The world of influencer marketing is a thrilling & fast-paced industry.
Social media creators on TikTok hold more power over purchasing decisions than ever before.
Brands are tapping into creator partnerships to reach their target audiences — but how can you guarantee and measure success across the funnel?
That’s where events like the Influencer Marketing Show come in.
Lyle Stevens, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Later, and Adrienne Lahens, Global Head of Content Strategy & Operations at TikTok, co-hosted a panel at the event in June to teach marketers about collaborating with creators and driving results from TikTok.
Didn’t get to attend this year? No worries! We're dishing out the hottest highlights — including all the juicy details from Later & TikTok’s panel session below:
The Later and TikTok Partnership
Influencer marketing has come a long way since its inception. We've seen the industry grow, with higher expectations to scale effectively and maximize performance outcomes. Brands want full-funnel impact, not just top-of-funnel awareness. Enter: Later and TikTok.
Since 2021, Later has been a proud TikTok Marketing Partner, integrating directly with the TikTok Creator Marketplace to streamline processes, provide first-party data and analytics, and partner with certified creators. See some of our successful campaigns here.
Ok, that’s enough about Later + TikTok — here’s what we covered during our session at the Influencer Marketing Show.
The Evolution of Influencer Marketing
Did you know that the influencer marketing industry is forecasted to reach $121 billion by 2030?
While the creator economy is still evolving, influencer marketing is maturing and becoming much more performance-oriented.
Here’s Lyle’s take on the current state of influencer marketing:
“We’ve gone through this evolution of — what’s this shiny object called influencer marketing? Does it actually work? And now marketers are starting to ask: we know influencer marketing works, so how can I scale it? How can I drive better ROI and performance for my business?”
With more and more people looking to social media to decide what to buy, it’s no surprise that 56% of consumers make purchases from creator content.
We know that creators on TikTok drive discovery and that Gen Z and Millennials — who use TikTok the most — are even more likely to buy products based on creator recommendations.
Why are people coming to TikTok? Adrienne shared her insider perspective:
“People are coming to TikTok to learn, to be entertained, and then they’re leaving with more than what they came for. 93% of users take action on the content they see on their For You Page. And shoppers are 2x more likely to buy directly from TikTok because it’s entertaining.”
In contrast, we've also seen the rise of "de-influencing," where creators share alternative products or negative opinions about brands. With 36% deterred from making a purchase after listening to a creator, this serves as a reminder that influence can swing both ways.
Despite the industry's growth, other challenges remain. Proving ROI, measuring performance, and finding the right influencers are top concerns for marketers. Let’s review how Later and TikTok can help guide your influencer marketing strategy.
Influencer or Creator?
We believe that understanding the difference between influencers and creators is the best first step for marketers and brands.
An influencer has the power to impact their audience's actions
A creator focuses on content creation around a passion or niche.
Brand marketers should focus on creators with influence.
It’s also important to note that influence comes in many forms — from mega-influencers like celebrities to nano-influencers who might be your everyday customers or employees.
With Later Influence, marketers can easily search and connect with creators using demographic, location, and age filters. AI-enabled search expands results to include creators posting about related topics, helping you find the perfect match for your brand.
Alongside Later, TikTok has introduced a game-changer for brands: TikTok One, a centralized destination for marketers to access TikTok's tools, connect with creators, and access insights. With TikTok One, advertisers can access nearly 2 million creators, discover top agency partners, and leverage creative tools to implement and scale successful campaigns — all with a single log-in. So, what comes next?
Audience or Content?
There are two important factors to consider when working with creators on TikTok.
Audience: where the primary value of the creator is increasing reach via their TikTok community.
Content: where the creator is increasing conversions via content assets they create on TikTok and repurpose elsewhere — such as via Spark Ads, e-commerce product pages, or email marketing.
So, how is TikTok helping marketers scale content development? Using TikTok Symphony — a Creative AI suite that blends human imagination with AI-powered efficiency. With Symphony, everything from writing a script to producing a video and optimizing assets is simple and efficient — fueling real results with a new paradigm of creativity.
Now we all know TikTok unleashed the power of short-form video, but we’ve seen photo content also perform well on the platform. Let’s dive into this debate more.
Photo or Video Content?
The discussion continues: Which performs better, photo or video content? The Wall Street Journal reported that photo posts get nearly 2x the likes and nearly 3x the engagements than videos on TikTok.
Despite this stat, our analysis shows that the difference in return on ad spend (ROAS) between ad units with images vs. videos is not significant.
Our analysis also found that ads fully showcasing the creator drive significantly higher ROAS on average compared to ads with the creator’s hands using the product or solely showing the product by itself.
Our pro recommendation? Continue to use a mix of both image and video ads, plus consider people vs. products in creative.
Measuring Full-Funnel Impact
Now that we’ve covered our bases, let’s get down to business: Understanding the return on investment for influencer marketing.
Later Influence provides you with the tools to measure full-funnel impact — features that show earned media value, ROI, and conversion tracking. Later also works with several third-party measurement partners to track brand and sales lift.
Our customers have seen impressive results on their campaigns, with significant conversion lifts and sales impacts across various industries.
Speaking of brand lift and sales lift, TikTok's new Unified Lift tool integrates brand and conversion lift studies, giving businesses a comprehensive view of the impact of their TikTok campaigns. Advertisers can now confidently maximize the results of their investments on TikTok.
Whether you're looking to measure ROI, find the perfect influencer, or leverage TikTok's creative tools — we're here to support you every step of the way.
Don’t miss us at next year’s Influencer Marketing Show, and in the meantime, book a demo of Later’s influencer marketing platform today!
