Influencer marketing is now one of the most efficient marketing channels for brands and businesses of all kinds. The industry is now worth over $14 billion, and shows no signs of slowing down.
TikTok is one of the newest and most promising platforms for influencer marketing that brands can no longer ignore.Â
Just as different social platforms require a different approach and marketing strategy, there are various kinds of influencers who are more or less suited depending on brands’ specific needs. Understanding which these types are will inform creative briefs and the influencer selection criteria for your next campaign.
When you plan a TikTok influencer campaign, defining the kind of influencer to work with should come first. A significant factor of marketing effectiveness is knowing how to reach the correct audience — and picking creators with a relevant audience will facilitate this.
Influencers can be be classified in 3 broad categories. The most common and obvious criteria is the number of followers they have on TikTok and across platforms.
They can also be divided based on their niche, and content goals. There are many more ways to define TikTok influencer types, but these are the most relevant ones to consider when planning your next campaign. Let’s go into each of them.
TikTok influencer types by follower count
The number of followers an influencer has is important to any brand looking to run an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok. There are 6 commonly-used types of influencers based on follower count, from smaller to larger.Â
Nano influencers
Nano influencers typically have between 5,000 to 50,000 followers on TikTok. These creators tend to be tied to a particular niche or sub-niche, which can limit their reach. On the other hand, those are the creators with the best engagement rates because their audience is extremely curated, and their content targets a very specific interest group.
Nano influencers easily maintain a tight relationship with their followers. They’ve built up trust and a great rapport with the audience and are often seen as experts in their niche. By working with a nano influencer, you can target a very narrow, highly engaged audience group.
Micro influencers
Next up, micro influencers can have between 50,000 to 150,000 followers on TikTok. Micro influencers are the most common type of creators on TikTok.
Similarly to nano influencers, they focus a specific niche but one that revolves around more popular topics. They also have high engagement rates and their audience is more likely to take action on their advice, but benefit from a slightly larger reach as their niche is less narrow. Small businesses tend to work with these types of influencers as a great option to hit their campaign goals at a reasonable cost.Â
Micro influencers have gained more exposure in 2022, and more brands are now planning to use them in their campaigns to maximize impact per impression.
Mid-tier influencers
Influencers with 150,000 to 750,000 followers on TikTok are called mid-tier. They’re at the transition point between small and large-scale influencers – bigger than micro, but not quite macro.
Most of the time, their content centres around specific hobbies, and they tap into a group of followers who share these interests.Â
Macro influencers
The macro influencers are inside of the big league, reaching 750,000 to 2,500,000 followers on TikTok. Compared to the previous types, macro influencers tend to cover multiple topics and ride the latest trends. They do not restrict their content as much as smaller influencers usually do.
Their audience trusts them as experts, but they appear less relatable to the audience. In most cases, they have multiple social channels and a large presence across all of them.
Because their content is more diverse, and they have a larger following, their reach is larger; the flip-side being, their content receives lower engagement compared to nano and micro influencers in particular. Running a marketing campaign with an influencer of this size will guarantee a much larger exposure, but brands should be mindful to ensure their products seamlessly integrate on their TikTok page without coming across as overly promotional.Â
Mega influencers
When a creator has over 2,500,000 followers on TikTok, they enter the mega influencer category.
They often capture a large audience with diverse and varied interests. They are highly rated for the quality of their content, and their fans view them as celebrities in their respective niches.
Brands have to spend a bigger budget to work with mega influencers. They can bring a lot of attention to your brands, but the content will likely not be relevant to their entire audience hence once more, engagement will usually be lower.
Celebrity influencers
Celebrities have built their popularity outside of social media, and then joined TikTok. They could be movie or music stars, entrepreneurs with thriving businesses or media moguls.
Their key appeal for brands is the wider social and cultural significance they hold, and their ability to connect with and convey brand values on a deeper level. Clearly, celebrities are well-known by the general public and can influencer their buying decisions in significant ways – but will be harder to secure and, of course, warrant larger budgets.
TikTok influencer types by niche
Another way to categorize TikTok influencers is to look at their target niche (or sub-niche). There are endless niches to consider, but some popular ones include the below.
Gamers
Those influencers are interested in specific types of games or gaming platforms. They share helpful tips and tricks, review new titles and go live whilst playing the games. Their audience is excited about the gaming industry and enjoys watching them play expertly at games they are also interested in. They can compete with other plays and their fans will be rooting for them on their live streams.
