With 1.5 billion monthly active users TikTok is the fifth most popular social network in the world. Trailing behind Facebook ( > 3 billion), Youtube ( > 2.4 billion), WhatsApp ( > 2 billion) and Instagram ( > 2 billion). Making TikTok an important platform for any marketer.
Based on a research conducted by Influencer Marketing Hub where 3,000 respondents working at influencer marketing agencies and brands, TikTok was the most used platform for influencer marketing in 2024. It is the first time TikTok outranks Instagram as the most used platform for influencer marketing, indicating the importance of this newer social network.
Most used social network for Influencer Marketing:
This guide will show you how to build a winning TikTok influencer marketing strategy for your brand. From discovering the perfect creators to analyzing performance metrics and ROI with real case studies, and deciding whether to focus on trends, challenges, or viral content, you'll find all the insights you need to maximise your marketing impact on TikTok!
TikTok influencers are content creators on TikTok who have built a loyal audience and influence within specific niches. They create engaging videos that resonate with their followers, whether through humor, creativity, or expertise.
TikTok influencer marketing is when brands partner with these TikTok influencers to promote their products or services. As these influencers have a strong connection and trust to their audience they are often able to persuade and influence their audience on purchasing decisions. By talking about your brand, products and services on social media they are able to drive traffic, engagements and conversions for your brand, making it a popular advertising channel for marketers.
TikTok stands out from other social media platforms due to its unique blend of creativity, algorithm-driven discovery, and viral potential. Here's why your brand should pay attention to TikTok:
TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) is powered by a highly sophisticated algorithm that delivers personalized content to users based on their preferences and behavior. This allows your brand to reach audiences organically, even without a massive following.
The platform focuses exclusively on short, entertaining videos, making it perfect for grabbing attention quickly. Your brand can use this format to tell stories, showcase products, or participate in trends in a way that resonates with modern, fast-scrolling audiences.
TikTok thrives on trends, whether it's viral challenges, popular sounds, or hashtags. By tapping into these trends, your brand can boost visibility and engagement, connecting with audiences in real-time.
TikTok users are known for their high levels of interaction, from commenting on videos to participating in challenges. This gives your brand a chance to build deeper connections and spark conversations directly with your target audience.
TikTok is the go-to platform for younger demographics, particularly Gen Z and Millennials. If your brand wants to engage these tech-savvy, trend-driven consumers, TikTok offers unmatched access to their attention.
Unlike other platforms, TikTok encourages creativity and experimentation. Your brand can take risks with fun, out-of-the-box content that wouldn’t necessarily work on traditional channels, making your marketing efforts feel more authentic and less like ads.
This section provides a step-by-step guide to help you successfully implement a TikTok influencer marketing campaign.
Before diving into TikTok influencer marketing, it’s essential to establish clear objectives for your brand. A well-defined strategy ensures that every collaboration contributes to measurable outcomes and aligns with your overall marketing goals.
When you’re clear about what your brand wants to achieve, it becomes easier to identify the right influencers, content types, and campaign tactics. Whether your goal is to drive brand awareness, increase website traffic, or boost sales, having specific targets will guide your efforts effectively.
Partner with influencers who can amplify your brand’s visibility through viral trends, challenges, or engaging content.
Use TikTok influencers to create content with direct links to your website, product pages, or promotions, encouraging audiences to explore your offerings.
Leverage influencers with a strong connection to your target audience to create authentic product endorsements that drive conversions.
Creating 10 pieces of high quality UGC which can be re-used for paid social.
To define your goals for your TikTok influencer marketing campaign it is helpful to make use of the SMART method.
While you might have a general idea of the type of influencers you'd like to collaborate with, it's crucial to define your criteria more clearly. Outline specific metrics and KPIs to ensure your chosen influencers align with your brand’s objectives.
When selecting TikTok influencers for your brand, focus on these critical metrics to assess their performance and audience quality:
Measure how actively the influencer’s audience interacts with their content (likes, comments, shares). A high engagement rate on TikTok signals strong viewer connection and authenticity. Use our free tiktok engagement rate calculator.
Ensure the influencer’s followers are genuine. TikTok accounts with fake followers dilute your campaign’s impact, so always verify audience authenticity. Use our free TikTok fake follower check.
Look for influencers with consistent or growing follower counts. A steady upward trend indicates relevance and an active audience.
Match your target market with the influencer’s audience. For example, if your brand targets US-based consumers, ensure the influencer has a strong presence in that region.
