A Quick Guide for Small Direct-to-Consumer Brands to Work With Athletes on TikTok

TikTok has become a powerful marketing tool for many brands, particularly small direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. One way these smaller brands can increase their reach on the platform is through influencer marketing. A great way to approach this is by collaborating with athletes. These popular figures have a large following and can help elevate a brand's message to an even wider audience.

But how exactly can a small DTC brand work with athletes on TikTok for influencer marketing? Here are a few tips:

1. Identify Potential Athlete Influencers: Start off by exploring the app and taking note of athletes who are active on the platform. Check if they already have partnerships with brands similar to yours. You want to work with athletes who align with your brand's values, products, and target market.

2. Reach Out to Athlete Influencers: Send a personal and authentic message to the athlete introducing your brand, explaining what you appreciate about them and why your brand would be a good fit for their audience. Don't just copy and paste a generic message to multiple athletes. Make each message unique and tailored to the specific influencer.

3. Co-Create Content: Collaborate with the athlete on creating content that highlights your brand's products or services. Ensure that you give them creative freedom to produce content that is in line with their audience's interests. This will result in more authentic and engaging content that resonates better with their followers.

4. Support Athlete Content: Share the content that the athlete produces and posts, and interact with it by liking and commenting. This shows the influencer that you value the partnership and can help increase the exposure of the content.

5. Measure Impact: Track the performance of the influencer's content and the impact it has on your brand's TikTok account and website traffic. If it is successful, it can also be worthwhile to consider extending the partnership in the future.

In Conclusion, Working With Athletes on TikTok

TikTok has over 1 billion users, with over 100 million users in the US. This makes it a great platform for reaching a wide audience and expanding the reach of your small DTC brand. So why not leverage your brand's influence by partnering up with athletes for influencer marketing on TikTok? With these tips, you're one step closer to a successful partnership.

Ready to start working with athletes to promote your D2C brand on TikTok? Create an account with OpenSponsorship for free!

 

 

Jeff

Jeff is OpenSponsorship's Director of Marketing. He typically writes about sports sponsorship, marketing, and tips & tricks for brands.