After a lockdown-fueled rise in popularity, influencer spend is booming on TikTok So, what do brands – and their agencies – need to know about partnering with creators on the burgeoning platform?
In the last 24 months, Bytedance-owned short video platform TikTok has hit the 100 million daily user mark in Europe and grown its subscriber count by 800% to reach the same number in the US. In China, sister app Douyin is used by 600 million people each day.
The numbers speak for themselves: TikTok is popular, and it’s spawned a new era of ‘micro-entertainment’. From Sea Shanties to baked feta pasta recipes, make-up tutorial activism to dance compilations, the app’s secret sauce lies in short form content that doesn’t take itself too seriously, a familiar self-directed friends feed and an exploration hub powered by algorithms.
Now, the platform (like so many others before it) is walking the highly-strung circus tightrope of balancing monetization with keeping users happy. Its recently made the platform more accessible for brands with a dedicated-business unit and in APAC it’s even allowing advertisers to directly access premium digital inventory across the region thanks to a partnership with The Trade Desk.
In opening up its revenue streams, TikTok has found a sweet spot: influencer marketing.
Among its hundreds of millions of users are an army of switched-on creators, ready to help brands capitalize on the app’s virality. The likes of Red Bull and Chipotle have…