If you haven’t heard of the social media juggernaut that is TikTok, this article is going to get you schooled up.

If you have heard of TikTok, chances are you’re reading this because you want to know more about TikTok influencer marketing and how it can catapult your brand from another blip on the For You Page to a global sensation slinging your services and products.

The TikTok influencer marketing space is growing at a rapid rate and the brands that are jumping into the influencer campaigns are seeing results that put other social marketing strategies to shame. 

While you could continue forking over major dollars to social media platforms like Facebook, why not take a dive into the world of TikTok influencer marketing and see what it can do for you.

Grab a notebook and a pen, here’s the TikTok Influencer Marketing Guide that every marketer needs to read. 

TikTok is a social media platform launched in 2016 that’s focused on creating and sharing video content.

TikTok has an active monthly user base of over 1 billion people who average 52 minutes of screen time every single day. While older users (Gen X and Millennials) prefer the popular platform Instagram, Gen Z users actually prefer TikTok over IG when it comes to their first choice social media channel—though it’s important to note that these Gen Z users still have accounts on those other platforms.

To put it candidly, TikTok is a bold and bodacious entertainment platform that serves up creative content for every type of audience in every demographic. It’s setting the tone for new forms of entertainment and the people who create them. 

As brands start to look for new avenues of growth, TikTok is one social media channel opening the door and welcoming them in.

How Does TikTok work?

TikTok is simple—you create a video, anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes long, and share it with your followers and the users of the platform.

Account setup is easy, all you do is make a username, craft a short bio, upload a profile picture and you’re ready to start watching videos and making some of your own.

What’s great about TikTok is that you can do all of your video editing directly inside of the application. From simple cuts and captions to filters and music synchronization, you can create your own mini-movie in a matter of minutes. 

Top that Instagram. Another thing that makes TikTok unique is the algorithm. Rather than taking into account followers and historical virality, it focuses on the subject matter, user activity, location, and user feedback. The result of this is a “For You Page” that is unlike any other user on the platform meaning that your feed is unique to you and you alone. The more you engage and interact on the platform the more content will be served up based on that engagement. Over time, the TikTok ecosystem expands serving up content that falls in line with your interests.

Who Are The Main Users of TikTok?

There are tons of stats and studies out there that speak to the complete TikTok influencer marketing ecosystem, but here are a few highlights that every brand should know:

• 80% of US users are aged 16-34
• A majority of these users are Gen Z.
• 90% of users use the app daily. 
• 61% of US TikTok users are female.
• Kids (ages 4-15) spend the most time on the platform each day 
• 30% of Gen Z uses TikTok for product research.

Influencer marketing on TikTok could be your golden goose and here’s why:

4 Reasons you should start influencer marketing on TikTok

Strong ROI
Brands are making $5.78 for every $1 invested in influencer marketing. Compared to other forms of marketing (we’re talking to you, Facebook ads) the return on investment is significantly stronger.

Pair that with the fact that 46% of brands using influencer marketing are doing so on TikTok already and it’s clear that brands are making the jump to this new social media platform because it actually works. ‍

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Scalability
Let’s be honest, traditional ad spending methods are becoming less and less scalable by the day. Finding the perfect recipe for your ads can take months only for someone to change the algorithm, landing you back at square one.

Influencer marketing on TikTok does two things—it saves you money and allows you to scale with speed.

Instead of trying to find the perfect type of content for your audience, testing a group of influencers with established followings allows you to expedite that testing without spending hours of your own time.

From there you can double down on what is working and let go of what doesn’t, giving more room to scale up. ‍

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Moves The Needle
CMOs, project managers, marketing executives, and creative directors are all looking to accomplish one task—move the needle. Positive momentum is the name of the game when it comes to influencer marketing and most brands could use more of it.

In the short term, influencer marketing on TikTok gives your brand space to explore new audiences and potential customers.

In the long term, influencer marketing fosters a relationship between you and a respected influencer in your community leading to long-lasting relationships that benefit both parties.

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‍Authenticity
Everyone likes to talk about “authenticity” in marketing, but few know how to create it for a brand.

Influencer marketing mends a unique gap between a brand and authenticity, in that influencers are aligned with the community and niche that they are passionate about. The brand (aka you) wants to inject its name into that community in a way that doesn't feel forced.

So you ask someone who knows that community better than anyone else—an influencer. This is the perfect way to organically introduce your brand to new people without having to pitch yourself to them.

All this talk about TikTok influencer marketing probably got you thinking, “what influencer marketing strategies are working right now?”

Don’t you worry, we already got you covered and identified the best-performing TikTok influencer strategies in the game.

For now, here are 4 you should try for your next campaign:

Sponsored Content
You (the brand) collaborate with an influencer to create content (posts, videos, pictures, etc) that is shared on their (the influencer) channel.

Unlike organic brand content, sponsored content allows you to directly reach a new group of potential fans, whose interests align with yours, without coming off as insincere, out-of-place, or forced.

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Giveaways & Contests
Partnering with influencers for giveaways and contests are effective because they are a trusted peer in their niche. Instead of some random celebrity trying to convince you to drop your email, this influencer comes from a respected place, leading to more participation from community members.

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Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs are built for those influencers who are creating content that constantly drives business back to your brand. At its core, affiliate programs give influencers a stake in the money you make off the content they provide.

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Brand Ambassador Programs
This strategy involves an influencer having an ongoing partnership with a brand that is paid upfront with cash or often a combination of cash and free product. They are then given a case-specific discount code to share with their audience.