TikTok has undoubtedly been the social media success story over the past couple of years, but it is still regarded as a platform for the younger generation, and that has made some marketers wary. To try and combat this, a range of new developments have been introduced to its marketing business, Marketing Dive reports.

Some of these new initiatives are aimed at making the platform more influencer-friendly, with tools to help brands find creators, improve ways of measuring influencer marketing campaigns, and to properly disclose ad content. The changes were announced at the inaugural TikTok World event, which took place recently on a bespoke virtual platform.

The company explained: “TikTok Creator Marketplace provides discovery tools to match businesses with a diverse range of creators for every campaign, brand voice and budget. You can filter based on the type of content they post, where they’re located, their average views, and more.”

The short-form video sharing app now has a global audience of over one billion, and it is keen to maximise its marketing potential.

One concern about the app that marketers currently have is that age-inappropriate material can appear alongside ads. TikTok have responded by introducing a filter which gives advertisers more control over where their ads will run, and which helps brands to choose relevant content to place ads near.

The app is in many ways perfectly suited to the influencer, as Entrepreneur Europe explains. Typical users are under 50 years old, with the highest user group being Gen Z (aged 16-25). They are impatient with long-winded corporate ads, and prefer content that feels authentic and light-hearted.

Working with an influencer is one of the easiest ways to make an impression on TikTok, as the material can be kept fresh and engaging, and also be aligned to the brand’s values.