The creator economy continues to gain momentum. Partly Covid-accelerated, professionals of all kinds are reinventing their careers as socially-fueled creators and developers. And those already in that camp are now more empowered than ever with a steady flow of low-code tools, from Figma to Canva.
Another ingredient in that cocktail is the rise of TikTok. Its emphasis on production quality and its affinity among increasingly-buying empowered Gen-Z has given it gravity as a creator platform. This goes for both independent creators as well as SMBs that use it as a marketing channel (more on that in a bit).
In either case, TikTok has begun to realize that all this creation is the fuel for its platform growth and monetization. So like Snap’s work with Lens Studio, it continues to launch ways to support creators and attract them to the platform. That includes everything from functionality to performance analytics.
But its latest update to elevate creators is more of a career support function. Specifically, its newest feature invites talent managers who represent creators to oversee and analyze the opportunities for their clients. These opportunities include things like influencer campaigns for consumer brands on TikTok.
Cultural Moment
Known as the Talent Manager Portal, the new update is part of the TikTok Creator Marketplace, which itself is a place for brands and agencies to connect with and commission work from creators. There are about 800,000 qualified creators on the platform, who are eligible based on their past work and traction.
The Talent Manager Portal’s core features include being able to manage deal flow, negotiate contracts, relay creative feedback, and other things that free creators up to create. This also represents a cultural moment where TikTok influencers have officially become a thing… to the point of having agents.
For TikTok, this move helps it attract the big fish of the creator economy (think D’Amelio sisters). There’s some version of the 80/20 rule at play here in terms of the outsized value generated by a smaller subset of creators and influencers. This influencer marketing is increasingly in demand from consumer brands.
In fact, top influencers drive 71 percent greater brand recall says TikTok. It also says that brands who work with creators accomplish a 26 percent lift in brand favorability and a 22 percent lift in brand recommendations. TikTok users report that creators’ authenticity drives purchases from a given brand.
So the Talent Manager Portal is a strong move in that it helps TikTok cater to that high-value segment of the creator economy… and compete with other social channels to do so. It’s off to a good start, as TikTok reports that the Talent Manager Portal is in alpha testing and several agencies have signed up.
Master the Language
Panning back, one of the factors fueling the creator economy is that there’s real money to be made. Top creators on platforms like TikTok and Snap can generate six-figure incomes from brand-commissioned work. That plus the digital nomad lifestyle it affords makes digital creation the new hot career choice.
But beyond creating brand campaigns, what about marketing one’s own business? This gets back to the part hinted above about SMBs that use TikTok as a marketing channel. In fact, Localogy’s last few events featured real-life businesses that are using TikTok as a central component of their media mix.
One of the top takeaways from these sessions is creative success factors on TikTok – the same factors that drive the brand influencers examined above. There, it’s all about “speaking the language.” Any marketing on TikTok has to align with the vibes of the platform and the expectations of its users.
What are those vibes? The key word is genuine. As echoed in the TikTok user sentiments above about authenticity, content that gains the most traction is that which is raw and uncensored. For SMBs, that can mean things like how-to segments, food delivery ride-alongs, or kitchen walkthroughs.
Like anything else, it’s all about native thinking. The challenge for brands and SMBs is to master that language, rather than just port existing content and ads. But the flip side of that coin is an opportunity to differentiate among the creators who have the time, rigor, and talent to master the language.
We’ll explore this topic further on stage at L23…
