TikTok & Instagram make a play for search through Creator Insights

By Megan E. Collins, Cultural Anthropologist

The Search race is on 

After enjoying dominance as the go-to place to search, Google has some fierce competition especially when it comes to Gen Z. According to a recent survey of 18 to 24-year-olds, the number one platform they use to search is Instagram (67%), followed by TikTok (62%) and then Google (61%). For their part, TikTok and Instagram are looking to encourage this behavior by incentivizing creators to make content based on where they’re seeing demand. Read on for the new features and tools they’re launching to help creators make the content for which users are searching. 

TikTok launches “Content Gap”

This March, TikTok announced Creator Search Insights, a tool that allows users to explore the platform's search data. TikTok says, “[their] hope is that Creator Search Insights empowers creators to make content that's relevant to searchers and positioned to perform well on TikTok.” 

To access the data, simply type “Creator Search Insights” into the TikTok search bar and hit “view” on the banner. From there, the platform gives you access to a list of trending topics by vertical (fashion, food, sports, tourism, gaming, and science) as well as “suggested content.” What’s more, under the suggested content topics tab, the most innovative and useful data is “content gap.” The “content gap” list gives users a list of topics that users are searching for, the existing content associated with that term, and related searches. 

In addition to providing creators with insights about what TikTok viewers are searching for, the platform is incentivizing creators to create content for this gap. The app recently announced that creators in the rewards program would be able to unlock larger rewards for content created utilizing search insights. 

Instagram matches with their Inspiration tab 

Over on Instagram, they’ve quietly started testing a similar feature for their short-form video offering: Reels. A few eagle-eyed creators have noticed an “Inspiration” tab in their account settings. Their feature shows creators Reels that are popular with their followers, suggestions for reels, and audio suggestions based on what their followers are engaging with. 

Conclusion

For creators and brands looking to grow their platforms, TikTok and Instagram are being more transparent than ever about the million-dollar question: How can we make this go viral? However, it’s important to remember that going viral is not a content strategy, especially with the current dominance of short form video feeds. While knowing what video topics will perform well overall may provide an engagement boost, it’s important to not get too caught up in the mandates of platforms at the expense of a longer-term sustainable digital strategy.