Understand the influencer’s audience age, gender, and interests. Align these factors with your brand’s ideal customer profile to maximize campaign success.
There are two main ways to identify the right TikTok influencers for your brand:
For example, Influencer Hero simplifies TikTok influencer discovery by providing detailed filters such as audience location, engagement rates, and lookalike influencer suggestions to ensure you find creators that perfectly match your brand’s needs. Read more in detail how to find TikTok influencers here.
Once you’ve identified the TikTok influencers you want to work with, the next step is reaching out to onboard them into your campaign. Crafting a compelling invitation message is crucial to maximizing your response and onboarding rate. There are two main ways to contact TikTok influencers:
Manually reaching out to influencers can be time-consuming. To save time and improve efficiency, consider using tools that automate your outreach process.
Designed specifically for influencer marketing, Influencer Hero streamlines your outreach. Simply upload your chosen influencers to a campaign, and the system will automatically send personalized emails using AI. It even handles follow-ups to maximize your response rates.
Popular for email campaigns, Instantly is a general tool that works well but requires setup and configuration, making it more suited to experienced users.
Another tool used primarily by sales teams, offering automation but with a steep learning curve compared to influencer-specific platforms.
Unlike general email tools, Influencer Hero consolidates your influencer program into one platform. Its AI-driven personalization ensures that each outreach email feels unique, significantly improving your chances of receiving a response. Here’s what makes it stand out:
Below are some of the most important tips to maximise your influencer outreach reply rate.
SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME Partnership
Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},
My name is ENTER YOUR NAME and I’m from ENTER YOUR COMPANY NAME. We are ADD ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION ABOUT YOUR BRAND.
We are looking for potential partnerships and we love the video content on your TikTok account {{influencer_handle}}!
It would be awesome if you could test our ENTER YOUR PRODUCT.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR USP AND YOUR PRODUCT IN ONE SENTENCE
I’m happy to send you one ENTER YOUR PRODUCT for you to test and share with your followers. We also offer a 20% commission or a discount code to give out to your followers. Please get back to me if you are interested in this opportunity.
Can I send you one of the ENTER YOUR PRODUCT?
Thanks!
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
To access this template including our A/B tested follow up templates for free click here.
Once you’ve reached out to TikTok influencers, effective campaign management is the next step to ensure success. Tracking your communications, progress, and results is essential for staying organized and achieving your goals.
For smaller campaigns, using a Google Sheet or spreadsheet is a simple and cost-effective way to:
While this method works for smaller-scale campaigns, it can quickly become overwhelming as you collaborate with more influencers.
If your campaign involves working with multiple influencers, using an Influencer CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or IRM (Influencer Relationship Management) tool is highly recommended. These platforms streamline campaign management, saving you time and reducing manual effort.
Here are some of the best tools for managing TikTok influencer campaigns effectively:
Influencer Hero stands out by offering an all-in-one platform for TikTok influencer marketing. In addition to managing your campaign progress, it allows you to:
Once you’ve onboarded TikTok influencers to your campaign, it’s essential to track performance to measure your campaign’s success. Here are some of the most effective methods to track your TikTok influencer marketing results:
Affiliate links are unique URL paths that track clicks and conversions. When someone clicks the link shared by a TikTok influencer, a cookie is placed in their browser, allowing you to monitor traffic and sales generated from their content. This method is particularly effective for campaigns focused on direct conversions.
Providing personalized discount codes or coupons to each TikTok influencer is another great way to track performance. When a code is redeemed, you can directly attribute the sale to the influencer who shared it. These codes also incentivize audiences to engage with your brand by offering a tangible benefit.
With Influencer Hero, you can simplify tracking your TikTok influencer campaigns:
After tracking your TikTok influencer campaign’s performance, it’s essential to create detailed reports to showcase its effectiveness. These reports not only highlight key outcomes but also help your brand refine future campaigns. Below are the most important metrics and KPIs to include in your TikTok campaign reporting:
The total number of times your content was viewed on TikTok.
The number of times users clicked on links shared by influencers.
Actions taken by users, such as purchases or sign-ups, attributed to the campaign.
The cost per 1,000 impressions, providing insight into your campaign’s reach efficiency.
The revenue generated for every dollar spent on the campaign.
The value of organic mentions and content created by influencers compared to traditional paid media.
To dive deeper into these KPIs, check out our detailed TikTok Influencer Marketing KPIs Guide.
With Influencer Hero you can conveniently access detailed reporting and analytics from within your CRM.
