Analyzing TikTok competitors is critical for staying ahead in the fast-changing world of social commerce. TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes engagement over follower count, giving smaller brands a chance to compete with larger ones. To succeed, focus on understanding your competitors’ content strategies, commerce methods, and audience engagement.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Content Strategies: Study trends, posting frequency, and themes like tutorials or user-generated content. Pay attention to the use of TikTok-specific features like Duets and trending audio.
- Engagement Metrics: Track follower growth rates, average views, engagement rates (likes, comments, shares), and video completion rates to see what’s working.
- Commerce Features: Examine how competitors use TikTok Shop, live shopping events, product tagging, and influencer partnerships.
- U.S. Market Focus: Look for trends tied to American holidays, time zones, and consumer behavior patterns.
- Organized Benchmarking: Group competitors by size or strategy, track their performance regularly, and look for gaps in the market.
By organizing competitor insights into a structured framework, you can refine your TikTok strategy and find opportunities to stand out.
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How To Do TikTok Competitive Analysis and Monitoring with Integromat & Google Sheets
Finding the Right TikTok Competitors
If you want to step up your TikTok game, analyzing competitors is a must. But it all starts with finding the right accounts that can give you useful insights – especially for the U.S. market.
Types of Competitors to Study
To get a full picture, you need to look at different types of competitors. Direct competitors are those selling the same products or services to your audience. For instance, if you’re in the teen skincare business, other brands targeting the same demographic are your direct rivals.
Then there are indirect competitors. These don’t sell the same products but still compete for your audience’s attention. A teen skincare brand might see makeup brands, wellness influencers, or teen lifestyle accounts as indirect competition. They all appeal to the same group and could sway their purchasing decisions.
When picking competitors to analyze, make sure they connect with American consumers. Look for accounts that use relatable cultural references, celebrate U.S. holidays, or jump on trending topics relevant to this audience.
Once you’ve identified your competitors, use TikTok’s tools to dig deeper into their accounts.
Tools and Methods for Finding Competitors
Start with TikTok’s built-in search feature. Use niche keywords like “sustainable fashion” to find accounts in your space. TikTok’s suggested searches can also point you toward related terms you might not have thought of.
Hashtags are another goldmine. Don’t just stick to the most popular ones – explore niche hashtags that align with U.S. consumer interests. These often lead to smaller competitors with highly engaged audiences.
You can also do a content similarity analysis. For example, if your brand creates tutorial-style videos, look for other accounts using a similar approach. This helps you spot creators or brands with overlapping styles and themes.
The “For You” page is another great resource. By checking out what your target audience might see, you can identify competitors whose content is already reaching them.
Finally, pay attention to engagement patterns. Look for accounts with active comment sections, high share rates, and strong community interaction. On TikTok, engagement often matters more than follower count.
How to Organize Competitors for Analysis
Once you’ve found your competitors, organize them in a way that makes analysis simple and clear. Start by grouping them into categories.
You can sort them by audience size:
- Micro: under 100K followers
- Mid-tier: 100K–1M followers
- Major: over 1M followers
Other ways to group them include content style (like educational, entertaining, polished, or user-generated content) and business goals (whether they focus on brand awareness or direct sales). This helps you pinpoint strategy differences.
For U.S.-focused brands, geographic focus is key. Prioritize competitors whose followers are primarily based in the U.S. Accounts with mostly international audiences might not provide the insights you need.
Lastly, use performance tiers to track how competitors are doing. Group them based on their posting frequency, follower growth, and engagement rates. A simple tracking system – listing each competitor’s handle, follower count, engagement rate, posting frequency, and main content themes – can keep you organized. Update it monthly to spot new trends and shifts in your competitive landscape.
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Key Metrics to Track for Benchmarking
Once you’ve identified your competitors, it’s time to focus on metrics that actually reflect performance – not just vanity stats.
