Are UAE Brands Over-Focused on Follower Count?

In recent years, TikTok-based influencer marketing has become one of the most influential digital marketing strategies in the United Arab Emirates. This is due to the fact that, with the rapid growth and adoption of TikTok in the UAE, brands have started recognizing it as an important tool in raising brand awareness and making products popular in the country.
Despite the fact that digital marketing strategies have become more advanced in recent years, most brands in the UAE have remained focused on only one criterion while choosing influencers. This criterion is the follower count. Brands have been choosing influencers with millions of followers, and they have been designing marketing strategies based on these follower counts.
This is because, in traditional advertising, it has always been believed that if more people are reached, more impact can be made. However, in recent years, it has been realized that the traditional dynamics of brand marketing on TikTok are very different from those on traditional social media platforms. This is because, unlike traditional social media platforms, on TikTok, brand marketing is not determined on the basis of the follower count of an influencer, but on how high an engagement rate they have on their videos.
Furthermore, TikTok has also started providing very advanced features in recent years that can be utilized in measuring the effectiveness of brand marketing on the platform. This can be done through TikTok Ads.
This brings us to an important question that marketers in the UAE need to ask themselves: Are UAE brands focusing too much on the number of followers while assessing the potential of an influencer?
To answer this question, it is important that we also understand the reasons behind the importance of the number of followers as an influencer marketing metric and how it might be misleading in the case of TikTok.

Why Follower Count Became the Default Metric

The importance of the number of followers as an influencer marketing metric has not come out of the blue. Instead, it has evolved as social media has evolved and as marketers have sought ways to measure digital influence.
In the case of influencer marketing as well, the number of followers was considered an important factor as it was the most publicly accessible aspect of social media. For example, on Instagram and Twitter, the number of followers was always displayed on the profile. Therefore, as marketers started investing more in the social media influencer marketing space, it was considered that the more the number of followers an influencer had, the higher the potential reach of the campaign.
This concept was soon embedded in the digital marketing environment as well.

Easy to Measure

The most important reason behind the importance of the number of followers as an influencer marketing metric is that it is the easiest to measure. Unlike conversions and engagement rates, the number of followers is always visible on the social media profile of the influencer. Therefore, it becomes easier for the marketers and the agencies to shortlist the most important influencers based on the number of followers.
This is especially true for companies who are new to the world of influencers. For a company who is just starting to venture into TikTok influencer marketing, the number of followers is an obvious and easy metric to gauge how much reach a company can achieve from a marketing campaign.
While ease of measurement is certainly desirable, ease does not always equate to accuracy in measurement.

Functioning as Social Proof

Finally, the number of followers is also used as social proof. For a company who is looking to associate itself with influencers who are already well-known and popular, working with someone who has millions of followers is an obvious choice. This is especially true given how social proof is presented on TikTok.
For any user who is browsing through an influencer's profile on TikTok, the number of followers is prominently featured on the profile page. As such, there is an immediate sense of social proof given to those who are more popular on TikTok.
For companies who are looking to associate themselves with influencers on TikTok for brand marketing purposes, there is an obvious assumption that influencers with millions of followers are likely to be useful partners. After all, being associated with someone who is well-known and popular is likely to increase brand visibility or relevance to youth culture.
However, social proof is not always accurate. Being popular does not necessarily equate to being influential or trustworthy.
The problem is that social proof is not necessarily accurate on TikTok because TikTok is simply not built on the same principles as other social media sites that rely on followers to drive content sharing.
For TikTok users, content is shared through the For You Page (FYP), and this means that a creator can potentially reach millions of users without necessarily having millions of followers. Indeed, creators who have millions of followers may not necessarily reach millions of users if their content is not well-received by users.
Because of this, the follower count is a much less accurate measurement.

Why Follower Count Can Be Misleading

While the number of followers may seem like a large and robust measurement, it is actually a very inaccurate way of measuring the success of an influencer marketing campaign. There are a number of reasons why a brand should not rely solely on the influencer’s follower count as a measurement of success.

