TikTok has announced Open Applications; a way for brands to put upcoming campaigns to tender and have interested creators respond to them in the app. TikTok has been developing the program since February and now it’s available to all businesses. 

TikTok for Business

“To make it easier than ever for brands and creators to find each other, we created Open Applications on the TikTok Creator Marketplace. Open Applications are a new campaign type allowing advertisers to post the details of upcoming campaigns to TikTok Creator Marketplace for creators to proactively apply.”

Make creators pitch to you

Open Applications takes a lot of the leg work away from marketers by making creators come to brands, which TikTok says is easier than finding someone who matches with your brand voice and identity by scrolling through a million creators while running a creator search. In the application process, creators are asked to produce a short pitch or concept for the brand campaign, including examples of TikToks they’ve created in the past, contact information and a proposed fee. 

TikTok for Business

“To help you surface the most relevant creators faster, Open Applications include preference filters and screening questions in the brief creation process. You can narrow down your pool of applicants by audience demographics, follower count, location, brand affinity, relevant experience, and more. If you have any specific creators in mind, you can also invite them to apply.”

Better campaign results, less leg-work

Open Applications should help businesses maximise creator discovery, which should lead to better campaign results while building better promotions that stand out on TikTok. 

And by including an option to invite specific creators, it allows marketers to keep their options open regarding favourite people to collaborate with.

How to post an Open Application

To use Open Applications, brands need to have a verified Creator Marketplace account and then follow these steps:

1. Create a new campaign, set its objective and select Open Applications as the collaboration type.
2. Fill out your brand information and campaign details.
3. Set your creator qualifications such as audience age, audience location, video categories, keywords and so on.
4. Add up to five screening questions such as product experience and brand partnership history. These will be mandatory for creators to answer.
5. Tell applicants how many videos they’ll be required to product for your campaign.
6. Set up your payment method.
7. Publish the campaign and wait for creators to apply! To invite specific people, add them to a shortlist and select ‘invite creators from the Open Applications dashboard.

When should advertisers use Open Applications?

Open Applications is a great tool for advertisers who don’t know which creators they want to work with – or if they’re searching for someone with that little something something that they can’t pin down using searchable qualities. Open Applications should also help advertisers find potential partners quicker.

TikTok reckons that brands will get applications quickly, too. It says some receive submissions within 24 hours and most get enough submissions within 30 days to nail down a brilliant collaboration.

Make sure to use screening

For brands that want creators that have used a particular product or service, screening questions should make sure that nobody applies who doesn’t meet any required benchmark.

What is the difference between Open Applications and Direct Invite campaigns?

Open Applications might sound similar to Direct Invite campaigns, but they are worlds apart. Open Applications is an opportunity for the whole TikTok creator community to apply for your ad, while Direct Invite campaigns send out opportunities to specific creators.

What is the difference between Open Applications and Branded Mission campaigns?

Branded Misions and Open Applications are even more similar – but with one crucial difference. A Branded Mission allows any 18+ creator with more than 1,000 followers to participate by posting a video. On the other hand, Open Applications require creators to apply for a role in a campaign.