How to Track TikTok Mentions? [2024]

Have you been to Coachella? I know some fun stuff about it. In April 2024, it got over 22k TikTok mentions, which generated an estimated reach of 2.6B! The buzz was quite sudden when the festival started. And did people enjoy it? Yes, but less than you might think. The sentiment around the phrase was just 33% positive and dropped 2 p.p. when the festival ended.

Are you curious how monitoring such data can elevate your brand? Read on to learn about TikTok mentions!

TikTok mentions happen when people talk about your brand. They can either be tagged (added with the @ symbol) or not. Mentions can dramatically increase your brand’s visibility and engagement on the platform. Understanding how to track and analyze them allows you to harness their full potential, turning casual mentions into valuable marketing insights.

Table of contents:

• What are TikTok mentions?
• How to track TikTok mentions?
  • Manual tracking
  • Using a social media monitoring tool
• How to analyze TikTok mentions to gain insights?
• Conclusion

What are TikTok Mentions?

On TikTok, a mention happens when a user tags another’s username in their video caption or comment using the “@” symbol.

It is less popular, but it also happens – mentions on TikTok Story. These are also added by the “@username”.

This direct shout-out can significantly boost your brand’s presence. Plus, it shows you how to get directly to the valuable user-generated content you can reuse on your brand’s socials.

Tracking mentions on TikTok can:

• Increase engagement by connecting directly with users who mention your brand.
• Improve your brand awareness through organic and viral content sharing.
• Allow you to immediately respond to user feedback, enhancing customer service and brand reputation.
• Help you better understand your customers and find new potential audiences.
• Help you understand trends, enabling more targeted and effective content strategies. 

But not every mention will be tagged.

I can even risk a statement that half of your brand mentions won’t be tagged. So, how do you ensure you get relevant data and also monitor those untagged mentions?

This is where advanced social media monitoring tools step in.

They can easily capture those untagged yet valuable mentions and help you analyze them for reach, sentiment, topics, and so much more!

This is what an untagged mention detected by Brand24 looks like:

But tracking mentions isn’t just about finding them. It’s about digging into their stories. What do they tell us?

Every mention is a piece of a puzzle that helps us sharpen our TikTok marketing strategy.

How to Track TikTok Mentions?

01 Manual Tracking

You can start using the TikTok app itself.

Regarding tagged mentions – it has this cool feature that enables you to filter your notifications so you can see just the ones about being tagged.

Isn’t it great?

But the tough part is with the untagged mentions.

You can try to find them manually by simply typing in your brand’s name or associated hashtags in the TikTok’s search bar.

This way, you’ll probably be able to find a few places where you’re mentioned.

I tried it and typed “Coachella” to see if I could find any relevant mentions.

Sadly, the results are just the most popular videos and the official account.

I thought that the results would be better if the brand or phrase weren’t so popular.

Let’s check!

I typed in “Outhorn”. It’s a small fashion brand from Poland, and I expect it to have a much lower volume of mentions.

But as you can see below. I got one relevant mention from a potential customer or influencer, and the rest are just TikToks from the company’s account.

So, this method has its limits – making it effective would be super time-consuming (especially with a high volume of mentions).

Plus, it misses some mentions and lacks in-depth analytics, such as social media reach and sentiment.

That’s why a much more efficient way to monitor your TikTok mentions is using advanced social listening tools.

02 Using a Social Media Monitoring Tool

These tools offer a comprehensive way to monitor mentions across various platforms, including TikTok.

They are designed to track public mentions, hashtags, and virtually any keyword associated with your brand. The advantage? They don’t just collect data; they analyze it, providing insights from many sources.

Brand24, for instance, monitors discussions (also those not tagged directly) across:

• Social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Telegram, and Twitch
• Review sites such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, Booking, App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot
• Blogs
• Video platforms
• Podcasts
• Discussion forums
• Newsletters
• Online news sources
• Other publicly available sources

It makes it a robust tool for comprehensive social listening.

And here’s the game changer. Brand24 uses AI to simplify the process of analyzing data.

Check this one out – it’s an Anomaly Detector feature that identifies any spikes in your brand mentions and instantly explains what happened that caused the spike:

I honestly don’t know if I could find out that Billie Eilish’s appearance created so much buzz on TikTok myself. 

With Anomaly Detector – I got it with just one click.

How to Analyze TikTok Mentions to Gain Insights?

Advanced tools like Brand24 enhance analysis by providing automated social media insights.

I knew about the Coachellas’ performance thanks to the Compare periods tab. It offers a comprehensive view of project stats and enables data comparison within a specific timeframe.

Here’s what it looks like for Coachella in April vs in May (just on TikTok):

And these are the overall results it got on all platforms that Brand24 monitors:

Now, let’s take a moment to talk about AI Insights.

This feature is great if you don’t want to waste time on analysis and just want conclusions immediately. 

It sifts through your TikTok mentions and pinpoints the key takeaways automatically.

This is what an AI-based Summary looks like:

It offers:

• An overview of peak activities and when they occur.
• Insights into specific spikes or drops in social mentions and their possible reasons.
• Trends indicating significant changes in the number of mentions, including increases or decreases.
• Sentiment analysis showing fluctuations in positive and negative mentions over time.
• Recommendations for capitalizing on trends, addressing feedback, and strategic partnerships.
• Suggestions for exploring new opportunities and mitigating negative feedback.
• Tips for amplifying positive testimonials and leveraging celebrity appearances for better brand perception.

And if you don’t want to read it all, there’s a fun feature in Brand24 – AI Brand Assistant.

You can ask for an analysis of a specific data set in your project or simply give you an answer about your brand if you don’t want to browse the tool:

With Brand24, you can fast-track to the essential conclusions and make informed decisions about your brand’s presence on TikTok.

Conclusion

So, which is better – using just the app or external TikTok monitoring tools for mentions?

For smaller brands, native TikTok tools might suffice, but not without surprises, as you saw).

However, an advanced monitoring tool like Brand24 is invaluable for garnering thousands of monthly mentions.

It automates the collection and analysis of media mentions and helps navigate the complexities of online brand presence.

Final Thoughts:

• Always stay engaged with the conversation around your brand. Quick responses to mentions can transform a one-time mention into a loyal customer.
• Track the quantity and quality of mentions to understand your brand’s impact fully.
• Look for ways to simplify your efforts. Perhaps using AI features is the way to go? 

Ready to take your TikTok strategy to the next level? Start a Brand24 trial and experience the power of detailed mention analysis!