Low Engagement

One of the biggest problems with a large number of followers is that it does not ensure that the influencer will have a high level of engagement with their content.
Engagement is a measurement of how much an influencer’s followers are interacting with the content that is being shared. A high level of engagement means that the followers are actually interested in the content that the influencer is creating and are trusting of the influencer’s recommendations.
Influencers with a very large number of followers will typically have a lower level of engagement. This is due to the fact that as the influencer’s fanbase grows, it becomes harder for them to connect with each and every one of their followers. This is something that is seen across all social media platforms.
On TikTok, engagement is a very large part of the algorithm, as the algorithm will promote content that is watched all the way through by the viewer. This means that if the influencer’s followers are not actively engaging with the content that is being shared, it will not be promoted as much by the algorithm.
This means that a brand could be getting less mileage out of a content creator with one million followers and low engagement than they would from a micro-influencer with 50,000 followers who are very actively engaging with the content that is being shared.

Inactive or Mixed Audiences

Influencers may gain their following over time from a viral moment or a giveaway that may or may not align with a brand’s target market. The audience that follows an influencer may be from different geographic locations or from different content categories.
For UAE brands looking to target local consumers, this is a major problem. For example, an influencer may have millions of followers worldwide, but only a small percentage may live in the UAE or GCC region.

Inactive Accounts

Another problem that arises from this is inactive accounts. As time progresses, some users may no longer be active on social media or may no longer be interested in the content produced by a particular influencer.
These inactive accounts increase the overall number of followers for an account without providing any marketing benefits to the creator or brand involved.
This is another problem that arises from the gap between the number of followers and the quality of those followers. This is why some campaigns may reach high numbers of users but fail to produce any notable engagement figures.

The Rise of Purchased Followers

Another problem that arises from solely relying on the number of followers is purchased followers.
Although TikTok has been able to reduce this problem through various means, some influencers are still trying to increase their overall numbers through purchased followers.
This is a problem because purchased followers do not interact with any content produced by an account or creator. This is another problem that arises from solely relying on the number of followers to determine a good influencer marketing campaign.
This is another problem that arises from solely relying on the number of followers to determine a good influencer marketing campaign. As such, it is important to note that more advanced metrics are required to determine the success of a TikTok influencer marketing campaign in the UAE.

What Metrics Matter More

As influencer marketing continues to evolve in the UAE, many brands are beginning to focus on more advanced metrics to determine a successful campaign. Rather than solely relying on surface-level popularity, many brands are now beginning to analyze more advanced metrics to determine the success of a TikTok influencer marketing campaign.
Three such metrics are far more useful in understanding the success of a campaign. These include:

Engagement Rate

The engagement rate is a measure of the proportion of viewers who engage with the content in comparison to its reach and views. Engagement includes likes, comments, shares, and saving the content.
Having a high engagement rate is a clear indication that the viewers are not just watching the content but also responding to it. This response from the audience is a clear manifestation of trust, relevance, and emotional bonding between the content creator and the audience.
For brands looking to advertise on TikTok using its brand marketing services, engagement is a far more reliable predictor of success than the sheer number of people viewing the content. This is because content with high engagement is more likely to be promoted by TikTok’s algorithm, thus increasing its organic reach.
Micro-influencers are often more effective in this regard. This is because they tend to have a more niche, loyal, and engaged following.
When considering an influencer marketing campaign, it is also important to consider the consistency of engagement across multiple posts rather than just a single viral post.

Watch Time

Watch time is arguably the most significant factor in TikTok’s algorithm.
TikTok has a bias towards videos with high watch times. This is a clear indication that the content is holding the audience’s attention until the very end. If a video is so compelling and interesting that it is watched until the end, TikTok is likely to promote it to a wider audience.
For an influencer marketing campaign, a high watch time is a clear indication that the audience is interested in the content and, by extension, the information being conveyed.
Watch time is particularly significant for content with a storytelling format, such as tutorials, product placements, and lifestyle integrations. This is because if the audience is engaged with the content from start to end, they are more likely to retain the information about the promoted brand.
Watch time, therefore, is a clear manifestation of the quality and nature of the exposure a campaign is receiving.

Conversion Signals

The ultimate aim of marketing is not merely to garner views or likes, but to actually drive action.
Conversion signals allow brands to track whether users are taking meaningful actions after being exposed to influencer content. These actions could be site visits, app downloads, purchases, or sign-ups.
Conversion signals that can be tracked on TikTok include pixel integration, unique links, or promo codes.
Conversion signals are the most important metrics for UAE brands that want a measurable return on investment.
A micro-influencer who has a low conversion signal could be having a larger impact than a celebrity influencer who has a huge following but little conversion signal.

