How TikTok One's Insights Spotlight keeps marketers ahead of trends
TikTok One's new feature, Insights Spotlight, is a window into what content viewers will really watch.
TikTok, as a platform, is fueled by its trends. Some of them come and go quickly, while others appear in music charts, FYPs, and museums for months and months on end—even when we thought they'd only last a summer.
In an ecosystem where trends can be a flash in the pan or a years-long phenomenon, how can marketers keep up with what's current and what works? Their best recourse is to be super-users in their own right, but the For You page is tailored to, well, them—and not to their target audiences.
When marketers can't tap into what's really happening on the platform, it can hold them back from being part of the conversations viewers care about. 4 in 5 TikTok users say they like it when brands engage with trends on TikTok.¹
That's why we created Insights Spotlight on TikTok One. It's a centralized place to get up-to-date information about what's popular on TikTok, based on real-time trends, audience behavior, and brand perception. By using this tool, brands and agencies can understand what matters to viewers and what will make them stop and watch.
The thing that we have—that nobody else has—is the most recent, most accurate information about our viewers. By building Insights Spotlight on TikTok One, we're helping our advertisers build a deeper understanding of their audiences, so they can build creative strategies that will speak to viewers and drive the bottom line.
Discover which trends are popular with your audience
Ever seen a trend on your For You page and wondered who else was seeing it? Or wish you could just get a quick low-down on what's trending in certain areas or among certain people? That's all within reach on TikTok One's Insights Spotlight—a tool that uncovers information about search behaviors, emerging trends, and areas of interest among a specific target audience.
When brands join community conversations early, they connect with audiences more authentically, which helps them stand out. (Imagine your brand's content being one of the first videos a viewer sees participating in a trend.)
And if marketers don't have time to dig into all the data, that's not a problem. The AI summary feature in Insights Spotlight automatically pulls out the most relevant information based on their search, so they can get the information they need as quickly as possible.
Explore what people are saying about a brand
When marketers understand what the community is saying about their brand, they can build creative strategies that speak to the audience's interests, opinions, and pain points. Insights Spotlight provides social listening built on our first-party data.
That way, a marketer can get the latest, most accurate view of how TikTok users are talking about their brand—showing them everything from the top-performing videos posted about the brand to the total number of brand-related video views.
See how your content is doing based on industry standards
A great creative strategy needs industry-level intelligence baked in, as well. With Insights Spotlight on TikTok One, marketers can see how their brand is performing relative to competitors within their industry. The tool analyzes organic and paid content about a brand—measuring views, engagement, and clicks—and compares those metrics to category benchmarks. That way, they can see the things helping them stand apart within their category, and lean into those things as much as possible.
Trends: A part of who we are
Even as the needs and demands of the industry evolve, there's a persistent need to understand what's trending on TikTok and use that knowledge to shape a TikTok strategy that really works.
Building tools like TikTok One's Insight Spotlight doesn't just help us support advertisers in their quest to make great content. It also helps us shine a light on the trends, movements, and cultural phenomena born on our platform daily."
Having a strong grip on TikTok trends is like speaking a special language," says Anderson. "When you know what your viewers care about, you can give them exactly what they're looking for. And when you say it in a way that's familiar to them, you send the message, 'I'm in on this.'"
Check out TikTok One and start using Insights Spotlight today.
1. TikTok Marketing Science Global Trends Survey via AYTM, September 2023. Base: TikTok Monthly Users 18+ [Q2] (n=2,500)