From Television to TikTok: Influencers Negotiating Major Deals in the United States

TikTok has rapidly transitioned from social media fad to career launching pad for influencers. With the platform growing, influencers are crossing over to traditional media like television and film. Strategic business companies skilled in promoting TikTok for business close the gap for these influencers by negotiating deals that bring digital and traditional media closer together.
In this blog, we'll talk about how TikTok influencers are making this leap, how TikTok is being used as a platform to showcase talent, and how brands can capitalize on these new career trajectories.

1. The Evolution of Influencer Careers

Following social media fame, the transition to broader entertainment channels
For some influencers, the social media platform has become a launching pad for career growth in the entertainment sector. From being a short video website, it has evolved into an international platform where new celebs are receiving a chance to showcase talent. Therefore, some influencers are using the fame they achieved on the internet to secure television, film, and live show deals.

Examples of Influencers Who Have Made the Transition to TV and Film

Some of the TikTok influencers have already transitioned to mainstream media, indicating that fame on the internet can translate into real-world opportunities in mainstream entertainment. For instance:

• One of the most popular faces on the platform, Addison Rae transitioned from viral dance videos to the starring role in Netflix film He’s All That. Since then, she has ventured into acting, music, and also into working in collaboration with major beauty brands.
• Dixie D'Amelio also made the crossover from fame on TikTok to the multi-faceted career of actress and musician, further cementing the mainstream acceptance of digital celebrities.

Not only are these artists gaining exposure for their talent but also reshaping the entertainment industry by demonstrating that success in the TikTok world can be a legitimate springboard to greater career opportunities.

2. The Role of TikTok in Talent Showcasing

Characteristics of the Platform that Facilitate Rich Content Development
TikTok's vast spectrum of content allows the users to display a wide range of talents, including comedy, singing, acting, and dancing. Influencers on the network have the freedom to explore various forms, whether short skits, viral challenges, or trending posts that reveal the best of themselves. This versatility allows the influencers to get discovered and catch the eye of industry professionals.

Viral challenges and trends that reveal incredible talents and personalities

TikTok fads and trending challenges have the ability to expose personal talent and personality, catapulting influencers into the spotlight. Influencers who excel at trending phenomena or come up with them in-house can pick up huge followings overnight, a requirement for securing old-media deals. The trending phenomena amount to unpaid auditioning of charm and talent, and they then become hot properties to be sold to networks and studios for new talent.

3. How Influencers Are Securing Legacy Media Deals

Talent representation

In order to transition to mainstream media, the majority of influencers are signing with talent agencies that specialize in representation of digital influencers. Digital influencer representation agencies know the value of digital influence and have the network to secure television, film, and live appearance bookings. With mainstream media appearances from major TikTok influencers, talent agents now court them with contract offers.

Portfolio Development

One of the best things about TikTok is that it allows influencers to create a portfolio of self-developed content. Influencers leverage the videos they create on TikTok as a digital resume to promote their scope and personal appeal to potential media buyers. The portfolio allows them to demonstrate what they can offer in areas away from social media, and they become more attractive to media networks and production houses.

Networking

Networking is another significant process involved in securing mainstream media deals. Influencers attend entertainment events, collaborate with other artists, or get affiliated with famous artists in order to expose themselves to the masses. Through the medium of these interactions and affiliations, influencers come into direct contact with media personnel, thus increasing their chances of securing a profitable deal in mainstream entertainment.

4. Impact on Brand Collaborations

Improved Credibility to More Profitable Brand Collaborations

As influencers transition into television and film, they become more reputable in the entertainment marketplace, and it increases the effectiveness of brand partnerships. Mainstream media placement allows them to command a premium and receive brand collaborations from larger brands, leveraging the established audience that they have in digital and traditional media.

Opportunities for Cross-Platform Marketing Campaigns

Brands benefit from the growing number of influencers on mass media outlets because it makes cross-channel campaigns available to them. For example, a TV show influencer on TikTok who receives a TV show can use brand integrations for the shows on TikTok as well as the television show, allowing brands to have new ways of engaging with audiences in different channels.

5. Transition to Traditional Media Challenges

Typecasting

One of the challenges that crossover influencers face when they transition to mainstream media is typecasting. Influencers who have built a brand around specific types of content on TikTok—skits or dance videos, for example—may struggle to break away from the persona they created on the platform and prove their capabilities in mainstream acting or hosting. To some degree, however, as more and more influencers successfully crossover, they are being recognized as complex talents by audiences.

Skill Adaptation

Another challenge arrives in the form of adjusting to other formats of presentation. TikTok demands speed, informality, and being able to combine them quickly, whereas television and film involve a different skill set, such as acting, hosting, and public speaking. Influencers must learn and transfer the technique in order to perform in these newer formats, and it's not always a tall order.

Public Perception

Reader and audience expectation management must be the highest priority for influencers who move into traditional media. Their fans in the realm of TikTok might adore their online personality, but traditional media audiences might have another expectation. Influencers must strike a balance between maintaining the initial connection and fitting into the larger entertainment industry.

Conclusion

The development of the platform as a talent incubator and career launcher has created new possibilities for influencers to transition to television, film, and other mainstream media. Influencers now have the tools and resources to make the transition with the support of business-minded agencies that offer TikTok services. Though still a launching pad for new careers, influencers and brands are also finding immense value in working together to create innovative and impactful multi-media campaigns.
For influencers seeking to make inroads in mainstream media or brands seeking to establish themselves in the burgeoning influencer market, partnership with a TikTok ads agency will optimize such opportunities. Get in touch with The Short Media and discover in what ways we can help steer you through such new media landscapes.