What is a TikTok Influencer?
A TikTok influencer is a user on the social media platform TikTok who has built up a large following and credibility through the videos they create and post. As defined by Emplifi, “A TikTok Influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility through the videos they create and post on TikTok. This person has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach” (https://emplifi.io/definitions/tiktok-influencer).
TikTok influencers differ from influencers on other platforms like Instagram or YouTube in a few key ways. First, their content is in a short-video format designed for TikTok’s platform. They leverage TikTok’s unique editing tools and features in their video creation. Second, TikTok has its own unique culture and trends that influencers aim to capitalize on. Dance challenges, duets, reaction videos, and comedy are very popular on TikTok. Finally, the algorithm on TikTok makes it possible for anyone to go viral overnight, unlike other platforms where you need to build a following over time. This allows influencers to gain followers rapidly.
The role of a TikTok influencer is to engage their audience, drive trends, and influence purchases. They do this by creating entertaining, helpful, or inspirational content centered around a niche like dance, comedy, beauty, or cooking. Their large following and audience engagement allow them to have an outsized impact on what is popular and influential on TikTok at any given moment.
Why Become a TikTok Influencer?
TikTok offers massive reach and influence. With over 1 billion monthly active users, it’s one of the largest social media platforms in the world (Forbes). Building a following on TikTok provides access to a huge potential audience for your content.
There are also significant monetization opportunities. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, micro-influencers on TikTok with 5,000 to 20,000 followers can earn $25-$125 per sponsored post. The earning potential increases dramatically for influencers with larger followings (Growth Collective).
TikTok offers a platform for creative expression through short videos. The flexibility of short video formats allows influencers to showcase their personality and talents in creative ways. Whether it’s dancing, comedy, DIY, or something else – TikTok provides a space for creators to share their passion.
Becoming an influencer on TikTok can also help build a personal brand. By developing a distinctive style and personality on TikTok, influencers can build their reputation and authority around a niche or expertise. This brand recognition can lead to other opportunities.
How to Grow Your Following on TikTok
There are several key strategies to grow your following on TikTok:
Consistently post high-quality content – Posting engaging, entertaining videos on a regular basis is key. Use editing tools to make your videos look polished and professional. Focus on a specific niche or style of content to attract the right audience.
Use relevant hashtags – Research and use popular hashtags and challenges related to your niche to get your content seen by more people searching those topics. But don’t overdo it, 1-3 well-chosen hashtags per post is optimal according to experts from Buffer (source).
Engage with your audience – Reply to comments, follow back users who engage with your content, and post reaction videos to connect with viewers. Building relationships leads to a loyal fanbase.
Collaborate with other creators – Partner with creators in a similar niche to tap into each other’s audiences. Cross-promote each other’s content and accounts.
Leverage TikTok trends and challenges – Stay on top of popular trends and participate in viral challenges related to your niche. Putting your own spin on trends can help increase engagement.
Creating Viral TikTok Content
Going viral on TikTok requires creating engaging videos that capture attention. Here are some tips for creating viral content on TikTok:
Identify viral trends and challenges. Keep an eye out for trending hashtags, sounds, effects and challenges blowing up on TikTok. Creating content around viral trends is a great way to get more views.
Film high-quality and creative videos. Invest in good lighting and camera equipment to make your videos stand out. Get creative with unique angles, visuals, costumes and editing to make your content more engaging.
Use popular songs and audios. Songs and sounds that are already trending on TikTok give your video a better chance of being discovered. Use trending audios and put your own spin on them.
Participate in duets and stitches. Duet or stitch popular videos to gain engagement from an existing audience. Add your own twist to make it unique.
Optimize your captions. Well-written, catchy captions will help get more views. Use relevant keywords and emojis as well.
Post consistently and at peak times. Posting 1-3 times a day at peak hours like early afternoon and evenings can boost your reach.
Best Practices for TikTok Influencers
Here are some tips to help grow and engage your audience on TikTok as an influencer:
Post Consistently – Regularly creating and posting new content is key. TikTok’s algorithm favors accounts that post multiple times per week. Aim to post 1-3 times per day if possible (Source).
Use Captions and Hashtags – Well-written captions explain your video and hashtags help viewers find your content. Include 5-10 relevant hashtags per post (Source).
Interact with Followers – Reply to comments, do collab videos with followers, and go live regularly. Engaging with your audience helps build a loyal community.
Find Your Niche – Identify a specific niche like comedy, dance, beauty, cooking, etc. and make content tailored to that audience. Niche content performs better than random topics.
Track Analytics – Use TikTok analytics and third party tools to understand your audience and see which posts perform best. This data can inform your content strategy (Source).
