What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a relatively new type of marketing strategy that relies on utilizing influencers who already have followings that include a large number of the customers you are targeting. The second benefit is that the influencer has built up trust with their audience and they will be more likely to take action if the influencer recommends a product they like to their audience.
It combines the opportunity to get in front of a large number of potential customers right away with the opportunity to also bring in a solid ROI as well. In the past, paid ads would have been the main channel that could be used instead, but that can result in a higher cost and lower conversion rate due to the consumer being more willing to trust an influencer's suggestion compared to a brand's ad. Overall, influencer marketing has many advantages over other traditional forms of marketing and can be powerful when done correctly. It can be a great way to grow your TikTok account in addition just promoting products or services.
This article will compare a few different influencer marketing marketplaces, software, and platforms. We'll cover the general features and pros of cons of each of them, plus which social media channels they work with in addition to TikTok.
Learn more about how to run influence marketing campaigns below the the three marketplace options listed below.
Intellifluence
Intellifluence is the first influencer platform we will cover. It has influencers from a number of social media channels including: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, SoundCloud, Pinterest, Reddit, Twitch, and more!
They should have influencers for any type of industry you could think of. They list over fifty different categories you can use to narrow your search right from the start. Below is an image of the category options.
Overall, Intellifluence is one of the best TikTok influencer marketplaces we have found so far. It has a variety of social media channels, categories, and a large number of influencers to choose from. You can try it out free for one month and easily set up your own campaign. Intellifluence also gives you the option to have them manage your campaign for you, so they really have a good solution for anyone.
Intellifluence Features
Tokfluence
Tokfluence is another good influencer platform, but the major difference is that it only focuses more specifically on TikTok. They do give you audience stats for Instagram and YouTube as well though for each creator. It does have a larger database of creators, but that is because they have aggregated them. One big difference between Intellifluence and Tokfluence is that Intellifluence has creators that have actively signed up as an influencer. Tokfluence just has a database, so some of the creators, may have zero interest in collaborating with a brand. This could result in a longer more difficult process when initially reaching out to influencers.
One benefit of Tokfluence is that they have a free plan. The downside is that it only shows about 5 creators for any given search like in the example below. You may be able to negotiate lower prices with Tokfluence compared to Intellifluence where the creators set a minimum cash price or minimum product value.
Overall, Tokfluence has some good features, but if you can't spend a lot of time with outreach and research, you'll want to go with Intellifluence since they already have creators who are actively working with brands.
Tokfluence Features
HeartBeat
HeartBeat is another popular influencer marketplace where brands can go to collaborate with influencers who already have the trust of audiences on TikTok and Instagram.
HeartBeat provides two different ways to run a campaign. The first is a self service pay as you go option. You can use the tools they provide to run an influencer campaign on your own. The second option is fully managed and has a number of additional features. It includes a dedicated account manager, who will help generate creative ideas, and it even includes guarantees in reach, engagement, and posts.
Overall, HeartBeat has some nice features, especially the guarantee on reach and engagement with their fully managed service.
Heartbeat Features
Summary: All three of these Influencer software choices are good options. Which will work best for you will depend on the amount of time and money you plan to invest in your campaign. Intellifluence and HeartBeat both have influencers who have already signed up and are definitely willing to collaborate with brands on influencer marketing campaigns. The main difference with Tokfluence is that they have a large database of creators, however not all of them will want to do reviews, sponsored posts, or other collaborations with brands. On Tokfluence, you can search and sort through the creators then reach out to them to see if they are interested in collaborating. This is why Tokfluence will provide a much more custom campaign, but it will also take a significant amount of time as well. If you have more free time than money then Tokfluence could be a good solution.
Shoutcart is another influencer platform you may want to check out, which you can learn more about here. Its a great option for anyone just getting started with influencer marketplaces.
Pearpop is one of the fastest growing influencer collaboration platforms. However, its focused much more on giving brands the ability to hire celebrities' to promote their content, products, or services on TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter.
