Influencer marketing on TikTok: in 2020, this is where it's happening
Since its launch in 2016, the social network TikTok has been steadily growing, even experiencing explosive growth in recent months. What? You're not using TikTok in your influencer marketing strategy yet? You're missing out! Discover why this social video app and its influencers will boost your influencer campaigns.
Influencer marketing on TikTok: the place to be!
At So Bang, as an influencer agency, we've long understood the opportunities TikTok offers for creating creative and impactful influencer campaigns. Launched in September 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is now THE social network of the moment for brands! Like Snapchat in its time (Snap was launched in 2011), TikTok is indeed the place to be for advertisers who want to reach young audiences in particular (Generation Z), but not exclusively. Still not convinced? If you have teenagers at home, ask them: do they have a TikTok profile? With few exceptions, we bet they'll say yes. And for good reason: the majority of users of this social app are between 15 and 25 years old.
The latest arrival in the social media galaxy, TikTok has been among the essential channels in the influencer marketing market for over a year (alongside Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube). It must be said that the social network has successfully expanded its audience by reaching new demographics. For example, the recent lockdown period saw a surge of new influencers joining the platform. As a result, TikTok has now surpassed two billion downloads! In France, too, the TikTok craze has already captivated many users, and with them, a growing number of advertisers who are choosing it as a digital advertising solution. But what exactly is TikTok?
TikTok, the new El Dorado for influencers
Also known as Douyin, TikTok is a mobile video sharing and networking application positioned in the "social entertainment" niche. It notably allows its users to share videos with their contacts, enabling them to record a "lip-sync" of their favorite song, most often accompanied by choreography.
Each video is a maximum of 60 seconds long and can be enhanced with numerous special effects (filters, stickers, 3D masks, hashtags). A simple yet incredibly effective concept. By the end of 2019, the app already boasted over a billion users worldwide. Shortly after its launch, it quickly built a solid reputation thanks to viral campaigns shared across the web, propelling some of its users to the status of powerful influencers.
Today, many celebrities are also hooked on TikTok. Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, and Britney Spears are among its content creators. Rapper Curtis Roach also used the social network to post his song “Bored In The House” just before the lockdown. These personalities offer TikTok an additional guarantee of appeal for brands. Artists, stars, or ordinary people, TikTok users and their communities are now becoming prime brand ambassadors for these companies.
How to leverage TikTok as an influencer marketing tool?
Why is TikTok becoming one of brands' favorite social media platforms? Like Instagram or YouTube, the TikTok platform is primarily a space for expression for numerous influencers. Consequently, their profiles are of interest to companies wishing to promote their products or services, particularly to reach young people.
Indeed, this type of audience watches little or no television, listens even less to the radio, and doesn't spend as much time "surfing" the web as their elders. No, what interests them on TikTok is entertainment content, fun, and quick access to information. On average, it's estimated that TikTok users spend 50 minutes a day on the platform (by comparison, a user spends 58 minutes a day on Facebook and 53 minutes on Instagram). Proof of this trend in information consumption? The success of "challenges" (#challenge), viral content that encourages TikTok users to take on fun and playful challenges. Because that's precisely what TikTokers are looking for: to have a good time on their favorite app. Thus, by offering well-crafted content focused on entertainment and humor, brands have a great chance of succeeding with their influencer campaigns on TikTok.
TikTok's other major strength as an influencer marketing tool is its ability to detect the viral potential of the videos it shares. Thus, it's the originality of the content (and its diversity, encouraged by short formats) that is truly promoted on the platform, not the user's popularity. Recently, for example, it was American comedian Sarah Cooper and her impersonations of US President Donald Trump (#Trump) that went viral on the sharing app.
This qualitative approach, which TikTok has adopted, represents a very interesting avenue for brands to explore in order to reach increasingly demanding consumers in terms of messaging. Finally, TikTok encourages the unlimited sharing of the best viral content. In short, a clever blend of expertise and features makes the platform an ideal tool for interaction between a brand and its audiences.
Where do I start to create an influencer campaign on TikTok?
First and foremost, the essential step is to familiarize yourself with this social network and its specific features. It's crucial to feel comfortable creating videos, but above all, to know how to use them to convey a valuable message for your brand. This will only be effective if an influencer supports your initiative.
But how do you identify these influencers? How do you choose them? What type of contract should you negotiate to work with them? These are all questions that can discourage companies wanting to test this new medium for an influencer campaign. Similarly, before launching on TikTok, you'll need to understand and master its unspoken rules. Only an influencer agency can effectively support a brand looking to launch on TikTok. At So Bang, for example, we select our influencers based on their personality as well as their mastery of the platform. On TikTok, and perhaps more so than elsewhere, an influencer's experience and creativity are essential for building partnerships.
Influencer marketing on TikTok: ready for the “Big (So) Bang”?
Already firmly established as a top influencer marketing platform, TikTok continues to attract brands. The numbers speak for themselves. According to a recent study, TikTok will reach 60.3 million users in the United States aloneby 2024, representing approximately 27% of social media users. Last year, TikTok was already the second most downloaded app in the world, behind WhatsApp but ahead of Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. Quite an achievement! In France, indicators also show that growth is on the horizon in the coming months. As a reminder, in October 2019, TikTok reported that 270 million videos had been created by French users between August 2018 and August 2019 (with 10 million videos shared). Today, there are already more than 6.5 million French TikTokers (4 million active users in France at the end of 2019).
Let's say it one last time. With TikTok, influencer marketing has significant reach, allowing brands and their products to connect with and engage audiences in creative ways that differ from what's done on platforms like Instagram, which is more focused on fashion and lifestyle. TikTok's ease of use and the emergence of new features (product recognition, direct purchase) also enhance its appeal. In fact, the platform has such potential that it attracts all sectors, not just those targeting a young audience. At So Bang, we've long been convinced of this: today and tomorrow, influencer marketing is all about TikTok! So, ready to ride the wave? Our influencer agency and its platform of 10,000 influencers are ready to help you create your TikTok campaigns. If you want to invest in TikTok and its influencers, contact So Bang !