Reaching target communities through creator collaborations
From running to roller skating, weightlifting to waterskiing, hiking to horse riding – Decathlon provides customers with everything they need to stay active at an affordable price.
TikTok Creator Marketplace enabled Decathlon to easily find and seamlessly collaborate with a variety of exercise-enthusiast creators on TikTok – showing how its product range helps everyone get active.
Through creator collaborations, the sports retailer authentically tapped into engaged communities to boost their reach and build product awareness with TikTok sports-lovers across UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
The Solution
Engaging a variety of sports communities through creators
TikTok Creator Marketplace (TTCM) makes it easy for brands to find the right creators to collaborate with. This is key for ensuring the content produced feels authentic and reaches the right TikTok communities.
For Decathlon, using TTCM helped them find a range of sporty creators, enabling the brand to reach a variety of audiences: from occasional exercisers, to fully-fledged fitness enthusiasts.
Across the collaborations, creators brought their own style. One creator showed how she stays active as a mum and gets her son moving, too – from beach days to playing football in the garden. Another visited a Decathlon store to showcase the variety of products on the shelves. And two of the creators showed how they use the retailer’s products with positive messages around exercise, from “Staying active is not boring”, to “Healthy body = healthy mind”.
With TTCM, Decathlon was able to easily boost content from this collaboration with Spark Ads – driving further reach and promoting the brand with ad content that felt authentic.
The Results
Creator collaboration made easy
By boosting the creator content with Spark Ads, Decathlon saw lower costs, higher engagement and higher ad recall. Creator content through this collaboration also received a huge 71% increase in view-through rate, demonstrating the impact of selecting the right creators for relevant, high-quality authentic content.
For Decathlon, the seamless workflow and tools on TikTok Creator Marketplace enabled easier collaboration than ever before. The platform allowed the brand to easily partner with creators that connected them to an engaged audience, allowing them to build a benchmark-breaking campaign in a timely and cost-efficient way.
Is your brand or client planning a Ramadan campaign? If you're like most businesses in the Middle East, then chances are Ramadan is one of the most important seasons in your calendar.
First, make sure you are embedding these 4 key Ramadan moments in your campaign to make sure you are engaging your target communities on TikTok.
Next, consider collaborating with TikTok creators! Creator-led content has a 2.1X increase in ad recall vs. non-native content*.
Click on your industry to jump to your Ramadan insights, top tips and suggested TikTok creators to partner with!
Whether you own a makeup line or run a beauty salon, you probably know that Ramadan is a season where people want to look (and feel) their best!
With its diverse users and content creators, TikTok becomes the ultimate beauty destination during the holy month.
📊 Ramadan Stats
45% purchase/plan to purchase beauty and hygiene products
56% go more to spas, massages, etc.
74% are looking for Beauty and Personal Care tips & tricks
72% are looking for product reviews/unboxings
💡 Top Tip
TikTok's beauty communities are diverse, so make sure you are tapping into the communities that align with your target audience. A great way to do this is to work with the right creators and use the appropriate hashtags.
Got a hair salon or hair product? Use #HairTok. Promoting your line of makeup and cosmetics? Work with creators that are active on the #MakeupTok communities.
Content that shows real and entertaining family moments is among the most popular types of content on TikTok, and Ramadan moments are no exception!
If your Ramadan campaign aims to inspire and entertain your audience, then working with creators in family and parenting communities is a great way to make your brand relevant this season.
📊 Ramadan Stats
83% of users are looking for entertaining and fun videos
71% of users are looking for Ramadan home decor ideas
💡 Top Tip
Ramadan family moments don't have to be picture-perfect!
One of the things that distinguishes TikTok creators is their authenticity, so don't be afraid to “get real" in your content–whether that's injecting some humor into your campaign or showing the messier side of family life during Ramadan.
Just like with any festive season, Ramadan is a time when users are looking to upgrade their wardrobes.
Many users look for style inspiration and shopping deals, so make sure your fashion brand gets in front of them at the right moment.
📊 Ramadan Stats
84% upgrade their wardrobe with festive clothing
68% have purchased/are planning to purchase clothing and fashion
80% are looking for information on the best Ramadan fashion deals
75% are looking for Ramadan fashion tips and ideas
💡 Top Tip
Starting TikTok trends is a great way for brands to go viral on TikTok!
Trends encourage interaction and participation from users, so think about how you can leverage this for your fashion brand. Ask users to show off their favorite Ramadan looks or create new styles using old clothes in their closet.
It goes without saying that Ramadan is a season for shopping. So if ecommerce is a significant channel for your brand, then you can influence users' buying behavior by collaborating with creators that your target audience follows and engages with.
Think unboxing and product review videos, which soar in popularity during Ramadan.