User-generated content (UGC) plays a pivotal role in TikTok influencer marketing. In a 2024 survey of 3,000 respondents, 55.8% cited UGC as their main reason for running influencer campaigns, followed by sales (23.2%) and brand awareness (21%) (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024).
TikTok influencers create highly engaging video content that your brand can repurpose for both organic posts and paid advertisements. From viral trends to product demos, TikTok UGC offers authentic, relatable content that resonates with your target audience.
TikTok offers diverse content formats that your brand can leverage for influencer marketing. Here’s an overview of these formats and tips on how to use them effectively:
TikTok is synonymous with short-form videos, typically 15 to 60 seconds long. These quick, engaging clips work best when aligned with trending hashtags and sounds. For maximum visibility, encourage influencers to participate in viral challenges or create tutorials and product showcases on short video platforms.
For example, a beauty brand could partner with an influencer to create a 30-second video demonstrating how to use a new skincare product, paired with a trending song or sound to increase visibility.
To enhance results:
Live streaming on TikTok allows influencers to interact with their audience in real-time, making it ideal for product launches, Q&A sessions, and live demonstrations. Live streams foster authenticity and drive direct engagement, often boosting conversions when paired with TikTok Shop features.
For instance, an influencer could host a live stream demonstrating how to assemble and use your product, answering audience questions along the way.
To boost sales:
TikTok Series is a feature that allows eligible creators to offer premium content collections behind a paywall, providing an additional avenue for monetization. Each Series can include up to 80 videos, with individual video lengths ranging from 30 seconds to 20 minutes.
Series enable creators to publish longer content in episodes, providing an opportunity to dive deeper into topics or showcase products through storytelling. Brands can collaborate with influencers to create engaging series that keep viewers coming back for more.
A fitness creator could use Series to offer an exclusive 30-day workout challenge, with daily videos covering warm-ups, focused exercises, and recovery tips.
For example, a home gym brand could sponsor the series, showcasing their equipment while the creator demonstrates its use. This format allows for in-depth, engaging content while providing brands with seamless product integration opportunities.
TikTok playlists help organize content into categories, making it easier for viewers to explore related videos. Encourage influencers to group content by themes, such as tutorials, product highlights, or campaign-related videos, for a more cohesive user experience.
A skincare brand could collaborate with an influencer to create a playlist titled "Daily Skincare Routines."
The playlist might include videos for morning routines, evening regimens, and special treatments using the brand’s products.
Capitalizing on trending videos and hashtags is key to TikTok success. Work with influencers to identify and incorporate trends that align with your brand’s message. Leveraging popular hashtags increases discoverability and ensures your content reaches a broader audience.
A food brand could use a trending hashtag like #FoodieChallenge to inspire influencers to create unique recipes featuring their products, ensuring the content feels organic and relevant while increasing its viral potential.
The effectiveness of TikTok content formats depends on your campaign goals:
By utilizing multiple formats and adapting to TikTok’s trend-driven culture, your brand can maximize the impact of influencer campaigns and maintain relevance in this fast-paced environment.
While TikTok makes it easy to save publicly available content such as videos, managing and organizing UGC from multiple influencers can become a challenge.
Using third-party tools like Influencer Hero simplifies this process. Influencer Hero automatically collects all TikTok content, including posts, duets, and stitched videos, and stores them in a centralized content library. This ensures you can:
Here are some top tools for tracking and managing TikTok UGC:
Influencer rates on TikTok vary based on factors such as follower count, engagement rate, content type, and specific campaign requirements.
Influencers are typically categorized by their follower count, which significantly influences their pricing:
These figures are approximate and can vary based on additional factors such as engagement rates and niche relevance.
Several key elements affect how much a TikTok influencer may charge:
When analyzing general ROI figures for TikTok influencer marketing, it’s important to approach them cautiously. While some reports suggest that influencer marketing delivers a return of $4 - $7 for every dollar spent, these figures can be misleading. Calculating an accurate ROI for TikTok campaigns is challenging, as the results depend on numerous variables such as your target audience, campaign objectives and virality.
Due to the viral nature of TikTok it could happen that a single video receives massive reach while other posts don’t get much reach. Whether a post goes viral or not can significantly impact the ROI of your campaign bringing a lot of fluctuations which can make it harder to predict and forecast ROI.
ROI calculations also primarily focus on revenue generated, but this might not provide the full picture. TikTok campaigns often significantly impact brand awareness, which is measured by more top-of-funnel metrics like:
Since these metrics contribute to the broader success of your campaign but don’t directly tie to revenue, relying solely on ROI can undervalue the effectiveness of your TikTok collaborations.