Monetization Opportunities
There are several ways for influencers to monetize their audience and content on TikTok:
Brand sponsorships and partnerships – One of the most common and lucrative ways for influencers to earn money is through paid partnerships with brands. An influencer can get paid to promote a product, service, or brand in their videos. Rates vary greatly depending on follower count and engagement.
Affiliate marketing – Influencers can earn commissions by promoting affiliate links and coupon codes to products and services. When their audience makes a purchase using their affiliate link, the influencer receives a percentage of the sale as commission.
Selling merchandise – Popular influencers can design and sell custom apparel, accessories, and other merchandise featuring their brand. This allows fans to physically purchase something related to the creator they love.
TikTok Creator Fund – TikTok directly pays creators through its Creator Fund, which allows influencers to earn money from videos that garner a certain number of views. The amount paid depends on factors like location, content views, and engagement.
With a large and engaged following, TikTok influencers have various options to monetize their audience through brand sponsorships, affiliate promotions, merchandise, TikTok’s Creator Fund, and more. Tracking audience analytics helps determine the most lucrative opportunities.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
As a TikTok influencer, it’s important to avoid some common mistakes that can harm your growth and credibility:
Posting inconsistent content – Having a random, disjointed feed makes it hard for viewers to know what to expect from your account. Stick to a niche and regular posting schedule.
Using too many hashtags – Flooding posts with excessive hashtags looks spammy. Be selective with relevant tags for each post.
Not having a niche – Successful influencers occupy a specific niche like comedy, dance, cooking, etc. Develop your niche to attract an engaged audience.
Buying fake followers – Fake followers won’t engage with your content. Grow a real audience organically for maximum impact.
Only promoting products – Focus more on creating value vs pushing products. Audiences engage better with authentic content.
Sources: https://www.pixlee.com/blog/avoid-these-tiktok-marketing-mistakes, https://itsmodernmillie.com/blog/10-biggest-tiktok-mistakes-creators-make/
Measuring Success
There are several key metrics to track in order to measure the success of a TikTok influencer:
Follower growth over time is a critical metric. Consistent growth in followers shows that your content strategy is working and your audience is expanding. Aim for steady, organic growth rather than artificial spikes. Track both your overall follower count as well as growth rates week-over-week or month-over-month.
Engagement metrics like views, comments, shares, and likes offer insight into how well your audience is responding to your content. High engagement rates compared to your follower count indicate you are creating compelling content that resonates with your niche. Analyze engagement metrics per post as well as averages over time.
Securing brand deals and partnerships is a sign you have built a large, engaged audience that brands want to collaborate with. As an influencer’s following and engagement grows, their ability to monetize through promotions increases. Track both the number of deals and average deal size over time.
Ultimately, total income earned from TikTok endeavors is the bottom line for measuring influencer success. Benchmark your monthly or annual earnings against hours invested to quantify your profitability and earning potential.
Maintaining Authenticity
As a TikTok influencer, it’s important to stay true to your brand and continue creating authentic content that resonates with your audience. Here are some tips for maintaining authenticity on TikTok:
Stay true to your brand – Don’t sway from the type of content your audience originally followed you for. Stick to showing your true personality and interests.
Interact with followers – Engage with your audience in the comments. Reply, like comments, and make duet/stitch videos with fans. This shows you care about your community.
Share personal experiences – Give your followers a look into your daily life. Capture spontaneous moments, not overly staged content. This allows viewers to connect with the real you.
Maintaining authenticity is key for longevity as a TikTok influencer. Avoiding inauthentic behavior like buying followers or clickbait thumbnails will keep your account genuine. Your audience will appreciate you staying real as your channel grows.[1] [2]
Future of TikTok Influencers
As the TikTok platform continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the future looks bright for aspiring influencers. TikTok has consistently rolled out new features like TikTok Stories and longer video lengths that open up additional creative opportunities. The competition will also continue to grow, as more creators realize the platform’s money-making potential and flock to try their hand at building an audience.
New monetization options are also on the horizon, like tipping and e-commerce integrations, that will allow influencers to diversify their income streams. Additionally, brand sponsorship opportunities are multiplying as companies increasingly dedicate larger portions of their advertising budgets to the platform. However, rising standards will emerge as well – influencers will need to be savvier about identifying brand alignment, analytics, and community engagement to stand out from the crowd.
Overall, the future of the TikTok influencer holds tremendous possibilities, but will require persistence, ingenuity, and adaptability to stay ahead of the trends and changes in this dynamic ecosystem. The creators that can quickly test new features and opportunities while developing authentic connections will be best positioned for ongoing relevance and success.
