Using TikTok Influencer Marketing to Connect with New Audiences

TikTok has rapidly transformed from a niche entertainment app into a global social force—making it an essential platform for brands looking to reach and resonate with new audiences. With its highly engaged user base, discovery-driven algorithm, and emphasis on authentic content, TikTok offers unique opportunities for influencer marketing that go far beyond traditional advertising. Here’s how TikTok influencer marketing can build lasting engagement and expand your brand’s reach into fresh markets. 

Grasping TikTok’s Unique Appeal

TikTok thrives on fast-paced, short-form content designed to entertain, educate, or inspire—often in less than 30 seconds. Its “For You” page (FYP) personalizes content discovery, allowing even small creators and new brands to go viral with the right video.

What sets TikTok apart:

• Creativity over polish: The platform favors relatable, off-the-cuff videos over high-production aesthetics.
• Trends drive visibility: Memes, challenges, and trending audio clips fuel engagement and reach.
• Younger, open-minded audience: A large share of TikTok users are Gen Z and millennials who value humor, transparency, and cultural relevance.

Brands that succeed on TikTok embrace this tone. Instead of pushing a traditional ad, a fashion label might collaborate with influencers to style an outfit using a viral dance trend, embedding the brand naturally within TikTok’s cultural fabric.

Defining Your Audience Expansion Goals

To make the most of TikTok’s reach, define exactly who you want to connect with. Expanding your audience might mean:

• Entering a younger demographic
• Engaging a new geographic region
• Tapping into a niche interest group

For example, a gaming accessory brand may want to reach casual mobile gamers aged 18–24, while a clean beauty brand could aim for eco-conscious Gen Z shoppers in North America.

Establish measurable goals tied to these targets, such as:

• Follower growth within a specific demographic
• Engagement rates on influencer content
• Traffic or sales generated from TikTok-specific links

These metrics help gauge campaign success and guide your influencer partnerships toward strategic growth.

Selecting Influencers with Precision

TikTok creators span all sizes and styles—from macro-influencers with millions of followers to micro-influencers with tight, dedicated communities. The most effective partnerships prioritize:

• Relevance: Does their content align with your brand’s mission or product?
• Audience alignment: Does their follower base reflect your target audience?
• Authenticity: Is their tone consistent and trusted by viewers?

A plant-based food brand, for instance, may find better results with a vegan lifestyle micro-influencer than with a generalist creator with broader reach but less alignment.

Evaluate influencer potential by:

• Watching recent videos to assess quality and tone
• Reviewing engagement (likes, comments, shares)
• Verifying that content feels organic, not overly sponsored

The goal is a natural fit—an influencer who can champion your product in a way that resonates with their audience.

Crafting Content That Fits TikTok

TikTok rewards content that’s native to its environment—quick, fun, visually engaging, and trend-savvy. Collaborate with influencers to create content that matches their personal style while showcasing your brand in context.

Effective formats include:

• Challenges: Start or join a trend (e.g., recipe hacks, outfit transformations)
• Reactions: Duets or stitches showing influencer experiences with your product
• Storytelling: Personal product journeys or mini vlogs
• Tutorials: Bite-sized how-to videos using your product

A snack brand, for example, might team up with influencers to create “taste test” content using trending audio. Let the creator’s voice shine—scripted or overly polished videos often fall flat with TikTok’s audience.

Harnessing the Power of Virality

One of TikTok’s biggest advantages is its viral potential. Thanks to the algorithm, a single influencer video can reach millions—even if the creator isn’t a household name.

To increase your chances of virality:

• Use trending music or hashtags
• Include CTAs (e.g., “Try this and tag us”)
• Encourage viewer interaction through comments or shares

A beauty brand might collaborate on a transformation video using a trending sound and end with a call to “duet your look.” While virality can’t be guaranteed, these tactics increase visibility and invite participation, expanding your brand’s digital footprint rapidly.

Engaging Beyond the Post

TikTok influencer marketing doesn’t stop at the video upload. Long-lasting engagement comes from interaction. Ask influencers to:

• Respond to comments
• Create follow-up content
• Host Q&As or live sessions

A pet product company might ask an influencer to post a follow-up “fan-favorite” video using viewer-submitted pet clips, fostering a sense of community.

Monitor these interactions to evaluate sentiment and surface valuable insights—what questions are people asking? Are there recurring comments that can guide future messaging?

Measuring Reach and Impact

Success on TikTok should be tracked through both quantitative metrics and qualitative insights:

• Views, shares, likes, comments: Basic engagement indicators
• Follower growth: A sign of expanding brand interest
• Traffic and conversions: Measured via UTM links, promo codes, or landing pages
• Sentiment analysis: Gauge how people are reacting, not just how many are reacting

Use TikTok’s analytics, along with tools like Google Analytics or social listening platforms, to measure broader influence beyond the app itself.

Amplifying Through Cross-Channel Synergy

TikTok content shouldn’t live in isolation. Repurpose influencer-created content across your other platforms:

• Share on Instagram Reels, Stories, or feed posts
• Use clips in paid social ads
• Embed videos in email campaigns or product pages

A coffee brand, for example, could take a TikTok influencer’s morning routine video and reformat it as part of a YouTube pre-roll ad or blog post.

Encourage influencers to cross-promote the content as well—teasing TikTok posts on Instagram or linking to giveaways hosted on your website. This multiplies your reach and connects fragmented audiences across platforms.

Navigating TikTok’s Evolving Landscape

TikTok is fast-moving. Trends, features, and community standards shift quickly, so agility is essential.

Stay on top of:

• New features: TikTok Shops, LIVE Shopping, longer video formats
• Ad disclosure rules: Influencers must tag posts as sponsored (#ad, #sponsored)
• Trend cycles: Rapid rise and fall of memes, sounds, or hashtags

Adapt your campaign strategies as TikTok evolves. A clothing brand might pivot from standard influencer videos to livestream try-ons or Shop-enabled tutorials if in-app purchasing gains popularity among their audience.

Building Lasting Influencer Ties

While one-off influencer collaborations can spark short-term interest, long-term partnerships build deeper resonance. A skincare brand might team with an influencer for a multi-month skin journey series, building trust through repeated exposure.

Ongoing relationships also:

• Provide richer audience insights
• Strengthen authenticity and credibility
• Offer cost-effective content creation over time

Influencers who become brand advocates can organically integrate your messaging into their ongoing content, keeping your brand top-of-mind beyond specific campaigns.

Sustaining Audience Growth Post-Campaign

The ultimate goal isn’t just to reach new audiences—but to retain them. Use your TikTok influencer campaign as a launchpad for deeper brand engagement:

• Run a branded hashtag challenge to encourage user-generated content
• Create exclusive offers for new followers
• Engage actively with comments and repost community content

A lifestyle brand, for instance, might follow a successful influencer campaign with a “Your Daily Style” contest, encouraging fans to post looks using a campaign hashtag. This keeps momentum going and builds lasting loyalty.

Turning Discovery Into Connection

TikTok influencer marketing offers a rare combination of reach, relatability, and creative energy. By aligning with creators who understand the platform’s culture and audience, brands can make meaningful inroads into new communities—fast.

Success comes from strategy: define your goals, choose the right influencers, create native content, and stay agile. When done right, TikTok doesn’t just expand your audience—it helps you connect with them in a way that feels real, relevant, and ready to grow.