Why ‘Total Likes’ is an excellent TikTok metric
The Total Likes metric is unique for TikTok.
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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
Why ‘Total Likes’ is an excellent TikTok metric
The Total Likes metric reflects popularity over time from an algorithm-first approach.
Why it matters
Unlike other platforms, TikTok prominently displays Likes (Total Likes) alongside Followers and Following counts, providing a snapshot of an account's appeal. This transparency makes it a potential yardstick when assessing an artist's impact on TikTok, for example, by talent bookers and A&Rs.
TikTok is an algorithm-based platform. Upon opening the app, users are directed to the "For You" page. The page automatically plays a popular video rather than showing videos from accounts followed by the user.
The most followed account on TikTok is @khaby.lame (161.5M). However, his Total Likes number doesn’t land him a spot in the top 10 creators with the most total likes, led by @charlidamelio (11.5B). Immediately, possible explanations come to mind, such as:
A potential difference in video quantity and quality.
Charli D’Amelio started earlier with TikTok.
Follower quality?
And so on. The fact that we can make these strategic assessments and that the Total Likes metric is unique for TikTok makes it valuable for artists to track and understand their total likes on TikTok.
How it works
Total Likes on TikTok measures the cumulative amount of likes (hearts) a user receives across all videos. The sum of all likes.
I value the Total Likes metric because:
Instead of capturing the moment, it’s a metric for success in the long term.
It reflects the popularity of a profile over time from an algorithm-first approach.
It shows how content resonates with an audience over time and thus over a series of videos.
It’s an actionable metric for content, but only on a longer term (which makes it strong)
It can be an OMTM to focus on for a particular time.
The only way to boost the metric is to create more content.
The metric rewards users who use the platform’s engaging features, such as duets and trending hashtags.
Since it’s a cumulative metric, users don’t lose their results
Go deeper
Another outstanding metric is a video’s engagement rate, calculated using the number of likes, comments, shares, and views.
Visiting TikTok profile pages on desktops in Chrome with the VidiQ plug-in installed unveils this metric.
Yes, but..
Total Likes is a metric that rewards those who create more videos.
Like other social platforms, TikTok heavily depends on content creators to attract and retain users and build an audience for their advertisements.
So, by focusing on Total Likes, artists fuel TikTok business activities and become unwitting contributors to the facilitation of social media addictions.
Take action now
Leveraging the metric is easy: To get more likes on TikTok, artists should create more videos.
The challenge for artists is to align their content with their brand ethos, delivering genuine value to foster lasting fan relationships.
Further reading
TikTok Content Creator Statistics (2024) (Exploding Topics)
Total Likes (Databox)
How artists can find the one metric that matters (The Fanbase Builder)
Learn how other creators optimise their YouTube videos (The Fanbase Builder)
How artists contribute to social media addictions (The Fanbase Builder)
The Ultimate Guide Get TikTok Hearts (Topstiks)
Understanding your analytics (TikTok)