After exploding into the scene, many influencers and types migrated to TikTok for its enjoyable, mild, and short-form video content material. Now, in locations like the wonder trade, TikTok continues to have a stronghold. In reality, Traackr’s current Beauty State of Influence report discovered that video views on TikTok beauty-related content material went up by 39% from 2021 to 2022.
So it’s most likely no shock that manufacturers are persevering with to experiment with TikTok influencer campaigns to drive each consciousness and gross sales. Whether or not you’re new to working with TikTok influencers or seeking to take your partnerships to the following stage, listed below are some suggestions that now we have taken from real-world success tales that will help you get essentially the most out of your influencer campaigns and program.
Nervous concerning the TikTok ban on faculty campuses? Right here’s what it might imply for TikTok influencer campaigns.
4 Ideas for Profitable TikTok Influencer Campaigns
Outline a listing of attributes and metrics to search out prime TikTok influencers
Each nice influencer marketing campaign begins with nice companions. But, discovering prime influencers who suit your model (and price range) might be some of the difficult hurdles to beat. There’s a delicate artwork to discovering the suitable ones!
To slender the record of potential TikTok influencer companions, it’s greatest to develop a listing of attributes and metrics that matter to your model. Here’s a wishlist that you could be need to contemplate:
- Excessive performing content material. Whereas efficiency metrics embody issues like impressions, attain, whole engagements, and whole video views it’s greatest observe to keep away from utilizing metrics that focus solely on quantity or absolute numbers. Why? As a result of the information will unfairly favor influencers with bigger audiences. As a substitute, you’ll be able to consider content material efficiency in a method that’s proportional to an influencer’s attain through the use of metrics like engagement price and video view price. In case you have an influencer marketing platform like Traackr, you’ll be able to even see an influencer’s common engagement price over time.
- Goal social platform, variety of followers, and placement. Relying in your influencer marketing campaign targets and sort, you could need to give attention to influencers which have sure social footprints. For instance, for a product seeding TikTok marketing campaign you most likely need influencers which have the vast majority of their footprint on TikTok, and dwell in a spot the place you’ll be able to ship your product. It’s additionally necessary (and in a whole lot of methods unavoidable) to consider the influencer’s tier (variety of followers) — however possibly not for the explanations you suppose. Larger followings aren’t at all times higher! Typically smaller influencers have extra engaged or area of interest audiences that can work higher on your model. For extra on this, examine how hims & hers has used a multi-tier strategy for influencer campaigns.
- Audience demographic. Once more, relying in your influencer marketing campaign targets and sort, it’s your decision influencers with a selected kind of viewers. Do you promote an zits skincare product? Then it’s your decision a TikTok influencer with an viewers that skews youthful. Are you attempting to extend product consideration and gross sales? Then it’s your decision an influencer who has followers in a selected location to allow them to truly buy your merchandise. Do you promote a product that could be a bit pricier? Then you could need to give attention to TikTok influencers who’ve followers with larger incomes. There are methods to do that manually, however in fact, as with every thing else on this record, it’s simpler when you might have an influencer marketing platform that pulls in all this data for you.
- Excessive model and product affinity. Final, however actually not least, it’s good to guarantee that your TikTok influencer companions have proven a pure affinity to your model and/or product sorts. You possibly can consider this by looking by way of their previous content material for sure key phrases — this could possibly be your model’s identify, your rivals’ names, and even phrases that apply to your merchandise (e.g. “sustainability” for a sustainable vogue model, or “retinol serum” for a selected skincare product).
In case you have already mastered the above record, you may make your approach much more subtle by factoring in your model values and voice. For instance, Beekman 1802 discovered prime TikTok influencers with the steerage of its personal Influencer Rubric — one thing that integrated core model values like kindness and belief, alongside efficiency metrics. Beekman 1802’s influencer search approach (together with different issues) labored so effectively that its influencer marketing campaign ended up promoting out to product sorts in Ulta Magnificence.
Tip: Need to dive deeper? Right here’s an in-depth article about discovering prime creators for influencer campaigns.
Experiment till your discover your “TikTok model voice”
In case you are new to working with TikTok influencers, some of the tough elements is realizing what sort of content material to ask for. Ever since TikTok took off, there’s been a sizzling debate about what sorts of content material performs effectively there.
There are some faculties of thought that inform manufacturers that TikTok content material must be vastly completely different from the kind of content material posted on different platforms (primarily Instagram). Whereas this was actually true at first — TikTok content material wanted to be unfiltered and entertaining as a substitute of polished and poised — the reply is now much more advanced. There are lots of TikTok influencers who efficiently cross promote their content material on Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts!
So the place does this depart us? Just like broad influencer advertising and marketing methods, there isn’t any one “appropriate” approach to construct profitable TikTok influencer campaigns. The varieties of content material, types, and influencer companions that work for one model might not work for an additional.
“Manufacturers typically occasions get caught in their very own playbooks — returning to the identical influencers, platforms and varieties of content material that they (and their rivals) have been doing for years. To achieve at this time’s shopper you must be courageous sufficient to experiment and embrace new content material and channels. I believe our TikTok activation was so profitable as a result of its unfiltered, scrappy playful tone was already such an ideal match for our model… We didn’t simply attempt a brand new platform… we performed with content material and searched out new voices exterior the standard magnificence house.” — Brad Farrell, CMO of Beekman 1802
In the end the reply to discovering good TikTok content material is… it’s good to experiment till you discover what works for your particular model.
