TikTok: What are TikTok “Creators” and how can you utilise them? With Danny Desatnik from #paid (episode 119)

by April Buencamino-dy

Danny Desatnik is the Creator Initiatives Manager at #paid and host of the Creator Culture Podcast.

Danny Desatnik #paid TikTok Creators

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About Danny

Two years before joining Hashtag Paid, Danny was in the music industry. He happened to work with a guy who showed him that TikTok was a platform where you can build a presence and dispelled the notion that it was just for dances and weird music videos.

Since then, Danny has recognized the different ways people approach TikTok. There’s high-quality produced content and there are quick, pull-out-and-talk-to-your-camera videos. They cover various topics and serve various purposes, and Danny finds all of them fascinating.

The TikTok Creator

When talking about the creator, Danny says the most basic definition is someone who builds an audience online by putting out content such as photos, videos, audio, or written pieces. TikTok creators are those who create videos and build their presence on the platform, but are most likely present on other platforms as well.

At their core, a creator and an influencer are basically the same. However, Danny points out that creators have a more positive connotation than influencers.

Ways to Work with TikTok Creators

Danny gives us two ways brands are currently working with TikTok creators:

  • Getting creators to create content that will go out on the brand’s channels
  • Having the right creators to connect their own audience with the brand and build on the trust that’s already there

There are other ways to work with creators and have them tell the story of your brand, and this could also depend on the platform you want to focus on if you’re going to put the content outside of TikTok.

Just remember that on TikTok, people are there for entertainment, so keep that in mind when you work with creators for your brand’s content.

Finding the Right Creator for Your Brand

It’s important to find the right creator to partner with, but it also depends on your needs and goals.

Hashtag Paid has spent years understanding its creator community and also growing it. Their technology can help filter the right creator for you based on factors such as geography and past campaigns, but Danny says there are other platforms that help you search freely.

Just remember that as you try to achieve your objectives, you’re also building a relationship with another human. You can unlock so much value and potential from the latter that it will possibly also translate to better content for your brand.

The Importance of the Creative Brief

Always start with a comprehensive creative brief, and there are two aspects that need to be present in this:

  • A clear description of your vision and what you’re looking for
  • How is the creator going to be compensated

Having a clear document will make it easy for both parties to execute what is required, so make sure to have your creative brief ready when starting out.

Insider Tips

If we’ve inspired someone to take their first step with TikTok – what do they need to know to give themselves the best chance of success?

Danny’s advice is for you to just start.

What’s good with TikTok is you’ll immediately see what works and what doesn’t but you won’t know what they are unless you start.

Once you’ve started of course you’ve got to ‘keep optimising’! So what’s your favourite way to improve TikTok performance?

What some creators do is create a dummy research account which they use to search for different videos, hashtags, and ideas or concepts that are currently working or trending.

This is an inexpensive but powerful way of finding out what’s doing well, then taking all your learnings and applying it to your own account.

If someone listening wants to learn more about TikTok is there one cheap/free resource you’d recommend?

Danny and TikTok creator JT Barnett have a free resource called the Branding Bootcamp where anyone can sign up and join. What JT does is take three brands during the session and give them strategies and also answer questions.

Danny also suggests some creators to follow on TikTok:

Crystal ball time – what’s coming up in the next 6-12 months that we should be getting ready for in TikTok?

What Danny sees working right now are street interviews or randomly going up to people on the street and asking questions related to your business or what you’re selling.

Further down the road, Danny thinks TikTok is going to become a hub for low quality reality TV. Building your brand into a small show can become powerful so just begin and try TikTok.

Interview Links

Danny on Social media:

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