How creator collaborations can spark online shopping sprees

It happens every day on TikTok: new trends go viral, products sell out, and unknown brands become overnight sensations. A single video can ignite a shopping spree that blazes across the planet. To fan the flames, businesses of all sizes are turning to TikTok creators to collaborate. Partnerships with TikTok creators are more targeted, more cost-effective, and more authentic than traditional influencer marketing—and they’re changing the game for brands big and small.  

A brave new market

In today’s market, it’s anything but business as usual. While it’s never been easier to get your brand’s message out into the world, it’s never been more difficult to get noticed. Our lives are oversaturated with ads; most people see between 6,000 and 10,000 commercial messages every single day. With such an onslaught, it’s easy to see why 50% of internet users use ad blockers.

Another mounting issue: distrust. Consumer trust levels in ads are now down to 37%. So how do you cut through the noise with a message that creates confidence instead of skepticism? What do consumers want?

Reliable, real and totally transparent

More than ever, consumers are looking for trust. They want to hear from reliable figures who say what they mean and mean what they say—and who know what they’re talking about.

Forget polished personalities with cookie-cutter messages. Consumers like everyday stars whose authenticity shines through. They want to be entertained by captivating personas who always stay true to themselves. Most of all, consumers are looking for figures who are trustworthy and transparent.

So what does all this mean for your business? It’s time to zag.

These new dynamics require brands to shift gears and disrupt the standard approach to influencer marketing. By partnering with TikTok creators, you can tap the true voice of consumers and create the authentic connections that turn businesses into beloved brands.

Creator vs. influencer: What’s the difference?

Influencers are people who can influence the behavior and/or opinions of others. This group includes a broad range of individuals: conventional celebrities, social media personalities, athletes, musicians, artists—and many more.

TikTok creators specialize in producing original videos, music, images and other types of content in their unique style. Their creations resonate with their followers and drive deep engagement. When collaborating with a business, they represent the brand while staying true to their genuine voice, preferences and style.

Who are TikTok creators?

A new generation of TikTok creators are helping to shape the TikTok community as it evolves and grows. 💃  TikTok creators are real movers and shakers. They have large audiences that watch their videos, engage with their posts and most importantly: trust their opinions of products and brands. 🌈  TikTok creators are diverse. They come in all ages, speak many languages and belong to many cultures. The TikTok creator community has a balanced gender ratio and widespread interests, from games and animals to life hacks, technology and family fun. 🔥 TikTok creators are trendsetters who inspire co-creation. What they do is often imitated across time zones and borders, which can put your brand in the middle of the action around the world. When it comes to getting your message across, no amount of attention beats co-creation.

How to spark a shopping spree

Let’s see how two businesses used the TikTok Creator Marketplace to gain exposure.

Case Study: Evermée

Evermée makes high-tech locket necklaces that allow users to upload and display photos of their loved ones with a quick scan of their smartphones. To raise brand awareness, they were looking for a very specific type of TikTok creator: males in a relationship who had mainly female followers.

TikTok Creator Marketplace made it easy for Evermée to find what they were searching for. They simply selected the Love & Dating category, which was full of the type of TikTok creator they wanted to partner with. Next, they narrowed down the group based on stats. Evermée filtered the search results by average views, which was more important to them than the number of followers.

Evermée found two perfect TikTok creators and gave them total freedom, asking only that the videos showed how to use the product. Both were happy to post videos in exchange for lockets, and both gave permission for Evermée to use their content for other marketing purposes.

Results: 1.2M total views, 99.8K likes, and 8.22% average engagement rate.

Evermée’s web traffic increased sharply. They estimate that each view on TikTok was worth 10 cents to them in direct sales (remarketing not included).

Case Study: Wordans

Wordans is an online wholesale clothing store that wanted to increase sales with its target demographic: younger customers. For the right balance of budget and reach, they used the TikTok Creator Marketplace to seek out micro-influencers (those with fewer followers but higher rates of engagement). TikTok creators that averaged 20K views per video were ideal for the campaign, and it was quick and easy to narrow down the candidates on the user-friendly platform.

Wordans wanted each video to convey their competitive pricing, fast shipping, and option to buy in bulk. Beyond that, each TikTok creator had total flexibility with creative direction. In exchange for posting videos, they were able to keep the products and received a 5% discount code to offer their followers.

Results: 1.20K total views and 5K likes.

Wordans was blown away by the results—a single campaign helped them achieve their revenue goals and grow their customer database. The brand has since reinvested multiple times on the TikTok Creator Marketplace.

Out with the old, in with TikTok creators

By making TikToks, not ads, TikTok creators are changing the face of influencer marketing through their unique style, voice, and authenticity. When businesses collaborate with the right creators, true marketing magic can happen.