If your business targets millennials and/or Generation Z, you have probably considered TikTok influencer marketing.
If not, it’s time you do.
The benefits of influencer marketing are known to almost every brand of the day.
When done right, it can help you:
- Gain customer trust
- Improve brand awareness
- Reach a wider audience
- Enrich your content strategy
- Grow revenue
As per Statista, the global influencer marketing market size was valued at a record 16.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.
Image via Statista
Unsurprisingly, TikTok influencer marketing opportunities are cropping up left, right, and center.
To help you kickstart or optimize your TikTok influencer campaigns, we have curated this little guide. Keep reading to learn why TikTok is a great choice for influencer marketing, how to find TikTok influencers, the steps involved in building a TikTok influencer strategy, and more.
Table of Contents
Why Use TikTok for Influencer Marketing
If you have been using Instagram or other platforms for influencer marketing all along, you might be wondering: do I really need TikTok?
The short answer is yes.
As for the long answer, here are some reasons why brands should leverage TikTok influencer marketing:
The Popularity
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, with over 1.2 billion users at the end of 2021, and this number is expected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2022.
Image via Business of Apps
The platform’s audience is pretty young. Almost 48% of TikTok users in the U.S. fall under the 10-29 age bracket.
So, if your target customer typically hangs out on this platform, you’d probably want to up your TikTok marketing game.
The Content
TikTok is fast-paced, exciting, and creative. TikTok users want good content, and they want it fast. The videos are generally short and vertically filmed. From educational to entertaining to empowering, all kinds of content do well on the platform.
For instance, Tabitha Brown is a TikTok influencer who shares simple and delicious vegan recipes.
Image via TikTok
Another point to be noted is that TikTok users appreciate authenticity and spontaneity. So, assuming TikTok influencer marketing is on your radar, remember to never give chosen influencers a script. Let the content resemble the influencer’s regular style for maximum engagement levels.
The Algorithm
TikTok has a pretty unique algorithm that makes it easy for users to go viral quickly. For instance, TikTok influencer Bella Poarch gained nearly all of her followers in the month of August 2020—thanks to a lip-syncing video.
Today, the video has over 53 million likes and 1.5 million comments:
Image via TikTok
TikTok doesn’t give as much weightage to the video creator’s statistics. Simply put, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have or whether your previous content performed well. If you create a video with a popular audio track and hashtags, you’d have the opportunity to get millions of views.
The point is, using TikTok influencer marketing, brands stand the chance to get in front of millions of people at once.
How Does TikTok Influencer Marketing Work?
Let’s be honest. Social media channels like Facebook and Instagram have a far higher number of daily users. However, the brand loyalty and engagement enjoyed by TikTok is through the roof and could surpass both Facebook and Instagram very soon.
Did you know that the engagement rate on TikTok is around 5.96%? In contrast, the engagement rate of Instagram is only 0.83%. The engagement rate for Facebook is 0.13% and for Twitter it is just 0.05%.
Ever since its launch in 2018, TikTok has grown into an incredible platform for creators, consumers, and brands alike. Influencers are huge on TikTok and when it comes to brand engagement, there is no better platform than TikTok.
If you are interested in TikTok influencer marketing, you must learn how it works.
Well, as the name suggests, this marketing technique leverages popular influencers on the platform. An influencer is someone who has a significant following on social media platforms. Brands pay them to promote their products on their channels.
The main idea behind TikTok influencer marketing is to persuade followers to buy these products. Influencers typically have the power to influence buying decisions because of their relationship with their audience. TikTok influencers can have quite a powerful impact on people, especially the younger generation.
Here is a breakdown of TikTok users according to age in the US.
Image via Ainfluencer
Despite TikTok influencer marketing being relatively new, it is an excellent solution for brands looking for great marketing opportunities while enhancing brand engagement with their target audience.
By promoting products on their TikTok channel, influencers can help attract prospective customers and encourage them to make purchases.
Many well-known brands have had successful collaborations with popular TikTok influencers, creating a mass appeal for their products and services. Here are some examples.
Image via Meltwater
7 Tips to Find the Right TikTok Influencers
So you’ve done the research and think that TikTok influencer marketing could be beneficial for your brand.
Now what?
