TikTok Influencer Marketing: The 2024 Playbook for Brands

TikTok influencer marketing has exploded in popularity. In fact, 69% of brands say TikTok is their favorite channel for influencer partnerships, way ahead of Instagram (47%) and YouTube (33%). It enables DTC brands and creators to connect with younger audiences, blending authenticity with creativity to spark genuine connections. 

In this playbook, we uncover the secrets of top brands and walk you through everything you need to know to be successful with influencer marketing on TikTok.

What is TikTok influencer marketing?

TikTok is a fast-growing social media platform known for its short, engaging videos. Content ranges from dance challenges and music to how-to guides and comedy sketches. 

TikTok influencer marketing is where a brand works with popular TikTok creators. The creator introduces and recommends the brand’s products and services to their engaged TikTok followers. 

Is TikTok influencer marketing right for your brand?

When deciding whether to invest in a social media channel, the main question is: is your audience there? 

Understanding user demographics is crucial if you’re considering TikTok for your marketing strategy. 

TikTok predominantly appeals to a younger audience. Females aged 18-24 are its main audience, making up 24.27% of its users, followed by females aged 13-17 years with 17.04%. 

Males aged 25-34 account for 15.74%, while females in the same age group represent 11.77%. 

If your brand’s target audience is young, and especially if they’re female, TikTok influencer marketing is an important part of your overall marketing strategy. 

That said, TikTok isn’t just for Gen Z. According to forecasts, 18-34 age group will make up 65-70% of users in 2024. Meaning many older people use TikTok, too. TikTok users aged 35 and above are expected to gradually increase in 2024. 

The power of TikTok influencer marketing

There are many reasons why TikTok is a popular platform for creator marketing. Here are a few of the main ones:

• Expansive reach: TikTok has over 1 billion users all over the world, enabling brands to connect with diverse audiences.
• High engagement: TikTok's interactive content leads to higher engagement rates compared to other platforms.
• Influencer collaborations: Access to a wide range of influencers, enhancing brand authenticity and reach.
• More sales: 78% of TikTok users purchased a product after seeing it featured on TikTok. In other words, it works.

Types of TikTok influencer marketing content

TikTok has the potential to drive significant results for your brand. But you’ll need the right type of content to do well. Content that is boring, overly promotional, or fails to stand out is likely to fall flat.

Here are some of the most popular content types you can leverage when working with creators:

TikTok tutorials

Think educational content meets entertainment. 

TikTok users love to be entertained while learning how to do something. This works especially well in the beauty and fashion niches where TikTok influencers show their followers how to recreate stylish looks and hairstyles.

For example, Puma and Rihanna’s brand Fenty beauty partnered to co-create  limited-edition sneakers in bright colors. To promote the collection, TikTok influencer Nav posted a tutorial showing users how to correctly wear colorful shoes:

TikTok reviews

TikTok users rely on creators to discover new products and find out if the products are really as good as the brand’s own marketing says they are. Users typically trust what a creator says about a brand much more than a brand’s own marketing claims. 

Reviews are powerful because they allow the creator to go into detail about the product. They’re also pretty easy to produce. Some brands just gift influencers products in return for a review, which is known as a seeding campaign. 

For example, here TikTok creator Alessandro shares a review of how the Dove beauty bar helped him cure his acne-prone skin. The review struck a chord with TikTokers, driving approx 4M views, far beyond Alessandro’s audience of 1.1M users:

Relatable content

TikTok trends like “Get ready with me” (#grwm), “Point of view) #pov, and #realtalk are a huge hit. TikTok users love relatable content that shows creators behind the scenes, just being themselves.

For example, Skims ambassador Dana Rose posted a #grwm video of her getting ready for a date, featuring Kim Kardashian’s shapewear:

Aspirational content

Motivating content that inspires users and makes them feel good is also a hit on TikTok.

For example, here Gymshark partner Diana Conforti encourages users to “keep showing up.” The concept is pretty simple and won’t win any points for creativity, but the TikTok still generated over 100K likes and reached an estimated 825K TikTok users:

Promotions and discounts

We all love a bargain, and TikTok users are no different. You can provide TikTok creators with a discount code. As well as encouraging their audience to make a purchase, it also makes it easy to attribute the purchases to the creator. 

If you’re already planning a campaign, like for Black Friday or a special occasion like Mother’s Day, consider collaborating with influencers to amplify the results. 

For example, lifestyle content creator Diana Zeineddine shared a discount code for 95% to promote Temu’s holiday sale. Your brand doesn’t need to be as generous as Temu for this strategy to work.

Challenges

TikTok is well-known for challenges, from singing and dancing to sports and shopping. Challenges are entertaining and one of the most popular types of TikTok influencer content.

For example, here Mikayla Nogueira Hawken, a 25-year-old makeup artist from the U.S. and long-term partner of e.l.f cosmetics, shares how to create a bridal look on a budget. The popular video generated 341k likes and reached an estimated 2.2 million TikTok users:

Influencer-Generated Content

Brands can repurpose user-generated-content (UGC) and influencer-generated content (IGC) across their own marketing channels. 

This content is valuable for brands because it brings authenticity and a personal touch to their marketing efforts, often leading to higher engagement and trust from the audience.

For example, here you can see that Guess shared content featuring influencer and model Nina Serebova to promote their Valentine’s Day campaign:

Finding and partnering with the right tikTok influencers

Partnering with TikTok influencers who share your brand's values is key to creating authentic and resonant marketing campaigns. Not every TikTok creator will be a good fit for your brand, and that’s okay!

For a comprehensive guide on how to discover and choose the right creators for your brand, check out our in-depth article: How to Find Influencers.

Crafting a TikTok influencer marketing strategy

A TikTok influencer marketing strategy involves several key steps:

1. Define your goals

Start with a clear vision of what you hope to achieve with your TikTok influencer marketing campaign. This could range from increasing brand awareness to driving sales.

2. Understand your audience

Consider who you are trying to reach and dive into TikTok's demographics to ensure TikTok is the right channel for your campaign. 

3. Select the right influencers

Choosing influencers who share your brand's values and aesthetic is key. You need to vet any influencers you work with to be sure they are a good fit for your brand. 

4. Create an influencer brief

An influencer brief outlines your campaign's objectives, target audience, key messages, and any branding guidelines. It ensures that both parties have a clear understanding of the campaign's goals. For a head start, download our influencer briefing template.

5. Sign a contract

Formalizing your partnership with a contract is crucial. It should detail deliverables, timelines, and payment terms, protecting both your brand and the influencer. This step ensures that expectations are clear and legally binding. Check out our influencer contract template to make the process easier.

6. Set up tracking

Don’t wait until your campaign is running to think about how to track conversions. Otherwise, you might not be able to measure the results. If your goal is sales, it’s a good idea to provide the creator with a personalized code so you can attribute the orders to them. 

7. Monitor and adjust

Once your campaign is live, keep a close eye on the performance. If you are working with several influencers, make a note of who is driving the most traffic and sales, so you can prioritize future collabs.

Following these steps will help align your TikTok influencer marketing strategy with your brand's goals and audience preferences.

Measuring the success of TikTok campaigns

Whether you're working with one Tiktok influencer or a hundred, it’s essential to track the impact of your collaborations. Learn how to measure performance in our Complete Guide to TikTok Analytics. 

Step up your TikTok influencer marketing game with Storyclash

Book a demo today to find out more and see how Storyclash can help you find TikTok creators and run effective TikTok campaigns.