How TikTok Ads Can Help Improve Influencer Marketing Measurement

As influencer marketing continues to grow as a marketing strategy, more brands are incorporating paid advertising strategies into their influencer marketing campaigns. The use of TikTok Ads is a powerful way to improve measurement while creating a new way to test content and grow successful campaigns.
This new approach enables brands to move beyond follower measurements and into a more data-driven approach.

Content Testing

One of the biggest advantages that TikTok Ads has over other social advertising options is that it enables brands to test different versions of content.
Rather than relying solely on an influencer's organic reach, a brand can use TikTok Ads to test different versions of content created by an influencer.
By analyzing metrics such as watch time, engagement, and other metrics, a brand can see which content is resonating best.
This approach turns influencer marketing into a performance marketing channel as opposed to a traditional promotional activity.
Influencers are more like co-creators as they are able to test content.

Performance Tracking

TikTok Ads also enables brands to see exactly how a campaign is performing at every stage of the marketing funnel.
Brands are able to measure impressions, video completions, audience demographics, website traffic, and conversions all from one platform. This helps the marketer understand the impact of influencer marketing on the business.
For instance, the campaign may show that the influencer is able to drive a high engagement rate on the platform. However, the same influencer may not drive a high conversion rate. In such a case, the brand may consider changing the message and adding a call to action through further ad spend.
This helps the brand move beyond the realm of vanity metrics and into performance metrics that are closer to the business goals.

Case Study: e.l.f. Cosmetics and the #EyesLipsFace Campaign

The most popular influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok is the one launched by e.l.f. Cosmetics through the #EyesLipsFace campaign.
The brand chose not to go the route of a single mega-influencer with millions of followers. Instead, the brand chose a content participation and engagement marketing campaign.
The brand launched the campaign by releasing a song called “Eyes. Lips. Face.” created in conjunction with a music production company. Instead of the typical method of marketing a song through a popular celebrity influencer, the brand chose to allow TikTok influencers to participate in a hashtag challenge by dancing to the song and showing off their best makeup look.
The campaign worked well as the influencer marketing campaign allowed many different influencer audience sizes to participate in the campaign. Thousands of influencers and users created their own version of the music video.
Within a short time, the campaign accumulated billions of views and became the most successful branded challenge on the platform.
The key takeaway from this campaign is that its success was not based on the number of followers that a particular creator had. Instead, its success was based on the content and how well the audience interacted with it.
The content was entertaining and replicable, and users were happy to participate in the trend. The algorithm then helped to amplify these interactions to allow the campaign to reach a much broader audience.
The brand has also used TikTok Ads to help promote the campaign and ensure that users are able to participate in it. This has helped to ensure that the campaign reaches a much broader audience.
From available reports, the campaign has been able to reach billions of views and has helped to increase brand awareness among Gen Z users.
This is an example of how being an influencer on TikTok is not about how many followers you have. Instead, it is about how well you are able to resonate with your audience. Even though the creators had a small following, they were able to contribute to the success of the campaign through the content that they were able to produce and that users were happy to interact with and watch.
For brands in the UAE, this is a lesson that needs to be learned. For them to be able to market on TikTok effectively, it is not about working with the biggest influencer. Instead, it is about being able to produce content that users are happy to interact with and watch.

Conclusion

The rapid growth of influencer marketing on TikTok has completely changed the way brands are reaching out to consumers in the UAE. However, most brands are still relying on follower count as a major determinant of influencer value.
Though follower count is a convenient metric that can be easily measured, it is not a reliable determinant of marketing success. Other metrics like engagement rate, watch time, and conversion signals are more reliable determinants of marketing success.
Moreover, the availability of TikTok Ads has enabled brands to test out different formats, track their campaigns, and leverage effective content strategies. By using a combination of influencer marketing and data-driven advertising tools, brands are able to move beyond follower count as a determinant of marketing success.
In fact, influence is measured by the amount of engagement generated by a creator's content on TikTok.
Most brands that are willing to succeed in the ever-evolving world of TikTok brand marketing are advised to shift their focus from follower count to influencer value.