TikTok courts publishers with a dedicated team and content ideas

January 16, 2020

By Deanna Ting

TikTok is taking steps to help publishers make money off its platform.

Over the past year, the short-form video app has charmed creators, agencies and publishers, with media companies like NBC, ESPN and Group Nine all experimenting on the platform. Next up the company is trying to figure out how its platform can be monetized for publishers’ use, something TikTok says it is working on but hasn’t formally debuted just yet.  

TikTok set up in 2019 a content partnerships team that works directly with hundreds of media publishers to assist them with growing their respective TikTok audiences. Soon that team will also help publishers make money from the platform by enabling them to place branded content on it.

One publisher that often works with TikTok’s content team, Complex, is seeking more branded content opportunities on the platform, especially as it dives deeper into e-commerce. Complex recently opened its own online store to sell sneakers, hoodies and other items. And it is hoping to find ways to work with advertising partners on branded content to showcase on its TikTok accounts — as well as options to advertise or even sell its own merchandise there, said Complex’s director of social media Arman Walia.

“These publishers have sophisticated sales forces and great relationships with brands, and they talk to them almost daily about content they can create across various channels,” said Bryan Thoenson, who leads content partnerships for TikTok.

A TikTok creator marketplace, originally intended just for influencers, is now open for use by publishers that want to work directly with marketers on branded content options.

TikTok is also trying to make it easier for its users to discover content from publishers and creators. On Sunday the Financial Times reported that TikTok is exploring the development of a brand-safe curated content feed in an attempt to attract more top-tier advertisers. That feature could potentially follow the footsteps taken by Snapchat with its Discover tab, where editorial content and original programming from publishers are featured, with Snapchat splitting the ad revenues with them.

Thoenson would not comment on the report about a possible TikTok curated content feed but said his company is “constantly looking to innovate the way that the platform aids in discovery.”

In addition to finding or developing ways for publishers to monetize their use of TikTok’s platform, Thoenson’s team is also helping media companies grow their audiences by providing them weekly insight reports about trending hashtags and what works (or doesn’t).

Today Complex has more than 2.2 million followers of its main TikTok account, having amassed 1 million followers within three months of initially signing up for one in June 2019. At first, it was a “struggle” for Complex to figure out how to approach posting content on TikTok because of a lack of resources, said Walia, who added that Complex now has a social media staffer dedicated to TikTok work and that makes the process go easier. And gaining a better understanding of what drives virality on TikTok has helped, too. “You’d see stuff …read more

Source:: Digiday

      

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