Tips for Choosing TikTok Influencers to Promote Products

Choosing the right influencer on TikTok can determine up to 60–70% of a product promotion campaign's effectiveness. With over 50 million TikTok visits per month in Vietnam (according to DataReportal 2024), SMEs have the opportunity to reach millions of potential customers – but only when collaborating with the right creators. So how do you choose the right influencer on TikTok, maximize ROI, and minimize the risk of “throwing money out the window”?

The most important point, according to hands-on experience at DPS.MEDIA, is: Always prioritize “relevance” over “followers”. An influencer with millions of followers may not necessarily reach your desired target audience, while a smaller micro-influencer may have a highly engaged community that closely matches your brand goals. Researching content, engagement rate, real comments, and relevance to the target customer group must be the number one priority.

A fiercely competitive market requires businesses to invest smartly in Social Influencer Marketing. In over 100 projects DPS.MEDIA has implemented, successful campaigns all started with analyzing customer data – from interests, age, to consumption behavior – before searching for or collaborating with influencers. This reduces the risk of “choosing the wrong celebrity”, saves costs, and increases the chance of creating a natural viral effect on TikTok.

In summary, to choose the right TikTok influencer, SMEs need to clearly define objectives, build customer profiles, analyze engagement data, and prioritize content relevance – instead of chasing follower numbers. A proper selection process will help you maximize investment efficiency and create a unique impression in the minds of digital consumers.

understand the campaign objectives to determine influencer selection criteria

Define objectives: The foundation for choosing the right influencer

DPS.MEDIA finds that every successful TikTok campaign starts with setting clear goals – from increasing brand awareness, activating purchase demand, to encouraging new product trial experiences. According to “Influencer Marketing Strategy” (2023) by De Veirman et al., unclear objectives will lead to unfocused influencer selection criteria and budget waste.

• If the main goal is to go viral: Prioritize influencers with high engagement, humor, and creative short-form content.
• If the goal is conversion (closing sales): Choose creators with a small but specialized audience, focusing on reviews or sharing real experiences.
• If the goal is to build long-term trust: Consider collaborating with KOCs or Micro-influencers due to their high engagement and credibility with followers.

Our recommendation: “To find the right influencer, first ask yourself ‘what is the end goal’ of this campaign?” – this is the key secret that determines every next step when SMEs embark on the journey to conquer TikTok.

Analyze the influencer's followers and actual engagement rate

Understand the quality of Followers on TikTok correctly

DPS.MEDIA It is observed that many SMEs still mistakenly believe that the number of followers determines a campaign’s success.
However, according to research from Pew Research Center, more than 40% of followers on social media platforms may not actually be interested in your business’s field.
Prioritize in-depth analysis of:

• Age, gender: View the match rate with the target audience.
• Geographical area: Ensure the influencer is not only famous in places unrelated to the target customers.
• Interests, interaction behavior: Do followers gather around the product topic or just come for trends or giveaways?

Measure the actual engagement level

Don't blindly chase fake like/share numbers. Take advantage of standard engagement metrics such as:

DPS.MEDIA's client campaigns have proven that choosing Nano or Micro-influencers with this metric often delivers much better ROI than famous faces with fake followers or those boosted by bots. Researcher Jonah Berger (Contagious, 2020) also commented: “Real power comes from small groups with genuine interaction, not from huge, indifferent crowds.”

Evaluate the alignment of the influencer's personal image with the brand

Criteria for selecting influencers suitable for the brand image

• Personal style: The first thing DPS.MEDIA always focuses on is checking whether the influencer's appearance, communication tone, and life values align with the brand's DNA. According to Social Bakers research (2023), inconsistency between personal style and brand reduces campaign performance by up to 34%.
• Content history: Besides engagement rates, review old videos to detect sensitive topics, negative jargon, or past scandals—which could later “haunt” the brand. The Vietnamese market has witnessed cases where a major brand was boycotted just because an influencer had previously promoted unregulated products.
• Fan base & brand positioning: An influencer whose follower base matches the target customer segment is an advantage. For example, a lipstick campaign for Gen Z will be more effective if you choose a hot TikToker famous for content like “transforming makeup styles every day.”.

Quick analysis table of the compatibility between influencer & brand

*CTKM: Promotion program or product marketing campaign

Other notes when determining the fit between influencer & brand

• Evaluation image sustainabilityDoes the influencer frequently participate in “black PR” campaigns?
• Consider real influenceIs the engagement rate genuine or just “fake likes”?
• Use data verification tools (such as Buzzmetrics, SocialBlade) or partner with reputable agencies to avoid choosing KOLs who are only “hot for one night”.
• Refer to the “influencer-Brand fit Matrix” from the study by Kapitan & Silvera (2022) to determine compatibility indicators suitable for each specific objective.

DPS.MEDIA's perspective: Instead of chasing the biggest stars, SMEs should choose influencers who truly connect values with the brand and closely follow local insights for sustainable image and optimized marketing budgets.

Pay attention to the influencer's content history and attitude on TikTok

Analyze the influencer's content history before collaborating

A study by New York University (2022) emphasized that content history plays a decisive role in credibility when brands seek influencer partners. At DPS.MEDIA, we regularly review TikTok timelines of candidates to assess the consistency (uniformity) in the message, style, and personal values they convey through each video.

• Ensure there is no negative content, controversy, or promotion of competitor products.
• Check for consistency in attitude – does the influencer frequently change opinions or cause conflicts with fans?
• Evaluate crisis management, comment responses, and acceptance of feedback.

Measure the “wholesomeness” in communication style

From implementation experience for SMEs in the cosmetics sector in Dong Nai (2023), we found: influencers with a positive tone, willing to interact and maintain a professional attitude with followers will help brands build trust faster.

