Influencer marketing works: when a trusted source tells us that something is great, we\u2019re inclined to want to try it out. It\u2019s like when your cool cousin recommends a new restaurant or your best friend won\u2019t shut up about the spin class that\u2019s changed their life.<\/p>\n
Influencers have a real impact, especially on TikTok<\/a>, where creator partnerships and ad campaigns run the marketing world. According to an eMarketer forecast<\/a>, influencer marketing spending in the U.S. will reach almost 6 billion dollars in 2024.<\/p>\n To make sure that your brand\u2019s marketing dollars are well-spent<\/a>, here\u2019s all you need to know about how to find and work with TikTok influencers. Spin class-wise, you\u2019re on your own\u2026 we\u2019re busy that day.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Bonus: Get a free TikTok Growth Checklist<\/span><\/strong> from famous TikTok creator Tiffy Chen that shows you how to gain 1.6 million followers with only 3 studio lights and iMovie.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n TikTok influencer marketing<\/a> is a type of social media advertising. A TikTok influencer is a creator who has a substantial and engaged following on TikTok. This can range from nano-influencers with less than 10,000 followers to mega-influencers with more than one million followers.<\/p>\n Influencer marketing occurs when a brand exchanges money, goods or services with a creator in exchange for promotion on the creator\u2019s TikTok channel. Brands do this because an influencer influences (duh) their followers, and promotion on an influencer\u2019s channel should lead to more sales for the brand.<\/p>\n Take this campaign from cosmetics brand Milk Makeup with TikTok beauty influencer Dasia Janae, for example.<\/p>\n The brand and influencer will generally make a deal\u2014for example, posting a certain number of TikToks in exchange for a certain amount of money. Sometimes there\u2019s affiliate marketing <\/a>involved, too.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to make a plan. Here\u2019s a guide to follow when getting started with influencer marketing.<\/p>\n Who are you marketing to, anyway? Understanding the interests and needs of your audience is an essential first step to take if you want to set up successful influencer marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n To see who you\u2019re reaching on TikTok, dive into your TikTok analytics (Hootsuite can help make sense of the numbers<\/a>) and check out the gender and location breakdown of your audience. You can even see what time your followers are most likely to be online\u2014take note so you can use a scheduling tool<\/a> to post your TikToks at the best times.<\/p>\n Thinking of your audience as a homogenous group isn\u2019t very useful when it comes to designing campaigns, though\u2014try creating buyer personas<\/a> to get a specific idea of a few imaginary individuals that could make up your target audience.<\/p>\n If your current TikTok following doesn\u2019t quite match up with the audience you\u2019re seeking to attract, consider rethinking your TikTok marketing strategy<\/a>. Partnering with the perfect influencer should help\u2026 let\u2019s move on to step two.<\/p>\n Bookmark this step. Print it out and frame it. Get it tattooed on your forehead (backwards, of course, so you can see it when you look in the mirror). Pinpointing the right influencer for your brand will make or break a marketing campaign, and it\u2019s crucial that you do thorough research before agreeing to join forces. This is not Love Is Blind<\/em>.<\/p>\n And you don\u2019t need to blindly scroll to find the right candidates, either. There are agencies that specialize in connecting brands with creators (The Influence Agency<\/a>, The Shelf<\/a>, and Single Grain<\/a> are a few) and influencer databases (like Brandwatch<\/a> and Upfluence<\/a>). Plus, you can search for influencers on TikTok\u2019s creator marketplace<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n The more followers and reach an influencer has, the more money they\u2019ll charge to create content\u2014but if you have a smaller marketing budget, you can still collaborate with nano- and micro-influencers. In fact, partnering strategically with a few nano-influencers can make a significant difference in your brand\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all about the follower count\u2014pay attention to the influencer\u2019s engagement rate<\/a> to make sure that their audience is genuinely connecting with them.<\/p>\n This step can be done even before you start reaching out to influencers. Brainstorm specific goals you\u2019d like to reach with your campaign\u2014are you trying to gain a certain number of followers? Make a certain number of sales? Maybe you\u2019re gearing up for a product launch and want a ton of TikTok users to sign up for a giveaway.<\/p>\n Not all of your goals need to be quantitative, either. For example, making meaningful connections with the influencer\u2019s followers or even establishing a positive relationship with the influencer themselves should be obvious goals.<\/p>\n Transparency and clarity is important when it comes to any business agreement, and especially important when it comes to the ever-changing social media landscape. Setting explicit expectations and coming to a clear agreement with a content creator will help to make sure that neither party is disappointed in the end result.<\/p>\n It may help to find examples from other campaigns from brands or influencers you love (hey, later in this blog post, we do just that) to give the creator an idea of what you\u2019re expecting.<\/p>\n Be direct about what you\u2019re offering (money, products, etc) in exchange for the campaign, and ensure you understand what sort of content the creator will produce. Do you expect the creator to deliver metrics that show how well the campaign performs? Let them know. If you want to see and approve the content before it goes live, be clear about that process, too.