With 1 billion users worldwide, TikTok has become an important digital channel for many consumer-focused brands.
The social app has launched a self-serve ad offering in a beta platform that aims to connect marketers with influencer creators. Brands can set up hashtag challenges on TikTok to pose a prompt to the community.
Some early adopter brands were the first to grab this opportunity to tell their story through influencers. Below, I introduce 8 TikTok influencer marketing campaigns that went viral on the platform.
1. Door Dash - #OpenForDelivery
DoorDash is a food delivery & take out online service that operates in 4,000+ cities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the food delivery business is on the rise. To show support for its dashers who are on the frontline delivering food, the company started a #OpenForDelivery campaign on TikTok.
Social Media influencers, such as @gregtube, @alanchikinchow, @joshkillacky, @xoxosamyo made videos on how to pay for the delivery without extra human interactions.
By this campaign, they wanted people to show gratitude towards delivery drivers and restaurants.
Throughout the campaign, the #OpenForDelivery hashtag accrued 1.5 billion views on TikTok. Altogether, the influencers gained 2.4 million likes.
2. Samsung - #GalaxyA
Samsung Electronics knew how to benefit from TikTok. To promote their galaxy A series smartphones through the voice of influencers, they took their influencer marketing to the next level.
Samsung collaborated with a South Korean group Blackpink to create a special sound and dance that quickly became widespread(spread all over the platform). The group posted the video from their official page on Tiktok, and other influencers @sofia_ansari9__, @radhikabangia posted their dance videos in response.
The campaign brought nearly 222 million views and 9 million likes.
3. Adobe - #MakeTheLeap
Early in 2019, Adobe launched a campaign encouraging all young creators to “make the leap”. This was a powerful message to invite creators to take risks, push their creativity further, and cross their limits.
TikTok became one of the content delivery channels for the brand. Adobe collaborated with TikTok influencers such as @rileyhubatka, @natenorell, @cloudtalk, @alanchikinchow, etc.
Using the hashtag #MakeTheLeap, influencers posted videos of themselves going out of their comfort zone by doing things they were too afraid to try: skating, snowboarding, or even creating music.
The promotion resulted in 7.6 billion views and over 2 million likes.
This is not Adobe’s first influencer marketing campaign. Adobe selects groups of influencers for their flagship event, Adobe Summit to share their event moments on their social media, blogs, or other digital channels.
4. Cash App - #CashAppThatMoney
A mobile banking app Cash App also launched a marketing campaign on TikTok.
They wanted to show how simple and quick it is to send money via Cash app. They sent to creators possible ideas including “Making fun of how broke you are” or “When your friend clearly owes you money”.
For this campaign, one of the engaged influencers was @princezee who managed to come up with a very creative idea . For the sound, they used a music excerpt from Shiggy’s CashA App song which was a relevant choice for the challenge.
The campaign brought nearly 4 million likes from @princezee alone and 30k shares. The campaign hashtag, #CashAppThatMoney, has been viewed 154 million times and was used 9,600 both paid and organically.
5. Amazon - #Founditonamazon
TikTok is not the first digital channel that Amazon has incorporated in its social media campaigns. You can see the hashtag #Founditonamazon on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, everywhere.
To engage the audience of tiktokers too, Amazon has teamed up with influencers such as @britanny.xavier, @stoketwins who showcase fashion products they purchased from Amazon.
The hashtag is widely used by other TikTok users, who without any sponsorships, review products, bought from Amazon, and participate in the challenge.
The hashtag #Founditonamazone has accrued over 118 million views.
6. Freal
One of our favourite sponsored campaigns on TikTok is by frozen beverage Freal.
Freal, a brand that sells flavored milkshakes at tens of thousands of gas stations and convenience stores in the US and Canada, collaborated with Gen-Z influencers to take their brand awareness to the next level.
The shakes and smoothies brand partnered with TikTok influencers @thebentist, @justmaiko, @haueterfamily @jakemaldonado, @muslimthicc and @caleb.green for an ongoing campaign who generated 12 million likes and over 38,000 comments.
Apart from the paid campaign, the brand has earned more than 120 million free impressions from users filming themselves making shakes with the hashtags #freal and #frealmilkshake. F'real has seen high engagement rates on its own, non-sponsored TikTok videos, averaging 23% on the app.
According to Alec Ledbetter, a consumer marketing manager at the company, Freal typically pays between $400 and $450 per sponsored post on TikTok, where it's averaging a 25% engagement rate for paid media, compared to 1.6% for paid ads on other platforms.
Overall, the company now has 534,000 followers, 10 million likes, while hashtags #freal, #frealmilkshake have 220 million views combined.
7. Joby - #TheSongOfUs
JOBY, a company that manufactures photo, camera, and mobile accessories as well as lighting products, couldn’t find a better fit than influencers on TikTok for their new campaign
The brand encouraged users to dance/goof around/get craaazy using Justine Skye's song Confident and share on TikTok. The winners of the challenge would have an opportunity to be featured in the singer’s music video
The campaign used the tag #TheSongOfUs, which has to date generated a staggering 6.6 billion views on videos.
8. Aerie - #AerieREALPositivity
An intimate apparel and lifestyle retailer Aerie created the #AerieREALPositivity challenge. With this movement, the brand encourages people to do/say positive things on TikTok. During these upsetting times, all you need is more positivity. TikTok users can spread positivity by naming 3 things they are grateful for and by wishing something nice to the whole world. Additionally, the money generated from this campaign is said to be donated to America’s Food Fund.
The brand has launched a campaign with one of the most popular stars on TikTok, @charlidamelio whose videos got over 5 million likes and 15,000 shares. Other influencers included @denisemmercedes and @iskra. People join, dance, sing, and simply share positivity in 15 seconds.
So far, users shared over 7,000 videos of positivity, and the campaign hashtag has been viewed 1.5 billion times.