TikTok continues its journey towards better monetization by constantly looking for ways to make it easier for its creators to make money from their clips. The latest in its string of efforts is a new program called ‘Branded Mission’, which will enable creators to take part in what’s essentially branded content challenges. The brands can then select from submitted clips for their promotional campaigns.
As per TikTok:
“To make it easier for brands to tap into the creative power of TikTok communities and co-create authentic branded content that resonates with users, we’re launching Branded Mission. Branded Mission is an industry-first ad solution that enables advertisers to crowdsource authentic content from creators on TikTok, turn top-performing videos into ads, and improve brand affinity with media impressions.”
Branding Baby
As outlined, the process enables brands to post challenges that creators with over a thousand followers could participate in.
“TikTok creators can decide what Branded Missions they’re inspired by and choose to participate in the Mission. Brands will select their favorite original creative videos and amplify them through promoted ad traffic.”
Chosen creators then receive a cash payment, though the amounts won’t be based on video performance, at least not yet in this stage. Instead, each ‘Mission’ will list potential earnings based on how much the brand is willing to pay. Brands will pique the interest of more creators if they would be willing to allocate more funds, expanding the potential of tapping into a viral hit.
The option seeks to expand the creative options for brands; with organic-style content performing best on the platform, it could open up new major possibilities for marketers looking for additional ways to tap into the app. This also provides TikTok with another critical revenue-share element. If TikTok wants to maximize its opportunities, it has to ensure that its top creators get paid – because if TikTok can’t keep up with the lucrative offer on other platforms, then what’s stopping its best and brightest from switching over to those platforms instead, right?
However, it’s a known fact that short-form content is harder to monetize, which is why TikTok is rolling out 10-minute clips and emphasizing live-streaming as a means to generate more income for its creators. Branded Mission is another step in this direction, ideally providing a more direct link between making money and creating content your own way, minus the need to incorporate merchandise sales and having to arrange affiliate deals.
The Wrap
For TikTok, the process could make it much easier to bring in cash for uploads, expanding the platform’s resource pools well beyond just the Creator Fund, which has already proven skewed for some of its top creators. The only real challenge would probably be the need to upload more specific, themed videos, as opposed to YouTube where you can simply upload a video about anything you like and litter it with ads.
Either way, it’s a fairly distanced relationship from sponsor brands, providing users with new content prompts and doing away with excess management workload. It’s a brilliant idea by TikTok and one that will likely see increased uptake in the near future.
TikTok says that Branded Mission is now in beta testing, and is available to brands in more than a dozen markets. The option will be made available in more regions throughout the year.
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