TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. As more creators build their audiences on TikTok, there is increased interest in utilizing analytics to gain insights into video performance.
Access to robust analytics is incredibly valuable for TikTok creators. Analytics provide key information like video views, traffic sources, audience demographics, engagement metrics, and more. This data enables creators to optimize their content strategy, maximize viewership and reach, and make data-driven decisions.
However, the analytics available depend on your TikTok account type. Personal accounts have limited analytics capabilities compared to TikTok’s Pro accounts. For creators focused on growing their presence, it’s important to understand what analytics are available with a personal TikTok account versus a Pro account.
What Analytics Can You See with a Personal Account?
With a standard personal TikTok account, you have access to basic analytics about your posts, followers, and profile. This includes data on:
- Followers – See follower growth over time. Analyze follower demographics like gender, country, device, etc.
- Likes – View total likes received per post as well as like trends over time.
- Comments – See total comments per post plus top commented posts.
- Shares – Find out how many times your videos have been shared.
While limited, these core analytics provide helpful insights into how your content is performing and who your audience is. However, personal accounts lack access to more advanced analytics available to TikTok Pro and Business accounts.
Comparison to TikTok Pro Accounts
The analytics available on personal TikTok accounts are limited compared to Pro accounts. While personal accounts provide basic stats like likes, comments, shares, and followers, Pro accounts unlock much more in-depth analytics. This includes additional metrics like:
- Plays – The number of times your video has been viewed.
- Traffic Sources – Where your views are coming from (Hashtags, FYP, Profile, etc).
- Top Videos – See which videos are performing best.
Pro accounts provide a much more comprehensive picture of how your videos are performing and being discovered on TikTok. Having access to plays, traffic sources, and your top videos allows you to gain insights to inform your content strategy. Overall, the analytics available to Pro accounts are far more robust.
(Analysis in this section cited information from https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/pro-accounts-offer-new-insights-to-avid-creators and https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-analytics/)
How to Switch to a Pro Account
Upgrading to a Pro Account on TikTok is straightforward. Here is the application process and requirements to switch from a personal account:
First, open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap on the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner and select “Manage my account.” This will open your account settings.
Next, scroll down and tap on “Switch to Pro Account.” TikTok will walk you through the steps to upgrade.
To be eligible for a Pro Account, your personal TikTok account must:
- Be at least 30 days old
- Have at least 10,000 followers
- Have at least 10,000 video views in the last 30 days
TikTok reviews all Pro Account applications to ensure users meet these baseline requirements. The review process can take 1-3 business days.
Once approved, you will gain access to TikTok Analytics where you can view detailed performance data for your videos, new account management tools, and more. The core features will remain the same as a personal account.
Upgrading is completely free and there are no costs associated with having a Pro Account.
Pro Account Verification Process
To get verified on TikTok and access expanded analytics, you’ll need to convert your personal account to a Pro account and go through TikTok’s verification process. This involves a few steps:
First, in the TikTok app go to your profile and tap the menu icon in the top right corner. Select “Switch to Pro Account” and follow the prompts to convert your account.
Once you have a Pro account, you can apply for verification. In the app, go to your profile, tap the menu icon, and select “Submit Verification Request.” You’ll need to provide details about your account and why you should be verified.
TikTok states the verification process can take 1-2 weeks. They evaluate factors like if you have an authentic, complete profile and are notable or influential in some way. Having a public account with original, high-quality content improves your chances.
According to TikTok’s criteria, to get verified an account must be:
– Public
– Have a profile photo, bio, and username
– Have at least 1 video posted
– And be “notable” in some way
Once approved, you’ll receive a notification and a blue verification badge will appear on your profile. Then you’ll have access to expanded analytics data.
Analytics Available with a Verified Pro Account
One of the main benefits of upgrading to a verified TikTok Pro account is gaining access to more detailed analytics. With a pro account, you can view key metrics like:
- Views – See total video views as well as views by country, device, traffic source, and more. This helps identify your top performing videos and where your audience is coming from.