It’s time to look for the right influencer. To ace this step, keep the following tips in mind:
1. Set Clear Goals
What exactly do you want to achieve from TikTok influencer marketing? Is it brand awareness? Are you hoping to generate quality leads? Or do you simply want to build a community?
Remember—your campaign goals will ideally impact who you partner with.
Your goals determine everything, from the influencers you partner with to the content you produce. Having clearly defined influencer marketing campaign goals can help you create targeted and streamlined campaigns.
Before you start searching for influencers, you should understand the strengths and weaknesses of each influencer tier. Influencers are typically divided into 5 tiers in the influencer marketing industry based on the number of followers as shown below.
Your campaign goals will determine which type of influencer or influencers you should collaborate with.
If you want to create more visibility for your brand or generate more buzz for your marketing campaigns, you may want to work with Mega influencers because they have a massive reach.
However, if you want to drive engagement or repurpose high-converting social content, working with nano or micro-influencers is preferred because they have a more engaged audience at a more affordable rate for most brands.
These types of influencers also work best if you have a local business or if you cater to a very niche audience. In such cases, look for micro-influencers who have similar audiences as your target customers, so you can reach the right people with your TikTok influencer marketing campaign.
Once you have decided which influencer tier you want to work with, you can now begin your search for the right TikTok influencers.
2. Know Your Target Audience
So you know your target customer uses TikTok. But make sure you also know:
- Their likes and dislikes
- Their pain points
- The kind of sponsored content they engage well with
- TikTok influencers they follow
- How you can add value to their lives
When you understand your target audience, you can focus your marketing efforts to get a higher ROI.
Understanding your target audience also ensures that you choose the influencers that they can relate to. Having the right influencers promote your brand increases the chances of consumers connecting with your brand more.
You will also be able to develop more effective marketing communication strategies that can help to boost engagement and brand loyalty.
Here are some simple steps to know your target audience better.
Image via RedAlkemi
3. Conduct A Google Search
Oftentimes, a good place to start is Google. Simply type in “your niche + TikTok influencers” and see what results show up. This is an especially great tactic if you’re looking for popular influencers.
Image via Google
Google search is quick and easy, and gives you many options to make the right choice. You can simply conduct keyword search to find a list of TikTok influencers in your niche.
However, it’s not necessary that influencers that appear at the top of a Google search are the right ones for your TikTok influencer marketing campaigns. You will need to do more in-depth research to make the right choice.
Having a good understanding of your target audience is crucial here. You should know what kind of videos your audience prefers. This will help you shorten your influencer list to ensure that it contains only the most relevant influencers.
Having a good understanding of your target audience is crucial here. You should know what kind of videos your audience prefers. This will help you shorten your influencer list to ensure that it contains only the most relevant influencers.
Besides looking at the kind of videos popular TikTok influencers make, you should also study their posting habits.
Does it suit your campaign? Do these influencers follow the same types of values as your brand?
You should also check out their videos to ensure that they are not promoting your competitors. Engagement metrics is another very important factor to pay attention to when selecting influencers on TikTok,
4. Search Relevant Hashtags on TikTok
Head to the main discovery page, and enter popular and relevant hashtags in the search bar. This could help you identify influencers to work with.
Alternatively, you can also type in certain keywords or industry trends, as in the screenshot below:
Image via TikTok
Using the right hashtags requires some thought and planning, but they are an effective way to find TikTok influencers. So, how do you find trending hashtags?
Here are some tips to find popular hashtags on TikTok:
Analyze Industry Content
The simplest way to find relevant hashtags is to scroll through content on TikTok relevant to your industry. You will need to search for content based on topics that interest your target audience. However, this method can be extremely time-consuming.
Although this tactic may not be the best use of your time, it does not hurt to keep an eye out for popular hashtags relevant to your industry. You will be surprised to come across relevant hashtags for your niche that may not be as popular, not to mention, influencers using those hashtags.
Monitor Your Competitors
Chances are, your competitors are also quite active on TikTok. Keep an eye out for the hashtags they are using.
It is never a good idea to work with influencers who are already promoting your competitors’ products. But these hashtags can also help you find influencers who aren’t.
Use Hashtag Finder Tools
This is perhaps the fastest way to find trending hashtags on TikTok. All you need to do is enter your industry, a topic of your choice, and any keyword, and these tools will generate a list of related hashtags for you.
