TikTok Case Study: How Live Views Impact Growth
TikTok offers live streaming as a potent tool for real-time interaction and community building. But how do live viewers on a stream influence genuine follower growth, organic viewership, and overall engagement?
This case study examines the impact of boosting live views on four TikTok livestreams with similar starting points. Our findings not only highlight the direct relationship between increased exposure and improved performance metrics, but also provide insights into how content creators might optimize their strategies for sustained growth and stronger audience relationships on TikTok.
TikTok Live Views Case Study
Objectives
- Do TikTok Live Views boost follower count?
- Do TikTok Live Views improve natural viewer reach?
- How do live views influence stream interactions?
Definitions
- Low Engagement TikTok Live: The TikTok live that received 100 Live Views
- Moderate Engagement TikTok Live: The TikTok live that received 250 Live Views
- High Engagement TikTok Live: The TikTok live that received 350 Live Views
- Exceptional Engagement TikTok Live: The TikTok live that received 500 Live Views
The Process
- We chose 4 streams in the same category with a similar view count (< 100 Live Views).
- We made sure the TikTok Lives had been running for a similar amount of time (60 to 90 minutes)
- We took note of their initial follower count (using tools such as TokCount), viewer count and engagement level.
- We sent an increasing number of live views to each stream at 100, 250, 350 and 500 Live Views.
- We monitored the streams closely for the duration of the TikTok Live Viewer service (30 minutes).
Results
Low Engagement TikTok Live
(100 Live Views)
Starting with an initial viewer count of 57, the Low Engagement TikTok Live stream received a boost of 100 Live Views, resulting in a peak of 208 viewers, marking an impressive 265% growth in viewership. Of the 151 new viewers, 51 viewers came from organic growth, representing 34% of the total growth, highlighting the potential for Live Views to generate organic engagement.
The follower count also increased by 14 followers during the test period. This represents 14% of the Live Views delivered, showing that the stream experienced a noticeable increase in followers as a secondary benefit of increased visibility.
The like count grew by approximately 1,238 likes, which is a 38% increase in likes. As the steam was already receiving likes at an average rate of 36 likes/minute before receiving the Live Views, this increase translates to approximately 14% improvement in engagement rate (41 likes/minute) during the 30-minute testing phase.
Moderate Engagement TikTok Live
(250 Live Views)
The Moderate Engagement TikTok Live stream began with 91 viewers and, after receiving 250 Live Views, peaked at 514 live viewers. This represents a 465% growth in total viewership over the initial count, with 34% (173 viewers) of that growth coming organically, already demonstrating a consistency on natural growth to Live Views received.
Regarding follower growth, the stream brought 24 new followers, which accounts for about 10% of the Live Views delivered. This indicates a positive effect on reach as engagement increased.
When it comes to likes, the stream initially had a rate of 15 likes/minute before receiving the Live Views. After the boost, the rate increased to 23 likes/minute, a notable rise of 7 likes/minute. This means that out of the 694 total likes the stream received over the 30 minutes, ~210 likes can be attributed to the Live Views boost. This represents about 84% of the 250 Live Views delivered, highlighting a modest increase in likes directly resulting from the additional viewership.
High Engagement TikTok Live
(350 Live Views)
The High Engagement TikTok Live stream started with 104 live viewers and peaked at 631 viewers after receiving 350 Live Views, representing a 506% increase in total viewership. Of that growth, 28% (177 viewers) came from organic viewers, showing that while highly engaged streams benefit quite a lot from additional views, the amount may slightly vary as more factors come into play .
During this testing period, the stream gained 93 followers, which amounts to 27% of the 350 Live Views delivered. This was quite a pleasant surprise as it indicates the great potential Live Views can offer in reach and audience growth as a result of the additional visibility provided.
Likes also saw a dramatic increase, starting with 7,257 likes and finishing with 14,328 likes, a gain of 7,071 likes. Before the boost, the stream was receiving roughly 117 likes/minute. During the 30-minute testing phase, the rate rose to 236 likes/minute, an increase of 119 likes/minute. The boost from the Live Views accounted for ~51% of the total likes gained, highlighting the significant effect the additional visibility had on engagement.
Exceptional Engagement TikTok Live
(500 Live Views)
The Exceptional Engagement TikTok Live stream started with 68 viewers and peaked at 836 viewers after receiving 500 Live Views, resulting in a 1,130% increase in total viewership. Of this growth of 768 viewers, 35% (268 viewers) came from organic viewers, indicating that even with a high baseline of engagement, organic growth can still contribute significantly to the total increase.
The stream also grew by 24 new followers, which is approximately 4.8% of the 500 Live Views delivered, showing that the boost still positively impacted the stream’s reach, despite the relatively lower follower gain compared to the volume of Live Views.
Likes saw the most significant jump in this test. The stream gained 17,960 likes, starting at 41,291 likes and ending at 59,251 likes. Before the boost, the stream was receiving about 325 likes/minute, which surged to 599 likes/minute during the testing phase, marking an increase of 274 likes/minute. The Live Views boost accounted for ~45% of the total likes gained, underscoring the massive effect that the added visibility had on the engagement rate.
Comparative Analysis
Organic Reach
All of the TikTok Lives showed similar increases in organic (natural) viewers. On average, their organic views went up by 32%, thanks to the added Live Views, which means that any boost in Live Views can help a stream get noticed by more people. In other words, the more Live Views you add, the more likely TikTok’s algorithm is to recommend the stream to new viewers. For example, the Exceptional Engagement TikTok Live got a 32% increase, equal to about ~268 extra viewers, while the Moderate Engagement TikTok Live saw a 34% increase, which worked out to around ~173 organic viewers.
Follower Growth
Each TikTok Live in this study gained followers during the 30-minute test period, typically increasing their follower counts by about 5% to 10%. One noteworthy exception was the High Engagement TikTok Live, which saw a remarkable 27% increase (93 new followers) compared to the Live Views it received. This suggests that while many factors influence how your TikTok Live performs, adding more Live Views may be one of the most effective ways to boost your follower count.
Engagement Through Likes
When likes are concerned, it is safe to say that the amount of likes a TikTok Live receives is directly proportional to the number of Live Views it gets. The higher engagement streams saw an average increase in likes of ~48% during the testing phase with the lower engagement streams following behind at an average of ~22% which is quite still significant even though lower. This data suggests that Live Views not only increase visibility but also help drive genuine interactions, enhancing a stream’s overall performance.
Expert Advice
When considering all the key metrics, higher engagement consistently outperforms, as that’s the nature of the TikTok algorithm. The way TikTok Lives are recommended to new audiences is largely dependent on the number of active viewers a stream has. However, this doesn’t diminish the impact of more moderate Live Views boosts. Even with as few as 100-250 Live Views, we see notable growth across all metrics, albeit on a smaller scale compared to larger boosts.
Conclusion
- More live views generated more visibility, peak viewership, and engagement.
- Exceptional Engagement TikTok Live achieved the highest viewer spikes and audience reach.
- High Engagement TikTok Live proved most effective for follower growth and likes, converting views to engagement at the best rate.
- Moderate Engagement TikTok Live displayed a balanced performance across metrics with notable growth in followers and likes.
- Overall, higher boosts had the clearest impact on expanding visibility, while moderate boosts balanced reach with ongoing engagement.
Graphs