Important Metrics for Performance Analysis
Follower growth rate gives a better sense of momentum than total followers. To calculate it, divide the number of new followers gained over 30 days by the starting follower count. For example, a brand with 50,000 followers gaining 2,500 new followers in a month has a 5% growth rate. That’s more impressive than a competitor with 200,000 followers gaining only 4,000 (a 2% growth rate).
Average video views highlight how far content is reaching. Look at the view-to-follower ratio to gauge performance. If a competitor has 100,000 followers but their videos consistently get 500,000 views, that’s a 5:1 ratio – showing their content resonates beyond their immediate audience and performs well with TikTok’s algorithm.
Engagement rates are a cornerstone of TikTok success. Calculate this by adding up likes, comments, shares, and saves, then dividing by total views (not followers). Generally, a good engagement rate on TikTok falls between 3% and 9%, but this can vary depending on the niche and audience size.
Posting frequency also plays a role. Pay attention to how often competitors post and see if there’s a pattern between their posting schedule and engagement levels.
Don’t overlook how competitors are using TikTok’s commerce tools. Track their use of TikTok Shop, product links, and live shopping events. Look for shopping tags, promotions, and how they weave commerce into their content. This provides insight into how they’re balancing content creation with direct sales strategies.
These metrics set the stage for uncovering deeper insights into how audiences are interacting with content, as we’ll explore further.
Focus on Engagement Over Follower Count
When it comes to TikTok, high engagement often beats big follower numbers. Comments, shares, and saves tell a richer story about how connected an audience really is.
Comments per video are a great indicator of how well competitors spark conversations. But don’t just count them – look at the quality. Are people asking questions about products, sharing personal stories, or just dropping emojis? Thoughtful comments suggest a stronger connection with the audience.
Share rates are another metric to watch. Shares signal that content has real value, feeding TikTok’s recommendation system. Take note of which competitor videos get shared the most and figure out what makes them so shareable.
Save rates can reveal content people want to revisit later. This often points to purchase intent or educational value. For instance, beauty brands frequently see high save rates on tutorials that viewers want to recreate.
Video completion rates are a bit trickier to measure since TikTok doesn’t share this data directly. However, you can estimate it by checking for patterns in comments that mention the end of a video or respond to a call-to-action placed there.
Timing matters too. Pay attention to engagement timing – when competitors’ posts get the most interaction. This can help identify the best posting windows for your shared audience.
These engagement insights are particularly valuable when analyzing how competitors connect with U.S. audiences, as we’ll discuss next.
Tracking U.S. Consumer Behavior
To understand how competitors resonate with American audiences, you need to go beyond basic metrics and dig into behavioral patterns.
Trending hashtag usage is a good place to start. See how competitors tap into U.S.-specific moments like holidays, seasonal trends, or pop culture events. For example, campaigns using hashtags like #BackToSchool in August or #SmallBusinessSaturday can drive big engagement spikes.
Comment sentiment and language provide clues about audience connection. Look for American slang, cultural references, or mentions of specific regions in the comments. High engagement with U.S.-focused content signals strong local appeal.
Time zone optimization is crucial for reaching American audiences. Check when competitors post and how that aligns with engagement peaks. Content posted during U.S. prime times – typically 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST – often performs better.
Local partnerships also reveal market focus. Track collaborations with American influencers, participation in U.S. events, or references to American locations and experiences. These moves often show a commitment to connecting with the U.S. market.
Purchase behavior indicators can help gauge conversion potential. Look for comments about buying products, questions on U.S. shipping, or mentions of availability in American stores. These interactions often signal effective commerce strategies.
Finally, keep an eye on seasonal performance patterns. U.S. shopping seasons like Black Friday, back-to-school, and summer vacations create opportunities for higher engagement and conversions. Competitors who tap into these moments often see a big payoff.
By combining these U.S.-specific metrics with broader performance indicators, you’ll get a clearer picture of how competitors are standing out in the market.
Need help analyzing your TikTok performance or fine-tuning your strategy? Our team of experts can help you identify what works and build a winning plan. Contact us today to get started!
