Between navigating a TikTok ban that s been looming since 2020 and the unreliable nature of social media algorithms, brands and creators in influencer marketing are accustomed to diversification.
While the importance of building a career or brand presence on multiple platforms has long been preached, marketers and creators still lean on a variety of TikTok products to do their jobs.
As the January 19 deadline for TikTok to divest or be banned in the US approaches, the threat is a reminder to marketers that a diversified tech stack and media plan is more sophisticated, and in turn more safe, than relying on a single platform.
Creating custom goals
TikTok offers advertisers a suite of tools including The TikTok Creative Exchange, which matches brands with creators and offers campaign management and measurement tools. The tools provide brands wanting to advertise on TikTok a more streamlined process.
According to experts, turning to a social media platform to execute influencer marketing on said platform can prevent marketers from building custom strategies and taking accountability when their goals aren’t met.
“Tools are only effective when you know how to use them,” said Tiffany Hardin, CEO of agency Gild Creative Group. “If you’re not somebody who is well-versed in what [influencer marketing] needs to do for your company, then you could be choosing good creators on a perfectly good exchange that aren’t moving the needle for your company—-and blame it on the creator or the Creative Exchange.”
Utilizing—rather than relying on—platform tools
Alessandro Bogliari, founder of the Influencer Marketing Factory, said his agency offers a combination of data and quantitative insights.
“If you were to tell me that all of these tools would disappear tomorrow, it wouldn't be a problem," said Bogliari, who estimates that his work is split evenly between TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube influencer campaigns. “We have our own database, tech sector, and network of people that we’ve built through years of experience.”
While he uses tools like the TikTok Creative Exchange to streamline processes for clients, he said negotiating rates and managing creator relationships cannot be replaced by AI or automation.
“Those places are a great starting point based on data, but the real job gets done when there is a human component,” said Bogliari.Important questions when creating a tailored approach for clients include, “Are these influencers already working with competitors?” and “Is their tone of voice really aligned with the DNA of the brand?”
Bogliari added that while some creators look great on paper, “notes from an internal database” can offer brands crucial information before making a deal—like whether they typically have a delayed response time or have previously ghosted a brand after signing an agreement.
Fostering platform competition
Run campaigns across different platforms to cross-analyze performance, Bogliari said. Brands that lean heavily on the TikTok Creative Exchange, YouTube’s Brand Connect, or Instagram’s creator marketplace could get stuck on a strategy that works but miss out on another that works better.
Relying on internal platform services can limit campaign success, added Hardin, as the ultimate job of a platform like the TikTok Creative Exchange is to push media dollars on TikTok.
Instead of abandoning relationships that exist on TikTok, brands should consider how they can be repurposed if that creator has a newsletter or a stronger presence on another social channel, Hardin said. The creators that are best positioned to survive a ban, she said, are the ones that have been actively building their audience and influence in other spaces.
Tell a “compelling data story” outside of TikTok to prevent brands from removing their TikTok investments from the influencer marketing space entirely, she added.
“A creator that has already invested in their own channels can come back to a brand partner and say, ‘I know I don’t have as many followers on Instagram, but I do have a really active newsletter. How about we do a trial run?’” she said. “Savvy [creators] will figure out how to keep that dollar in house.”
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