A more comprehensive metric to evaluate your campaign's success is Earned Media Value (EMV). EMV helps quantify the value generated by your influencer program, including brand visibility, audience reach, and engagement.
%20(1).png)
When deciding which type of TikTok influencer to collaborate with, it’s essential to consider your goals, budget, and target audience. Nano, micro, and macro influencers each bring unique strengths and challenges to the table. Here's how to choose the best fit for your TikTok campaign:
Best for: If your goal is to engage specific niche communities or test smaller campaigns, nano influencers are an ideal choice.
Best for: If your goal is to achieve good reach and engagement on a reasonable budget, micro influencers are a solid option.
Best for: If you want to maximize visibility quickly and have a larger budget to work with, macro influencers are the way to go.
The decision ultimately depends on your goals and budget:
For a balanced approach, mix nano, micro, and macro influencers to achieve a campaign that maximizes reach, engagement, and ROI. By tailoring your influencer strategy to your specific goals, you can leverage TikTok’s unique platform to grow your brand effectively.
While TikTok influencer marketing offers immense potential, it’s not without its challenges. Understanding the potential drawbacks can help your brand prepare and navigate campaigns more effectively.
TikTok’s algorithm heavily influences content visibility, meaning even well-planned campaigns might not go viral as expected. This unpredictability can make it harder to guarantee consistent results compared to other platforms.
TikTok videos have a short lifespan in terms of visibility. Unlike evergreen content on YouTube or blogs, TikTok posts quickly lose momentum, requiring brands to frequently produce fresh, engaging content.
TikTok’s audience skews younger, primarily Gen Z and Millennials, which may not align with all brands. Additionally, audience targeting on TikTok isn’t as granular compared to platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
TikTok’s fast-paced nature means influencers and brands compete for user attention in seconds. Without eye-catching, creative content, your brand’s message might be overlooked.
Choosing the wrong TikTok influencer—one whose audience doesn’t align with your brand—can result in low engagement or irrelevant leads. Careful vetting is crucial to avoid wasted efforts.
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) from TikTok influencer campaigns can be complex. While tools like affiliate links and discount codes help, TikTok lacks robust native analytics for influencer collaborations compared to platforms like Instagram.
TikTok’s trend-driven culture requires your brand to stay agile. Missing a trend or jumping on it too late can render your content ineffective, making timing a critical factor.
The viral nature of TikTok van makes it difficult to plan your inventory. Some period might show little to no sales while one viral video could sell out your entire inventory of a product making it challenging to plan manage inventory and supply chain.
Since the launch of TikTok shop in 2021 it has gained significant popularity and can be a valuable channel to increase your sales as an e-commerce brand.
TikTok shop essentially allow for direct check out all within the Tiktok app. People who our browsing through videos can see a link in the bottom section of their screen in case there is a product in the video which the influencer or brand has tagged. By clicking on this customers can directly purchase the item within the app making the shopping experience more seamless.
Influencers can add your products to their videos or live streams, enabling viewers to purchase instantly without leaving TikTok.
With TikTok’s trend-driven culture, influencers can create engaging, authentic content that encourages immediate purchases.
Collaborate with influencers whose followers align with your target demographics for better sales results.
To work with influencers on TikTok shop use all the tips outlines in this guide but simply ask the influencers to collaborate with you on TikTok shop. Using Infleuncer Hero within the search function you can add the #tiktokshop to find influencers which are on TikTok shop.
TikTok has emerged as the leading platform for influencer marketing, overtaking Instagram and proving its value for brands aiming to connect with highly engaged, trend-driven audiences. This guide has provided actionable insights to help your brand master TikTok influencer marketing—from selecting the right creators to tracking performance and leveraging tools like TikTok Shop. By implementing these strategies, your brand can harness TikTok’s unique potential to drive awareness, engagement, and conversions in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.
Brands can collaborate with TikTok influencers by identifying creators whose content and audience align with their target market. This involves researching influencers' engagement rates, follower demographics, and content style. Once suitable influencers are identified, brands can reach out directly or through influencer marketing platforms to propose partnerships. Clear communication of campaign goals, deliverables, and compensation is essential to establish a successful collaboration.
TikTok influencer marketing offers several advantages:
Success can be measured using various metrics:
Analyzing these metrics helps assess the campaign's effectiveness and areas for improvement.
Content that performs well includes:
Aligning content with current trends and the influencer's style enhances engagement.
While effective, there are challenges:
Schedule a Demo with one of our media experts below.
.png)
.png)