Studying Competitor Content and Commerce Methods
After diving into performance metrics, it’s time to take a closer look at the strategies competitors use for their content and commerce efforts. This can uncover valuable insights to refine your own TikTok approach.
Analyzing Content Themes and Formats
Content themes play a huge role in what resonates with audiences. Check out the recurring patterns in your competitors’ most popular videos. Are they leaning into behind-the-scenes clips, user-generated content, educational tutorials, or pure entertainment? By tracking these themes over time, you can spot seasonal trends and shifts in audience preferences.
Video formats are just as critical as the themes themselves. Take note of whether competitors rely on fast-paced edits, single-take videos, or longer storytelling formats. Pay attention to their use of text overlays, captions, and effects – these stylistic choices can tell you a lot about their creative strategy.
Audio strategy is another key area. See which trending sounds competitors are using and how quickly they adapt to new audio trends. Are they creating original sounds or sticking to popular tracks? Many successful brands strike a balance, using trending audio for wider reach and original sounds to build brand identity.
TikTok-specific features like Duets, Stitches, and Effects reveal how well competitors understand the platform. Brands that actively use these tools often see higher engagement. Watch how they collaborate with user-generated content through Duets or jump into trending conversations with Stitches.
Posting patterns go beyond how often they post. Look at how they diversify their content. Do they stick to one type of video every day, or mix things up throughout the week? Some brands even assign specific themes to certain days, like “Tutorial Tuesday” or “Behind-the-Scenes Friday.”
Hashtag strategies are another area to analyze. See how competitors balance trending hashtags with branded ones. Do they create campaign-specific hashtags? And how do they encourage their audience to participate?
These insights into content strategies directly tie into how brands integrate commerce into their TikTok presence.
Reviewing TikTok Commerce Features
Take a close look at how competitors are using TikTok Shop integration. Check out how they organize product collections, showcase items in their shop tabs, and use features like flash sales or limited-time offers. Pay attention to their product photography, descriptions, and pricing to see what stands out.
Product tagging in videos is another area to explore. Notice how naturally competitors weave product tags into their content. Does it feel seamless or forced? Live shopping events are also worth studying. Look at when competitors go live, how they structure their sessions, and which products they feature. Do they offer live-only deals to boost engagement?
Shoppable links in bios and video descriptions are key traffic drivers. Some brands rotate these links based on current campaigns, while others stick to links for their best-sellers. Observe how competitors use these links to connect TikTok viewers to their main sales channels.
Creator partnerships reveal how competitors leverage influencers for sales. Are they working with micro-influencers, macro-influencers, or a mix? Pay attention to how these partnerships are structured – do creators showcase products, share discount codes, or use affiliate links?
Cross-platform integration is another area to track. Look at how competitors tie their TikTok commerce efforts to other platforms like Instagram Shopping or their websites. This can provide a clearer picture of their overall strategy.
Learning from Competitor Successes and Failures
There’s a lot to learn from both what works and what doesn’t.
High-performing content isn’t just about racking up views. Dig deeper to figure out what made it successful. Was it the timing, trending audio, relatable themes, or polished production? Pinpoint the exact elements that drove engagement.
Low-performing content can be just as revealing. Look for patterns in videos that missed the mark. Were they off-brand, poorly timed, or did they fail to align with trending topics? These missteps can offer valuable lessons about audience preferences.
Comment analysis provides direct feedback from viewers. Take time to read through comments on both successful and unsuccessful posts. What do people love? What didn’t land well? Recurring themes in the feedback can guide your own strategy.
Seasonal performance patterns are worth tracking too. See how competitors adjust their content and commerce strategies during key shopping seasons, holidays, or major events. This can help you plan for your own seasonal campaigns.
Crisis management is another area to watch. How do competitors handle negative feedback, controversies, or algorithm changes? Their responses can offer insights into effective ways to navigate challenges.
Finally, keep an eye on innovation attempts. Even when competitors’ experiments don’t immediately succeed, they might provide early clues about new trends or features worth exploring.