- Audience – Get insights into follower growth, audience demographics like age, gender, and interests. This allows you to better understand your audience.
- Content – Find top videos, effects used, hashtags, captions, and sounds. Useful for optimizing future content.
Having access to robust analytics is crucial for creators who want to grow their account and refine their content strategy. As per TikTok’s Creator Portal, detailed analytics can help you identify opportunities and challenges so you can set goals and make data-driven decisions.
Best Practices for Using TikTok Analytics
TikTok analytics provide a wealth of data, but making sense of it and optimizing your content accordingly takes some savvy. Here are some best practices for interpreting your TikTok data and improving your content:
Focus on metrics like impressions, reach, and engagement rate to assess overall performance. High impressions but low engagement can signal content that’s not resonating. Aim for a healthy engagement rate (likes, comments, shares divided by impressions).
Pay attention to traffic sources – this shows where your views are coming from. A high percentage of traffic from the For You page is ideal. Low FYP traffic means your content may not be hitting the mark for the algorithm.
Analyze when your followers are most active and aim to post content at peak times. You can find this in the followers tab under audience activity.
Check audience demographics to see the gender, age, and location of who your content is reaching. Tweak your content to better appeal to your target demographic.
See which videos are your top performers. Replicate the video style, captions, sounds, and hashtags that do well.
Look at completion rates – if they’re low, that’s a sign your videos may be too long or not interesting enough to hold viewer attention.
Use your analytics to constantly refine your content and provide your audience with engaging videos tailored just for them!
TikTok Analytics vs Other Platforms
TikTok provides some unique analytics compared to other leading social media platforms like YouTube. One key metric on TikTok is average watch time, which shows the average time viewers watch your videos. This allows creators to optimize video length and pacing to keep audience attention. YouTube also provides average view duration, but watch time tends to be much shorter on TikTok with an upper limit of 3 minutes for videos.
YouTube offers more in-depth analytics like traffic sources, impressions, and demographics. However, TikTok provides strong geographic data on where your audience is located. TikTok also gives creators data on which sounds and hashtags are driving views.
Overall, TikTok analytics focus on engagement metrics while YouTube leans more into traffic sources and audience details. But both platforms offer creators important data to improve content and reach optimal viewers.
Third-Party Analytics Tools
While TikTok’s built-in analytics provide a good amount of data, there are third-party apps that can give you even more analytics and insights. These apps connect to your TikTok account and provide additional metrics beyond what you can see natively in the TikTok app.
Some of the key features offered by third-party analytics tools include:
– More detailed audience demographics like age, gender, location, interests, etc.
– Content performance benchmarks and competitive analysis
– In-depth stats on views, likes, comments, shares
– Tracking growth and engagement over time
– Automated reporting
– Tracking performance of specific hashtags, sounds, etc.
– Audience retention metrics
Some popular third-party analytics apps to consider are Social Insider, Popsters, Influential, Social Champ, and Countik. While some offer free plans, most third-party tools require a paid subscription to access the full suite of analytics features.
The additional metrics and competitive insights provided by third-party analytics tools allow TikTok creators and marketers to fine tune their strategy. However, TikTok’s built-in analytics offer a great starting point for understanding your audience and optimizing content.
Conclusion
To sum up, TikTok offers limited analytics on public metrics with personal accounts, while more in-depth analytics are available for Pro accounts. The main differences are:
- Personal accounts can see basic profile views, likes, comments, and shares.
- Pro accounts provide deeper analytics on watch time, demographics, traffic, video performance, and more.
Switching to a Pro account and going through the verification process enables access to the full analytics suite. This provides valuable insights to optimize your content and growth on TikTok.
Using TikTok analytics allows creators to better understand their audience, find viral trends and sounds, A/B test video variants, and benchmark performance. While TikTok analytics are more limited than other platforms, the core metrics available can help shape your channel’s strategy and success.