These hashtags can help you find influencers who have created related content.
5. Vet Existing Influencer Content
Once you discover influencers on the platform, take some time to go through the sponsored content they put out. Then, gauge whether such content would work well with your target audience. Also, think about whether the content aligns with your brand’s tone of voice.
Identifying your target audience is important but it is equally important to understand the kind of content they like.
For instance, your brand sells kitchen appliances, and your target audience are home cooks. You may, therefore, want to look for influencers who share cooking videos on the TikTok app.
Working with such influencers on your TikTok influencer marketing campaigns can help generate more brand awareness among home cooks and food enthusiasts.
When assessing the quality of influencer videos, you should also pay attention to how well-thought-out and well-crafted the content is. Does the quality of the TikTok video meet your expectations?
Compare the personal content of the TikTok influencer to their sponsored content. Can they promote your products without sounding too promotional? Is the content engaging, entertaining, and easy to watch?
If the answer to the above questions is a “yes,” the influencer may be a great fit for your TikTok influencer marketing campaign.
6. Check Other Platforms
Although TikTok’s popularity is going through the roof, many influencers are not limited to TikTok. Popular influencers are increasing their visibility across multiple social media channels.
So, if you like an influencer on YouTube, they may have an amazing following on TikTok as well.
For instance, Zach King is a popular influencer on Instagram with a following of over 24 million. On TikTok too, he has a massive following of over 71 million.
Image Source: Instagram
Image Source: TikTok
If you are looking for influencers for your TikTok influencer marketing campaigns, you may start with any social media platform of your choice. Most of the popular ones have a strong following on multiple platforms.
Chances are that you’ve already worked with influencers on other social platforms. In that case, it’s worth checking if they have a growing fanbase on TikTok too. And if they don’t, perhaps they could recommend a TikTok influencer to you.
7. Partner with an Influencer Marketing Agency
If you want to skip all the hassle, you can partner with an influencer agency such as Get Hyped. Agencies like these are already well-versed with the ins and outs of influencer marketing campaigns. From finding influencers to executing the campaign to monitoring results, they can help you from start to end.
Doing this will also pave the way for a higher campaign ROI.
How to Launch A Successful TikTok Influencer Marketing Campaign
Now’s when all your planning and research come to life—it’s time for execution. When it comes to TikTok influencer marketing, brands benefit when they:
1. Set A Clear Budget
Social media marketing is extremely popular these days as it allows marketers to engage with potential customers. And, when it comes to driving engagement, most marketers turn to TikTok.
Behind every successful TikTok influencer marketing campaign is a well-planned budget. Why is a budget so important?
First, your marketing budget and ROI (Return on Investment) go hand in hand. Your budget determines how much money you have for your TikTok influencer marketing campaign, and how you are going to spend that money.
Being unaware of the amount of money available and how it is being used is a recipe for disaster.
Having a well-planned budget is also important for the following reasons:
- It gives you a clear sense of direction for managing your marketing efforts
- You can allocate your financial resources more effectively, boosting your ROI
- A budget ensures that you are staying on target when it comes to estimated costs and actual costs
- It gives you a solid basis for assessing actual results and calculating ROI
Overall, a designated marketing budget increases your chances of success. When you know how much you have to spend, you have a better idea of which marketing techniques can help maximize your ROI.
How much budget should you allocate to TikTok marketing?
That depends largely on influencer rates.
Now, coming to the real question: how much do TikTok creators charge?
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, TikTok influencers can charge anywhere between $5 to well over $2500 per post. When designing influencer campaigns, be sure about how much you are willing to shell out.
Here are some factors that generally impact TikTok influencer rates:
- Their reach
- Their engagement rate
- The number of posts required
- Ad placement
- Your goals and expectations
The cost of a TikTok influencer marketing campaign also depends on the nature of the content and the effort it takes to create the said content. For example, a shoutout on a single TikTok video will cost a lot less than a series of videos for a particular product.
So, set a realistic budget considering all these factors.
2. Understand the Platform Well
Let’s admit it—TikTok is still relatively new. Naturally, a lot of marketers are still only learning the ropes of making TikTok work. If that sounds like you, make sure you get to know the platform before you dive into TikTok influencer marketing.
The power of TikTok can’t be underestimated, especially among Generation Z. And, savvy businesses are trying to get in on the action with TikTok.
