TikTok whitelisting instantly transforms creator videos into top-tier ads. This post explains how to whitelist TikTok content and why brands should do it.
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“What’s the deal with TikTok whitelisting?”
We’ve been getting this question a lot.
Shoppers on TikTok rely on creators' recommendations to find products and make purchases.
We know all too well that TikTok creators boost ad engagement and performance. That’s why brands feature influencers so heavily in their campaigns.
But what if there was a way to streamline the process of making creator ads?
What if you could take a viral creator video and run it as an ad on your account ASAP? No repurposing, waiting and needless back-and-forth required.
By whitelisting creators on TikTok, you can do exactly that. Want to learn more? Keep reading!
TikTok whitelisting is the process of obtaining access to a creator’s videos to promote on your brand’s account. White-labeled videos are also known as Spark Ads.
Translation? You take a piece of organic content and transform it into sponsored content.
Here’s the short of how the process works:
Know how TikTok says “Create TikToks, Not Ads”? That’s what white-labeling is all about!
Typical branded content on TikTok runs from the creator’s account with an #ad disclosure. With whitelisting, you promote creator content from your brand account and present it as your own.
Creator campaigns are among the most popular types of TikTok ads thanks to their authenticity.
Chances are you’ve seen your fair share of Spark Ads in the wild. Let’s look at a couple of creator ad examples that popped off on TikTok in the past.
Colorful and perfect for recipe videos, BlendJet’s portable blender is a hit among TikTokers.
In 2021, the brand ran a Spark Ad campaign featuring lifestyle influencers, foodies and fitness creators. These creators put together a variety of how-tos and mixing hacks showing off the BlendJet in action.
Source: @blendjet
The authentic, #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt-style content blew up. The results of the campaign?
Below is another brilliant creator ad example from Little Moons. When the brand went viral on TikTok for their delicious mochi desserts, demand was so high that they couldn’t keep them stocked in stores. This resulted in a flood of user-generated content from customers trying to hunt them down.
Little Moons capitalized on the buzz with a Spark Ad campaign. They ran a one-day-only creator ad announcing that their desserts were available at UK’s Tesco chain.
Source: @littlemoonsmochi
The results of this creator campaign were staggering, including:
Both case studies highlight the power of putting creators front-and-center in your ads. With whitelisting, the process of building creator campaigns is seamless and streamlined.
Here’s the good news: TikTok actually makes the process of making creator ads pretty easy.
But before we get into the steps of white-labeling videos, there’s a bit of housekeeping to do.
Below are the prereqs to Spark Ads for both brands and creators:
Note: although it is possible to find influencers through the TikTok Creator Marketplace, this post focuses on whitelisting creators you already have relationships with. If you’re not quite there yet, check out our posts on contacting TikTok influencers and brand ambassadors.
Now, let’s say you have a positive, working relationship with a creator and want to get the ball rolling on a campaign. Here’s a rundown of the whitelisting process.
No surprises here — you can’t run ads without a video!
Review your creator’s content and decide which video would best translate to a TikTok ad. To narrow down your choices, consider:
View counts can clue you in on potentially strong ads. Likewise, you can always reach out to your creator to see which of their branded posts have been crushing it lately.
For this post, we coordinated with our own creator (Hi Alexa!) to explain how whitelisting works. We’ll be working with her videos to document the process.
Unlike Instagram, whitelisting on TikTok doesn’t give you blanket access to their account assets. In other words, you do need to specify a particular video to promote before moving forward.
This is the only step in the whitelisting process that directly involves your creator.
At this point, creators will need to authorize the brand’s account to use their content. They’ll also need to provide the unique code for the video you want to promote.
If your creator has partnered with brands in the past, chances are they’ll know what to do.
If not, don’t sweat it! Creators simply need to go to their TikTok account settings. From there:
This screen will also provide a video code for creators to share. Brands will need to coordinate getting the code from their creators. This can be done via DM or email.
And yes, your code should look like a jumbled mess of numbers, letters and special characters!
Once you have access to the video code, the creator’s role in whitelisting is done for now.
From here on out, the brand is in control. Here’s what’s next now that you have the video code:
This is where you’re going to paste your creator’s video code. Assuming you have it, pop the code into the search bar and proceed.
