Common TikTok audits are the key to working smarter on the fastest-growing platform on social. Simply ask Alex Lewis, Senior Social Media Strategist at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Lewis leads natural TikTok content material technique for Hollister and Gilly Hicks, two retail manufacturers that function below the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. umbrella. In his position, he’s chargeable for utilizing knowledge to carry their respective model methods to life on the platform. Simply earlier than the brand new yr, he audited the manufacturers’ TikTok presences so groups can ship high-performing content material extra constantly.
“We wish to assist drive efficiencies for all of the groups that assist our TikTok presence,” says Lewis. “With that in thoughts, I knew a social media audit would assist us achieve a greater understanding of our content material’s efficiency and viewers engagement over the previous yr.”
Lewis generously guided us by this work, so you possibly can replicate his method with your individual model. On this article, we’ll share his ideas—together with how you can share your findings along with your staff.
What’s a TikTok audit?
A TikTok audit is the method of reviewing your organization’s TikTok account point-by-point. That features your profile arrange, content material technique, traits in engagement—every little thing that contributes to your efficiency on the platform.
This analysis contributes to a higher understanding of what’s working to your model on TikTok. Your findings may additionally provide concepts for artistic testing to optimize your model’s TikTok presence.
The advantages of a TikTok account audit
Lewis discovered loads from auditing the Hollister and Gilly Hicks TikTok accounts. A few of these learnings have already translated into wins which have streamlined content material manufacturing and boosted efficiency.
Listed below are just some methods conducting a TikTok audit can drive comparable advantages to your model:
Refining your technique
A TikTok audit affords a chance to dig deeper into your technique, offering the context essential to offer your metrics extra that means.
Alex Lewis
Senior Social Media Strategist (TikTok), Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
These insights are extra than simply useful—they function a roadmap to refining your method on the platform. In Lewis’ case, his work highlighted the content material price prioritizing, permitting the social staff to deal with high quality over amount. “We’re not simply placing stuff on the calendar simply to fulfill a publishing quota. We’re making certain that the content material we share has a robust likelihood of performing effectively for us.”
Bettering collaboration
TikTok is a staff effort. Whether or not you could have a full artistic staff backing you or a handful of colleagues prepared to seem on digicam, creating content material for the platform actually takes a village.
Content material creation for the Hollister and Gilly Hicks accounts is a collaborative effort shared by cross-functional companions throughout the social, influencer, public relations and product groups—to not point out the stylists and creators that make the merchandise shine. Findings from the manufacturers’ TikTok audit guarantee optimum use of everybody’s time. It additionally offers a significant alternative to acknowledge their contributions.
“It’s an thrilling method to rejoice the staff members that labored so exhausting to make these achievements doable,” says Lewis. “TikTok is such a joint effort, so it’s essential to flow into reward past simply the social staff.”
Advocating for extra sources
In 2023, Abercrombie restructured their social media staff for a extra platform-specific method. Via his TikTok audit, Lewis discovered {that a} appreciable quantity of followers throughout the Hollister and Gilly Hicks accounts started following after shifting to this new construction.
“It’s been actually fascinating to see how our efficiency has modified since we began dedicating extra sources to the channel,” says Lewis. “It’s enjoyable to look again and see that each one that work did play a big position in our success.”
Findings out of your audit can be utilized to make the case for extra social media staff sources, whether or not that be headcount, price range or software program. Use the audit to showcase how added sources impacted efficiency, and the way bandwidth limitations are holding you again.
Find out how to conduct a TikTok account audit
The important thing to an ideal TikTok audit goes as in-depth as your bandwidth and limitations will permit. “You may not have the ability to go as deep as you’d prefer to go, however you possibly can nonetheless put aside time to cowl your model’s priorities,” says Lewis.
Let your objectives information your audit and body what “success” appears like. Right here’s a course of you need to use to set the inspiration to your method:
1. Optimize your TikTok profile and branding
How ceaselessly do you go to a TikTok profile after coming throughout an intriguing put up in your For You Web page? That first look usually determines whether or not customers resolve to hit the comply with button.
Kick off your TikTok audit with a profile wellness verify. Right here are some things to bear in mind as you assessment your setup:
- Branding: Create consistency by making certain your profile image and TikTok bio aligns along with your model requirements and persona.
- CTAs: TikTok Enterprise account house owners can add a hyperlink to their bio, creating extra alternatives to drive site visitors to a related web page of your web site. You may as well hyperlink Instagram and YouTube profiles to develop your following throughout the net.
- Pinned Posts: Pinning a put up ensures it stays on the high of your profile so it’s entrance and middle for any guests. Guarantee this actual property is used effectively by dedicating it to your high performing posts, or posts that showcase core model components.
- Playlists: TikTok Playlists permit companies to categorize their public movies in order that viewers can watch associated content material in a single scroll. In case you haven’t already, arrange playlists that group comparable posts so customers can simply discover what they’re searching for.
