The key component of a successful influencer marketing campaign is keeping up with rapidly changing industry trends and creating fresh, new content.
5 years after its launch, TikTok (a 60-second maximum social media video platform) has grown to be essential for those hoping to stay relevant and connect with younger audiences.
With over 689 million monthly active users onTikTok, there’s a huge opportunity for brands.
To run a successful influencer marketing campaign on TikTok you need to be flexible and innovative while following these best practices.
What is TikTok Influencer Marketing?
TikTok influencer marketing is when a company partners with a TikTok influencer to create branded content in order to raise brand awareness for the product or organization. TikTok personalities create branded videos featuring products or shouting out organizations. Influencer marketing is quickly becoming the most reliable form of social media marketing— compared to paid ads and organic posting.
How to use TikTok for your next Influencer Marketing Campaign
What sets TikTok apart from other social media platforms in terms of influencer marketing is the demographic. 62% of TikTok users in the US are between 10 and 29 years old, with just over 7% being over the age of 50. Even though there has been growth with users over 30, TikTok still has a far younger demographic compared to other popular social platforms, TikTok campaigns need to adjust to be successful.
You can adjust a standard campaign workflow using these three TikTok-specific best practices.
1. Keep it Natural
TikTok users have millions of videos available to them at the scroll of their fingers, so catching their attention is the first step. And because TikTok’s young-skewing demographic is wary of traditional advertising efforts, to market to them on their own turf you need to ensure that your branded TikTok videos are as natural as possible.
A key strategy with TikTok is to get out of the influencer’s way, while still providing them with the necessary guidelines to understand your brand and product. Instead of micro-managing your partnership, trust that they are the greatest resource for creating branded videos. After all, they did the work of gaining a mass following, they know what their audience expects from their content.
Source: TikTok
The success of mega (celeb) influencer Charli D’Amelio’s partnership with Dunkin’ Donuts is in the creative freedom the coffee retailer allows D’Amelio to have. Pre TikTok, Charli was a Dunkin’ fan, and having grown up in New England, she began incorporating videos with Dunkin’ coffees on her page organically and ultimately began a brand partnership. When the relationship began and promoted content ended up on her channel, it matched the content she was putting out and was only strengthened by Dunkin’s official involvement.
2. Choose the Right TikTok Influencer
As with influencer marketing on any platform, choosing the right TikTok influencer to work with is key to a successful campaign. Choosing a TikTok player with a follower base that matches your target audience, and a specialty that resonates with your product or service allows for the relationship with your audience to seem organic and natural, not forced.
If you are choosing to run an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok just because someone in your organization thinks “Hey! We should be on TikTok”, you may want to pause and reconsider. Because the user demographic of TikTok is generally the same across the app, if you can’t find an influencer who matches your campaign needs, then you may want to consider looking for your perfect match on a different network.
3. Embrace Trends
Due to the power of the algorithm, any creator has an equal opportunity to create a viral video or have their profile be seen by millions of viewers. The secret to this overnight success? Trends and hashtags. The TikTok algorithm shows users what they want to see, meaning: if you watch one video with a certain audio clip in it then there is a high chance the next recommended video incorporates the same audio clip. Embracing TikTok trends— like viral dance challenges, hashtags, or audio clips— are a key way to get your branded videos in front of a large audience.
Influencer Marketing on TikTok: Weighing the Pros and Cons
TikTok has its own pros and cons, just like any social media or influencer opportunity. Remember— it may seem like an app that’s just fun for the kids, but it has real business potential. Gen Z and Millennials alike have buying power. Gen Z alone (those aged 7 to 22) has a spending power of over $140 billion.
Benefits of Influencer Marketing on TikTok
- TikTok is an indisputable social media giant with over 1 billion videos viewed every day in the past year
- TikTok is designed for mobile devices, allowing you to market to viewers at any moment of their day
- TikTok’s ranking algorithm shows users content tailored to their likes, allowing influencers to gain more views
- With well-used hashtags or by adhering to popular video trends, Influencers can grow at a rapid pace
- With so many video creating features available, the creativity of influencer marketing knows no bounds
- Having a large follower base is not a prerequisite for creating a viral video, any user has an equal opportunity to create viral, widely shared content
- Because of the intimate nature of videos, users are more likely to trust influencers and their brand recommendations because they feel as though they truly know them on a personal level
- Paid distribution and advanced measurement (i.e. brand and sales lift) available on the platform with influencer marketing ROI
Limitations of TikTok Marketing
- Being a strictly video-based platform, there is no variety in the form of content you can create for your TikTok influencer marketing campaign
- With a new trend going viral practically every day, it can be challenging to continuously stay up to date on creating content
- If your target demographic is not Gen Z or younger millennials then you may want to take your influencer marketing efforts elsewhere
- TikTok moves at the speed of the internet, giving brands less control over how their messaging is interpreted
Choosing to run an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok is no small undertaking and requires knowledge of the platform and algorithm paired with influencer expertise. Now, are you ready for your next influencer marketing challenge? Here is How to Activate Influencer Marketing on Clubhouse.
TikTok campaigns are best executed by those with experience working with talent, optimizing content, and reaching the right audiences. Talk to the RhythmInfluence team to see how your organization can run a successful TikTok campaign.
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT