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TikTok Is Giving Creators a New Way To Earn Ad Revenue
Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
TikTok is rolling out a new advertising program that promises to give marketers exposure through its top-performing videos while also providing creators with a cut of advertising revenues.
The Culver City-based social media app’s TikTok Pulse program will situate ads next to the top 4% of videos, TechCrunch reported Wednesday. Additionally, creators and publishers who have at least 100,000 followers will be eligible for a 50/50 split of advertising revenues when the program launches this June.
Initially, TikTok Pulse will invite select advertisers to place ads across 12 video categories—such as beauty, gaming and cooking—meant to target specific audiences, TechCrunch reported. The ads will run next to content that the app has determined as appropriate for those advertisers, with TikTok also providing measurement tools for advertisers to analyze their ads’ performance.
TikTok’s Santa Monica-based social media rival Snap unveiled a similar program to TikTok Pulse in February, which places ads in creators’ stories and pays them a share of the revenue.
Though this is the first feature that will allow creators to receive ad revenue directly from TikTok, it is not TikTok’s first attempt to pay out its creators. The company launched its $200 million Creator Fund in 2020, though the program has since been criticized for its poor payouts. Many of the app’s stars have turned to other sources for revenue, with some creators bringing in millions through brand sponsorships and outside business endeavors.
TikTok’s advertising revenue is expected to reach $11 billion this year, with rivals like Snapchat and Instagram struggling to keep up. Snap announced several new ad initiatives of its own on Tuesday, including a partnership with Cameo that will incorporate that app’s roster of celebrity creators.
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Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
PCH Driven: 75 and Sunny’s Wil Chockley on How to Pitch Your Startup
01:26 PM | January 10, 2022
Courtesy of Will Chockley
On this episode of the PCH Driven podcast, 75 and Sunny venture firm partner Wil Chockley shares his thoughts on skills early-stage founders need and advice on how to give the best pitch possible.
The pandemic quickly changed how the tech world worked, creating an exodus of people from the Bay Area to L.A., Chockley said, as jobs went remote and lockdowns forced people to decide where they wanted to be stuck, at least for the short term.
"I think that influx of new tech blood has really helped the tech scene. But prior to all of that, L.A. was already sort of a robust hub for innovation and the core areas geographically for a few industries like aerospace… And then entertainment," said Chockley.
Chockley is a partner at 75 and Sunny, a venture firm founded by Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff, who also co-founded dot.LA. Chockley assesses potential investments; about a third of his time, he said, is spent looking at prospects in proptech, but he's also interested in what he calls “HR tech” or the future of work.
On the fundraising side, Chockley has learned what skills to look out for in founders. The single most important ability, he said, is storytelling. Being able to translate a company’s data while also painting a vision for its future takes craft.
"You are first selling your idea to investors; you're selling your idea then to potential employees when you're looking to hire them. And then you're looking to sell your product or your idea to potential customers. So being able to sell well is being able to tell a story well," said Chockley.
The pandemic, he added, has opened more funding avenues for founders in every city. Zoom video calls have become the norm for the venture capital industry, allowing startups to get funding from investors outside of Silicon Valley and far from their headquarters.
"I feel like everything has merged, so everyone is interacting with everybody. And so, what's happening here in L.A. is really what's happening all over the country," said Chockley.
While making those pitches to investors, Chockley said some things to keep in mind is to be enthusiastic and be receptive to feedback. But also when you introduce the problem, your product is the solution.
Click the playhead above to hear the full conversation, and subscribe to PCH Driven on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.
dot.LA Engagement Intern Joshua Letona contributed to this post.
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Jamie Williams
Jamie Williams is the host of the “PCH Driven” podcast, a show about Southern California entrepreneurs, innovators and its driven leaders on their road to success. The series celebrates and reveals the wonders of the human spirit and explores the motivations behind what drives us.
Despite the Critiques, Gen Z Swears by Influencer Marketing
05:05 AM | February 15, 2023
@DixieDamelio, @NoahBeck, @Jaclynrjohnson
After an influx of scandals, some reports suggest that beauty influencers have run their course. Just look at the de-influcing trend—people are outwardly expressing frustration with the sheer amount of sponsored content being pushed on every social media platform. Others are questioning the pervasive misleading reviews and undisclosed advertisements.
That said, the money flowing into the industry, paints a different picture. Even as companies slash their marketing budgets, they are still setting aside cash for creators. An Influencer Marketing Hub survey found that 23% of brands dedicated at least 40% of their entire marketing budget to influencer content. And the industry is set to reach $21 this year. A January report from shopping platform LTK, which surveyed 1,018 people, found that both Gen Z and millennials consider seeing a product from influencers as more persuasive than other forms of advertising.
So how do we explain these two conflicting signals?
For starters, Gen Z has historically been hard to reach with advertising, and ads coming from influencers are no exception. A 2022 study from digital consumer research firm Bulbshare found that 84% of Gen Z no longer trust influencers. But consumer trends point to the consistent effectiveness of creator-led campaigns. LTK’s survey found that 79% of Gen Z respondents said their shopping was informed by social media. Brands like the fashion companies Selkie and Shein have seen sales explode after strategic partnerships with TikTok influencers.
That said, a looming recession, does lead people to be more particular about what they buy. Consumer price increases have slightly slowed down, but prices for products like apparel are still high. If people are reducing their spending, some have argued that influencers, who make their living off of other people’s purchasing habits, will lose their social significance.
Again, the evidence suggests the opposite to be true. People working with a budget want to make more informed decisions. When they, for example, walk into Sephora, they want to know that they aren’t going to waste $40 on a bad foundation. This is why influencers aren’t going anywhere: people who hunt for the best product before buying something are going to come across an influencer’s TikTok video or Instagram post. Seeing a video doesn’t always lead to a purchase, but people might find the information persuasive enough.
Another alternative is the rise in micro-influencers—people who have cultivated a more personable sense of trust instead of someone with millions of followers. With more people using TikTok as a search engine, the time seems ripe for influencer marketing to help consumers navigate their course.
Not only did the LTK survey find that 44% of Gen Z’s in-store shopping is informed by creator-recommended products, but they are also more likely to search for product information from an influencer instead of a brand’s website.
Which is to say, even those with disdain for influencer culture have likely been inundated with the trendy products they push. All the evidence points to influencers being one of the most persuasive tools in marketing—and you’d be foolish to think that recent developments are signs of trouble.
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Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
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