One thing that Beekman 1802 did effectively in its TikTok influencer marketing campaign? It inbuilt an experimentation interval. Earlier than it even reached out to influencers or developed a content material technique, the model empowered its numerous worker community to create and check content material by itself profile. This inside testing gave the advertising and marketing group a approach to determine what varieties of content material greatest signify its distinctive mixture of name storytelling and skincare level of distinction. Based mostly on that experimentation, the group got here up with classes of content material that it needed to prioritize, primarily: academic, value-based, and genuine.
In case you are getting ready on your very first TikTok influencer marketing campaign or need to revamp your present campaigns, contemplate attempting an analogous technique!
Keep away from being prescriptive to your TikTok influencer companions
Now, there’s undoubtedly a approach to overdo your model voice! Whereas it’s good to have an thought of what works on your model, one of many worst issues you may do is attempt to drive your TikTok influencer companions into a selected mould.
“Once I sense that there’s restricted artistic freedom, I instantly pull again as a result of I don’t need to do exactly an advert. I need to do one thing that’s humorous, relatable, and promotes the corporate in my very own voice.” – Kat Stickler, Influencer & Comic
TikTok influencers (and influencers of every kind) are skilled creators. They’ve cultivated a relationship with their followers, and so they know what’s going to and received’t land. Whereas it’s good to share your imaginative and prescient with them, be sure you stay open to their suggestions and revisions. Like all nice artistic processes, TikTok influencer partnerships are sometimes greatest in the event that they evolve past your unique thought.
And it’s not simply TikTok influencers who’ve this concept! TikTok itself urges each manufacturers and creatives to be courageous and check out new and completely different approaches.
“It’s truly what we talked about with our purchasers at this time. Bravery is large. It’s a must to be courageous to come back on our platform and launch management, particularly for CPG purchasers and conventional purchasers. Releasing management to the arms of an unknown is frightening however the payoff and the reward is sky’s the restrict.” – Amy Oelkers, Vertical Director of CPG, World Enterprise Options at TikTok
So what does bravery appear to be with TikTok influencer campaigns? One thought is to work with a various vary of TikTok influencers that span tiers and disciplines. Use an influencer marketing platform with influencer discovery and vetting capabilities to search out TikTok influencers who’re creating entertaining content material that align along with your model values, although they might not function in your trade particularly. Many manufacturers are seeing success with this strategy!
For instance, Beekman 1802 discovered some unconventional companions like TikTok influencer, Katie Beth Miedenar (@cappybears), with this strategy. Katie Beth just isn’t a standard magnificence influencer — in reality, she gained recognition due to her love for animals. Nonetheless, Beekman 1802 and Katie Beth each worth spreading a message of “kindness”, which was sufficient to create a stable and profitable partnership.
Tip: Need to hear extra from TikTok about easy methods to be courageous and profitable? Take a look at this podcast episode all about TikTok influencer partnerships — there’s additionally a part two you probably have time!
Steadiness your TikTok campaigns with particular targets and enjoyable
Though that is the final tip, it’s some of the necessary! When establishing your TikTok influencer marketing campaign it’s useful to select one overarching purpose, after which break it down into smaller, micro targets.
Let’s say that your marketing campaign purpose is to drive gross sales for a brand new product. Whereas this will look like an amazing purpose, it isn’t truly particular sufficient that will help you decide the ways or KPIs that it’s good to set to get there.
Tip: Be taught extra about easy methods to set tangible targets and KPIs on your influencer campaigns and packages.
If we have been to rewrite that marketing campaign purpose with SMART (particular, measurable, achievable, related, and timebound), we’d might get one thing like: drive 50% of in-store gross sales from an influencer marketing campaign this month. After getting this sort of clearly outlined purpose, you should have a neater time pondering by way of the roadblocks forward and ways that can get you there.
Let’s return to Beekman 1802’s profitable TIkTok influencer campaign instance as an instance how this strategy works.
- Particular targets: generate model consciousness amongst millennials and drive gross sales in Ulta Magnificence for 2 new merchandise.
- Subtle influencer discovery and vetting: chosen a mixture of magnificence and non-beauty influencers to create academic, entertaining, and product-specific content material. Companions have been chosen for his or her potential to assist construct Beekman 1802’s skincare credibility, representing their playful and artistic model persona, and that includes their core values – resembling kindness and belief.
- Tailor-made ways: for its consciousness purpose, Beekman 1802 requested its TikTok influencer companions to create academic skincare content material (specializing in the advantages and efficacy of product substances). Nonetheless, Beekman 1802 took it to an entire new stage by not simply specializing in product consciousness, however a deeper model consciousness too. It requested TikTok influencer companions to create content material that featured its cornerstone model worth — kindness. For its gross sales purpose, Beekman 1802 requested TikTok influencer companions to share one-day solely low cost codes for Ulta Magnificence’s 21 Days of Magnificence occasion. This technique not solely created an thrilling and priceless alternative for the influencers’ followers, it additionally made attribution to the influencer marketing campaign pretty straightforward. The outcomes? Beekman 1802’s Milk Drops Ceramide Serum bought out in a matter of hours!
Beekman 1802’s TikTok influencer campaign is an unbelievable instance of what a model can obtain when it combines science with creativity, information with instincts, and tried-and-true ways with new concepts. In case you’re hungry for extra concepts, try our final publish on profitable TikTok influencer campaigns. Hopefully it is going to get your artistic juices flowing!