Marketing on TikTok has varied, especially with TikTok Shop and ads—but, of course, all marketing is not created equal. In a recent partnership with TikTok, Creator IQ has analyzed both how brands are using the app and who is seeing the most success in their TikTok strategy.

The full report is available here—however, you must sign up for their newsletter by email to gain access to the report, so we’ve synthesized the most significant parts: TLDR (Too long, don’t read), “The Power of Authenticity: 100 Brands Winning Big With TikTok Creators.”

The Power of Authenticity

Importance of Authenticity

First: Authenticity. TikTok creators’ associated authenticity is positively correlated with their ability to drive engagement—41% of users agree that creator content on TikTok feels authentic after watching it. This means great things for brand partners, considering that:

• 55% of TikTok users say they are more likely to trust brands when they hear about them from creators, compared to other ads in their feed.

Committing to creators who exude authenticity pays off.

Retention's Role in Authenticity

Consider the previous point in conjunction with the vital role that retention plays in this dynamic. Of TikTok’s top twenty-five brands, fourteen possess a retention rate of over 25%, meaning that for each brand, at least 25% of their creators posted about their brand in consecutive twelve-month periods.

The report puts it best, saying:

“Creator retention is key to establishing authenticity: a creator who posts about a brand month after month and year after year is more credible than one who posts about the brand for a few days before moving on.”

A consumer’s likelihood of purchasing a product increases as a creator continuously shares their own experience with that product or brand. So, when assessing which creators to partner with, prioritize long-term partnerships rather than one-off sales—those who continue posting about your brand over a longer timeline will probably be one of your most significant assets.

The Value of Earned Media

Earned Media Value (EMV)

Similarly, more posts mean a higher Earned Media Value (EMV).

“The more often a creator posts about a brand, or is featured in a brand’s ads, the more authentic the brand-creator relationship is perceived to be,”

which makes sense from a consumer perspective. People don’t just want transactional partnerships, and social media users are more likely to view them this way when a creator only posts about your brand a few times and then moves on.

Aligning with the Right Creators

Finding the Right Creators

Finding creators who align with your brand can buttress authenticity and long-term partnerships. 55% of users agree that TikTok creators help them feel more connected to the brands they share.

Also,

“Ads with a creator associated with the brand’s vertical are 1.5x more likely to hook a user than ads with creators not associated with the vertical,”

says the report. Partnering with creators who demonstrate a genuinely positive interest in your products or who naturally post about your brand’s vertical means that their followers will be more inclined to trust what they’re saying about your brand.

Engagement Rates

Engagement also correlates closely with EMV. Top brands aren’t just looking for high follower counts—they’re about finding creators who engage with their audiences and whose audiences engage with them. When a creator has a solid track record of engaging what the report describes as the “right” audiences with a high engagement rate, the potential impact of your creator marketing strategy can be maximized.

Engagement rates tend to be higher on TikTok than on any other social media platform, according to the report. So, maximizing impact must also take into account where creators are posting:

“TikTok users are 1.2x more likely to watch more of a brand’s content, and 1.2x more likely to direct message the brand,”

in comparison to other popular social media platforms.

Building Communities on TikTok

Creators are also pros at “building communities of people with shared identities, experiences, and interests.”

• More than 2 in 5 users agree that they feel like part of the creator’s community after watching their content on TikTok.

• Similarly, 2 in 5 users also say they feel like part of the brand’s community more after watching branded creator content.

So, by creating partnerships with creators, brands also stand to benefit from their communities.

The Top Performing Brands on TikTok

The brands succeeding the most on TikTok fall under the beauty category, followed by fashion, then sports, but the retail category is in fourth place.

This data is helpful, but the top 100 brands come from many categories beyond the ones listed above, so keep that in mind.

Conclusion: The TLDR

So, there it is—the TLDR on this very useful data report. Focus on creators who are more authentic and willing to build long-term relationships with your brand, especially those creators whose audience communities are more consistently engaged.

With that being said, this data is worth considering for your brand’s marketing strategy—and clearly, TikTok seems to be a winning platform in this division.