TikTok's popularity has exploded, and it has done so in a fraction of the time that other social platforms usually see. It has become a popular source of entertainment for young people, and its user base has topped 1 billion. Over 85% of TikTok users have developed content and amassed a significant following. 

Because of the skyrocketing success content creators continue to see on this platform, Tiktok influencer marketing is one of the most effective strategies brands can use to grow awareness and revenue.

However, finding the right TikTok influencer to work with is crucial. Let’s dive into how you can find micro-influencers on TikTok who align with your brand’s niche.

1. Identify Specific, Measurable Objectives

You won’t get anywhere with TikTok marketing if you’re posting content just to tick off a box. As with any influencer marketing strategy, you must identify clear goals early in your approach to ensure success. Most businesses that use TikTok influencer marketing have one or two of the goals below:

• Raise awareness of the brand through viral content
• Reach out to current customers and establish loyalty through audience collaboration
• Increase sales and brand site traffic

However, you shouldn’t stop at these goals. You need to be more specific with what you want to achieve. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals will give both you and your prospective partner influencers a good base for campaign-building.

If your goal is more broad, like increasing awareness more generally, you can choose work with an influencer with a high follower count. Unfortunately, this may be expensive, success from this campaign type might not last, and you may be better off running a TikTok ad campaign than using an influencer.

However, if you create specific goals oriented around niche products and a detailed campaign, you’ll see success working with micro-influencers who have built an engaged audience. This approach works well when you’re focused on driving sales and building lasting relationships with TikTok users who turn into buyers. Social users are more likely to trust recommendations from smaller-scale creators they trust, who also have expertise in their niche.

Cosmetics brand Temptu works with niche micro-influencers to become a staple in their makeup routines and TikTok posts. Check out the comment!

Finally, if you already have customers and would like to establish loyalty to your brand, you can find influencers your customers already follow, then use an email finder to reach out to them, or even discover potential brand advocates in your customer base. One way to do this is by collecting and sharing user-generated content (UGC) with a CRM Platform like Pixlee TurnTo. Then, you can identify your biggest fans and which types of existing content they’re posting that can benefit your ecommerce success.

2. Analyze the Hashtags

TikTok is the only social media platform that takes hashtags seriously. If you use the right hashtags, the algorithm will improve your material at an exponential rate. TikTok influencers often use brand or industry-related hashtags as opposed to generic hashtags like #fyp and #foryou. 

Try using these hashtags in your brand’s TikTok posts, and encouraging others to as well. The influencers who use hashtags related to your brand are likely a suitable match for your brand and are in a good position to create high-quality content that speaks to your audience.

Embroidery brand DMC gives users access to free patterns on its website, which TikTok influencers like @emily_bea mention in their videos alongside related hashtags.

Once you begin to identify users frequently posting with your brand hashtag and products, you can reach out with them to propose a partnership or even send a few free products for them to mention in their videos. Once they do so, you should reshare their content on your brand’s TikTok profile — and your website. Creating a shoppable TikTok gallery featuring your micro-influencers is a great way to practice omnichannel marketing and boost conversions.

3. Review Your Competition

TikTok allows you to look up any brand and see who has been in their videos, what hashtags they've used, and what kinds of influencers they've tagged. 

You can use the #ad hashtag for this. Influencers use it when they create a Tiktok ad for brands. The hashtag can also help you determine the types of content your competition churns out through their chosen influencer. You can then develop other types of content your competition has not produced.

Once you’ve found your competition’s chosen influencers, you need to find influencers in the same niche who aren’t currently collaborating with anyone. You can find them by using the hashtags that your competitors’ influencers also use. 

The good thing about TikTok is that you find yourself falling down a content rabbit hole almost instantly, which makes it easy to discover new influencers for your campaign. Of course, you still need to see whether they represent your brand values. If they don’t fit the bill, you can always check out influencers who cater to the same audiences.

4. Look at Influencers on Other Platforms

If you still haven’t found anyone who meets your criteria, you can always check out other platforms for influencers and check if they are also on TikTok. Many influencers are on multiple platforms these days. If you find them on Instagram, the chances they’re also on TikTok are high.

Besides, looking for niche TikTok influencers this way can benefit you in other ways. Brands taking advantage of an influencer marketing solution like Pixlee TurnTo for Creators allow influencers to sign up with all of their relevant social handles at once. This means you get access to the creator’s content from multiple channels to measure and reshare on your brand’s channels.

A look inside Pixlee TurnTo for Creators shows you all of the social channels your influencer has chosen to connect, beyond just Instagram or TikTok alone.

Since these influencers have a following on other platforms, too, that just means that if you decide to collaborate with them, your brand can get the promotion it needs on that other platform, too. Even if the influencer has only a few thousand followers on Instagram, those few thousand followers can still make a difference for your brand.

5. Tap Into Creator Networks

If you don't have time to search for TikTok influencers using hashtags or subjects, influencer networks like the Pixlee TurnTo Creator Network can help you find the best ones for your company. Platforms and networks that allow you to filter by vertical are your best bet to find a niche influencer for TikTok.

However, the search does not end there. You still need to review these names and do a comprehensive analysis to see whether they can help your business. You can then evaluate the influencer based on your information and other criteria such as their follower count, among other social media metrics.

Growing With TikTok Influencers 

Although TikTok is a relatively new social media platform, it is worth considering as a marketing tool for your business. Just a quick look at the platform and the number of people who use it shows how content there can instantly go viral. If you’re not leveraging TikTok influencer marketing just yet, you should.

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Owen Baker is a content marketer for Voila Norbert, an online email verification tool. He has spent most of the last decade working online for a range of marketing companies. When he’s not busy writing, you can find him in the kitchen mastering new dishes.