TikTok influencers Digital marketing
Over the last few years, TikTok has started to become a platform where people who are called, “influencers”, have taken over to promote products and themselves. These influencers have gotten creative and found ways to target selected audiences and use algorithms to promote and market to to fullest extent.
Current big influEncer
Alix Earle
Alix Earle:
Alix is a newer influencer who has soared in the past year. She is known for her “Get Ready With Me” videos
She is teamed up with brands such as:
“So far in her 3-year social media career, Alix has partnered with the likes of White Fox Boutique, Revolve, Rare Beauty, Rhode Skin, Tarte, Too Faced, Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing – and the list goes on” (Fear-Smith, 8).
Alix uses the platform to market herself to her target audience of females ages 18-28
HOT Mess!
To further Alix’s target outreach, she created a podcast called, “Hot Mess” which has since skyrocketed
She uses her founding social media platform, TikTok, to market and promote her podcast since her biggest audience who will listen are her TikTok followers. Also, when her videos reach a non-followers “For You Page”, she can get discovered by an even bigger audience
She took influence from her friend Alex Cooper’s podcast, “Call Her Daddy”, but did more of a ‘chat with me’ approach
In the podcast, she she simply sits in her bed with one microphone and talks to her audience as if she is
For You Page?
The TikTok for You page is what people get stuck scrolling on for hours. Essentially, this is a targeted page filled with videos from people who you may or may not follow. This is where there are emergences of trends and how influencers, like Alix, find their followers.
With all of the business tools that TikTok provides content creators now, it is fairly easy to generate a solid following and understand how the algorithm flows. Which essentially lets creators know when to post and how to use hashtags and audio to enhance their success rates on videos. Many creators rely on these algorithms and videos to digitally market themselves and the products that they choose to promote, which is why it is so fundamentally important for them to take advantage of all of the tools TikTok provides and understand how to use them well.
Summary
TikTok is growing at a rapid pace, with influencers being discovered and becoming popular overnight. With that comes the business side of things. These influencers have to become versed in how to use digital marketing to become successful. Many of the influencers that we see are not even over 20 years old, which means if they want, they can create a full-time career out of the platform.
Influencers like Alix Earle often become so popular simply because of how personable and real she markets herself to be on her account. Although she is known for her “get ready with me” videos, she also has made videos talking about her struggles with acne and how she has been on Accutane. She makes videos on topics that make her relatable and give her another audience to market herself to.
In the next few years, it will be interesting to see how these TikTok influencers use their platform. What is so hard about digital marketing is that you never know when an app could crash or get taken off the internet, so you always have to have a back-up plan. This is why Alix is such a good example of an influencer taking advantage of her opportunities. Alix started on TikTok, but now has her own podcast, different social media accounts, and brand deals, and is working with place such as her Alumni school, Miami University of Florida.
Sources:
https://www.tiktok.com/@alixearle?lang=en
Nahai, Nathalie. Webs of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion. Pearson Education Limited, 2017.