The Dos and Don’ts of Partnering with TikTok Creators as a Business

The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has over 8.1 billion views, so it’s no surprise that businesses want to partner with content creators on TikTok. Your brand can start out trendy and chic. Are you exhausted?

Or so they say. But how do you go from blending in to standing out?

Ecwid by Lightspeed has you covered. We’re going to dive deep into the best practices and mistakes to avoid when collaborating with content creators on TikTok.

If you’re ready to take advantage of TikTok offers, read on.

Why partner with creators on TikTok?

We bet you already know that TikTok is one of the biggest platforms with 1.7 billion users worldwide. Almost 50% of content creators are between the ages of 18 and 25, making them the largest age group of creators on the platform. If your target audience consists primarily of Gen Z and millennials, you should definitely consider using TikTok as a place to showcase your business through collaboration.

It’s not just that TikTok’s audience is huge; users also spend a lot of time on the platform. The average user spends about 23.3 hours per month on TikTok. An app is a great place to reach a new and highly engaged audience.

Also, you may have already noticed (if you use the app regularly) that products go viral, like memes and trending sounds. People use TikTok to get inspired, share and review their recommendations products which they probably bought after watching someone else’s review video. For brands, it pays off-64% of TikTok users purchase a product after watching a creator-branded video.

Use the TikTok Creator Marketplace to find the right creators. It’s a platform that helps brands connect with the right influencers for their TikTok campaigns. You can set your targeting parameters, view profiles of potential creators to collaborate with, review videos submitted by creators… Basically, you manage everything related to collaboration in the Creator Marketplace.

Now let’s look at the ins and outs of interacting with TikTok content creators.

Start by researching TikTok Communities — And Go deep

The best way to start your journey into TikTok collaborations is to do some research. You’ll want to spend some time discovering which TikTok communities fit your brand.

TikTok users create niche communities around countless topics. You may be familiar with beauty vloggers or fashion influencers. On TikTok, it can be limited to specific interests such as knitting, plants, keto-cooking, personal finance, passive income, soft parenthood — you you name it, there’s a community about it.

For every specific topic or interest, there are content creators who have the following. Their followers usually trust them opinion – you? want to partner with these types of trusted content creators. They know the lingo, inside jokes, and presentation that can help make your product more relatable to your desired audience.

Since there are practically endless communities, you have a variety of creators to choose from. However, there is a catch. avoid contacting a bunch of creatives randomly, even if they are related to your niche. You want to narrow down your author search and be intentional about choosing a co-author.

For example, say you sell sustainable water bottles and lunch boxes. One obvious choice would be to go #fitnesstok and partner with a fitness influencer, or #sustainabilitytok and partner with a sustainability advocate.

However, what other communities do you think you could use?

For example, you could collaborate with a creator from #parenttok as parents cook school lunches for their children. While you’ll likely miss authors who make videos about homeschooling their kids (because they don’t need to cook at school), you can find plenty of influencers who are looking for ecologically clean lunch box for their children.

Another example. you can partner with a trusted content creator for #corporategirlies, because working women obviously drink water (although we could probably drink more) and possibly bring their lunch to work.

You have many options when it comes to choosing a community to focus your marketing on. Although it can be overwhelming, doing your research can help narrow your search.

Also, do some research on what potential co-authors typically post. You don’t want to find out after signing an agreement that their content isn’t something you feel comfortable endorsing as a brand.

Summarize.

• don’t be afraid to limit your author search and access not so obvious communities.
• Do it make sure you are comfortable with the creator’s posts and that they are actually relevant to your niche.

Give Creators control

Now that you’ve found your ideal content creators, it’s time to let them work their magic.

TikTok influencers know what works best on the platform. They have their own style of creating content, building interaction with viewers and engaging an audience. Therefore, influencers know how to create videos specific to your product or service with maximum effectiveness and reach.

This is why you should trust creators when it comes to creating content around your brand. All you need to do is provide them with all the information they need about your product or service, such as its features or benefits. Let creators try your product and share their authentic opinions as they see fit. Avoid pressuring them to follow a strict script.

It’s okay to make suggestions about what you want to see in the video, but let the creator choose the format, language, voice, etc. To build trust with your potential customers, you want the author to be knowledgeable and authentic. This is hard to achieve when the video matches your brand but not the author style – it will be make the whole video look fake;

Summarize.

• don’t force the creator to follow a ready a script that doesn’t suit their style.
• Do it provide the creator with your product or service and all necessary information about it.
• Do it let the creator make a video in their signature format, storytelling technique, language and tone.

Relax Sales — You Read that right

The goal of any creator collaboration is to promote you brand — and Ideal for generating sales. However, remember that audiences aren’t just for sales.

You might think that pushing your brand in the first few seconds of a video is a great idea, but it’s actually counterintuitive.

Remember, people come to TikTok to have fun. If the video is too much call to action like “Check out the product in my bio” or “Use my code to get a discount” they can leave. Instead, put CTAs in the captions so that interested viewers can find them without feeling pressured.

Don’t be afraid to feature your brand later in the video if it makes sense for the story. This can lead to better engagement rates, especially when compared to turning a video into an obvious ad.

Summarize.

• don’t pushing your brand in the first seconds of the video.
• Do it Place CTAs in video captions.
• Do it keep the video entertaining and not promotional.

Make (some) trends your friends

TikTok trends can help you reach a wider audience audience, but use them wisely. You don’t want to get involved in a trend that doesn’t make sense for your business or the creator you’re working with.

For example, the ASMR trend is one of the most popular on TikTok, but that doesn’t mean it’s great for every brand and creator. If a creator makes a video for your campaign but tries to target a trend they’re not familiar with, it may not come across as genuine to viewers. No wonder it can hurt your business.

In addition to being relevant, the video should be reusable. If the video turns out great, you can repurpose it or promote it with paid advertising. So when collaborating with creatives, stick to “evergreen” trends that aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. For example, “A day in the life of…” or “Get ready with me” are constant staples on TikTok.

Summarize.

• Do it ask authors to use trends they are familiar with.
• don’t use trends that don’t make sense for your brand.
• Do it to stick longer term trends so you can reuse the video later.

If you sell online with Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can step up your TikTok marketing game by connecting your Ecwid store to your TikTok for Business account. You can run a variety of ad campaigns on TikTok that feature your product, including Spark Ads, which take an organic video from an author about your product and promote it with paid ads to get more exposure.

Learn more about advertising on TikTok with Ecwid in our article:

More about Content Collaboration

By following the tips outlined in this article, you can find the right creators for your brand, create successful and symbiotic partnerships, and create compelling video content that resonates with viewers.

If you want to dive deeper into collaboration, check out our podcasts:

• Influencer Marketing without the guesswork. This is our podcast with Taylor LaGais, Executive Director Kynship, an influencer marketing agency. He explains why “Payment for postage” The influencer partnership method can be ineffective and offers a more profitable approach.
• Grow your audience by partnering with other brands. Content creators aren’t the only option for collaboration. Other businesses can make great partnerships as well. Learn how to connect with other brands and what you can do if you don’t have a serious audience yet.

Now is the time for you to get one started – good Good luck on your journey to harnessing the power of TikTok marketing through collaboration.