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Building a Benchmarking Framework
Turning your observations into a structured benchmarking framework can transform scattered insights into actionable data. This system helps guide your TikTok strategy decisions with clarity and purpose. Once you’ve set it up, the next step is learning how to interpret the metrics to fine-tune your approach.
Steps to Build a TikTok Benchmarking Report
Group your competitors strategically. Start by dividing them into three categories:
- Direct competitors: These are brands offering similar products to the same audience.
- Indirect competitors: Brands targeting your audience but selling different products.
- Aspirational competitors: Successful brands outside your niche that you can learn from.
This grouping gives you a well-rounded view of performance and strategies across different market segments.
Create a detailed master spreadsheet. Use separate tabs for each competitor category and include columns for:
- Basic details like handles and follower counts
- Posting habits, such as frequency and schedules
- Performance metrics like average views, likes, comments, and shares
- Engagement rates (more telling than follower numbers)
- Content patterns, including trending audio, hashtag use, and themes
Add a commerce-focused section. If you’re analyzing brands using TikTok Shop, track their product tagging, live events, and seasonal promotions. This can provide insights into how they integrate shopping features into their strategy.
Balance data with qualitative insights. Numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Pay attention to the tone, style, and themes of high-performing posts. Look at audience reactions in comments to understand what resonates and why.
Set a regular review schedule. Update dynamic data weekly and take a broader look at trends monthly. This ensures you’re always working with current and relevant information.
How to Read Benchmarking Results
Once your data is organized, it’s time to dig into the trends and gaps. Compare your metrics with competitors’ to spot opportunities. For instance, if competitors maintain engagement rates of 5-8% while yours are stuck at 2-3%, it’s worth examining their content strategies to see what’s working.
Look for untapped content opportunities. Are competitors focusing heavily on product demos but ignoring behind-the-scenes content? Gaps like these can be golden opportunities for you to stand out.
Pay attention to seasonal trends. Compare performance during holidays, major events, or trending moments. Understanding how competitors adjust their strategies can help you plan your own seasonal campaigns more effectively.
Evaluate commerce performance. If competitors are thriving with live shopping events or product tagging while you’re not, it’s a clear sign to explore these features.
Focus on growth trends over follower counts. A competitor with 50,000 followers growing at 10% monthly can provide more meaningful insights than one with 500,000 followers growing at just 1%.
Keeping Benchmarking Data Current
TikTok’s fast-paced nature means outdated data can quickly lose its value. Staying on top of your benchmarking framework ensures you can adapt your strategy as needed.
Update core metrics monthly. This helps you catch significant shifts in competitor performance or strategy changes.
Review content strategies quarterly. Trends and audience preferences change rapidly, and what worked a few months ago might not resonate today. Competitors often adjust their approach based on algorithm updates or seasonal factors.
Keep an eye on algorithm updates. When TikTok announces changes or you notice sudden shifts in engagement patterns, document these observations. They might explain performance fluctuations across multiple competitors.
Track new feature adoption. TikTok frequently rolls out new tools, from commerce features to creative options. Note which competitors adopt these early and analyze how it impacts their performance.
Reassess your competitor list regularly. Every six months, review your competitor categories to ensure you’re tracking the most relevant accounts. New players may enter the space, while others might pivot or lose relevance.
Set alerts for sudden changes. If a competitor gains thousands of followers overnight or achieves viral success, investigate immediately. Understanding what sparked their growth can offer valuable lessons.
Document external influences. Major events like product launches, partnerships, or marketing campaigns can impact performance metrics. Adding these context notes to your report helps explain sudden changes and provides insights for your own planning.
Ready to refine your TikTok strategy? If diving into benchmarking feels overwhelming, we’re here to help. Our team can guide you through creating a data-driven framework that delivers results. Let’s make your TikTok strategy unstoppable!
