As the influencer marketing industry continues to mature and grow, it’s getting harder and harder for brands to cut through the noise with social media influencers. In 2020, there are projected to be 6.12 billion brand sponsored influencer posts on Instagram, which is almost double the 3.7 million posts in 2018.
We have reached a time where brands who rely on one social media platform on which to activate influencers are at risk of falling behind – no matter what the platform is or how powerful it may currently be. The need for a diversified mix of social media platforms is crucial for brands looking to both scale existing influencer marketing strategies and gain critical market share.
For marketers looking to reach new Generation Z audiences, TikTok has emerged as a first-mover opportunity. With over 500 million monthly active users (and growing), TikTok is attracting talented creators making highly engaging content. More and more brands are seeing TikTok as an ideal platform on which to activate influencers as part of an integrated marketing strategy.
TikTok for Marketers: How TikTok Influencers Can Drive Value in Your Next Influencer Marketing Campaign
What is TikTok?
TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular apps among Generation Z, but it largely remains a mystery to many in the 24+ crowd. If you find yourself thinking “new platform who dis?” you’re not alone – if you remember the old days of Vine (#RIP), TikTok is basically its long lost, more successful younger cousin. It’s become a trend and meme incubator, giving birth to dozens of dance challenges, Internet jokes, viral sensations and legitimate artists and content creators.
In addition to the short videos on TikTok, what makes the platform so addictive is largely a function of how it leverages AI to inform its algorithm. Unlike Facebook and the majority of social networks that optimize their news feed algorithms based off who you’ve engaged with (leaving you limited to the confines of who you’re connected to), TikTok’s AI optimizes based on what content you’ve engaged with, leveraging thousands of tags per single piece of content to do so. In an environment like TikTok, content creators are able to amass followings because of the content they publish – not just because of who they are or how many followers they have.
How Popular is TikTok?
- TikTok reports having 800 million monthly active users worldwide.
- 90% of TikTok users visit the app more than once per day, with users opening the app eight times per day on average.
- On average, users spent 52 minutes per day on TikTok, which is more than other social media apps like Facebook (49 minutes), Instagram (34 minutes), Twitter (27 minutes), YouTube (40 minutes), Pinterest (28 minutes), Snapchat (35 min) and Reddit (16 min).
Who Uses TikTok?
- 500 million monthly active users worldwide use the app.
- 50% of TikTok’s global audience is under the age of 34 with 26% between 18 and 24.
- 56% of TikTok users are male.
- In less than 18 months, the number of U.S. adult TIkTok users grew 5.5x.
How to Activate TikTok Influencers to Launch an Influencer Marketing Campaign
- Establish TikTok Campaign Goals: Align on the brand’s goal with their social media presence on TikTok. For instance, is the brand trying drive brand awareness or engagement, or is it to encourage viewers to take a certain action? Whatever the brand’s campaign goals may be, it’s important to define them before the campaign starts so that they can appropriately measure the ROI.
- Set Budget: Establish the marketing budget or influencer incentives based on the size and scale of the desired campaign.
- Select TikTok Influencers: Find TikTok influencers by searching relevant hashtags within the app and select content creators who align with the brand’s desired content style and the specific campaign requirements. For TikTok specifically, where the content an influencer creates is far more important than vanity metrics, it’s important to make sure the influencer’s content style matches what the brand has in mind.
- Create Content: Activate influencers to create content assets within the timeline and marketing objectives. It’s especially important for marketers to provide total creative freedom to creators and trust that these creators are most knowledgeable about the type of content that resonates the best on the platform and with their audience.
- Brand Videos: Transfer the rights-approved influencer-generated content (IGC) to the brand to post on their own TikTok accounts. Brands can also leverage IGC organically or can put paid behind to increase exposure with TikTok’s self-serve ad platform. If brands do this, it’s important to always give creative credit to the influencer by tagging them.
- Measure Results: Measure IGC and performance from influencers participating in the campaign. Keep in mind that TikTok content continues to gain traction and can generate results weeks and months past the publish date.
Additional Considerations to Keep In Mind When Leveraging TikTok for Influencer Marketing
- Age Restrictions with 18+ Creators: Since TikTok’s audience is primarily Generation Z/Young Millennials, it’s in marketers’ best interests to activate verified and Popular Creators who have opted into TikTok’s Creator Group and are 18+. This enables a brand to partner with brand-safe creators who fall within the appropriate age demographics for sponsored collaborations.
- Music Copyrighting with Promo+ Playlist: Popular and Verified Creators have been given the option to access TikTok’s Promo+ Playlist, which is a library with commercially-cleared music. It is ultimately the brands responsibility to ensure they have the clearance for the music a creator uses. It’s in marketers’ best interests to encourage creators to use “Original Sounds” or music from the “Promo+ Playlist.”
For more tips on how to activate TikTok influencers as part of your next marketing campaign, book a demo with one of our expert strategists.