<\/p>\n Remember that creators are creative<\/em>, and that partnering with an influencer means they still have control over their own content. If you just want someone to read off a script, you\u2019re better off making an ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can provide the influencer with general guidelines, but remember that they have a brand image, too, and their followers love them because of the content they usually post. The creator\u2019s personality is an asset to your business, and the campaign should celebrate the influencer\u2019s brand as much as your own.<\/p>\n The work isn\u2019t done when the campaign goes live. Now\u2019s the time to pull up those TikTok analytics<\/a>, measure your website traffic and see what impact the influencer marketing actually had on your businesses. You may want to create a report<\/a> to demonstrate the campaign\u2019s success.<\/p>\n Like many things in the social media universe, TikTok influencer marketing isn\u2019t an exact science (maybe the algorithm is doing you dirty\u2014here\u2019s how to hack it<\/a>). Figure out what worked and what didn\u2019t, and use what you\u2019ve learned to make your next partnership even better.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFree 30-Day Trial<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Unless you\u2019ve got that Coca-Cola money (Pepsi money is also okay), you probably won\u2019t be partnering with the most-followed influencers on the planet\u2014but you can learn from them and the brands they work with.<\/p>\n You may not see these influencers on your FYP very often (that\u2019s because TikTok\u2019s algorithm<\/a> shows you videos it thinks you\u2019ll like, and your specific interests may not align with their niche\u2014after all, you\u2019re unique and special and not like other users), but they\u2019re still on top when it comes to follower count, and their strategies set a standard for modern influencer marketing.<\/p>\n This Italian creator\u2019s funny hot takes have rocketed him to stardom on TikTok. His lighthearted comedic edits and reaction videos have amassed him 161.4 million followers (pretty impressive considering he almost never speaks\u2026 but facial expressions are universal, which probably helps with his global appeal in any language). Sprinkled throughout his classic comedy TikToks are marketing partnerships with big brands, like this one with Pepsi.<\/p>\n Charli D\u2019Amelio is probably the most iconic Gen Z influencer in North America (look for her sister later on this list too). The now 19-year-old first gained traction on the social media platform by posting dance videos, and her TikTok account is now made up of lip syncs to trending sounds, glam videos from a-list events and photo dumps<\/a>. She has 152 million followers, a huge potential audience for her brand partners like Be Happy Snacks.<\/p>\n Continuing this streak of Gen Z TikTok stars is Bella Poarch, who has 93.9 million followers. She\u2019s held the title of the most-liked TikTok of all time for several years (over 64 million on her \u201cM to the B\u201d video<\/a>) but she\u2019s diversified significantly beyond face-wriggling now. Her content ranges from lip syncs to promotions for her music to brand collabs with skincare, fashion and lifestyle brands: here\u2019s one with Vans.<\/p>\n This creator also found fame in dance videos on TikTok. Nowadays, her 88.6 million followers are on board for behind-the-scenes content from the music and movies she\u2019s making, slice-of-life videos and beauty- and fashion-related vlogs\u2014for example, this collab with Ilia Beauty.<\/p>\n Zach King has the most-viewed TikTok of all time (2.3 billion likes for Gryffindor!<\/a>) and has amassed 81.2 million followers. His channel is full of special effects, mind-boggling stunts and other magical content, as well as collaborations with companies like Royal Caribbean and Netflix.<\/p>\n Right behind sister Charli is Dixie D\u2019Amelio, another dancing queen. She has 56.4 million users following her business ventures (she and Charli launched D\u2019Amelio footwear in 2023), photoshoots and many brand collabs. Here\u2019s a campaign she did with Takis that really leans into her legendary older sister status.<\/p>\n This creator earned his 54.8 million followers through what he calls \u201cmouth music\u201d\u2014his impressive beatboxing videos range from tributes to famous musicians to alien-inspired beats to gaming-related content. On the gaming side, there\u2019s been plenty of opportunity for marketing collabs, too, like this one with Call of Duty.<\/p>\n The gals aren\u2019t the only ones dancing on TikTok: creator Micheal Le\u2019s smooth moves have earned him 57.1 million followers. He also does partnerships with brands like PUBG Mobile.<\/p>\n Hope you\u2019re hungry. 54.2 million users follow Japan native Hiroaki Nakabayashi\u2019s outlandish cooking videos for the mouthwatering visuals and satisfying ASMR. His collaborations are appropriately food-related, like this one with Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n Loren Gray was the most-followed person on TikTok in the 2019-2020 era and today remains at the very top of the social network\u2019s most popular creators (she has 53.9 million followers). Now, most of her content is made up of funny relatable videos\u2014hey, who hasn\u2019t pooped their pants as an adult<\/a>\u2014or videos related to her music career. Brands that she has collaborated with lately include Veyes Beauty and Tamagotchi.<\/p>\nHow does TikTok influencer marketing work?<\/span><\/h2>\n
TikTok influencer marketing best practices<\/span><\/h2>\n
Understand your audience<\/h3>\n
Find the right influencers<\/h3>\n
Set goals<\/h3>\n
Be clear on expectations<\/h3>\n
Collaborate with the influencer to create the content<\/h3>\n
Track your success<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t#1 Social Media Tool\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n10 top TikTok influencers of 2024<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Khabane Lame (@khaby.lame)<\/h3>\n
2. Charli D\u2019Amelio (@charlidamelio)<\/h3>\n
3. Bella Poarch (@bellapoarch)<\/h3>\n
4. Addison Rae (@addisonre)<\/h3>\n
5. Zach King (@zachking)<\/h3>\n
6. Dixie D\u2019Amelio<\/h3>\n
7. Spencer Polanco Knight (@spencerx)<\/h3>\n
8. Michael Le (@justmaiko)<\/h3>\n
9. Hiroaki Nakabayashi (@bayashi.tiktok)<\/h3>\n
10. Loren Gray (@lorengray)<\/h3>\n