All three platforms include TikTok and Instagram, but Intellifluence includes quite a few others which could allow for some additional exposure. If you want to start a campaign quickly and get in front of consumers across a wider variety of social media channels, then you can't go wrong with Intellifluence, especially since the first month is free. They have really simplified the process so all you have to do is post your offer and let the influencers apply and come to you.
TikTok Influencer Marketing
You may have noticed by now that some of the most popular brands such as Levi’s, Calvin Klein, and Chipotle are utilizing TikTok in unique and creative ways in an effort to drive viral engagement. Some popular brands have found success from publishing native content directly to the platform, others have found lots of value from partnerships with well known creators to leverage their existing audiences.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is the practice of working out a deal with a creator on a platform such as Instagram or Tiktok, who already has an existing following. A brand will pay the creator to make a sponsored video post on their behalf that reviews their product or service and promotes it to their followers.
Influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok often utilize influencers creating, sharing, and sometimes even live streaming videos that subtly promote your brand and suggest your products to their followers.
A smart and well executed TikTok influencer campaign has the ability to get your brand and product exposed to a large new audience, and hopefully drive new visitors and customers.
What To Consider When Planning Your Influencer Campaign
One very important thing to consider is making sure your sponsored posts are FTC Compliant. If this is your first time working with influencers do some research and make sure you are following all of the regulations.
There are a couple different ways to research existing sponsored content and influencers on TikTok. The first and more manual way is to search directly on TikTok for hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or #sponsoredpost to find existing sponsored content across the platform. Look for other brands within your industry to see how they are using influencers and see if you can get a feel for what words well and what doesn't by comparing engagement.
Spending some time going through the data and current trends can help you avoid wasting money on an a creator with less than average engagement.
Where Can I Find Tik Tok Influencers To Help Sell My Products?
Next, its time to start searching for potential influencers to partner with. You may have found some while searching for content ideas earlier, but here are some additional ways to find them. There is software available that search their existing database of tiktok creators and allow you to sort them by topic, engagement, performance, etc.
The easier route to go is using a creator marketplace such as Intellifluence. All of the tiktok influencers listed have voluntarily signed up because they want to get paid for posting social media posts. This is the fastest and easiest way to find creators. All you have to do is sign up and create post that explains what you are offering in exchange for the post. After that creators will apply to your offer and you can select whoever you want. Alternatively, you can also research and message individual people if you are looking for something really specific. Marketplace apps like this often have creators from other platforms as well like Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram, FaceBook, Twitch, Twitter, etc. Everything, including payment can be taken care of within a marketplace like this.
The second type of software is influence outreach software such as Tokfluence. It has a database of Tiktok, YouTube, and Instagram influencers, however they have not all signed up to be included there. This is a more manual process where you reach out them and try to create a partnership. The big difference is in marketplaces the users have signed up to be influencers and for these outreach tools they have not, so they may not even want to be paid for sponsored content.
What Type Of Content Works Well On Tiktok?
The best way to decide what type of video you should use is to work together with your influencer. You could mention some of the ideas you found earlier while researching sponsored posts within your industry or niche. The most important thing to do is allow the influencer to create something that they would naturally create and work your brand into the story naturally. This is easier said than done, so that's why its important to work together to come up with something that makes sense for both of you. To make it worthwhile, try to make it an offer that is too hard for them to pass up.
Regardless whether or not a hashtag challenge is a significant part of your influencer marketing strategy or not, you will benefit from creating a memorable and if possible branded hashtag to include with your sponsored posts.
Tracking The ROI Of Your Influencer Campaigns
The last thing you need to do is closely track the performance and ROI of your campaigns. This way you can later trim what doesn't work and double down on the campaigns that brought you the most sales. The main thing to track is sales, however you could also track other parameters that are important to you like the number of views, likes, or comments their videos get.
You could use an affiliate or referral marketing software to track where sales are coming from if they are sharing links or coupon codes. Viral contests are another way to increase your exposure and get the most out of a campaign like this.
Good luck with your next influencer campaign. Hopefully its a win for both you and your creators.
Other TikTok Marketing Ideas
Take a more passive route to growth using TikTok automation software.
Test out one of the managed growth services listed here.
Last Updated: February 12, 2023