As one of the fastest-growing apps to ever exist, TikTok is something that you really need to get on board with. The app has 689 million monthly active users, so whether you’re an influencer, brand, or general user, it’s one to download.
This short-video platform has evidently taken over social media in the last year. As something totally different from any other social media platform, TikTok is known for its creativity and addictive nature. Videos are typically 15 seconds long, incorporating special filters, effects, and music. The great thing about this app is that there’s something for everyone. You’ll find anything from singing and dancing to fashion, food, DIY, or animal videos!
It comes as no surprise that TikTok has sparked interest from marketers. With so many youngsters on the app, scrolling through sometimes hundreds of videos each day, the opportunity for brand visibility is remarkable. if you’re interested in discovering how to use TikTok for influencer marketing, then Heepsy is here to help with several blog posts covering this. Today, we are going to take a look at the Creator Fund, which was set up last year, igniting many discussions within the industry.
TikTok in influencer marketing
Brands have jumped onto TikTok, setting up their own business accounts initially. And yes, this can be a great way to get noticed. However, what’s even better, is working with TikTok influencers. Brands are definitely succeeding at getting noticed on their own accounts, but this app is all about creativity.
When considering the demographic of TikTok, with 62% of users aged between 10 and 29, it’s important to remember that this younger generation is not particularly persuaded by traditional advertising methods. Instead, they prefer a more natural approach. Gen Z and millennials like to get to know a brand’s values, to understand their vision, and to be attracted to a brand based on trusted opinions and recommendations. This is where influencers become so vital.
Taking into consideration the demographic of TikTok users and their preferred methods of advertisement, it’s no wonder that brands are targeting influencers on this platform. What’s important to remember, is that your brand will be best noticed when the content fits in with that of the influencer’s normal style. More so than other platforms, you need to allow influencers to take control here. Let them be creative and come up with content that can really engage viewers.
What is the Creator Fund?
So, the big question that you may have come here for today is “what is the creator fund?”. Although the TikTok Creator Fund was released in July 2020, there has been a lot of confusion about what it really is. As well as this, we have seen debate within the industry about the possible consequences of joining the fund. But, we’ll go over that in a moment.
Essentially, the Creator Fund was set up by TikTok, with an original £231 million investment, to be able to support the fund for 3 years. Despite the name, this investment is provided by the company itself, and not by any third-party organisation or investor. The fund was set up with the intention to aid creators on the app to be able to pursue their interests by supporting these talents on the platform.
Before the fund, TikTokers have been making an earning through other channels, such as through brand collaborations. However, the fund is intended to allow these creators to turn their passion into a career and to continue to support their talents on the app through direct earnings from their content.
Earnings and eligibility
According to TikTok, there is no maximum number of creators that can join the fund, and no minimum or maximum earning per creator. Content is entirely versatile, and earnings are calculated from several elements such as the number of videos published, number of video views, and engagement.
Users have reported various earnings from the fund, from as little as a couple of cents a day, to $1000 a month. However, it’s important to point out that creators have not been generating the six-figure earnings from the fund, that some rumours were suggesting! For example, TikTok creator Danielle reported making $1200 over five months, which has helped her to pay general bills and costs of living, but nothing excessive.
In terms of eligibility, there’s a few criteria that must be met in order to join the fund. According to TikTok, creators must:
- be based in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, or Italy.
- be over 18 years old
- have a minimum of 100,000 followers
- have a minimum of 100,000 video views within the last 30 days
- meet TikTok’s community guidelines and terms of service.
With all of the above criteria being met, creators can apply to join the fund through the account settings section on their app.
Opinions about the creator fund
Even although the fund has helped many creators to continue with their creative content on the app, there has also been some controversy too. Several TikTokers have reported decreasing video views since joining the fund, with some saying that their videos do not appear on the for you page at all anymore.
Some users indicate that there seems to be a correlation between joining the creator fund and experiencing unstable views, which has been denied by TikTok. However, it is clear to say that the Creator Fund does not provide a certain enough income for creators to rely on solely.
Bearing this in mind, TikTokers understand the need to continue keeping up their brand partnerships and to look for new deals. We know that influencer marketing is only going to keep growing, and despite the introduction of the Tiktok Creator fund, there is no less of a desire for brand ambassadors.
Finding TikTok influencers
If you’re thinking about creating an influencer marketing campaign, then TikTok is a great platform to consider working on. It’s important to remember that, as this is a fairly new app, many of the influencers here are also Instagram influencers or YouTube influencers too. You can choose to work on TikTok alone or may decide to work across several channels.
Keep in mind:
- your target demographic. TikTok has a fairly specific demographic of younger users. Does this fit in with your target audience?
- TikTokers like to be creative. You will need to pass a lot of the control over to the influencer, in order to cater for increased creativity.
- niche communities. This platform has a range of niche communities of users. Consider working with nano and micro influencers to target these niches.
There’s a lot to digest when it comes to TikTok. So, as well as keeping these points in mind, it’s important to do your research and fully understand the platform.
If you want to find influencers that can work with you to promote your brand, then there’s a couple of ways to do that. You can opt for a manual search, looking on the app itself to select influencers that you would be interested in working with. Or alternatively, you could search through an influencer marketing platform.
Currently, Heepsy allows you to search for millions of influencers worldwide, primarily on Instagram and YouTube. As TikTok has boomed over such a short space of time, influencer platforms are currently working on allowing you to search for TikTok influencers too. This feature is almost ready for release, so be sure to check back in soon to start searching for TikTok influencers with Heepsy!
Conclusion
At the end of the day, with any emerging platform, there’s always going to be new features released pretty frequently. With anything that’s new, there will be ambiguity, such as with the Creator Fund. TikTokers haven’t fully had enough time to assess the benefits of the fund, but despite varying opinions, we can say that it has definitely helped creators to continue pursuing their dreams.
However, what’s evident is that influencer marketing won’t be going anywhere, and there is only going to be a growing need for it to be a part of your marketing strategy.
