5 mistakes to avoid when launching a TikTok influencer campaign

On the social network TikTok, the influencer marketing is proving to be an extremely effective marketing technique for brands.

With more thanone billion active users On a monthly basis, TikTok is where every marketer wants and needs to be.

In other words, the platform represents incredible growth opportunities. You certainly have in mind successful brands that have gone viral thanks to a collaboration with a TikTok influencer or several content creators.

One of the reasons why the TikTok application is a platform to exploit for your influence strategies is that 65% of TikTok users like it when a maker published on a mark or a product.

It is also important to know that the Generation Z represents almost half (42% aged 18 to 24) of TikTok users. This demographic group also trusts influencers more than traditional ads. So if you're looking to target Gen Z, influencer marketing on TikTok is the way to go.

But it is important to fully understand the workings of influence, and collaborations with influencers to succeed in your campaigns on TikTok.

Some mistakes can cost you a lot!

But don't worry! At the end of this article, you'll know exactly what mistakes to avoid when launching an influencer campaign on TikTok.

Do not set campaign goals

We start with the first unforgivable mistake in your TikTok influencer marketing strategy Is of not setting strategic goals.

Although it may seem obvious, many marketers forget this crucial step, especially for a launch on the social network TikTok. As a result, they end up with a large budget spent on poor performance and without even knowing what they really wanted to achieve and therefore without being able to analyze their results effectively.

The aim is that your ROI (return on investment) be as high as possible. And for that, of course, you need to define specific objectives to be achieved for your influencer marketing campaign.

Here are the main goals related to influencer marketing that you can consider:

→ Increase its visibility

One of the reasons to use a TikTok influencer is simply to promote your brand, services, or products. The influencer can create a video to post on their account in order to talk about your brand to their audience, and link to your TikTok account or your website.

→ Increase your conversion rate

A campaign on TikTok whose objective is to have a good conversion rate usually means increasing sales. The aim is to acquire customers, through a spontaneous discourse carried out by the creators. In this case, it's not just a question of redirecting to your site, but rather talking about a product, and referring to the product page to facilitate the purchase. In particular, you can integrate a promotional code system to convert as much as possible.

→ Gain notoriety

If your goal is simply to make yourself known, so that as many users as possible subscribe to your TikTok account, your objective is fame. This is often a particularly long-term strategy, since the idea is to position yourself as a reference in your sector with as many people as possible.

→ Enhance your brand image

Influence is also a way of giving a new image to your brand. If you want to talk about certain values specific to your brand, influence can also be a way to send strong messages.

After clearly determining the reasons why you want to set up an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok, you will be able to more easily start the various activations necessary to carry them out successfully and measure their performance. Once the goals you want to achieve are set, you can define key performance indicators (KPIs), and thus know how successful your campaign is.

Don't do original content on TikTok

If you have made the choice to be on the TikTok platform as a brand, it is because you are ready to unleash your eccentricity, your humor and your creativity. An influence strategy with videos that doesn't look like content TikTok has no chance of performing. The whole point of using influencers is to produce content that will blend into the famous thread For you. If the videos don't use TikTok codes, performance will suffer.

Not activating the right TikTok influencers

One of the third most important, and probably the most common for an influencer marketing strategy, is to not activating the right influencers. A key element because in many cases, it determines the results of the campaign.

To do this, you must carefully identify the KOL (Key Opinion Leader) that you choose to activate. It should be linked to your brand, your values or, at least, involved in the same sector as you. Also take into account its interaction with its community and its commitment to its content.

You may have guessed it, but choosing the wrong influencer can lead to your brand performing very poorly on the TikTok platform, but it can also damage your reputation on the platform.

When choosing an influencer for a collaboration, be sure to open their TikTok profile to dive into their universe and previously shared content. And ask yourself the following question: Is this a suitable person to represent my brand?

Our expert advice for Do not make a mistake when choosing the KOL (Key Opinion Leader) and to create an “ideal influencer” checklist and follow it.

For example:

→ The values of the creator, to match the values of your brand.

→ The influencer's relationship with your brand - for example, if they are a long-term user/consumer.

→ Subscriber demographics (gender, age, location) - to match your brand's target audience.

→ Quality of their content and commitment.

Focus only on macro-influencers

No doubt you will be tempted to want Call on the biggest celebrities and TikTok influencers for your next influencer marketing campaign. Imagining your product in the hands of Charlie d'Amelio (who has 147 million subscribers on TikTok) and presenting it to such a large audience is bound to be a dream.

But you would be wrong to assume that a larger audience always equates to a better result. The very big influencers are necessarily very expensive. Moreover, as their audience is vast, it does not guarantee that your target audience is there. In any case, it will be diluted among people who are definitely not your target.

In reality, this strategy is only really coherent if you have a reputation objective.

Do not use nano-influencers and micro-influencers

Micro-influencers are an incredibly smart choice for marketing campaigns with a niche target audience. Their smaller audiences (less than 200k-500k subscribers maximum) often result in higher engagement rates than those of macro or mega-influencers. Indeed, they will be in a better position to communicate with their community, establishing a stronger local link.

Micro-influencers have an average engagement rate of nearly 18%. So TikTok is the best platform for create an engaged community and audience around your brand. And micro-influencers should not be overlooked in order to have the best possible Return on Investment, since their audience is often very engaged.

Don't trust influencers

As part of a TikTok influence campaign, it is important to leave their creative freedom to influencers.

Do not impose on creators instructions or guidelines that are too strict nor an overly advertising message. You risk limiting what makes them strong. But above all, you will reduce the impact of your campaign, because their community will suspect that it is a sponsored message, and will therefore consume it with distrust.

After all, influencers know their community much better. They are the most likely to know how to talk to them about your product or brand.

To avoid this mistake in your TikTok influencer campaign, share a clear brief about your collaboration. But avoid defining rules that could constrain them in creating their content.

If you took the time to select one content creator over another, it's certainly because you preferred their universe and aura. So trust him!

To avoid a collaboration that lacks authenticity, give them creative freedom in creating the campaign and the content. His publications will thus beIn line with what it usually produces on his TikTok account.

Don't think long term

Finally, keep in mind that an influence campaign should not be a “one-shot”.

As part of a collaboration For Influencer Marketing, it is necessary to create a special relationship with the content creators you have activated.

Establish between them and your mark a relationship based on authenticity, transparency and meaning: they will be better able to create engaging and authentic content.

Share with them wherefore you have chosen them and transmit to them your motivation for this collaboration. You will see that their involvement in your campaign will increase and they will have an easier time communicating about your brand to their community.

Not taking advantage of the opportunity that influencer marketing offers

In short, Influencer campaigns can be an incredible marketing opportunity if you know how to set it up on the platform. But keep in mind that this can be a double-edged sword.

The aim of influence is to reach more or less important audiences, and if your campaign is not well thought out, it can really hurt you.

Take the time to properly set up your influence strategy before you start, and if you have doubts, or need a helping hand, do not hesitate to contact an influence agency like Sleeq!