Short-Form Video Analytics: TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts (Unified Dashboard)

The "Triple Threat" Problem

If you're a modern creator, you're posting the same vertical video to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. But tracking performance is a nightmare:

• TikTok shows "Views" and "Likes".
• Instagram shows "Plays" and "Accounts Reached".
• YouTube shows "Views" and "Average Percentage Viewed".

To know which platform is actually winning, you need a Unified Dashboard. In this guide, we'll build a script that pulls data from all three platforms and normalizes it into a single "Virality Score."

The Tech Stack

We'll use the SociaVault API to fetch data from all three giants.

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed
• A SociaVault API Key
• axios for API requests

Step 1: The Unified Data Fetcher

We need a function that takes a handle (or handles) and fetches the latest 10 videos from each platform.

const axios = require('axios');

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_SOCIAVAULT_API_KEY';
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape';

const headers = { 'x-api-key': API_KEY };

async function getCrossPlatformStats(handles) {
  const { tiktok, instagram, youtube } = handles;
  const results = { tiktok: [], reels: [], shorts: [] };

  try {
    // 1. Fetch TikToks
    console.log('Fetching TikToks...');
    const tiktokRes = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/tiktok/videos`, {
      params: { handle: tiktok, amount: 10 },
      headers
    });
    results.tiktok = tiktokRes.data.data.videos || [];

    // 2. Fetch Reels
    console.log('Fetching Reels...');
    const reelsRes = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/instagram/reels`, {
      params: { handle: instagram },
      headers
    });
    results.reels = reelsRes.data.data.items || [];

    // 3. Fetch Shorts
    console.log('Fetching Shorts...');
    const shortsRes = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/youtube/channel/shorts`, {
      params: { handle: youtube },
      headers
    });
    results.shorts = shortsRes.data.data.videos || [];

    return results;

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error fetching data:', error.response?.data || error.message);
    return null;
  }
}

Step 2: Normalizing the Data

Every platform returns data differently. We need a standard format:

• platform: 'tiktok' | 'instagram' | 'youtube'
• views: Number
• likes: Number
• comments: Number
• engagementRate: (Likes + Comments) / Views * 100

function normalizeData(rawData) {
  const normalized = [];

  // Normalize TikTok
  rawData.tiktok.forEach(video => {
    const views = video.playCount;
    const likes = video.diggCount;
    const comments = video.commentCount;
    
    normalized.push({
      platform: 'TikTok',
      title: video.desc,
      views,
      likes,
      comments,
      engagementRate: ((likes + comments) / views * 100).toFixed(2) + '%',
      url: `https://tiktok.com/@user/video/${video.id}`
    });
  });

  // Normalize Reels
  rawData.reels.forEach(reel => {
    const views = reel.play_count;
    const likes = reel.like_count;
    const comments = reel.comment_count;

    normalized.push({
      platform: 'Instagram',
      title: reel.caption?.text || 'No Caption',
      views,
      likes,
      comments,
      engagementRate: ((likes + comments) / views * 100).toFixed(2) + '%',
      url: `https://instagram.com/p/${reel.code}`
    });
  });

  // Normalize Shorts
  rawData.shorts.forEach(short => {
    // Note: YouTube API returns text like "1.2M views", need parsing in real app
    // For this demo, we assume raw numbers or simple parsing
    const views = parseInt(short.viewCountText.replace(/[^0-9]/g, '')) || 0;
    
    normalized.push({
      platform: 'YouTube',
      title: short.title,
      views,
      likes: 'N/A', // Often hidden on list view
      comments: 'N/A',
      engagementRate: 'N/A',
      url: `https://youtube.com${short.url}`
    });
  });

  return normalized;
}

Step 3: The Comparison Script

Now, let's put it all together to see where a creator is winning.

async function comparePlatforms() {
  const handles = {
    tiktok: 'garyvee',
    instagram: 'garyvee',
    youtube: 'GaryVee'
  };

  const rawData = await getCrossPlatformStats(handles);
  if (!rawData) return;

  const cleanData = normalizeData(rawData);

  // Sort by Views (Descending)
  cleanData.sort((a, b) => b.views - a.views);

  console.log(`\n🏆 Top 5 Videos Across All Platforms`);
  console.log(`----------------------------------------`);
  
  cleanData.slice(0, 5).forEach((video, index) => {
    console.log(`#${index + 1} [${video.platform}] ${video.title.substring(0, 40)}...`);
    console.log(`   👀 Views: ${video.views.toLocaleString()}`);
    console.log(`   ❤️ Engagement: ${video.engagementRate}`);
    console.log(`   🔗 ${video.url}`);
    console.log(`---`);
  });
}

comparePlatforms();

Why This Matters in 2025

The "Spray and Pray" method of posting everywhere is fine, but optimizing is better.

• If TikTok gives you 10x views but Instagram gives you 10x sales (link clicks), you need to know that.
• If YouTube Shorts have a longer shelf-life (views continue for months), you might prioritize them for evergreen content.

Next Steps

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