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F'real Foods has grown its fan base to nearly half a million followers on TikTok.
- F'real Foods, a beverage company that sells milkshakes at tens of thousands of gas stations and convenience stores in the US and Canada, has built a massive following among Gen-Zers on TikTok.
- In addition to creating its own original videos on the app, the company has hired influencers to promote its brand using the hashtags #freal and #frealmilkshake.
- F'real typically pays between $400 and $450 per sponsored post on TikTok, where it's averaging a 25% engagement rate for paid media, compared with 1.6% for paid ads on other platforms, the company said.
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As TikTok continues to grow in popularity, with one of its stars even landing a spot in a Super Bowl ad this weekend, brands and creators are still trying to determine how much to charge for sponsored content on the platform.
F'real Foods, a 17-year-old beverage brand that sells milkshakes at thousands of gas stations and convenience stores in the US and Canada, joined TikTok last June. It now has 460,000 followers, 8.8 million likes, and tens of millions of video views on the app. That puts it ahead of much bigger brands like Chipotle, Walmart, and Burger King on the platform.
While the company has focused on growing organically by making its own videos and joining popular hashtags, it's also investing in influencer marketing.
F'real said it typically pays between $400 and $450 per sponsored video on TikTok, where it's averaging a 25% engagement rate for paid media, compared with 1.6% for paid ads on other platforms.
By hiring influencers to help promote its hashtags #freal and #frealmilkshake, the company has generated more than 120 million impressions from TikTok users filming themselves making shakes and playing around with F'real machines, the company said.
"I think it's definitely a positive platform for marketers to be able to insert their brand into as long as they do it in an organic and authentic way," said Alec Ledbetter, an associate consumer-marketing manager at F'real. "Followers can definitely sniff out ads very quickly. Being able to actually speak their language is very important."
For a complete breakdown on how F'real Foods built a loyal following on TikTok, read our full story on Business Insider Prime:
A milkshake brand blew up on TikTok, and its 460,000 followers have changed how it approaches marketing and its target audience
And for more on how brands and TikTok stars are building a business on the app, check out these other Business Insider Prime posts:
- How a pair of 30-year-old video producers turned TikTok from a side gig to their main job: Greg Auerbach and his childhood friend Nate Twer are building a business making funny videos on TikTok. They have 590,000 followers and nearly 14 million likes on the app.
- A college TikTok influencer with 1.6 million followers explains how much money she makes - and her 3 main sources of income: Cosette Rinab has 1.6 million followers on the app and said she splits her time between studying film and public relations and growing her page.
- Marketers share what it's like to use TikTok's invite-only tool for finding the right influencers to hire for brand deals: Business Insider spoke with marketers who are beta testing TikTok's new matchmaking tool for influencers and brands, Creator Marketplace.
- Inside Walmart's thriving TikTok account, which has over 127,000 followers and is luring a new generation of Gen Z shoppers to the superstore: Walmart has garnered billions of views on its TikTok hashtag challenges like #DealDropDance and #SavingShuffle.
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