To familiarize yourself with TikTok, start by looking at TikTok videos. Check out the different features of the app, experiment with filters, and keep an eye out for the songs and effects that are trending.
You should also keep track of the most popular branded hashtag challenges on the platform.
TikTok has a Duets feature too and that is also worth exploring.
As we have mentioned before, TikTok’s algorithm and user base are slightly different than other platforms. Therefore, it is extremely important that you understand how TikTok ranks and displays videos.
Thanks to the highly personalized algorithm, no two users will have the same videos on their “For You” page. You may also see a difference over time depending on your viewing preferences and current state of mind.
Here’s how the TikTok algorithm ranks videos for you:
Image Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
Let’s discuss each of these separately.
User Interaction
Different TikTok users may like different things. For instance, Generation Z and Millenials may have different choices when it comes to video content.
TikTok’s algorithm offers recommendations based on the way a user interacts with content on the platform. It picks up clues about what a user likes or doesn’t like.
TikTok may recommend videos on the “For You” page based on:
- The accounts you follow
- Your comments
- The creators you have hidden
- Videos you have shared or liked
- Videos you have marked as “Not Interested”
- Videos you have marked as “Favorite”
- The completion rate of your videos
- Personal content that you post
- Your interests, which is indicated by how you interact with organic ads or content
Video Information
The TikTok algorithm processes video signals from the videos you seek out in the Discover tab.
It may include details, such as:
- Sounds
- Captions
- Effects
- Hashtags
- Trending topics
Device and Account Settings
The platform offers various settings that can be used to optimize performance. However, your account settings do not have as big an impact as user interaction or video signals.
Some of the settings included in the TikTok algorithm are:
- Country setting (you are likely to see more content from people in your country)
- Language preference
- Categories of interest you selected when you signed up
- Types of mobile devices
So, it is a good idea to tailor your TikTok influencer marketing campaign according to your target audience. Use as much creative freedom as you like, and experiment with different types of content and test various ways of reaching your audience before doing anything else.
3. Create Share-Worthy Content
Creating content on any social platform is a lot about making it shareable, and TikTok is no exception. Generally, the following influencer-generated content performs well on the platform:
- Original: Video content that’s unique, engaging, and captivates viewers.
- Trendsetting: Content that builds on a current trend or even better, starts a new trend.
- Duet: A TikTok feature in which users can create content with each other by means of a split-screen.
- Auditorily and visually pleasing: Catchy jingles and design elements that boost memorability of content.
4. Research Your Competitors
If you have been considering TikTok for your influencer marketing campaign, chances are your competitors are too. And if they are not, this may be the right time to gain competitive advantage.
Regardless of whether your competitors are active on the platform or not, you should check out similar brands as yours and see what they are up to on the app.
Figure out what’s worked for them and what didn’t. You may even use the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) framework for an in-depth analysis.
Here’s an example of SWOT analysis for marketing.
Image via Neil Patel
A SWOT analysis helps you uncover the most important factors impacting your marketing, such as failure to promote your brand effectively or competition pushing you out of the market. It goes beyond standard metrics like ROI or CPC.
By performing a SWOT analysis, you will have a better understanding of what influencers and content work best for your campaign. You will be able to identify threats to your campaign before they negatively impact your bottom line.
5. Post Regularly
TikTok recommends posting 1 to 4 times a day to figure out how different types of content are received by your target audience. Creating a content calendar for yourself could make things easier for you.
Here is a sample content calendar for your reference.
Image Source: SkillShare
By creating an intelligent content calendar, you can make the most of this wonderful platform. A well-thought-out content plan helps to:
- Increase brand awareness by helping you reach a wider audience
- Allow your consumers to anticipate your content timelines. This will help to increase video views
- Keep the excitement going for your content
- Create a more engaged community
- Get valuable feedback from your audience
- Create opportunities for offering customer service through content, if required
- Have a planned and more manageable plan for content creation and delivery
- Advertise your product and services to the right audience at the right time
- Boost sales by promoting your products and services on TikTok
- Drive web traffic to your website and other marketing platforms
Posting multiple times a day is no easy task. One of the challenges is coming up with new ideas for content creation.
Making a content plan will help you plan your content weeks and months in advance, which means no more running out of video ideas to post on TikTok.
