Monitor social media trends across Reddit, Instagram & TikTok with Apify

Who's it for

Social media managers, content creators, brand managers, and marketing teams who need to track keyword performance and trending content across TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit for competitive analysis and content inspiration.

What it does

This workflow automatically monitors trending content across three major social media platforms using specified keywords. It scrapes posts from TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit, calculates engagement scores using platform-specific metrics, ranks content by performance, and generates a comprehensive HTML email report with the top-performing posts across all platforms.

How it works

The workflow follows a sequential multi-platform scraping process:

Reddit Scraping: Searches for keyword-based posts and comments with engagement metrics Instagram Monitoring: Analyzes hashtag-based content with likes and comments data TikTok Analysis: Tracks hashtag performance including views, likes, shares, and comments Score Calculation: Applies platform-specific scoring algorithms based on engagement metrics Unified Ranking: Combines and ranks all content across platforms by engagement score Report Generation: Creates a detailed HTML email report with top performers and analytics

Requirements

Apify account with API access Gmail account for report delivery Platform-specific scrapers: Reddit Scraper Lite, Instagram Scraper, TikTok Scraper

How to set up

Step 1: Configure Apify credentials

Set up Apify HTTP header authentication in n8n Ensure access to the required scrapers:

Reddit: trudaxreddit-scraper-lite Instagram: apifyinstagram-scraper TikTok: clockworks~tiktok-scraper

Step 2: Customize search parameters

Reddit configuration:

Search terms: Modify "searches" array with your keywords Content type: Posts and comments (searchComments can be enabled) Sort method: "top" (alternatives: hot, new, relevance) Time period: "month" (alternatives: hour, day, week, year, all) Result limits: maxItems: 50, maxPostCount: 25

Instagram configuration:

Hashtag URLs: Update directUrls with target hashtags Results type: "posts" (alternatives: stories, reels) Time filter: "onlyPostsNewerThan": "7 days" Result limit: resultsLimit: 15

TikTok configuration:

Hashtags: Update hashtags array with target keywords Results per page: resultsPerPage: 20 Time filter: "oldestPostDateUnified": "7 days"

Step 3: Set up email reporting

Configure Gmail OAuth2 credentials Update recipient email address in "Send a message" node Customize email subject and styling as needed

Step 4: Adjust scoring algorithms

Current scoring formulas:

Reddit: (upvotes × 1) + (comments × 2) Instagram: (likes × 1) + (comments × 2) TikTok: (likes × 1) + (comments × 2) + (shares × 3) + (views ÷ 1000)

Modify the code nodes to adjust scoring based on your priorities.

How to customize the workflow

Keyword and hashtag targeting

Multiple keywords: Add arrays of search terms for broader monitoring Brand-specific terms: Include brand names, product names, competitor analysis Seasonal tracking: Adjust keywords based on campaigns or seasonal trends Negative filtering: Exclude irrelevant content with filtering logic

Platform-specific customization

Reddit enhancements:

Subreddit targeting: Focus on specific communities Comment analysis: Enable comment scraping for deeper insights User profiling: Track specific user activity and influence

Instagram modifications:

Story monitoring: Track story mentions and hashtag usage Influencer tracking: Monitor specific account performance Location-based: Add geo-targeted hashtag monitoring

TikTok optimizations:

Trend detection: Identify viral sounds and effects Creator analysis: Track trending creators in your niche Challenge monitoring: Follow hashtag challenge performance

Scoring and ranking customization

Weighted metrics: Adjust multipliers based on platform importance Recency factors: Give bonus points to newer content Quality filters: Exclude low-engagement or spam content Sentiment analysis: Integrate sentiment scoring for brand monitoring

Reporting enhancements

Multiple recipients: Send reports to different team members Scheduled execution: Add scheduling triggers for automated monitoring Data export: Save results to spreadsheets or databases Alert thresholds: Set up notifications for high-performing content

Engagement scoring methodology

Platform-specific algorithms

Reddit scoring logic:

Emphasizes community engagement through upvotes and discussion Comments weighted higher (×2) as they indicate deeper engagement Filters out low-quality posts and spam content

Instagram scoring approach:

Balances visual appeal (likes) with engagement depth (comments) Focuses on recent content to capture trending moments Excludes carousel sub-items to avoid duplicate counting

TikTok scoring system:

Multi-factor algorithm considering all engagement types Views normalized (÷1000) to balance with other metrics Shares heavily weighted (×3) as they indicate viral potential

Level classification

Content automatically categorized into performance tiers:

High: Score ≥ 10,000 (viral or highly engaging content) Medium: Score ≥ 1,000 (good engagement, worth monitoring) Low: Score < 1,000 (baseline engagement)

Results interpretation

Comprehensive analytics dashboard

The email report includes:

Cross-platform leaderboard: Top 15 posts ranked by engagement score Platform breakdown: Performance summary by social network Engagement metrics: Detailed scoring and classification Direct links: Clickable access to original content Author tracking: Creator identification for influencer outreach

Actionable insights

Content inspiration: Identify high-performing content formats and topics Competitor analysis: Monitor competitor content performance Trend identification: Spot emerging topics before they peak Influencer discovery: Find creators driving engagement in your niche

Use cases

Brand monitoring and competitive analysis

Brand mention tracking: Monitor how your brand performs across platforms Competitor surveillance: Track competitor content and engagement rates Crisis management: Early detection of negative sentiment or issues Market positioning: Understand your brand's social media presence

Content strategy optimization

Content format analysis: Identify which content types perform best Hashtag research: Discover effective hashtags for your niche Posting timing: Analyze when high-engagement content is published Trend forecasting: Spot emerging trends for proactive content creation

Influencer and partnership identification

Creator discovery: Find influential voices in your industry Partnership evaluation: Assess potential collaborator engagement rates Campaign performance: Track sponsored content and brand partnerships Community building: Identify active community members and advocates

Workflow limitations

API rate limiting: Subject to Apify scraper limitations and quotas Platform restrictions: Some content may be private or restricted Real-time delays: 30-second waits between platform scraping prevent rate limiting Manual execution: Currently triggered manually (easily schedulable) Single keyword focus: Current setup optimized for one keyword at a time Platform availability: Dependent on third-party scrapers and their maintenance