One of the biggest misconceptions about TikTok Shop is that success is entirely out of a brand’s control. The prevailing belief is that the key driver of performance is the number of affiliates posting for you—which is true. But many assume that since most affiliates come from open collaborations, brands have little influence over who picks them up. The assumption is that all you can do is wait for affiliates to discover your products and then boost their posts with paid ads if necessary. This is where the logic falls apart.

The Power of Targeted Collaborations

Open collaborations—where affiliates organically discover and promote your products—are essential. But they don’t happen at scale by accident. The strongest driver of open collaborations? Brands that proactively engage with the right affiliates first.

To test this, we analyzed a subset of brands on TikTok Shop, mapping their weekly targeted collaborations against their open collaborations over four months (Dec 2024 – Jan 2025). Each dot in our chart represents one week of activity for one brand.

The results are clear: there is a strong correlation between the number of targeted collaborations and open collaborations, meaning one of the most effective ways to drive open collaborations is to increase targeted collaborations.

How the Mechanics Work

Affiliates are constantly looking for new products to promote, and they take cues from other affiliates. When a brand initiates targeted collaborations, it doesn’t just drive sales from those specific posts—it creates a ripple effect:

• Affiliates inspire each other. When a product gains traction in targeted collaborations, other affiliates take notice and consider promoting it organically.
• High-quality affiliates attract more high-quality affiliates. If top-tier creators engage with a brand, others follow. It’s the “if it’s good enough for …, it’s good enough for me” effect.

At Trendio, we leverage this insight when planning targeted collaboration campaigns, combining large-scale outreach to maximize volume while strategically targeting high-caliber affiliates to elevate post quality and influence.

How Targeted Collaborations Impact Different Brand Stages

The extent to which targeted collaborations contribute to a brand’s posting volume and impact on GMV depends on the brand’s stage. Based on our analysis of brands over eight recent weeks, we found that:

• smaller brands rely heavily on targeted posts, which account for 71% of their total posts and 81% of GMV.
• Medium-sized brands see a more balanced mix, with targeted collaborations driving 30% of postings and 31% of GMV on average.
• Well-established brands typically have a smaller proportion of their posts and GMV coming from targeted efforts, but they should not assume that open collaborations will sustain themselves indefinitely. Time and again, we see that when brands reduce targeted collaborations, open collaborations—and overall sales—decline shortly after.

The decreasing reliance on targeted collaborations as brands grow is largely a function of TikTok Shop’s hit-driven nature. The platform thrives on viral content, meaning that as the absolute number of posts increases, the probability of a high-performing viral post emerging from the larger pool of collaborations also rises.

However, this trend is also a result of passive management of targeted collaborations. Many brands rely on mass outreach tools without precise targeting, causing targeted collaborations to blend into the broader mix rather than driving a differentiated impact. Brands that intentionally manage their targeted collaborations—focusing on high-impact affiliates and strategic content amplification—can increase the weight of targeted efforts within their overall sales mix, ensuring sustained growth and efficiency.

The Secondary Factor: Paid Ads Drive Open Collaborations, Too

Another factor influencing open collaborations is paid ad spend. We ran a similar analysis across the same brands, mapping affiliate post volume against paid ad spend. Again, we found a positive correlation.

The mechanics are similar:

• As paid ad spend increases, more people see affiliate-generated content.
• New affiliates are exposed to the brand and consider promoting it.

However, the effect is weaker than targeted collaborations because:

• Paid ads include a mix of affiliate and brand-created content, making them less affiliate-driven.
• Affiliates’ core audience often includes other affiliates, whereas paid ads target a broader consumer audience.

The Bottom Line

Brands do not need to sit back and wait for success on TikTok Shop—they can actively drive affiliate engagement. The data is clear: targeted collaborations fuel open collaborations, and both are critical to sustained growth. While paid ads can help, targeted outreach remains the most effective strategy for scaling a TikTok Shop presence.

For brands looking to maximize TikTok Shop potential, the best investment isn’t just in getting more affiliates—it’s in getting the right affiliates to take action.