2. Conduct a TikTok follower audit for engagement and authenticity
A TikTok audit isn’t nearly what you publish, it’s additionally about who interacts with it. “We use social media instruments to maintain a detailed eye on what our viewers is saying in feedback and throughout platforms,” says Lewis. “That’s how we get a fuller image of how individuals are interacting with our respective manufacturers.”
Audit your following utilizing native TikTok analytics or a instrument like Sprout Social to:
- Look at your follower development fee: Monitor how your account is rising month-over-month. In case you’re seeing wholesome, regular development then chances are you’ll wish to contemplate making TikTok an even bigger precedence.
- Weed out faux TikTok followers: Bot accounts plague each social media platform, together with TikTok. In case you depart them unchecked, they’ll skew your engagement fee for the more severe.
- Establish influencers partaking along with your content material: Search for the rising and established creators lurking inside your follower checklist. These are heat leads for future creator partnerships.
This effort can yield simply as many findings as your content material audit. It definitely did for Lewis. “One of many largest classes that we took away from our audit is to lean extra closely on our neighborhood of creators, whether or not they’re bigger accounts, clients or retailer staff accounts. They showcase our garments in a very partaking means.”
3. Consider your publishing technique with a TikTok content material audit
The key to gathering juicier insights along with your TikTok content material audit? Begin quantitative, then go qualitative.
“I checked out our high fifty highest performing movies from 2023, primarily based on views and engagements,” explains Lewis. “I additionally pulled our fifty lowest-performing movies. Then, I went post-by-post and listed the content material format, the main target of the video and what sort of sound we used.”
Use a TikTok analytics instrument to avoid wasting your self the time it might take to manually establish your highest and lowest-performing posts. Sprout Social’s TikTok Profiles Report can ship a efficiency snapshot of all of the content material printed inside a given interval, so you possibly can leap proper into evaluation.
After getting that info, you possibly can search for efficiency traits primarily based on the next standards:
- Publish format: Look at which content material codecs resonate most along with your viewers. Do carousels elicit a response? Or trending filters? Additionally, verify to see if sure video lengths carry out higher than others.
- Content material matters: Dig into what your viewers likes to see out of your model. Is it promotional content material? Memes? Content material from influencers and creators? Work out what works and what doesn’t.
- Audio use: Social’s historically been a visible medium, however TikTok introduced audio into the combo. A TikTok audit isn’t full till you look into how trending sounds affect content material efficiency.
- Publishing cadence: Social media consistency is a straightforward follow that may drive main outcomes, particularly on a platform as fast-paced as TikTok. When you’ve reviewed your posts individually, verify to see how your publishing cadence impacts efficiency over time.
You’ll discover takeaways you possibly can apply to your content material technique going ahead, even for those who assessment lower than 100 posts. In accordance with Lewis, it issues extra that you simply assessment a good mixture of excessive and low-performing content material.
“Don’t simply preserve it to the wins,” advises Lewis. “Check out what underperformed, too. What patterns do you see? Are there outliers in that content material? What are you able to be taught from all of it?”
4. Analyze competitor methods and positioning
A fast aggressive evaluation permits you to consider your efficiency compared to different manufacturers and related accounts on TikTok.
Lewis’ teammates stepped in to assist him with the competitor portion of his TikTok audit. “It gave us a greater sense of the general content material panorama on the platform.”
So as to add the identical layer to your audit, select three to 5 opponents and do a short evaluation of their presence on TikTok. What number of followers and likes have they got? How usually and what do they publish? There’s loads you possibly can be taught from a fast profile assessment.
5. Synthesize your findings and share along with your staff
Your model’s efficiency on TikTok can inform extra than simply your social technique, however provided that you share your findings throughout your staff.
After finishing your audit, current your insights in a format that’s simply comprehensible to a broad viewers. Spotlight key findings, share hyperlinks to top-performing posts and establish alternatives for future testing. This could take quite a lot of shapes, relying in your desire. In case you love a great deck, this social media presentation template will assist streamline the creation course of.
With that in thoughts, keep in mind the work isn’t achieved when you hit ship or end presenting. To actually get the data to stay, you have to reiterate your insights when the suitable second strikes. “There are quite a lot of methods you possibly can go about socializing your findings,” says Lewis. “Quite a lot of occasions, it’s simply sharing anecdotes throughout conferences with cross-functional companions and management.”
Conduct a TikTok audit that ranges up your technique
The social media panorama strikes quick. It’s simple to get caught up in day-to-day content material creation and publishing calendars. Nevertheless, actually efficient methods are made when entrepreneurs take a second to pause and consider their content material.
Setting apart a while to audit your TikTok technique will set you up for higher success sooner or later. Whilst you’re at it, make area to assessment your methods throughout platforms. It could sound like quite a lot of work, however this useful social media audit template breaks it down into manageable steps. Obtain it right now, so you possibly can work smarter tomorrow.
