times: Tracking when your audience is most active on TikTok helps you schedule TikToks for maximum visibility.
  • Video views: Checking which videos gain the most views gives you insights into what content is hitting the mark.

In short, find out who your audience is, what they like, dislike, and when they’re most active on the platform. Utilize graphs to visualize these trends effectively. Then use this information to make strategic decisions about future influencer marketing campaigns.Avoid ‌content that delivers lackluster results. And double down on the videos that perform the best. Rinse and repeat. The performance might surprise you.

Identify the right influencers for your brand.

Selecting the right influencer for your TikTok marketing campaign is much more than a simple choice between this micro influencer and that macro influencer. Or the cheapest option to stay below budget.Picking influencers is a bit of a nuanced process. It takes a bit of trial and error to get it right. But the selection process needs to be a strategic choice. And behind every good strategic decision is the data to support it.

So what data should you review before choosing the face (or faces) behind your next campaign?

  • Engagement rate: Assess how your audience interacts with your current influencer content, including watching time and completion rate, to reveal your content’s engagement. If people only watch the first few seconds, it’s time to switch it up. If they’re sticking to the end of the video, you’ve found success.
  • Growth rate: Keep an eye on the rate at which your followers are increasing to understand what content attracts new viewers.

Although it sounds thrilling, collaborating with an influencer with millions of followers may not be the best choice if their audience doesn’t align with your target demographic. Your engagement rates will suffer, and your brand reputation can take a nosedive (we’re looking at you, Bud Light).​​

Beyond numbers and demographics, there must be a synergy between your brand and the influencer’s ethos, style, and message. Is there a shared vision? A common goal? This alignment amplifies the authenticity and effectiveness of the collaboration.

Need some inspiration? Let’s look at an example in action. 

Penn Tool Co. is a standout industrial company (yes, influencers work wonders in more traditional niches, too) that leverages TikTok for influencer campaigns. In this particular example, they partnered with Sanding, a TikTok content creator with over 1 million followers, to showcase the durability of their tools.

​​
@sandingshit2.0 go check out @penntoolco for all your tool needs #caliper #tool #tools #toolreview #measurement #penntoolco #waterproof #automotive #machining #welding ♬ original sound – SandingShit

The video scored tens of thousands of likes and high engagement rates among Sanding’s following. What does this tell Penn Tool Co.? To continue this lucrative partnership with Sanding and find other influencers that match his audience and content format.

Follow Penn Tool Co.’s lead on this one. And start testing influencers to see what works best, then zone in on the winning collaborations.

Access to a treasure trove of information for a data-driven content strategy.

In data science, there’s a common saying: garbage in, garbage out.That means your output is only as good as the input. And what you put into your models will ultimately determine the quality of the outcome.

This principle ‌holds true, particularly with the explosive growth of platforms like TikTok. The more users the platform gains, the more eyes you can reach. But that also means increased competition.

So you need to decipher the golden opportunities from the sea of chaos. And when you leverage TikTok analytics to drive your content creation process, it can mean the difference between a viral success and a forgettable flop.

Your content is never a “shot in the dark” when you:

  • Know when your audience is most active
  • The type of content they prefer
  • The specific trends they follow

It’s targeted content creation backed by real-time data that hits the mark every time. Your target audience will thank you. And so will your bottom line.

Use data to predict future trends and stay ahead of the curve.

TikTok and trends go together like peanut butter and jelly. They are the fast-track ticket to virality on the platform.

But instead of jumping on the trend bandwagon as its popularity fades, what if you could be the spark that ignites a new trend?

​​That’s where analytics come into play, offering a sneak peek into what’s next. Analyze what types of content are gaining traction, which hashtags are trending, and what music, sounds, or formats are popular.

A particularly intriguing example of this predictive power can be seen in videos that apply the text-to-speech feature. This trend has taken TikTok by storm, with millions of creators incorporating it into their content.

According to Sharethrough, 75% of people, and 86% of millennials, keep their phones on silent throughout the day. This behavior indicates that if they come across a video, whether a post from an influencer or a brand, they’re more likely to require captions to stop them from scrolling past. Captions equal higher engagement rates.

Here’s a simple example from Duolingo:

@duolingo playing my roblox games #duolingo #comedy #trend #dualipa #dulapeep #gaming #roblox #spanishorvanish #metaverse ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

In this video, Duolingo leverages the TikTok in-app text-to-speech software. But if you want to level up your next influencer marketing campaign, tap into the power of some of the best text-to-speech software and really stand out from the other brands.

Using third-party software can also give you that virality boost you dream of. Think about all of those AI trends that were going around. Get your creative juices flowing. Learn from the data you have available to you, and use that to create the best content possible.

You’re bound to see success with this winning formula.

Easily track campaign performance and return on investment (ROI).

It might sound obvious. But without TikTok social media analytics, it’s impossible to know if your influencer campaigns are working or if you’re throwing money down the drain.

That confusion can lead to frustration, wasted effort, and a nagging feeling that you’re always one step behind. You know there’s potential in your content, but how do you unlock it?

  • Set and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs): Define what success looks like for you. Measure it, track it, own it.
  • Evaluate the impact on follower growth, engagement, and conversions: Know your audience, and know what they love. Then give them more of it.
  • Calculate ROI by comparing campaign costs to achieved results: Make sure every dollar and every hour you spend is building your brand, not just adding to the noise.

And if you need help along the way, ​​​​leverage a creator management platform with custom reporting to take the burden off your shoulders. As the saying goes, work smarter, not harder.

Key takeaway: Take your influencer marketing campaigns to the next level with TikTok analytics.

The secret sauce to TikTok success isn’t locked away in some marketing guru’s vault. It’s right there in your analytics. And numbers don’t lie.

With the knowledge you learned today, you can transform ‌ordinary TikTok analytics into a roadmap to influencer marketing success.

So why wait? Dive into your TikTok analytics, and turn your TikTok dreams into tangible growth for your brand.

P.S. Are you looking to vet your next influencer partnership? Leverage our free Influencer Analytics Tool to confirm engagement rates and other metrics across social media platforms.

GRIN recommends this free guide:

The Influencer Marketer’s Guide to the Modern Consumer

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Written by Kelly Moser

Kelly Moser is the co-founder and editor at Home & Jet, a digital magazine for the modern era. She's also an expert in freelance writing and content marketing for SaaS, Fintech, and ecommerce startups.

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