For years, marketers have used Google search data (like the Trends tool) to identify what people are searching for, so they can create content to satisfy unmet demand. TikTok has just released a much better version of that, and it’s incredibly insightful even if you never post on TikTok.

Creator Search Insights is now available for free to everyone. To get there, open TikTok and search “Creator Search Insights.” A result will pop up that takes you to a tab that looks a bit like Instagram’s Professional Dashboard.

Once you’re there, you’ll see a few different options, including:

A lot of platforms will give you analytics about your content, and some will even reveal which topics are popular in search, but what no platform has put together until now is a clear signal about which topics are under-supplied, and are therefore opportunities for content creators.

Keep in mind that social search is the fastest growing way that people are seeking out answers online, but it’s still in second place behind good old fashioned search engines. So it’s not a stretch to assume that many topics that are popular on TikTok are also being searched on Google, YouTube, and other places.

That’s why this tool has so much potential value. TikTok is where trends are happening today, and by identifying what people are interested in, but not finding, we can have a significant advantage when it comes to planning our next blog post, YouTube video, Instagram Reel, etc.

Of course, the data isn’t going to be perfect. What people are searching on TikTok won’t match exactly what people are searching elsewhere, but it’s the best tool we’ve seen yet to clearly identify what people are looking for today, and for that reason, everyone who’s creating content to get found online should take a look at Creator Search Insights.

To learn more, check out Buffer’s recent article here.