6. Trust TikTok Influencers and their Creativity
As per a study, 73% of influencers spend 1 to 5 hours a day on TikTok.
Image via Dropbox
Naturally, they know exactly how the platform functions, and what kind of content works. So, be sure to trust the influencers you partner with. Define basic guidelines and be clear about what you want, but don’t take away influencers’ creative spark.
Besides, viewers can easily distinguish between an authentic influencer message and a sponsored campaign. If you end up dictating what to do, viewers will definitely see through it.
7. Try A Hashtag Challenge
TikTok users love social media challenges. Branded hashtag challenges are extremely popular on TikTok. Simply put, it requires you to come up with a branded hashtag, and challenge users to share a particular type of video.
By having an influencer spread the word about such a challenge, brands can make waves across TikTok. Hashtag challenges are a great way to get fans to become advocates for your brand temporarily.
Apparel company Gymshark has successfully implemented several hashtag challenges on TikTok. Its most recent one is called the #StandUpChallenge, and requires users to share a video of them performing a dual gymnastics routine. The brand partnered with TikTok star Demi Bagby to popularise the challenge.
The result?
Almost 650 million views for the hashtag, and an endless stream of user-generated content.
Image via TikTok
Needless to say, Gymshark has also come to have a massive following on TikTok.
8. Measure Campaign Results
The biggest mistake marketers make is that of not monitoring influencer campaign results.
After all, if you don’t know what worked and what didn’t, how are you going to implement your next campaign?
Measuring your campaign performance helps you understand if your marketing efforts have paid off. It also allows you to capitalize on growth opportunities and spot areas that need improvement.
How do you know whether your investment in TikTok influencer marketing paid off? By measuring the campaign results, of course.
Every time you set goals, make sure you also list down relevant performance metrics you must track. For instance, if your goal is brand awareness, you can see how much engagement the post generates. If your goal is generating sales, have a link tracking mechanism in place.
For measuring the effectiveness of your TikTok marketing campaigns, it is crucial to measure certain metrics to calculate reach and engagement.
How do you do that? The easiest way is to use TikTok analytics tools. These tools can give you all the data you need to measure performance, and also to modify your campaigns to reach the desired goals.
Some of the popular TikTok analytics tools available in the market are:
- Brand 24
- Iconosquare
- TrendTok
- Quintly, and
- TikBuddy
Image via TikBuddy
TikTok Analytics tools can be very helpful in creating effective content for your target market as well as enhance your existing content.
The insights you gather can be shared with the influencers you are working with to create better content that boosts the ROI of your marketing campaigns.
FAQs
1. How do you do influencer marketing on TikTok?
To do TikTok influencer marketing right, follow these steps:
- Understand the platform well
- Set clear goals
- Have a clear budget
- Find the right influencer
- Create share-worthy content
- Try different types of content
- Monitor campaign results
2. What is a TikTok influencer?
A TikTok influencer is someone who has a decently large following, a way with content, and a sway over their target audience. They are seen as expert figures in their niche, and their opinions are generally taken seriously.
Brands often pay TikTok influencers to promote their products and services.
3. How much do TikTok influencers make?
According to a report from IgFace, famous TikTok influencers can make anywhere between $500 and $20,000 per video.
Here are some factors that generally impact TikTok influencer prices per video:
- Their reach
- Their engagement rate
- The number of posts required
- Ad placement
- The goals and expectations
4. Is TikTok good for influencers?
Yes. TikTok is a spectacular platform for influencers. It’s fun, fast-paced, and inspiring, and makes it quite easy for videos to go viral quickly. Besides, as more and more brands realize the potential of TikTok influencer marketing, the demand for influencers will only rise.
5. Can TikTok be used for marketing?
Of course. TikTok is a spectacular platform for marketing. Through the platform, brands can nurture a closely-knit community, build brand awareness, find a new audience, and over time, increase sales.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know how TikTok influencer marketing works, it’s time to create your own campaign.
Remember that TikTok continues to be a relatively new social media platform. And so, competition isn’t as high as on platforms like Instagram and Facebook yet.
Our advice?
Strike when the iron is hot.
If your brand caters to the younger demographic, start chalking out your TikTok influencer marketing campaign today. If you feel stuck at any point, get in touch with us, and we’ll get the ball rolling for you.
