TikTok has launched a new Talent Manager Portal as part of its Creator Marketplace that lets talent managers oversee deal flow, negotiate contracts on behalf of their talent, handle feedback, and view reports on campaign performance.
The Talent Manager Portal is currently in alpha testing in the US, Canada, and the UK but a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the portal will be opening in Australia and New Zealand later this year.
Several agencies are reported to have already signed up. However, TikTok told The Verge that it was unable to reveal the names of those agencies.
In a relief for famous TikTokers, talent managers will only have access to their client’s marketplace accounts, not their actual TikTok accounts — meaning any drunken DMs will remain safe.
The system aims to complement the Creator Marketplace’s existing offerings and targets brands that want to double-down on creator-led advertising. TikTok said that this form of advertising delivers a 71 per cent higher ad recall than regular advertising on the platform.
The Creator Marketplace also allows brands to curate creators by keywords, the type of content posted, and filter by metrics such as audience size and makeup.
Once a suitable creator has been found, brands can then choose to send them a “direct invitation” for a campaign or spread the net wider with an “application campaign” which will see creators pitch themselves for the work. The marketplace’s match tool also uses AI and natural language processing to map map creators to briefs based on their content.
“To help further the connection between brands and creators, we launched the Talent Manager Portal for TTCM that allows talent managers to oversee, execute and analyse TTCM brand opportunities and campaigns from start to finish on one, easy-to-use platform,” said TikTok in a statement.
“With creator authorization, talent managers can act on behalf of creators to manage deal flow, negotiate contracts, handle creative feedback, review reporting metrics and more.”
TikTok did not say how long its new Talent Manager Portal would remain in alpha testing before launching more publicly.
Updated with clarifications on Talent Manager Portal in Australia and New Zealand from TikTok.