• According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha: “The simplest test is to read the reply comments on the influencer's TikTok channel in the last 2 months.”
• You should avoid working with people who use sarcastic language, personal attacks, or share negative opinions about society.
• Suggestion: Choose influencers with a dense interaction history, honest responses – they often maintain real connections with their audience.

Consider creativity and message delivery style

Evaluate the depth of creativity and inspirational language

Creativity is the “golden key” when choosing TikTok influencers to promote products. DPS.MEDIA believes the way an influencer tells stories, transforms messages through visual effects, music, and novel content materials is a big plus that helps brands escape rigid advertising ruts. For example, case study “Vfresh Soy Milk X GenZ”: The influencer rapped, combined a custom dance and personal AR effects, turning the review video into a short-lived trend – according to Journal of Interactive Marketing (2022), this breakthrough increased brand recall rate by up to 381%.

• Content creativity: Find channels with viral videos thanks to unique ideas, not formulaic.
• Language & delivery style: Prioritize strong personalities, easy to interact with, flexible in delivering messages.
• Market efficiency: Real impact on consumer trends (not just comments, views).

According to DPS.MEDIA, SME businesses should prioritize creators with a clearly defined “signature”, as this is the factor that helps the brand not get lost in the TikTok content storm, while also creating a more powerful natural viral effect than traditional advertising.

Consider coverage, collaboration budget, and ROI index

Reach and relevance to the industry

The DPS.MEDIA team finds that choosing TikTok influencers is not just about follower count but requires evaluating the actual reach to the target customer group..Nielsen's 2023 research shows: micro influencers (10k–50k followers) often have an engagement rate twice as high as macro, and at the same time, the ability to effectively reach niche audiences for specialized product groups such as natural cosmetics, household appliances, etc.

You should:

• Compare audience insights with the target customer group.
• Compare the level of ”match” between the brand message and the influencer's content through their latest video.
• Check the history of collaborations with competitors to avoid conflicts or brand risks.

Choose a flexible collaboration budget

Understanding the SME market in Vietnam, DPS.MEDIA always recommends businesses to be flexible in 360-degree budgeting when collaborating with influencers. It is not necessary to go “all-in” on top creators, but you can split the budget across different tiers to increase reach and experiment with many unique creative ideas.. This helps control spending while also collecting more practical data on viewer preferences.

Measure effectiveness by ROI and beyond ROI

From the perspective of DPS.MEDIA, ROI does not stop at short-term revenue.. Modern thinking also requires businesses to evaluate metrics such as increased brand awareness, brand interest, and the ability to spread after the campaign. Expert Jonah Berger (Wharton, 2022) once emphasized: The virality performance and long-term social impact are hidden benefits from collaborating with the right creator..

Based on that, businesses need to:

• Compare conversion rates from discount codes and measured short links.
• Measure search traffic for brand keywords after the campaign.
• Evaluate the amount of interaction and in-depth comments (quality of discussion).

Specifically, a project implemented by DPS.MEDIA for an organic cosmetics brand in Q1/2024 achieved an ROI >250% by combining 4 micro and 1 mid-tier influencer, while brand keyword searches increased by more than 120% within 2 weeks after the activity.

Establish a transparent collaboration process and closely monitor results

Commit to transparency and measure collaboration effectiveness

DPS.MEDIA recommends that SMEs establish a clear collaboration process with influencers from the beginning to avoid misunderstandings and increase mutual trust. Recent studies by Harvard Business Review show that transparency in communication helps influencer marketing campaigns achieve up to 38% higher effectiveness compared to uncontrolled campaigns. At the same time, setting specific and public KPIs makes it easier for both parties to evaluate results.

• Agreement on posted content & approval process: Both parties should agree in advance on messages, hashtags, posting times, and the approval process. For example: In the “G-lip” lipstick promotion campaign, DPS.MEDIA applied an online checklist form, helping influencers update progress step by step and avoid missing any content.
• Transparent periodic reporting: Use shared live Google Sheet tracking files or realtime data analysis dashboards. This not only helps SMEs proactively control effectiveness but also encourages influencers to adjust content based on feedback.
• Two-way feedback: DPS.MEDIA builds a private group chat with influencers and brands to continuously update, answer all questions about performance as well as new initiatives, just as suggested in the book “Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media”.

Case study: Cooperating with micro-influencers in the beauty industry, a Vietnamese cosmetics brand using a live update dashboard implemented by DPS.MEDIA increased control and timely feedback, contributing to a 271% increase in post engagement after just 2 weeks. This also demonstrates the superiority of transparent management in product promotion collaborations on TikTok.

Sharing from DPS.MEDIA

Choosing the right TikTok influencer is not simply about looking at follower counts or engagement, but a whole strategic research process based on business goals, target customers, and brand “color.” By clearly understanding criteria such as brand value alignment, credibility, and content reach, businesses can create communication campaigns that are both effective and cost-efficient.

At DPS.MEDIA, we believe that SME businesses can fully leverage the power of TikTok and influencer marketing to reach a larger customer base, even with limited budgets. The important thing is for businesses to build a solid content strategy, be flexible in choosing channels and partners, and measure effectiveness with real data for gradual optimization. If you are interested in selecting Influencers for each stage of the sales funnel or exploring other platforms beyond TikTok such as Instagram or YouTube Shorts, these are also potential directions to consider. Don’t hesitate to experiment with creative collaborations – from minigames, challenges to product livestreams – to find the most suitable approach for your business.

DPS.MEDIA always accompanies Vietnamese businesses on the journey of digital transformation and expanding customer reach through innovative and breakthrough digital marketing channels. We look forward to receiving your sharing,questions or personal perspectives – please leave a comment below or join the discussion with our ever-growing marketer community!