If the code is correct and the video is valid, a preview will appear. You’ll also see a few details about your whitelisted video such as length and resolution. Then, click “confirm.”
After receiving confirmation of authorization, you’ll be prompted to go create your Spark Ad.
At this point, you’ll fill out the specific details of your ad campaign. This includes your audience, budget and objectives.
Because all of the above is dependent on your individual business, we won’t get too into it. .
If you’re new to TikTok, you can use the “Simplified Mode” for speedy ad creation. On the flip side, “Custom Mode” provides a more in-depth creation process for fine-tuning your ads.
When you reach the “Identity” and “Ad Details” sections of ad creation, you’re almost at the finish line!
This is where you’ll link your creator’s video with your ad.
You’ll then be prompted to look through the creator’s authorized content. Find your whitelisted video, select it and click “Confirm.”
You should see a preview of your Spark Ad in action! From here, you can fine-tune the details of your creatives, captions and targeting based on your campaign. When it’s good to go, click “Submit.”
That wasn’t so bad, was it?
With millions of consumers rushing to TikTok, brands are eager to reach more social shoppers.
And creators are key to making it happen.
This is especially true on TikTok where recommendations and product discovery are central to the platform. To wrap things up, we’ll highlight why the white-labeling process is worth it for brands.
The numbers don’t lie: creators boost ad engagement in a big way.
From more interactions to greater reach and brand recall, featuring creators is key to getting the most out of our campaigns. There’s a reason why the best brands on TikTok lean so heavily on creator content.
Source: TikTok
Creator interactions also go hand in hand with long-term sales. The modern customer journey sees buyers bounce between multiple platforms and pieces of content before taking action. Since TikTok is a hub of product discovery, having a strong creator presence can translate to sales over time.
Source: TikTok
Marketing is often a matter of trial and error. Trust us: we get it.
Thing is, creator whitelisting helps you identify ad content your target audience will love.
Think about it. If an organic video performed well on Tiktok organically, it’d likely be a strong candidate for an ad.
Rather than wrack your brain for fresh TikTok campaign ideas, you can promote organic content with a sense of confidence.
An underrated bonus of influencer whitelisting is that you can break the monotony of your “traditional” content. If you’re solely posting product videos, an off-the-cuff video from an influencer might be a welcome addition to your feed.
You might also learn the style of videos that creators produce is something you can emulate yourself. This includes how-tos, tutorials and showcasing products in action.
Between the dark funnel and restricted ad targeting on the horizon, anything you can do to gather more customer data is a plus.
Ad campaigns themselves are a great way to learn more about your target audience. Of course, that comes with a price tag.
But when you run Spark Ads, consider the data and performance of the original post are visible to the creator. Through influencer whitelisting you can gather three sets of customer data per ad versus just one. This includes:
Brands rightfully want to see a strong ROI from their influencer campaigns.
Getting more out of your creator partnerships means taking action after their content is live.
Food for thought: every piece of creator content is a potential ad.
And so influencer whitelisting is a valuable next step for brands that want to maximize working with creators.
For example, white-label ads allow you to build campaigns without filming or editing a frame of content. You already have existing creatives proven to perform organically. That’s huge time and resources saved.
Influencer whitelisting is a cost-effective advertising opportunity by default. That said, how well Spark Ads perform versus other social ads is telling.
A recent case study from Hootsuite highlights how the company experimented with a Spark campaign that resulted in a $0.002 cost per view. The study notes that TikTok’s ad platform isn’t nearly as saturated as Instagram or Facebook. How’s that for stretching your influencer marketing budget?
More engagement. Awesome creatives. Less money spent.
The recent buzz around creator whitelisting is totally justified. If you’re already working with creators and you’re satisfied with your campaign results, testing the waters of white-label ads is a natural next step.
But to run great creator campaigns, you need great creators.
We know firsthand that finding and pitching creators for TikTok campaigns can quickly spiral into a full-time job. Despite the benefits, the process of managing creator campaigns can eat into your schedule before you even have a chance to scale.
That’s why you should let Statusphere do the heavy lifting. We handle everything from vetting and matching creators to getting your products in their hands and reporting on your campaigns. Then, the hardest decision you’ll have to make is which creator posts to boost as they roll in.
Want to know how the process works? Contact one of our consumer-to-consumer marketing experts today to see how Statusphere can get more creators talking about your brand ASAP.
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