The concept of influencer marketing, our bread and butter (or avocado toast, if you will) is a strategy that is ever evolving across social media platforms. As you know from your Social Studies squad, we highlight the latest in our brand work, influential talent and trends we spot on the OG influencer app – Instagram. However, as the tides continue to turn in digital content creation and marketing alike, you’ll see influencer marketing take place even more so on TikTok. Where there is consumer attention, there is inevitably smart brand work as well – and the app prioritizes organic engagement to reach virality.
The TLDR? Where you scroll, is where the influencers go. Let’s take a look at the top brands on TikTok crushing the game in influencer marketing tactics:
1. Knix
The female-forward, intimate apparel brand you’ve seen graze your ‘For You’ page have more happening BTS in their marketing department than just cute luxe workout sets and stress-free period wear. The brand’s affiliate hashtag #knixpartner has 7.7M views on the app to date, and oftentimes you’ll see influencers sharing their discount code in the captions, creating an incentive and driving revenue goals. The Knix influencer repertoire reaches a variety of audiences as well – from new moms sporting the brand’s postpartum intimates, to girls focused on their wellness goals and how Knix is the perfect set to feel confident and clean at the gym.
2. Loreal Paris
If you’re anything like us, Beauty TikTok owns a lot of the real estate on your ‘For You’ page (and for good reason!) The way that TikTok has been able to provide consumers with short, quippy, efficient tutorials and product drops has transformed the way beauty junkies apply – and buy – new products. Take it from L’Oreal Paris, who although has a large audience on the platform (301.4K, to be exact) it’s the influencer marketing hashtag, @lorealparispartner that has yielded over 1.7B views on TikTok. Yea, that was 1.7 with a B. What makes this brand marketing so special? As a tried and true drugstore favorite amongst millennials, L’Oreal Paris has tapped into an authentic Gen-Z audience through how-to videos, new product drops, and sought after brand comparison content like “L’Oreal vs. Luxe’. This is especially genius, because the brand [and its trusted ambassadors] are able to showcase the results of L’Oreal’s products next to its department store counterparts on influencers’ faces, without defaming any other brands. With this beauty strategy, it’s all baked.
3. SuperGoop
Who would have thought we would be obsessing over content about… sunscreen? Well, as it turns out the team at SuperGoop tapped into its ideal audience right where they are, on TikTok – featuring a variety of male and female influencers in beauty, fashion, lifestyle and beyond to create content that highlights its most notable features in an entertaining, humorous way. Supergoop stuck to the app’s ethos of lighthearted, relatable video content and chose specific products and objectives to market – such as its clear SPF50 vs. the traditional white-cast sunscreen millennials are accustomed to from the 90s. Skincare influencers show how sunscreen isn’t just something you slather on at the beach, but a crucial step in their routine to prevent aging. These influencers are ahead of the curve – and the botox.
4. Casetify
If there’s one thing Gen-Z idolizes besides TikTok itself, it’s the device that got them there – a.k.a their cell phones. Casetify leveraged the app and its target consumer base to work with influencers who were creating edgy, cool, and hilarious content and challenged them to weave Casetify products into their narrative. For example, @averycyrus who has posted a series of custom DIY skateboards with her favorite random, funky objects teamed up with the brand to create a board straight from phone cases [if you’re looking for DIY eye candy, check out the video here]. A testament to how meeting not only your customers, but your content creators, where they already are is what makes the most impact in a campaign.
5. Athletic Greens
Considering this is the app that brought us the super trendy #HotGirlWalk, it should come as no surprise that TikTok’s community is interested in health, wellness and efficient ways to get there. Nutritional supplement brand Athletic Greens has been touted by your fave influencers on IG, as well as featured through podcast marketing – but in recent months, the brand has taken on TikTok influencer marketing to drive its mission across a no-BS, health conscious Gen-Z audience. With the #athleticgreenspartner affiliate tag racking up over 20M views, you can see how the brand uses a few different angles to reach its key consumer: from a scoop of AG powder as a seamless addition in your #morningroutine, to the best on-the-go option for greens when you’re traveling – the content is streamlined into your everyday life, and is geared towards both a male and female audience. BRB, adding to cart…