Sports and Fitness
These influencers tend to motivate their followers to achieve their health and fitness goals. They are the perfect partner for any nutrition, fitness or sports equipment brands and can be broken down further depending on the type of activity their content revolves around.
Bloggers and vloggers
Bloggers and vloggers are one of the most popular types of influencers on TikTok. They can cover a range of topics, so can be relevant for most brands. Their content tends to be more detailed and in-depth, and thus longer form. They attract viewers who want to dig deeper into a given topic and really engage. Most of their revenue comes from brand deals and affiliate marketing, so they need to be experts at driving traffic.
Photographers and videographers
These influencers usually fall under the micro to mega categories in terms of following size. Their content is visually attractive and draws viewers in.Â
Travel
Travel is a very popular category on TikTok. Travel influencers offer travel tips, promotions, and reviews of the various different locations they happen to be in.
Creators in this niche can promote various brands – from companies selling backpacking gear to travel agencies and hotels.Â
Beauty
The beauty and cosmetics niche is well suited to TikTok because it’s easy to digest and very visual in nature. Beauty creators give beauty hacks, skincare advice, and review relevant products. They make the perfect choice for cosmetic brands.Â
Fashion
Fashion can be divided into different categories: clothing, jewellery, shoes, accessories, etc. A common way of partnering with these influencers is by sending them products to try and share with their followers – also called creator gifting strategy.
They’ll usually use some kind of affiliate link in their content, caption or link in bio, making it easy to track how much traffic came from their content to your brand.
Parenting
When it comes to parenting, everyone needs advice and tips. Parenting influencers are here to help. This type of influencers have a fairly limited but a very curated audience. Promoting products for children such as toys, clothes or foods or to make parents’ lives easier is the best option for them.
TikTok influencer types by content goals
Regardless of their following size or target niche, some influencers will pursue a specific goal through content that engages viewers on topics that matter deeply to them.
Thought Leaders
Thoughts leaders are usually innovators who enjoy sharing their latest ideas and achievements with followers. They could be entrepreneurs or successful individuals working in well-known companies. They are true experts in their field and have built a high degree of trust their audience. Gary Vee could be seen as one in this category.
Journalists
Journalists are seen as a trusted and reliable source of information for many. On TikTok they can have excellent engagement rates as their audience actively seeks out their opinions on the subjects they care about. They usually have a pre-established presence outside of social media, so their audience already knows what they are about. Creators in this category can be picky when it comes to partnerships with brands of course, as they value their credibility over commercial success on the platform.Â
Activists
A political or social cause usually drives this kind of TikTok influencers. They seek to bring positive change in society by sharing important messages with viewers. In certain cases, their views are not suited for brands to associate themselves with, so due diligence is key before appearing them. Brands should ensure their beliefs and values align with your brand image.Â
Advocates
Advocates are influencers who regularly share content around a specific company or product. Their goal is to improve the brand’s image; they truly believe in the product they are promoting, sometimes doing so even before getting deals or sponsorships.
Loyalists
Lastly, loyalists are creators who genuinely believe in the products and brands they are promoting. It goes beyond the campaign they’re currently working on. They don’t just do a sponsored post, get paid, and walk away.
Instead they are happy to collaborate with the brand over an extended period and in a broader capacity than other influencers may be willing to – for instance, by acting as official brand ambassadors who will be comfortable putting their name and personal brand behind yours.
Such creators can be more committed to helping your brand reach its campaign goals, because they truly want to see it succeed thanks to their content.
Conclusion
There are many different influencer types on TikTok which brands should know about.
Which type is best suited for your brand depends on your desired campaign outcomes, in particular the trade-off between engagement and reach.
Data suggests that engagement tends to be inversely proportional to follower size – whilst nano and micro influencers have a smaller reach, their engagement rates are much higher than mega influencers or even celebrities, for instance.
You’ll also want to consider the niche (or sub-niche) of the creator to ensure their audience is relevant to your brand, product or service. Finally, you can consider their content goals, particularly if you want to convey more inspirational, or brand-value based messages.
As the platform is constantly evolving and new niches emerge, there’ll probably be many new kinds of creators in the future. Want to stay ahead of the curve? Then reach out to us at TIKTAL, and let’s make your next TikTok influencer campaign a success together.