📊 Ramadan Stats
49% use online shopping apps
44% use grocery delivery apps
82% are looking for reviews of Ramadan sales/offers
80% are looking for information on best Ramadan deals
💡 Top Tip
There's a myriad of shopping communities on TikTok and no two are alike. There are Bargain Hunters, Grocery Advisors and even Eid Gadgeteers that are all about finding the best gadget deals during Eid.
Think about which community you want to engage and collaborate with creators in those communities.
Ramadan is just around the corner. And this means brands are starting to gear up for one of the biggest seasons in the region!
One of the things that makes TikTok distinct is how users gather as communities around shared passions and interests–be it food, entertainment, beauty or luxury. And during Ramadan, these communities become more active on Tiktok, by watching and engaging with videos that capture their interest.
Not only are users immersing themselves in content, they are also shopping more during Ramadan. In 2022, TikTok users spent 1.6X more than their planned amount on purchases*.
So how can brands better engage with communities on TikTok this Ramadan season?
If you don't know where to start, it's a great idea to begin by identifying the most powerful moments on TikTok during Ramadan. Ensure that your Ramadan campaign taps into one or more of these moments, and you'll have a great chance of inspiring users with your brand and influencing their shopping behavior!
1. Cooking Moment
It's not surprising that cooking becomes one of the most popular Ramadan moments on TikTok.
So if you're in F&B or any business related to food and cooking, make sure you embed this moment into your campaign.
There are numerous communities on TikTok that you can tap into, beyond moms and cooking enthusiasts.
For example, did you know that the hashtag #GamerFood has about 7 million views on TikTok**?
That's right, there are entire communities on TikTok that are centered around food and snack ideas for hungry but busy gamers. Make sure you are tapping into these niche communities as well!
**TikTokMarSci Global Community and Self-Expression Study, UAE, KSA 2021, by Flamingo TikTok Internal Data – Ramadan 2022 Platform Analysis (UAE, KSA, EG)
Influencer marketing is not new
For many brands, influencer marketing might sound like a relatively new marketing tactic, brought about by today's ever-present social media landscape. But did you know that influencer marketing actually goes back to at least a century?
As early as the 1940's, brands have been leveraging popular personalities to promote their business. Think about TV and radio commercials, print ads and billboards that featured celebrity endorsements. These are essentially forms of influencer marketing too!
How social media changed the game
The emergence of social media leveled the playing field. Suddenly, you don't have to be a famous actor, athlete or musician to be considered an influencer. Today, bloggers, serial travelers, gamers, home cooks and stay-at-home moms can amass millions of followers who engage with their content. The more followers an influencer had, the wider their “pyramid of influence" becomes.
This influence model was flipped yet again with the emergence of TikTok and creators on its platform. But how do creators actually differ from influencers?
Here are 4 key differences between influencers and creators:
1. Influencers have networks of followers, creators have communities based on interest.
Whether it's #momsoftiktok, #booktok, #gamingontiktok or #fashiontiktok, TikTok has many communities built around the specific interests of its users. Unlike a group of followers that may have minimal interaction with each other, communities create a sense of belonging. And it's these communities that a creator engages with.
Because these communities are built through shared passions and interests, the conversations within them are more intimate and engaging. And as long as the creator produces content that connects with these communities, users will engage with these creators.
2. Influencers are known for their status, creators are known for their content and expertise.
At TikTok, no two creators are the same.
Rather than the size of their followers, TikTok creators are distinguished by the originality of their content. In fact, 82% of viewers find TikTok creators' content more unique and creative*.
When you collaborate with creators, you also eliminate the added expense for developing creatives since these are covered by creator fees in most cases.
3. Influencers build their own brand, creators build interaction and participation.
Even when they are collaborating with brands, influencers focus on building their own brand and persona. This is evident in most influencers' content which shows the places they've been to, products they use, people they meet and things they eat. This one-way communication creates little chance for followers to participate and engage.
In contrast, TikTok creators encourage dialogue. Users stitch or duet their favorite creators' content and can even comment with their own videos. In fact, when creators publish sponsored videos that feature a brand, 65% of users showcase the same brand when replicating the creator's content*.
4. Influencers are aspirational, creators are authentic and relatable.
“Show-off", “fake", “artificial".
These are some of the words that users have started to associate with influencers, clearly indicating that the influencer aesthetic is beginning to lose its appeal. While influencers create polished and stylized content for their followers to aspire to, creators are known for their relatable content. In fact, 76% of users find TikTok creators to be “approachable" and that they can “connect" with them*.
What does this mean for brands?
Regardless of whether you are working with influencers or not, chances are you want your target consumers to connect with your brand in a meaningful way.
Consumers who trust and engage with your brand are more likely to convert into buying customers. Collaborating with creators helps you achieve this by:
Putting your brand at the center of communities that are interested in your industry
Creating original content for your campaign that will delight users
Encouraging dialogue and participation from users
Showcasing your brand in a relatable way
Ready to see dive into creators and discover the ones that's right for your brand? Visit TikTok Creator Marketplace to launch your own creator campaign.