Using Emplicit‘s Services for TikTok Success
When it comes to TikTok, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just good content – it demands a strategy rooted in data and executed flawlessly. Emplicit takes competitor analysis to the next level by combining insights with expert execution, helping you achieve measurable and sustained growth on TikTok. Their TikTok commerce solutions are designed to simplify the process and deliver results.
Emplicit’s TikTok Commerce Solutions
TikTok Shop management is a cornerstone of thriving in social commerce. Emplicit handles everything from setting up your TikTok Shop to fine-tuning it for maximum performance. Instead of treating commerce as an add-on, they seamlessly weave it into your content strategy, ensuring a cohesive experience for your audience.
Listing optimization on TikTok Shop isn’t like traditional marketplaces. Emplicit strikes the right balance between TikTok’s casual, playful tone and the conversion-driven messaging needed to encourage purchases.
PPC management on TikTok involves juggling various ad formats, like In-Feed ads and Branded Hashtag Challenges. Emplicit’s team creates ad campaigns that not only deliver ROI but also complement your organic content strategy, ensuring both paid and organic efforts work hand-in-hand.
Inventory management becomes critical when a TikTok video goes viral. Sudden demand spikes can overwhelm unprepared brands. Emplicit helps establish smart inventory systems so you’re ready to handle the highs without overstocking during quieter periods.
Account health management is another essential piece of the puzzle. Staying compliant with TikTok’s community guidelines and commerce policies is crucial, as even a single violation can hurt your account’s reach. Emplicit proactively monitors your account to keep it in good standing and ensure your visibility isn’t compromised.
But Emplicit doesn’t stop at operations. They also turn competitor insights into strategies tailor-made for your brand.
How Emplicit Helps with Competitive Benchmarking
Custom strategy development starts with a deep dive into your competitors’ data. Emplicit identifies gaps in their strategies and crafts content plans that help you stand out. By spotting opportunities others miss, they position your brand for success.
Performance tracking goes far beyond surface-level metrics. While likes and shares are nice, Emplicit focuses on what truly matters – click-through rates, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. These are the numbers that directly impact your revenue.
Omnichannel integration is key to ensuring your TikTok efforts align with your broader ecommerce strategy. Emplicit helps unify your messaging across platforms like TikTok Shops, Amazon, Walmart, Target, and your own website. This consistency amplifies the effectiveness of your competitive insights across all sales channels.
Ongoing optimization keeps your strategy fresh. TikTok moves fast, and so do its algorithms and trends. Emplicit continuously monitors the competitive landscape and adapts your approach to ensure you stay ahead of the curve.
Emplicit’s full-service approach means you’re not juggling multiple vendors for different tasks. Their dedicated account managers handle everything – content creation, commerce management, and performance optimization – so you can focus on your business.
Their USA-based account management ensures your strategy is grounded in a deep understanding of American consumer behavior, seasonal trends, and cultural nuances. This local expertise ensures your campaigns resonate with your target audience.
By working with Emplicit, you also gain access to advanced tools and analytics that go beyond TikTok’s standard offerings. These tools provide richer insights and more detailed performance tracking, giving you an edge over competitors who rely solely on basic analytics.
The real magic lies in the combination of competitive intelligence and expert execution. While others may analyze the same trends, Emplicit’s ability to act quickly and effectively ensures you capitalize on opportunities before the competition does.
Ready to take your TikTok strategy to the next level? Emplicit’s team of experts is here to help you turn insights into action. Reach out today to learn how they can drive your TikTok success!
Conclusion
Analyzing TikTok competitors isn’t just about gathering data – it’s about turning those insights into actions that drive real business results. TikTok’s unique algorithm and ever-changing trends make this process essential for brands aiming to thrive in social commerce. By diving into competitor strategies, you can uncover opportunities and craft a winning approach.
Key Steps for Effective Competitor Analysis
Start with a diverse mix of competitors. Don’t just stick to brands in your niche. Look at direct competitors, influential content creators, and even brands from other industries that excel at TikTok engagement. This broad approach can reveal untapped opportunities.
