finding-brand-collaborations-on-tiktok skill by apidojo-io

Finding Brand Collaborations on TikTok

Maps active brand-creator partnerships in a product category. Identifies which brands are investing in TikTok influencer marketing, which creators they're working with, and the performance benchmarks for sponsored content.

Prerequisites

APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
`startUrls`	array	Optional	`[]`	TikTok URLs — user profiles, hashtags, music pages, search, locations
`keywords`	array	Optional	`[]`	Search keywords/terms to find posts
`sortType`	string	Optional	`RELEVANCE`	Sort order for keyword results: `RELEVANCE`, `MOST_LIKED`, `DATE_POSTED`
`location`	string	Optional	—	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for regional filtering (e.g. `US`, `GB`)
`maxItems`	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum posts to return across the run
`includeSearchKeywords`	boolean	Optional	`false`	Add the matched search keyword field to each post
`customMapFunction`	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Search sponsored content hashtags for category
- [ ] Step 2: Filter for sponsored signals
- [ ] Step 3: Extract brand and creator pairs
- [ ] Step 4: Analyze collaboration patterns
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver brand-creator map

Step 1: Search Posts

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

REST API fallback:

Step 2: Extract Brand-Creator Pairs

From each sponsored post, extract:

brand_name: From caption mention (@[brand], [Brand] sent me, thanks to [Brand])
creator_handle: authorMeta.name
post_views: playCount
post_date: createTime
collaboration_type: #gifted (product seeding) vs. #ad/#sponsored (paid)

Step 3: Score Campaign Performance

Brand collaboration frequency per creator:

Step 4: Edge Cases

No #ad hashtag but clearly sponsored: Also scan for "gifted", "c/o", "partnership" in caption; TikTok disclosure is inconsistently applied
Brand name ambiguous (e.g. "Nike" in sports context): Verify by checking if creator's bio mentions brand partnership or if post has dedicated product showcase format
< 20 sponsored posts found: Category may be under-sponsored on TikTok; check if brands are using darker patterns (no disclosure) — widen search to product names alone

Output Format

Troubleshooting

Disclosure data sparse: TikTok doesn't always surface #ad in scraped captions. Check for brand mentions in text and product codes. Results outside the category: Refine search by combining #ad with a niche keyword: "#ad #fitness" or "#sponsored #skincare". Can't find competitor campaigns: If competitor avoids disclosure, search for their brand @mention directly in TikTok search.