Dive Brief:

• TikTok in a series of blog posts announced several new measurement capabilities that are intended to help advertisers better track if campaigns result in conversions.
• The app’s Ads Manager is integrating a first-party solution called Attribution Analytics that aims to paint a clearer picture of the non-linear path to purchase, including during the awareness, discovery and action phases of the customer journey. The product launches with a feature called Performance Comparison that lets advertisers view side-by-side comparisons of conversions during different attribution windows. 
• TikTok is also shifting to what it calls a Self-Attributing Network (SAN), with the goal of providing richer insights beyond metrics shared by existing mobile measurement partners (MMPs). TikTok’s expansion of its measurement suite follows the recent launch of a long-anticipated e-commerce hub in the U.S. and as marketers ramp up spending for the holidays.    

Dive Insight:

TikTok has long touted its ability to turn products into viral sensations, embodied in a “TikTok Made Me Buy It” mantra. Now, the ByteDance-owned firm is trying to provide advertisers with more concrete ways to assess their campaign’s influence over purchases and other actions beyond entrenched forms of click-based measurement. 

TikTok also wants to emphasize that it functions differently than other sites, like Amazon, where the user is expressly visiting for the purpose of browsing and buying products. A TikTok viewer might not immediately jump to a brand’s website after seeing an ad because they’re still scrolling through the algorithmic video feed. So while TikTok can drive shopping trends, and holds particular sway early in the purchasing journey, that might not always be apparent when looking at current attribution models — or at least, that’s TikTok’s argument.  

“Click-based measurement makes more sense in an environment where the user is actively searching for a product and is already one click away from a purchase,” the company said in a blog post. “However, it severely under-attributes platforms like TikTok where users are immersed in a steady stream of content and engage with brands or discover products while being entertained.”

While TikTok's use of data in the U.S. remains a hot button topic, this new expansion of data-related services follows the news that the company and the U.S. government have resumed negotiations over the app's ability to operate here. 

Post-purchase survey data indicates 79% of conversions attributed to TikTok by users were absent from last-click attribution methods on the market, the company said in a blog post. Among buyers who heard of a product from a TikTok ad, 44% did not click on the ad in question, per a 28-day attribution window. In total, TikTok estimates that conversions on its platform are undervalued by as much as 73% based on click-and-buy metrics.

To address these gaps, TikTok is promoting a first-party Attribution Analytics solution and Performance Comparison tool. Performance Comparison visualizes different attribution windows and the variance in results in areas like content views and whether the customer added a product to their cart, initiated a checkout or completed a purchase. 

In enabling brands to analyze side-by-side comparisons over time, TikTok believes it can aid advertisers in realizing stronger attribution strategies. The solution also extends visibility beyond TikTok Ad Manager’s existing seven-day click and one-day view attribution windows, which the platform said could help categories like automotive, where the path to purchase tends to be longer, less linear and less impulse-driven. 

TikTok at the same time is encouraging brands to join its SAN, now in beta. SAN is a separate MMP network integration that TikTok said can pinpoint conversions and other campaign outcomes more effectively than legacy MMPs. TikTok will begin winding down non-SAN MMP integrations in the spring of 2024, though advertisers can continue using those solutions for cross-channel reporting.