How to Track TikTok Shop Orders: Pairing Codes and UTMs the Right Way

Sachin Bhargava, Senior Director of Digital Product and E-Commerce at John Hardy, breaks down the attribution tactics smaller brands can actually use to measure influencer performance. With 20 years across brands like Gilt Group, Mac Weldon, and his own startup, Sachin argues that promo codes tied to an influencer's name are one of the most reliable fallbacks when UTM links break down, because customers routinely switch devices or shopping environments mid-journey, losing click-based attribution entirely.

He treats promo codes and UTM parameters as complementary signals, not substitutes, using both together to build a more complete picture of what a campaign actually drove. Beyond conversion data, Sachin tracks clickthrough rate, engagement, and comment sentiment to gauge brand perception, and flags that comment moderation is a real operational task brands often underestimate.

If you want a practical framework for deciding which metrics matter most in an influencer program, and why click attribution alone will always leave you undercounting, this one is worth the 78 seconds.