Focus on metrics that matter. Engagement rates, click-throughs, and conversions are the key indicators of success. Pay close attention to how often competitors post, the timing of their content, and how they leverage seasonal trends to boost sales.
Examine their content themes. Viral videos are great, but consistent patterns in successful content often tell a more valuable story. Look at how competitors balance entertainment with product promotion and integrate user-generated content into their strategy.
Evaluate their commerce strategies. Take a close look at how competitors use TikTok’s shopping features, manage live shopping events, and collaborate with influencers. Understanding these tactics can help you refine your own approach to reach a shared audience.
Set up a tracking system. Regularly monitor competitors to capture both short-term tactics and long-term strategic shifts. Document what works, what doesn’t, and why. This ongoing process will keep your strategy sharp and adaptable.
The brands that excel on TikTok are the ones that spot gaps and opportunities others miss. To do this effectively, you need to view competitor data through the lens of your brand’s unique strengths and market position.
Why Expert Help Can Make a Difference
Building a successful TikTok strategy isn’t a one-time effort – it requires continuous analysis and adjustments. Partnering with professionals can take your strategy to the next level.
Expert teams bring advanced analytics tools and proven frameworks to uncover patterns you might miss. They also move quickly, acting on insights in real time to launch campaigns and adjust strategies while opportunities are still fresh.
Emplicit’s approach goes beyond basic competitor monitoring. Their team combines detailed competitor intelligence with hands-on execution, covering everything from content creation to TikTok Shop optimization. With USA-based account management, they understand the nuances of American consumer behavior, helping you create content that doesn’t just go viral but also drives revenue.
TikTok’s fast-paced environment demands agility, creativity, and a focus on commerce. With professional support, you can build a strategy that delivers sustainable growth rather than chasing fleeting trends.
Ready to turn competitor analysis into action? Let expert guidance help you align your strategy with the insights outlined here. The brands leading on TikTok today are those who make competitor analysis a core part of their success plan – and you can too.
FAQs
What strategies can small brands use to compete with bigger ones on TikTok through engagement-focused content?
Small brands have a real chance to shine on TikTok by creating genuine, community-focused content. Joining trending challenges, encouraging user-generated content (UGC), and highlighting what makes their niche special are great ways to attract and keep a loyal audience. The secret? Consistency. Posting relatable, high-quality videos regularly – videos that speak directly to their target audience – can boost both visibility and engagement.
TikTok’s algorithm loves creativity and relevance. That means small brands should dive into trends, use popular sounds, and interact with their audience through comments or duets. By building a genuine connection with their community, small brands can hold their own against bigger competitors and see real growth.
How can I identify both direct and indirect competitors on TikTok?
To spot direct competitors on TikTok, start by identifying brands that target the same audience and sell similar products or services. These are the businesses vying for the same customers in your niche.
For indirect competitors, think about companies that offer different solutions but cater to the same customer needs. For example, if you’re selling fitness gear, an indirect competitor might be a fitness app or a nutrition brand.
Dig deeper by analyzing competitors’ TikTok strategies. Look at the type of content they post, the trends they follow, and how their audience engages with their videos. You can also ask your customers which other brands they’ve considered. This feedback can uncover competitors you might not have thought about.
By combining these tactics, you’ll get a well-rounded view of who you’re up against on TikTok.
How can brands use TikTok’s shopping features to boost their social commerce strategy?
Brands looking to step up their social commerce game on TikTok should take advantage of TikTok Shop. This feature lets you display products directly on the platform and enables in-app purchases, making the buying experience seamless. It’s a great way to boost product discovery and drive more conversions.
To make things even smoother, you can sync your product catalogs using TikTok’s e-commerce tools. This helps you easily run shoppable ads and keep track of their performance. Want to take it a step further? Try hosting live shopping events or offering tailored product recommendations. These tactics can create a more engaging shopping experience and maximize TikTok’s potential for driving sales.
Need help with your social commerce strategy? Let us guide you through TikTok’s tools and features to grow your brand. Contact us today!