I used to think views were the main signal on TikTok. Now I'm convinced comments tell you more about whether a video will actually make money.
I went through 52 TikToks across a few different product and account types. The pattern was obvious: the videos with the highest views weren't always the ones that looked closest to converting.
Some high-view videos had comments like 'LOL', 'real', 'this is so me', 'the ending ðŸ˜', 'who else watched this twice'. Good engagement, but zero buying intent.
Then lower-view videos had comments like 'Does this work for oily skin?', 'Is there a Canada version?', 'How much is it?', 'Can I use this with Shopify?', 'Where do I find the link?'. Those are boring comments. But they're also way more valuable.
I think a lot of TikTok marketers are still judging videos like creators instead of marketers. Creators ask: did it get attention? Marketers should also ask: what kind of attention did it get?
A video getting 200k views and no intent-based comments might be less useful than a video getting 9k views with 14 people asking specific buying questions. That's where TikTok gets weird. The algorithm rewards entertainment. The business needs intent. They're related, but not the same.
This is also why 'make it more viral' can be bad advice. Sometimes the more viral version attracts a broader audience that laughs, comments, and leaves. The less viral version might attract fewer people but better questions.
Uncomfortable truth: a lot of TikTok reports should probably include comment quality, not just views, likes, saves, and watch time. Views tell you the video travelled. Comments tell you what kind of person it reached.
TL;DR: After checking 52 TikToks, comment quality is one of the most underrated marketing signals. High views can hide low intent, and boring comments are often where the actual buying signal shows up.
Are people here tracking comment quality, or still mostly judging TikToks by views and watch time?
