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TikTok is letting a select group of influencer agencies pop the hood on its main influencer marketing tool.
The company recently started a soft rollout of an API for TikTok Creator Marketplace, which lets brands search for influencers who might be a good fit for their campaigns. TikTok told Marketing Brew that it’s initially allowing four influencer marketing companies to access the API: Influential, Capitv8, Whalar, and INCA.
What it means: These companies will have access to data and metrics that TikTok generates from creator content. That includes first-party data about audience demographics and the performance of creator videos. The agencies can funnel that information to their own clients, helping brands make smarter decisions on who to partner with for influencer marketing campaigns.
- Captiv8 CEO and co-founder Krishna Subramanian told us that the company used the API to help a retailer client debut its TikTok channel with a campaign focused on “empowerment, inclusivity, self-expression, and individuality.”
- “Without official integrations, brands are left scrambling and forced to estimate campaign results and surface-level influencer insights,” Subramanian said, adding that the API can let clients “justify their channel investments and ensure they’re partnering with the right creators to reach their target audiences.”
TikTok itself hasn’t made any official announcements about the Creator Marketplace API. A spokesperson said it’s in an “early pilot phase” and that TikTok will expand beyond the initial four partners “in the coming months.”
Zoom out: TikTok introduced its Creator Marketplace in 2019 essentially as a way for brands to shop for influencers. TikTok declined to share specifics regarding how creators can qualify because it’s in beta, but said that creators can be invited at the platform’s discretion if they meet eligibility requirements that include “age, followers, video content, and engagement.”—ZS