Its algorithm segments audiences into interest-based groups, making best practices for the social video platform antithetical to best practices publishers have successfully honed for the other platforms and channels.

“Traditional video publishers have an editorial team, they have a content calendar, they’re producing and editorializing video content based on different stories or trends that are happening, and it’s typically a little bit more polished and far more regimented,” said Nick Cicero, vp of strategy at streaming and social intelligence company Conviva, which works closely with publishers, brands and independent creators on tracking post-performance on social media. “TikTok does not follow the same methodology as traditional video platforms that publishers [use].”

With that in mind, some publishers have turned to creators native to the fast-paced and rough-cut platform to help guide their strategies. Publishers including BDG, Team Whistle and Gallery Media Group, have grown their followings by doing so — and have incorporated TikTok into their daily output and distribution strategies.

“A lot of our foundation was built on working with creators who we thought aligned with our brands and were people that we would post naturally, learning from each other,” said Wesley Bonner, BDG’s svp of marketing and audience development. “And a lot of them were very eager to get into an opportunity to make money from their work.”

Since first posting on its TikTok channels in May 2020, BDG’s lifestyle brands have accrued between 440,000 to 2.7 million followers each, largely by forming deep relationships with creators, including through its TikTok Creator Network, which pays TikTokers to produce content for the company’s handles. The model is structured the same way it pays freelance writers to produce content for its websites, Bonner said, but would not disclose the range at which the TikTok creators are paid per post.

Right now there are 100 creators in the BDG Creator Network, all of whom are in the early stages of building their online presence since their rates tend to be lower than creators with millions of followers, and they are eager to grow online, Bonner said.

And other publishers agree that giving creators the driver’s seat is the correct strategy.

“The companies that are winning right now are allowing talent to do that super nimble work” of identifying their audience, figuring out what they want to see and how much of that content they want, said Owen Leimbach, evp of strategy and innovation at Team Whistle.

Here are some of the strategies that publishers have learned by collaborating closely with TikTok creators:

Give the ending away

By working closely with creators, Bonner said he has learned to share the end result with the audience immediately. Whether the video is about a beauty hack, a coffee recipe, a dress-up fashion video or an interior design reveal, a key way …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron